Feature Friday-Inspired by Wood

Club Creative Studio’s Feature Friday blog post: Inspired by wood.

Welcome to Club Creative Studio’s Feature Friday post.  This week, I was inspired by wood. The Asbury Park, New Jersey Artist: Laura Petrovich-Cheney creates in mixed media and her work is part of a solo series at the Abington Art Center.

I can appreciate her love of texture and creations from found wood items. Gathering her art supplies from her daily walks and traveling adventures, Laura uses reclaimed wood pieces in a creative quilt-like way.  Making small alterations to the wood she adds depth.  You may find wood intentionally burned, impressed, sawed, pierced, or hacked not to mention processes such as casting or cleaving.

I immediately thought of the “crazy quilt” pattern when I first laid eyes on the irregular grid organized wood scraps.  Her raised surfaces put dimension to that same material quality of a hand-made quilt. The recent tragic weather activity on the east coast has washed up interesting wood scrap treasures for Laura to consider in her art creations.  So, if you are venturing out along the coastline for a walk, you may find this MFA holder in Studio Art, MS in Fashion Art, and BA in Fine Arts artist walking along side you.  She will be the one gathering interesting scraps of found wood.

It seems upon looking closely to her art, she combines wood pieces from random finds and original objects. I was inspired to create future beads with similar random patterns and color combinations. Do you see the square with brown, sky blue and pumpkin orange colors in the first photo for example?  I’d love to replicate that feeling in a few beads.  Stay tuned as I attempt to incorporate the pattern or color choice into hand-rolled clay beads soon. You know that I will post pictures of my finished project here on the blog and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/clubcreativestudio.  Thanks for stopping by and admiring this found art.  Your comments are always welcome, especially if this technique strikes interest.

Creativity: Where Is It?

Thomas Merton quote.

Club Creative Studio has a few questions for you to ponder today.  Concerning CREATIVITY…do you know where it can take you?  Hopefully you do not have to look long or hard to find it. Creativity can be found within yourself or within others.  So knowing that; where is it? Do you know where to look or who to look at? Do you know what it can do for you? Where it will lead you?

Discovering creativity levels within yourself or others is a growing and learning process.  As the quote from Thomas Merton suggests, art  (or creativity in general) enables or allows us to find ourselves. We can discover what is deep within us or at the top of the surface.  Merton also goes on to say in the quote that we can also lose ourselves at the same time, meaning that we can set ourselves free and experience creativity at its fullest, not paying much mind of other things going on around us. Creativity never grows old or goes out of style. Creativity may grow stale but we can always revive it and relive it and improve.

One place to start looking is quite obvious. Merely look ALL AROUND! Yes! Creativity is all around us, I have always said this many times. Open your eyes to discover the unique qualities of life around you. How can you get lost in creativity and where will it lead you?

While I was a classroom art teacher, everyday I would strive to stress in my students the importance of seeing creativity around us. Expressing it and experiencing creative venues gave our students the chance to see where creativity could take them.  Maybe they were introduced to a new concept. Maybe they found a new talent or practiced a new skill. Perhaps during our lessons, they grew appreciative of other’s creative efforts or served as inspiration to another as they expressed their own creative thoughts.  Taking extra steps to recognize where creativity is affords us the opportunity to search it out when we need it.

Where will creativity take you? The creative journey can be as long and as exciting as you make it out to be. It can be shared and appreciated.  A creative journey does in fact allow you to find yourself, express yourself and understand yourself. Creativity also lends the opportunity to get lost in the process, lose track of time and lose our inhibitions and fears about art or any other creative thought process or expression. Dance, prose, visual arts, theatrical arts etc., they all are expressions of creativity that take us to places we have never seen before. Relish in the creative process. Look around to gain it and foster it to grow it.

The aspect I love the most about being an artist is the fact that what I create can be shared and appreciated. While creating, as I continuously find myself and lose myself in art, I also get the thrill of giving and sharing art.  To view results of  my creativity, please take time to view creations on the website. The inventory is updated and evolving often.  The creative spirit is there to inspire, appreciate and best of all, purchase! Enjoy! http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

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Look at the Calender Today

Today’s Club Creative Studio Two-Cent Tuesday post is about how you can use creativity and entertain yourself at the same time…for FREE.

This idea has the potential for unique expression and a very creative day just by looking at your cat.   Today is National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day! No, I did not make this up!

If you are a cat-lover like we are in our home, you may believe that your cat is indeed communicating with you on some level.  The antics of cats are fascinating to watch and enjoy.  If you notice that your pet is doing something to gain attention, have you also considered that they may be asking a question in their own way?

If in fact your cat has questions on its mind and had the means to express it in a way that you could actually understand and give feedback to them… what would you interpret that your cat would ask of you?   Below, you will meet Nimbus, our Butterscotch cat.  I think that our two cats rule the roost here so it is not unfair to think that if they asked me why I bother them and take photos of them, the answer I would have for them would be: “Because you are so cute!”

Meet Nimbus. our Butterscotch cat.

What type of communication connection do you have with your cat?  Nimbus did not start out as a social kitten, but, he has evolved into a very loving cat claiming my daughter as his favorite human being.  If Nimbus asked the question “When is that college student coming back home?” My answer would be: “At the next school break, be patient as you wait for your best friend to return, she will.” If you have pets of your own, take time today to recognize the special calendar day and embrace in wonderment the curious nature of them.  Think about what they may be asking of you in human question form. Use your imagination today to be CREATIVE in a different way!  Happy National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day!

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Creativity As Stress Buster

Believe it or not, being more creative can allow you to also be less stressed.

Having a creative outlet opens your mind and eyes to new and exciting ways to distress.

What’s your creative stress buster?

I use the opportunity to be creative with art on a daily basis. In this TNT (This-N-That) Club Creative Studio post I’d like share ideas why creativity can come to the rescue in times of stress. My personal and business mantra is Be Creative Everyday!  Having this frame of mind has allowed me to use the arts as a means to be expressive and less stressed in my day.

Focus your mind and hands creatively and you are in for an escape (of sorts) of reality. Being creative takes my thought process to a different out-of-the-box, critical thinking stage.   It helps me forget about the other things that are stressors in my life.  When I am creative, my focus changes to thinking in nonconventional means and I allow myself to grant freedoms of imagination and growth from routine.

Being creative sets my mind free from rules and places me in a state of experimentation.  Gifting the opportunity to ask and act upon questions like “what if”. Recently, I had the misfortune of having technical difficulties.  Within two days of each other , I discovered that I laundered my cell phone and the motherboard of my computer was fried. Talk about some bad luck. My technical difficulties were woes that I had to solved quickly so I could get back on track to where I needed to be personally and in my business. Those are stressful times, when you have to worry about a cost associated with a solution, as well as the time you are going to sacrifice to get back to your normal life when there is a challenge in your mist.

Creativity gave me comfort. Creativity was the sweet diversion from my problems.  Creativity gave me something else to concentrate on while I waited for the outsourced help. In this instance, I had gained time to be more creative because I was not directly involved with my main concerns. You can use creativity as a crutch to help you become stronger in critical thinking skills and thinking differently in general. I think that stress become less prominent if you inject some level of creativity into each situation. Creative thoughts sure take the routine out of the day,  allow your personality to shine, and gift others with alternative points of views. We were all meant to be indivuals and I can think of no better way to express uniqueness than to show your creative side. Give the gift of creativity to yourself or others today and find out if it will serve as a stress buster technique for you in the future.

What will you do to inc0rporate creativity into your life by thought and action? You may start by taking on a simple challenge as this: ask the question: “what if…”

Related articles

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What Time is It?

Please don’t tell me that the clock last night was right when I finally went to sleep at 4:00 A.M.

Sleep deprivation is no joke.

Take time for the things you need like sleep. But know when you can afford to work instead of sleep.

The clock was right, as it turned out, that I stayed up until 4:00 A.M. doing what I love to do… bead.  This is another curse of a creative mind. There are seemingly constant visual images, brain-storm ideas, “aha” thoughts just waiting to be tapped into. When the creative thoughts pile up, what do you do?

If you are like me, you act on the impulses and the mood.  While it is true that you can feel more creative at different times of the day, for me I can’t pass up the opportunity to act on the urge to be creative. The situation doesn’t seem to pass.  To suppress my creative urges end up rendering me just plain crabby.

No matter what the clock says, I have the luxury of making and maintaining my own work hours. So, if I happen to have a creative streak in the wee hours of the night, I just go with it. I have learned to just go with the flow.  Sometimes, if I pay heed to the clock and live by the tick-tick, I find myself stressed in other ways. I become tied to the feeling that I have to work in a specified time frame and I can’t explore at a relaxed pace.

 I have noticed for me that if I am working on something new or challenging, those are the times that I automatically and naturally lose track of time. When you are on a roll, you are on a roll! The time dedicated to art that I create in the middle of the night takes on a special meaning. My occasional late night or early morning work efforts are very intense and focused. I know that I could be (and maybe should be) asleep, so I am aware that what I am working on is worth my time away from getting my needed ZZ’s.

My rationalization for  giving into a work streak at odd hours is simple.  I can always take a power nap the following day if I need it.  That is my plan “A”. With that solution in my mind, I use the time that I feel the most creative to work, work , work.  Most times these bursts are very productive. It is a quiet time in my work space. No phone interruptions, no television, background noise, no radio, no foot traffic, no hunger or thirst issues, and working in the comfort of pajamas is a perk.

Whatever the underlying cause for sleeplessness, when I turn my time into productive creative time, I get a feeling of accomplishment at the start of the following day. How do you use your energy when you have a creative spurt in the wee hours? Is it worth it to you to lose valuable sleep in order to satisfy a creative urge? If you can’t sleep and can’t use your sleeplessness to a work advantage do you have a “plan B”?

Today, I woke up to eight completed bracelet projects and four pin projects. I’d call that worth the lack of sleep I may have sacrificed. Feed your creative spirit. I fed mine a heaping  bowl of  “sleep” and I am still in a great mood and alert, ready to create again.

Learn how to manage your time so you can enjoy the occasional all-niter because you may never know when it will produce great things.  Wish me sweet dreams, because I will be ready to hibernate later tonight.

My words of advice: Pace your creativity, not the floors with sleeplessness.

Peculiar People

Believe it or not it is National Peculiar People Day. You know someone who fits into that category right? Strange, odd, and different people certainly make our world an interesting place I am happy that we have a day that recognises uniqueness.  In order to avoid name-calling and labeling, this TNT (This-N-That) blog post will highlight the peculiar Art that is created by interesting people.

I decided to feature the celebration and recognition of quirkiness in this blog today by sharing the visual posts that I have pinned via Pinterest.  You will find this link below. I have a virtual bulletin board where I attach images with links to websites depicting the theme: Odd Creativity. This is also the title of my board.  Perhaps by viewing my board(s)  I may inspire you to appreciate the unique qualities of art as well as the people behind the art who are the artists.

Look for my photo to make sure you are on the Club Creative Studio Pinterest board.

Below you will find the link to Club Creative Studio’s inspiring boards on Pinterest.  You will find that the account called: Club Creative Art has several interesting boards. Please consider signing in or signing up and begin to follow any or all of the boards by clicking on the “follow” tab(s) you can then continue your Pinterest inspirations sparked by posts of Club Creative Studio. Have a great time pinning. Just be sure to set your timer so you can monitor your time on the computer.  It is an addicting activity!

Let me know if a board or a specific image gained your attention or appealed to you? Happy National Peculiar People Day, especially if you think you are one of them!

http://www.pinterest.com/clubcreativeart

Blue Christmas- Inspired By Elvis

Club Creative Studio is sharing theme art in this Feature Friday post today that has been inspired by music on the radio.  It’s that time of year that the sounds of Christmas fill our airways.  Appreciating Christmas carols are part of our traditions, and one has inspired me to create a few statement pieces of hand-made jewelry art in the color blue.

Club Cretive Studio Art. Hand-made pendant.

The necklace above is made of various mixed metals, faux pearls, glass beads, shell buttons and dyed shell beads, a tea pot charm and a blue and black clay bead from polymer clay.

Lately the tune Blue Christmas sung my Elvis Presley has been heard quite often. So, I decided to create from the title of the song.  I don’t seem to createhand-made items in the color blue very often. I don’t know why. I have nothing against blue. I like blue. So, to concentrate on one specific color, and create item after item in the blue theme, was a welcome challenge and change of pace. How does the color blue make you feel? Does it make you feel down or lift your spirits with a calm feeling?

Image from blog: Daily Days of MKH

Using music as inspiration is easy because you can listen to words over and over and take to heart what is being conveyed to you. Any given day may render a new meaning while listening to the same words of a tune so use that as inspiration as well.

The song Blue Christmas inspired art in this theme color.

Theme jewelry-making can be a challenge to create because you may feel like you are limited in creativity however, it can also be a welcome task because you are placed in a position that you need to stick to in terms of a certain style, mood, or color.

Hand-made jewelry art with a focus on the color blue.

To view more creative creations please visit and revisit the website

http//www.clubcreativestudio.com

Custom requests welcome

veronica@clubcreativestudio.com

Creative Thankfulness (6)

Artist: Veronica Campos-Hallstrom

My Thankfulness Challenge continues, and I continue to document at least one thing during the day that I am thankful for.  Sometimes it relates to art specifically, other times not. Today, is one of those days that my thankfulness relates to my art.

Being artful tends to be a big part of my day since it is also my job to create art on demand. Last night, I heard a news story that stuck in my mind and today it helped prompt my thankfulness in this blog post.  Today’s post tells a story of thankfulness for my hands.

My workplace: Club Creative Studio, is packed with many different supplies and needed tools. There is one element that makes my art creations easy that is often over-looked and taken for granted. Today, I express my thankfulness for the constant use of my HANDS, specifically my fingers as functioning tools that I need daily to make artful creations.

I use my hands daily to create one-of-a-kind artful items.

The news feature that gave me this blog prompt was reported and started out by telling the story of a few men who were enjoying a fishing trip together. When one caught a large fish, there was also a surprise attached. Upon further observation, they discovered that the fish had an unexpected object in his jaws along with the line and hook. Much to their dismay, they discovered that it was a human finger! My first reaction was “eeewww” and I then wondered how quickly the question of who it belonged to could be solved.

As the story continued, they found the man who the finger belonged to. It seems that two months prior, he had lost his fingers in a water sport related accident in the same body of water where the fisherman initially were. Those who had analyzed the finger apparently asked him if he wanted it returned to him. He answered, “Why would I want a two-month old dead finger?” He declined to take it back.

This brought to my mind that this person had moved-on and had adapted to his new method of living his life. He had no use for a finger that would not be of use to him. How often do we take for granted elements in our life that we use on a daily basis?  I think geez, without my eyesight or hands, how would I make beads? I don’t know that answer for sure. But, I am grateful and appreciative of the hands, my main working tool that I use everyday in my creations.

Today, I am especially thankful for my HANDS. For, it is from them that I am able to create and express myself. Making beads, jewelry and art with my hands are at the core of sharing creations with you. It gives me pride to be able to create unique items and share them with you as no one else can because they are made only from one pair of hands…mine.

HAND-made beads from Club Creative Studio

Thank you for wearing and sharing Club Creative Studio Art. HAND-made Art That Sets You Apart!

To view more hand-made items, please visit the changing inventory at:

http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Diedra’s Different Outlook- Part I

A section of Diedra’s back yard with her hand-painted lawn art items.

Today, I am thankful for my neighbor’s different and creative views.  As Club Creative Studio shares a focus on creativity, this post today highlights the personality of a very creative person.  There is no doubt that Diedra lives her life with creative expression. She is the star of the next few posts that share a creative story.

This is how I came to meet a wonderful lady named Diedra. I am new to my neighborhood so walking around a few blocks at a time give me a familiar sense of my surroundings.  On a walk one day, I discovered an interesting scene.  A home stood out for many different reasons.  And when I say “different”, I mean it was different from all of the rest.

It had distinct creative personality. I had a hunch that someone creative lived there, and I really wanted to meet whoever was responsible for the creative vibes. I wanted to find out more of their creative story. I knew there had to be a story to the yard art and beyond.

This was my first hint that a creative person lived here. The painted sidewalk is lined with hand-painted faux bricks and playful ivy along the cement wall and street.

As bold as the turquoise painted front door, I went to the house ready to place a note on the door. The note explained that I was a neighbor, had admired the yard and had an interest to learn more about the creativeness.  The note gave my contact information in hopes that I might gather more information for a possible blogging opportunity. Little did I know that a woman would answer the door and readily speak about her artful spirit.

Meet Diedra, even her car has a creative touch.

Diedra’s different outlook extends in many directions.  Her favorite color is (in her own words) “the color Peacock”.  So it is no wonder that she drives a car that is also a “peacock” turquoise color.  Look closely at the roof of her car.  Do you see the pink flowers adorning the top of her car? These flowers are also attached to the back hatch window of her car.  I asked the same question you are wondering…”What ‘s up with the flowers attached to the car?” Her answer was a hint to how interesting this person is.

Visit this blog again for the answer to this question.

In the meantime can you guess what the flowers are doing there?

A Group Art Prompt

Club Creative Studio would like to highlight the creativity of a small group of people in this TNT (This-N-That) blog post today.

New Bridge Middle School in Jacksonville, North Carolina was the setting for creativity at the summer Leadership Camp. Five young artists and their instructor led efforts for a group art project . The collaborative works will be proudly displayed.

Take a look at the creative process in the video on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/clubcreativestudio , and you will see how all parts DO make the whole. This is a project that may inspire you to do in your own way because it is rewarding at all stages of development.

Thank you to the participants and the instructor, and acquaintance Mr. Bernie Rosage, Jr. He will certainly agree that this group art project was created with pride and joy.

Get inspired! This over-all project display technique can be replicated in a variety of canvas sizes, as long as they are anchored securely before and after your wall placement. It reminds me of a puzzle. Happily, their theme is NOT puzzling!

What did you think? Share your thoughts here!