Happy Mail and Some Encouragement

First of all let me just say a big WOO HOO!!!  I got some beautiful mail art today, from not one, but two lovely ladies!  Hooray!

First, from my darling Pamikins:

Two very awesome napkins, some really cool dress shaped paper (I think they must have been from a notepad?), and two AMAZING ATCs!  I love them both so much!  I love that Marilyn Monroe quote, especially that first line "Imperfection is beauty" (read on, because it applies to what I'll be talking about farther down).  And I love the WTF? ATC, that face... "Oh Lawd!"  I LOVE IT!!!  Thank you my dearest Pamikins!   

And from the fantastic Rose:

A fabulous bookmark (oh, I love these so much...I put my other one to good use right away, and, since I am a multiple books at once kind of reader, I will be doing the same with this one!), some really neat numbers (aren't they just too awesome???  I have been plotting with these since I opened the envelope...that 6 and the Paris napkin from my Pam are destined to be together I do believe!), a beautiful note card with butterflies (I love these so much, I don't know where she got them from, but I want to go to that place!) and then the Geisha and Crane piece, which I ADORE!  Thank you, wonderful Rose!

I am always so amazed by the creativity of the wonderful friends I've made online.  They are all so generous, kind and encouraging.  I am so fantastically lucky just to know each and every one of them!  Their kind words have made me so bold in taking chances and trying new things.  I know I would not have progressed as far as I have in so short a time without them cheering me on!

I had promised that I would share some of my beginning drawings with the ladies, and I decided to include them in this post too.  And I'm letting you see the horror that is my beginning drawings, because I want everybody to see that there is ZERO natural talent at work in me.  ZERO.  You won't believe it, but the following drawings aren't even the worst ones I did!  (I covered over the worst of them with gesso, hollered "DO-OVER!" and made art journal pages...so the following ones are the LEAST WORST...when you see them you won't think a person could do any worse, but trust me, there were worse...)

So here are a few of the (least) worst drawings I did when I was starting out:

Look at those hands...are they made out of straw?  Humongous head, little body.  Circular eyeballs.  Check out that nifty hair she's got going on there...look how flat her face is.  What nose has EVER looked like that?

Hand behind the back = I didn't have to attempt hands.  Two different sized legs.  Circle eyeballs again.  Who's hair looks like that?  What is up with those boobs?  It looks like one of her silicon implants is deflating...

So, you can't draw realistically?  Let's make some doll-like drawings then...good grief, how can you screw that up? Let's take note of just how you can screw it up: ..that hand situation...it looks like starfish and octopus tentacles...those are the fattest legs any ballerinas have ever had...do they have gout or something?  but look...eyeball improvement...they're no longer circles at least...  hair is clearly still an issue...  and proportion...

Check out that sweet pear shaped bod this gal's got going on...oh, and the one piece squiggle hair...who drew this stuff, a five year old?  Yuck.  

So, do you see what I mean?  NO NATURAL TALENT.  And the reason I want everybody to know that I have NO natural talent whatsoever, is so that they will know that they CAN draw (or paint or whatever).  All it takes is practice.  Talent is not needed.  Practice is the only thing you need.

Don't get me wrong, I know I am still, by far, NOT the best myself.  But, look at the above drawings, and then look at these: 

OK, she's definitely stylized, right?  But look at the 'before' doll-like drawings...disproportionate and terrible in general...  Now look at her, she's not perfect, but she's mostly in proportion.  The legs and arms do not look like disfigured sea creature appendages...  There is some sense to the hair as well...

OK, so what's going on here?  Still not perfect, right?  The wrong eyeball is bigger.  It looks like she got punched in the left cheek and it's swollen.  Mouth is still not right.  BUT, face has a face shape (it's not just a circle anymore!).  Same with the eyes.  The nose looks like it belongs on a human for once!

And then there's this girl, who I think is the best one I've done so far.  I still have hair issues, but I'm working on it...there is improvement.  Again, more realistic face shape, eyes, nose, mouth...more realistic everything!

I'm not showing you these because I want showered with praise...PLEASE DON'T!!!  I'm showing you because I want you to see that ANYBODY can get better with a little practice.  Again, I know that I've still got plenty of things I can do to improve, and I will keep practicing and practicing until I get to the point where I'm 100% satisfied (we all know that's imaginary...I bet no one is ever 100% satisfied...).  

I just want you all to see that you CAN draw (or paint or whatever), if you are willing to take the time and practice.  I've watched a lot of videos online, and did a lot of research, and I still am on the lookout for more and more.  I LOVE art, looking at it, practicing, reading about it, seeing what others do... I love everything about it and I do SOMETHING every single day.  

From the beginning drawings up above to the more recent ones down at the bottom, only about 6 months or so have passed.  When I look at these images, I can hardly believe that I've improved so much in that small amount of time!  It gets me so excited to think what I'll be able to do in another 6 months that I can't do now!

I guess the point I am trying to make is that six months from now, you can still be sitting there saying  "I wish I could..." or "I'll never be able to..." or you could be sitting there saying "Look how far I've come!"  I know you can do it if you really want to!  All you have to do is try and keep trying!  I KNOW YOU CAN!

OK, I'm getting down off my soapbox now...

Again, I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Rose and Pam for my GORGEOUS care packages!  (You ladies made my day a million times better!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!)  And I want to add more big THANK YOU's to all the fantastic folks I am lucky enough to know!  Your words of encouragement are a big part of the reason I can sit here today and say "Look how far I've come!"  Thank you all!

I love the way you love me!

Woo!  Sorry I'm late on the posting!  I was so ready to blog on Sunday and share all the goodness that I received, but came home to find my internet wouldn't work!  It finally came back up this morning...otherwise I would be typing all this from my phone...which would take FOREVER as I have very poor phone typing skills...so hooray for working internet!

I'm so lucky to have met such amazing and creative ladies online, ones who I am proud to call my friends.  If it weren't for the internet, I would be a sad panda indeed.  

For example, my friend Boo.  Boo is one of the most insightful people I have had the privilege to get to know.  She always gives me something to think about, and what she says resonates with me in a special way.  When I talk about how I want to learn who I am and what I want, she always has the most helpful words!  I think that Boo and I are a similar path, she's just gotten farther than I have.  But I know she's ahead of me, encouraging me to keep going!  Her words of wisdom and understanding are just a small part of what makes her so very special to me.

Made for me by my friend Boo (who has a lovely blog you can find HERE)  I wish my phone would pick up the colors better, it is so bright and cheerful!  I just love it, especially the "b" and the "d"!  Thanks Boo for my beautiful card!  I love it very, very much!

And then there's my friend Pam.  Pam is funny and very kind.  I do believe she was my very first Facebook friend, and was also the one who introduced me to a whole new group of creative people.  She is so encouraging and always reminds me that, no matter what point I'm on in my life's journey, that there are people who care for me, just the way I am.  I love Pam because, despite my flaws, she makes me feel perfect.

The inside says: "NOBODY LOOKS THAT OLD!!!"  It made me laugh so hard!  And the look on the cow's face is just hilarious!  

Pam sent me a very unexpected care package!  The delicious looking paper on the right is an envelope that contained the seeds and the ATCs below.  I can't wait to use that glittery glue!

Four beautiful ATCs from Pam!  You may not know, but Amy is my alter-ego...you know, like Superman has Clark Kent (and Kal-El...yes, I am a dork, I know!)  Sweet Red Clover has Amy...it's just what the humans call me...

She also sent this beautiful handmade art journal!  I love it so much that I don't know if I can even use it!  It is so  very pretty!  I love the paper she used for the covers!  It is right up my alley.

There are a few quotes on the covers...this one is my favorite!  It sounds just like something Pam would say!  And check out that beaded flower!  Amazing!

Some of the pages have pockets, and there are bookmarks to use too!  Such a neat touch!  Don't you just love that bug paper?

Oh, the  ruffly lace!

A beaded bookmark that's attached to the journal and a sweet heart doily on one of the pages!  Pam even sent me a  cake and candle...a Pam-cake, which is her famous banana bread, which lived up to the hype and beyond!  Thank you Pam for my lovely surprise care package!

And then there's Rose.  Rose is a very talented lady from the mail art group I am a part of.  I love Rose's creativity!  She is very skilled at putting things together in ways I would never think of, and the end result is always so beautiful!  Rose might not know it, but I am sneakily learning from her fabulousness!  I am so happy to get to know Rose, in part, because her beautiful work inspires me to think outside the box.

The beautiful card that Rose sent me, along with an origami heart bookmark!  Isn't it super neat?  I love those colorful globes on the bookmark paper!  

My fabulous Rose original!  This ATC is so cool, it even has it's own ATC holder!  I love that image of the with the birds and the ladder!  The ATC is called "Curiosity" and it reminds me of a saying one of my teachers in grade school used to say: "Curiosity killed the cat, but super thinking brought it back!"  Thank you Rose for my awesome art!

I can't say enough good things about all the sweet, kind, encouraging people that I have gotten to know.  These ladies have made my life infinitely more fulfilling!  I just want to say a big thank you to all the ladies for letting me know they care.  I am over-whelmed with happiness!