Inspiration, schminsperation.... get to WORK!

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.”
― Chuck Close

Found while reading this AWESOME post!

I'm busy working.

JMB

Lace on the brain...

I went to a little Vintage Marketplace last weekend... and I couldn't resist the bright flowers on a lace tablecloth.

Then some words of wisdom... you can check out more of her here. I am enjoying the temperate weather and thinking of making things with lace.

That's about it, my mind is busy.

JMB

I am sick... sick... sick...

1. Round and Round, 2. Hoop Travel Bag, 3. a shoo fly, 4. fox theater, 5. Ingrid Press quilt, 6. Happy Easter!, 7. Adler and Sullivan, 8. vertical floral pattern from 'scandistitches' set, 9. DQS10 finished!, 10. Ms. Fox in Frame, 11. Introducing Miss March!, 12. Chickens, 13. DQS10 Progress - Mariner's Compass, 14. Georgetown Circle Quilt, 15. top done!, 16. Merry Go Round, 17. yes., 18. pretty little pouch - front, 19. Chairs, 20. _DSC2076B, 21. _DSC2047, 22. Lichen Shawl 2, 23. Wagon Wheel Patchwork Block, 24. 98. The Number Five, 25. Untitled

I have a head cold the size of.... what is really big?? Infinity... and then seeing all of these beautiful things is going to make my brain explode. It is. I swear.

JMB

The world is vast and wide...

1. Flickr Dreaming (otherwise known as day dreaming), 2. cropped, 3. the walking foot is on :: cue the celestial chorus, 4. Work in progress- Batboy card, 5. hi., 6. corners :: simple fixes, 7. moon set19jan11 IMG_8236, 8. Charming Triangles Quilt Top, 9. {Lettering}, 10. 1.18.11, 11. Bird on a "wire"for spotty. Hope you like it!, 12. mid century neighborhood, 13. Untitled, 14. Sewing Machine Cover, 15. Untitled, 16. time machine, 17. DSC_0840, 18. 80s BatWing Sweater, 19. My mountain, 20. Carving stamps, 21. New Flickr, second call, 22. Untitled, 23. Sneak Peek for ruthiequilts........, 24. Improv block, 25. Mom's Monkey Socks

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

I went to flickr this morning, like I do many mornings. The scrolling "contacts" section on the bottom TOTALLY caught my eye. Here are a few of the lovelies..... there were so many, I got lost.

Some weeks I realize, I can post a whole bunch, others I can't. It is just funny to me how that works out. Hmmmmmm

On a side note I am taking suggestions on how to play with one child while all three children are home. Sometimes one child wants to play something that is just not age appropriate for all of them or the other 2 just don't want to play it. Is there a secret that I am not getting?? I am finding that some games and activities just are not happening around here and I think that we would like to have them happen. Hmmmmmm

JMB

Sometimes it pays to look kodak's email...

I briefly looked at a photo tip of the day on a Kodak email and was led to some AMAZING pictures and some very inspiring ideas about seeing your art (it was regarding photography, but I think that you could apply the same ideas to a wide range of media) and making it better.

It was a list of tips from Pep Bonet. I need to spend more time studying his shots, but wow. WOW. He talks about looking at things and putting your own emotion about them in the way you capture the picture. He really delivers. I need to be an apprentice.

JMB

Yes We Can...

Hey there...

I just got back from 2 glorious days on the Oregon coast...it was sunny and 70+ today, people, no wind!!! This is not my reason for posting. A nice new blog friend, Malagueta, visited and commented and then I read on HER blog about a cool Obama fundraiser done by Denyse Schmidt and her quilter posse. I like that every one seems to be getting involved in this election cycle. What about you friends??

I am vocal about who I am supporting, but that is just me. If you are liking someone else...that is cool, I can support that. I am just asking that people take a little time, inform themselves and then cast a ballot. It is time to take responsibility for your country. There is a little over a week left until election day, please let your voice be heard.

Thanks!

JMB

Stone creatures

At the same art museum there is a beautiful courtyard. It almost seems out of place in my silly town. I was able to take pictures of the animals that surround the posts. The pool and fountain are all done in aqua tiles which I also love. It is a nice little place, I would like to move it to my backyard so that while I sew I could look out upon it... we all have to have a dream, don't we?
Proud duck

Hoot the Owl
Nutty and Wacky the crazy brother squirrels.
Is it a woodpecker?? Or just a fanciful imagination bird?
Ahhhh, the tile....I love it with the curved edge, definitely a quilt inspiration.
A little pan boy playing a tune...
But wait...who is lurking in the shadows? I think that it is one of the Asian dragon lions from upstairs...Yikes!

Happy Sunday!

JMB

Anniversary date...

Look, we still like each other after 11 years of married bliss...

Last weekend we went to the Art Museum on the local University's campus. I think that we both felt the decadence of doing this, as the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa. I am not too into the permanent collection here...it is a lot of ancient Asian art (pottery and paintings) (Although, I did catch a glimpse of this REALLY cool costume from a Korean play), which is nice, but I feel like I am a bit more interested in more contemporary art these days. Some day...

They had this rather small exhibit called "Thinking Body". It "strove" to show how the human body interacts with objects, in everyday life and also pieces of art. It was interesting, sometimes a bit pretentious....but oh well. My favorite pieces were on this big wall with 5 or 6 tiny pieces, little houses that seemed to illuminated from within.

So, you creep very close to them to figure out what is lit inside of them AND...through the window is a little room with pictures on the walls and a sense of depth... like some really tiny people live there and you are peeking in on them. WELL, the part of the story that I have left out thus far...is I didn't see the "NO PHOTOS" sign and I tried to take a few and the security guard totally busted me... I felt like such an art museum loser...MOSTLY because she had just busted me 10 minutes earlier for a bag larger than 12X12. SO, I carry a diaper bag size bag sometimes, even when I am not with the kids... BUSTED! Apparently is for "space" reasons...because there were 3 of us there in the 5000 sq.ft area....and I was totally going to smack one of the photographs off of the wall.

OK, enough, I have sour grapes about the whole thing still....apparently.

BUT the houses were so cool...I think that the woman's last name was Featherstone. I was so ashamed of my un-coothness that I just kept trying to remember her name so that I could look it up on the net...and we all know how my search skills are seriously lacking...

Some day I will get it together and give credit where credit is due...until then I will just enjoy sharing things the best that I can. See how tiny...
Don't you just want to go and visit??
JMB

In a funk...or funky?

Ta-da....El Studio! OLE'

I have been having such a time getting out of the Christmas craft letdown funk...I have been diligently working on my swap quilt and when I finish it the red and green combos are going away...I need some bright springy colors to look at. Speaking of colors...it is crazy how they effect my mood. Last night I was really needing a mini vacation from reality. So I went to the "studio", intending to put some work in on the swap quilt...but I couldn't stand to look all that red and green anymore. I love a nice scarlet and olive couplet...but it has been sunny here the last few days and I am really jonesin' for some garden time, some flower power, and some new growth creatively. I started pulling out all of the wild prints that I have purchased in the last few years and throwing them around the room.


I immediately felt better and the cobwebs in my mind fell away a bit. Some of these pairings are, loud, my unique to my taste....but so fun to dream about. I like looking at fabric and I am going to find a way to have it in the front of the stash piles....for inspiration, for escape, for motivation.

I took a fabric pack for our guild's raffle quilt...the first time that I have participated. I think that this is the beginning of my third year as a member and slowly I am feeling like less of a quilting wannabe and more like a quilter and artist. I am excited that when this quilt is done that I will be able to say that I contributed to it's beauty. I think that is going to feel really nice.

My 100th post is just around the corner...I am thinking about a comment drawing to celebrate... seeing all of my stash spread everywhere sure feels like a party...stay tuned!

JMB

Daily pictures...it may be all I can manage today...

Our "mousie" here is a borrowed friend from our library, one of the many great things that I like about the "new" library (I think that it is now like 4 years old...but I suffered with that old groos one for so long that this one will always be "new" to me!). Today, I finally remembered to bring my camera with us when we went for storytime AND it was WONDERFULLY SUNNY! It was a banner day also, because my oldest son, who has been a storytime junkie since the ripe old age of 18 months, got to be a HELPER today with a story during his little brother's storytime. He was just beaming that he got asked and then when it was his turn to stick his head through the hole in the book and oink like a pig... well, he squealed like a pro.

The following pictures are of the children's courtyard...I love this tile work. The first time I saw them I was so inspired to get back into a ceramics studio... I may yet. I will try to find the artist that did these, these pieces are just too great not to give someone credit. Enjoy!
A giant elephant that the kids like to walk the perimeter of...
To jump or not to jump...

Detail of the leaf tables
Part of the fish benches

Close-up of the frog reading a book
Someone having a delightful time on the froggy.
Someone else forgoing sustenance in favor of a bitty comic book.

I have some exciting swap quilt peeks....but I will save those for tomorrow!! Hee hee

JMB