Monday Inspiration Celebration: a family affair

This past week was filled with lots of surprises, the majority of which made me want to dance my happy dance because it seems like goodness and inspiration is swirling all around me.

First off ... and I know this is a total coincidence and not to expect goodies in the mail with any kind of regularity BUT I received 3 pieces of snail mail from some of my favorite lovelies in my art world. Two cards






and (drum roll please) to add to the community of fairies, elves and dwarfs that call my house their home, a pair of Flower Monsters of our very own!






Of course, Cowgirl's monster is blue and mine green with an orange flower head. :) Not only are we their new family, but how many people can see the birth of their very own monster? Check it out!

So wanting to showcase our new monsters, I pulled out my first pack of the new Color Shade polaroid film by The Impossible Project called PUSH. I am loving the results!







The film is somewhat unstable and eventually could/would/will turn more blue? It is advertised as being peel-able (and the only way to stabilize the color) so I decided to give it a go. Naturally, I took my pictures and then read the website and flickr discussion forum where I learned it was best to peel within 10 to 15 minutes of shooting the picture. And so there I was, flipping through the instructions online which left out the part about white and blue goo oozing out (and I am wondering if it is toxic? Of course, I sacrificed safety for Art as I fumbled onward) and then I went to peel and apparently you have to do so in one confident, authoritative pull lest you get this effect:





But I still like it ... maybe because of my memory of those frantic minutes and my perseverance under pressure?

Speaking of pressure ... I have officially past the half way mark in my Moleskine notebook that is part of The Sketchbook Project. I began the journal in August and have until January 15th to finish the second half. Which means an average of three spreads a week. I've been maintaining that pace for 2 weeks now, my hands permanently in gesso, my face flushed and eyes twitching, but I know I can do it! Two pages from this weekend (the topic assigned me is "A Day in the Life"):










Go figure a break from art journaling would be sewing! Not a time consuming project, but a new challenge that required zig zag stitching to prevent edges from unraveling and sewing in elastic ... a spanking new ironing board cover! (because when you sew, you need to iron a lot more!)







And while my mother is proud of me and my efforts to learn how to sew, I was blown away when my mother, goaded - I mean, inspired - by me, finished this amazing piece of crewel work I wrote about here.








It seemed like everyone was in the grips of creative inspiration last week. Even Cowgirl has been painting and coloring up a storm. She has a passion for scotch tape which is unparalleled. She has been creating a series of train pictures which require two if not three sheets of paper taped together. (I am now realizing she may have been inspired by BIG and my 4 to 6 panel paintings.) What I love about her art are the stories her pieces tell. Here is my favorite:






Me as an octopus wearing a pearl necklace and holding stones for my octopus's garden. Below me is a giant submarine which is labeled "Me" by Cowgirl. Her sub-self (complete with 8 propellers) saves me from a shark and we go on to rescued a family of baby eels. Overhead, an airplane and a jet fly by.

Recounting this all, it seems like I worked at a break neck pace, but in actuality I found the days full and spacious as each activity flowed into the next. There was time to sit with Cowgirl and listen to her stories; I went with my mother to a matinee; I took extra long walks with Moose to center myself. Helpful was this insight that came to me while I was sewing:

Daily practice card for THIS Moment course

I tell my students in yoga again and again, to be sure they are breathing. Finally, the teacher heeded her own advice!

Is it me, or is the fact that I am thinking about creative inspiration on a regular basis making me more prone to finding it all around me? Do share your adventures!