Yes, after a four and a half month (phew! I was afraid it was longer) hiatus, I am back to posting! Summer is definitely over here in southern New England, with trees turning from their Summer greens to the myriad warm colors of Autumn. What a beautiful season! I am working now on a landscape that has a base undercoat of rich yellow.

Early in August I finished the mural (in two sections) for Bread and Chocolate in Hamden CT. It shows part of a house in an architectural style typical of the coffee growing region of Columbia as well as the many attendant plants and flowers well loved by the women of the area. I am very proud of this work not only because I love how it came out but also because so many people who see it tell me that it transports them to another place away from the travails of life in our fast paced world.

Here’s snapshot of the larger mural (there are actually two but they are meant to be viewed as a single concept):

Bread and Chocolate's Mural Painted Summer ©2011 by Patricia C Vener,

Have you considered having a mural done? They expand your space and enliven your environment – even those that encourage a sense of wonder and tranquility.

I am an artist caregiver so for me art is both work and respite. My objective, with this post, is to share some ways other caregivers, who may not necessarily be artists, can use art to give themselves some ways of coping with the stress in their lives.

Suggestions to try till you find the ones that work best for you
1. Coloring - Did you like to color when you were a child? You don’t have to be good at staying in the lines if you don’t want to. You don’t have to use realistic colors. Just look at the enclosed spaces, pick up crayon, marker, or colored pencil and have at it! There are plenty of adult oriented coloring books available that are have some appeal to grown ups.
2. Collages - This has almost universal appeal; from the very young to elderly. There’s something very satisfying about taking scissors to glossy magazines or paint store paint chips and cutting out pretty designs and colored shapes then gluing them on a piece of thick paper or cardboard. You can make beautiful abstracts or sketch out a pattern or drawing and use your cuttings instead of paint or crayon to fill in the colors.
3. Scrapbooking - This is one that I have not tried, but a few friends of mine are really into it. Unlike the olden days, this hobby now has a whole industry devoted to it with special scissors, hole punches, fancy papers and more. I think of it as journaling with visuals as well as words.
4. Sketching and Doodling - This has minimal requirements: a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. There are also computer based doodling programs but I think you’ll find more satisfaction with the old fashioned physical result. The really great thing about doodling is that you don’t have to think about it. You can let your subconscious rule your hand. If you hate it, toss it. If you love it, put it in your scrapbook, on your fridge, or you can even frame it or use it to inspire a more permanent or “finished” work of art.
5. Photography -If you already own even a simple point and shoot camera this is a great choice. Experiment, play with the settings to get images that aren’t necessarily meant to capture reality. This is one choice that works well if you want to involve your loved one (caregivee, as it were). Photography can be abstract or focus on textures or compositions. (A good photo and graphics utility is GIMP which is free to download and has a lot of interesting features. With a graphics utility you can play around with your photograph to create something really new and unusual. Of course this aspect requires you to have some time for yourself and that’s not always possible.)
6. Drawing - Get a giant piece of paper and draw big! Conte crayon, pencil, charcoal are all excellent media for large drawings. Spread your wings and make a statement. Or, on a smaller sheet of paper take pen to ink and meticulously draw a vignette of small images that represent your stress or your desires or your life as you want it to be… Express yourself in any way that helps you. Connect the drawings with wavy lines, or spirals, or jagged rivers that jump up and down like radio signals. It’s your imagination and this art is for you, not a gallery or your family to judge.

I have purposely not included any pictures with this post because I want you to “do your own thing,” not be over influenced by my thing. But if you have any questions, post below and I will try to answer your concerns.

Just in time is not really the best way to work, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Such as this month when I finished a new work of bead weaving art just in time to enter it into the Etsy Bead Weavers monthly challenge. The theme is the trilogy of novels, “Lord of the Rings” with the proviso that the resulting piece be inspired by a particular character. LOTR has a wealth of wonderful characters and my favorite, when I first read the series in the sixth grade, was Samwise. (He is heroic even if he doesn’t really want to be and that did and still does appeal to me.)

I did not choose Samwise, however, but rather Galadriel who both craves power but rejects (or resists) the temptation of the One Ring. Such power of self control is, in its way, as exceptional as Samwise’s decisions to do the brave thing even when he is scared out of his mind. Galadriel. along with Celeborn, rules the elves of the forest Lothlorien. She is powerful and connected to nature. I envision her with jewelry that reflects her natural associations and as it is now Spring (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) she wears a necklace that celebrates this transitory season of growth and flowering.

The necklace is called “Celedon” and is mostly the pale green of young shoots, accented by dark green leaves and three pink buds. The central cabochon is variscite, polished by Connecticut lapidarist Elmore Easter. The three buds are faceted rhodonite briolettes.

Voting goes from 9 May 2011 through 15 May 2011 at the Etsy Beadweavers Blog.

Finally, after all that deep thinking, we come to the last question: when do we eat? Possibly one of the most important of the questions, this last, number seven in the list, reminds us that life is not just about the profound but also about taking care of ourselves, enjoying life, and, very importantly, having a sense of humor.

When I was very young, long before I even cared, my father would advise me that above all else, I should seek a spouse who had a “good sense of humor.” What he was trying to tell me was that no matter how intelligent and compassionate a human being is, if they don’t have a sense of humor living with them is not going to be the best experience.

So my final words on this subject are to look seriously at your life’s journey, but be sure to take time out to enjoy the journey and all the great food you haven’t tried yet.

I invite you to go back and reread the series, starting with Part 1 of Life’s 7 Important Questions. Please let me know what you think, where you are on your journay, and any great recipes you care to share.

Now that you have a destination, it’s time to work out the route. Where “route” is defined as “How I’m going to get where I want to go.” (Which was the topic of the previous post in this series.) Whatever you were doing before? You’re going to have to start making changes. Unless, of course, your whole introspection of “where do I want to go?” returned the answer of “exactly where I’m headed.” Although, really, even then, there might possibly be changes that will make your ride move along even faster.

On the other hand, if you have changed your destination then you must change what you are doing if only for the fact that doing what you have been doing will only get you the results you have been getting. Already. This is not news; I’m sure you’ve read that sentence before. Or one remarkably like it.

This question may be even more difficult than any of the others because the answer is going to be a complexity of actions. It really will be more difficult than taking a single step and then another and another and… so on. Why? Because not only do you have to take the first step, but you must also swing your arms and look around you; notice the scenery and hear the music, feel the warm breezes and taste the perfume of a multitude of spices. It is very rarely only a single action repeated that will get you where you (have decided you) want to go. It takes concurrent actions that must be evaluated and re-evaluated even as you eye your destination and evaluate (and re-evaluate) that.

Where are we now? Where am I now? I have a destination (several in fact) and I can see some obstacles that need to be dealt with. Some of these are responsibilities and obligations I have willingly taken on (destinations that have nothing to do with my art, I should say) but others are merely habits and emotions and lack of confidence in doing certain tasks (mostly relating to business). Habits can be recognized and reformed. Emotions can be confronted, embraced, and molded. Confidence, it turns out, can both be faked and and learned and embraced as readily as any other emotion.

I am ready to stop accumulating theory and to start the actual experimentation. I have an array of tools I have only to pick up and use and I’ll be on my way.

Are you ready? Are you still gathering the tools and designing the experiment? Have you passed this way more than once and are an old hand at introspection and action?

"Contemplation"

Where do I want to go? is the next question in my list. Sometimes easy to answer; as when I was young and determined to be (and working toward being) a ballerina. I knew exactly what I wanted with a clarity that is rare in children.

Sometimes not at all easy. As later on in life when, after having to stop dancing, I saw how many possibilities were still available to me. Talented, bright, and pulled in several (if not many) different directions!

Variation of Planck's Constant in the Multiverse

I still want to do it all but I am mature enough to comprehend that I can’t do it all at once! How much will I get to do is an unknown. What I do know is where I want to be in 5 or ten years, as an artist, a person, a woman.

Where do you want to go? Is it the same destination as 5 years ago? Ten? When you were ten?

Where am I going? is a good question to ask every once in a while, whether to be certain we are still headed in the direction we intended or to consider changing that direction. Where we wanted to be 10 years ago may not really where we want to be heading now.

Journey Into Dusk by Patricia C Vener

As children we are often asked “What do you want to be (or do) when you grow up?” Our answers are often as varied as our moods though some of us set our sights on one thing and keep our focus there throughout our entire childhood. Sometimes, we even attain this goal. Sometimes, we are disappointed (whether or not we got there).

Whether or not we reach this goal there will come a time to stop and ask, “am I doing what I really want to be doing right now?” We look ahead with experience we didn’t have before and weigh the pros and cons of whatever decisions we made before that led us to where we are now. We ask, “is this right for me?”

Or at least we should. If we don’t stop, if we simply keep on going without any pause to consider our decisions and actions then we risk moving onward without thought, without control over our own lives. And if we are not in control of our own lives the we risk giving control to someone else.

If I am to travel a path in life, I should very much prefer to have some say in how I travel it and where I blaze my trail. Not everything is in my control, but those things that are, I want to be able to stop and consider them and make sure I’m heading in the direction that’s best for me (or best suits me) now. How about you? When was the last time you looked at your path and were satisfied it fit your needs and desires best?

1. Who am I?
2. Where am I?
3. How did I get here?
4. Where am I going?
5. Where do I want to go?
6. How do I get there?
7. When do we eat?

Who am I? is all about self discovery and this is an ongoing investigation because none of us are static. That’s why so many artists create several (at least) self portraits. Van Gogh is especially famous for his series of these. Each painting gives us an inkling of the man and his idea of himself. Shown here is Van Gogh as he saw himself in 1887. This painting resides at the Musée d’Orsay.

Where am I? has quite a few connotations as well. As a child wherever we moved I would wake up in the middle of the night completely disoriented. I fell down the stairs once after every relocation! As an artist I ask this question of myself when I want to take a step back and review what I am doing with my work as well as where I am emotionally and intellectually.

How did I get here? is what I ask when I’ve gotten lost because the map is wrong, wrong, wrong. But it’s also a good question asked in conjunction with the previous one, especially when I feel ready to re-evaluate my direction.

Introspection at key points in our lives help us to keep from getting stuck in a rut. Where are you right now?

Reference
1. Van Gogh self portrait VGGallery.com

I’ve been working on this piece since sometime last Summer and it has fluctuated in my imagination only slightly since the day I decided it was time to start beading the work I had developed in my imagination. Because my imagination is where I start all my works of art from simple drawings to mostly complete paintings to the least and most ornate and elaborate of my bead weaving.

Originally I intended to complete a work for the Haute Couture competition last Autumn but I could not finish on time. In fact, I ran out of black matte 11/0 seed beads, and as you will see, these are integral to the design. Of course I ordered more and kept right on working. Here’s a picture of some of the elements of the necklace as of sometime two weeks ago:

Glass Lace and Bezeled Lace Agate

Next I began to bezel the second Mexican lace agate

Beaded Bezel Begun

Then I connected the four pieces, two collar pieces and two bead woven bezelled Mexican lace agate cabs. I’m not ready to give away the next steps, though.

Closer to the Finish

February seems to be a great month for finding my work in Etsy treasuries and ArtFire Collections. With the abundance of well made art in the world, I feel very honored that my own work is being held up for appreciation by other artists. Here’s a list of the collections and treasuries which have featured my work so far from 12 February 2011 until now. Starting with ArtFire:

Chic in Pink and Blue
Curated by SWEETTOWELS | Collection Published on 02-16-2011

Pretty in Pink and Peach
Curated by TrinityDesignerJewellery | Collection Published on 02-15-2011

Color Me Happy….Magenta & Orange Curated by DragonflyExpression | Collection Published on 02-15-2011

And then Etsy:

Odds and Ends We Love Curated by Sandra (weddinghummingbird) on 17 Feb 2011

That’s a Wrap Curated by Becky Helmer (HelmerJewelry) on 16 Feb 2011

Too Shallow Skilled to Make it Myself Curated by Nickolina Jacoby (13thBasket) on 15 Feb 2011

A Date with Captain Jack Sparrow Curated by jeanie mossa (PlanetCalamari) on 15 Feb 2011

Spring 2011 Color Trends Curated by jmjcreations on 12 Feb 2011

Dreams Curated by Elzbieta Zeman (egunia) on 12 Feb 2011

I invite you to visit these collections and treasuries to see not only my work, but the work of many other talented, creative artists as well.