That Was Then And This Is Now

 At this time of year, 25+ years ago, I would have been frantically painting my little candlestick people for the annual holiday bazaars The Husband and I always participated in.  I would paint bowls and plates plus dozens of little people, lined up like soldiers, on TV trays next to my painting table.  There were other designs but the ones in this picture were handy.  But wait!  What is that standing in the middle of the little army of folk art??

 A while ago {quite a while ago!} I asked The Husband if he could take a stroll down memory lane and remember how to turn one for me, sans the candle hole in the top.  I used it to make this little talisman or Muse for my art room.  Oh yes, times change and so do tastes!

 She has bling around her middle and an assortment of charms dangling from her belt.  She has little tinkling bells for cheer, a crown because it is good to be queen, a bird for freedom, stars for dreams and glass and pearl beads because they are things I love.  My MIL, a talented fiber artist, always says her brains are in her hands.  I gave my Muse big hands.

 She is dressed in vintage lace, has a beehive hairdo decorated with old millinery flowers and flys with tarnished wings.  My Muse - a velveteen woman, indeed.

The Muse

Lately all my posts have been about the outdoors; that's kinda ME in the summer time! My art friend Michelle sent me a lovely piece of inspiration for my birthday last week, "Dreams are the Key to Life". She and I have had a few conversations about the elusive "muse" and finding time for art so I decided to post this journal page. She has been up against some compelling personal challenges lately so I am SO flattered she would take out time to make something to inspire me and I can only hope she found some joy and relaxation in the making!

This journal page is part of an exercise I have been doing based on Lisa Sonor Beam's book, "The Creative Entrepreneur". The book focuses on finding the courage for "Making Business Ideas Real" so is not directly related to my personal dilemma of finding my voice and figuring out what I want to do with my art. When I started reading it I realized it was really making me think about what makes me tick and why I do what I do so I decided to (roughly) follow the journaling path and I find out what I could discover. Interestingly, I HAVE gotten a lot of insight into what I really like to do and what my dream life would really be like. I still can't say I know what I want to do with my art but I think I have made some pretty big steps toward finding my voice. The orange colors on this page are not right and let me just say - I DO NOT THINK DIGITAL ART IS MY GIG! I do not much like to figure it out so I might just NOT.

Right now I an working in series. Now that I think (maybe maybe MAYBE) I have found a style I feel comfortable with I am doing it over and over to really make it mine. Maybe I will post a piece someday soon. We'll see if it sticks!