Copy Cat, Smelly Rat...

I made this lady because I have a secret love affair with Danielle Donaldson's  work.

I really enjoy her color palette...it's so...I don't know...ethereal, antique, romantic...fabulous...

My girl is a pretty blatant copy, but I swear it's because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

I saw the head wrap on one of Danielle's girls and thought it was one of the most glorious things I have ever seen, so I had to copy it.

Donaldson's CreativeGIRL book is actually pretty good as well...  I have a copy somewhere, and I can't find it and it's slowly killing my soul.  You know how it is...you put something in a spot because there's no way you'll forget where it is and then the next morning you wake up and don't have a clue what you did with it...I can't be the only person who does this...

On my girl, I forgot to color in the eyes, but I think that it brings the head wrap out as the focal point...so much so that I decided to leave them that way forever...also, I really enjoy the lip shading on this gal...

I'm looking forward to making more art with this color palette in the future...and to finding my copy of CreativeGIRL so that I can do the exercises it contains!

Later Gator

This is the final spread for DOCUMENTED LIFE (DLP)...there's not much I can say about the first year of DLP that I didn't say about Journal 52 in yesterday's post...it's with the same melancholy feeling that I bring 2014's DLP journal to a close.  

Just like J52, DLP will continue next year, and I will continue right along with it for as long as possible, but I don't know if it will hold the same meaning for me that this first year has...I can only hope, I suppose.

The prompt for the final DLP spread is "Draw or Collage Something That Begins With the First Letter of Your First Name."  

And here's what I came up with:

Look at my desk!  It's clean!  Holy guacamole!  ...but more on that later...

Here's the left side, as close as I could get it with the full page showing (mostly):

I figured I would do a little collage on one side of the spread  and draw/paint on the other and be an overachiever like I like to do...

Just in case you don't know, my name is Amy.  I chose to go with "A" things instead of my normal inclination to go with Sweet Red Clover as my 'name' for any kind of prompt where names are involved.  I don't know why it was, but I knew I really wanted to use "A" stuff before I ever even considered what it was I would do for the spread...but of course I still had to sneak in a little clover action on the page...

I got the all the Aces and the 'A' flashcard with the apple on it in happy mail, so thanks to everybody that sent those to me!  I happened to get a piece of junk mail  yesterday  (the pieces of manila envelope) and the words "important" and "documentation" caught my eye, so I tore them out thinking I would use them sometime...although I didn't realize it would be so soon!  And the little tag from the Earl Grey I was drinking as I worked on this spread...had to throw him in there! 

I'm not much of a collage person...sometimes I get it right and other times, not so much.  This one, whether it's good or...other, makes me happy...so it must be ok, I guess!

 The "End Here." and the words at the bottom of the page (you can see them in the pic before this one...it says "See nothing to be scared of.  It was even a little fun, right?") were already in the SmashBook (that I converted for my DLP journal), and I was glad to be able to keep them visible, since they seemed like good words.

And this is the right side of the spread:

See you later, alligator!
I copied this guy (with a few changes...not enough to call him my own, for sure) from some art I saw on Pinterest.
You can see the original (which is TOTALLY awesome...) on my 'Copycat With Respect' board.

While they were two separate projects, DLP and J52 have served the same major purpose for me...which is proving to myself that I could, in fact, finish what I started.  And so it seems fitting that both the first page for my J52 journal and the last page of my DLP journal have balloons on them.  I remember very distinctly someone from the J52 group on Facebook commenting (a whole year ago, that's how happy it made me!) that my first page should be in a children's book...it's one of the kindest compliments I've ever gotten about my art!  And this gator, even though he's pretty much a copy of someone else's work, looks to me like he'd be a good children's book too!  (Best compliment I ever gave my own art! ☺)

Again, like J52, the only thing that's left of DLP for me is to do a little (but picture heavy) post showing all the spreads in one place...and maybe to decorate the cover, but I haven't decided if I want to do anything to this one, I kind of like it as is.  We'll see...

-

As you might be able to tell from the first picture, I started cleaning my studio.

Actually, I think it would be better described as purging.

I've told you before that I never clean...and honestly, that's only a very slight exaggeration of the facts.  But when the idea of how cluttered and disgusting my studio actually is just wouldn't leave my mind, I knew there was a reason for it.

Normally when I clean my studio, I keep everything...I don't do this in any other room of the house, but in my studio I think I can't get rid of that!  I might need it someday!  ...like a true hoarder would.

But this time was different.

I just kept looking at things I would normally keep...minuscule scraps of paper, empty tubs that once held gesso and other various mediums, pens that 'still write' (albeit not all the time or not very well), packaging from any kind of box that was brought into the house...and I thought to myself It's weighing you down.

When I stood back and looked at all that extra stuff, a big black garbage bag full to the point of ripping, it gave me such a nauseating feeling.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing what you can with what you have and recycling and not wasting things and all that stuff...but what I was doing was not that.  I was burying myself under 'art supplies'.  I was hiding in a fort of useless objects so that I wouldn't have to see or hear the things that frustrate and offend me.

I don't want that kind of burden anymore.

That's why I had to take the time to clean up and toss and reevaluate what I would use versus what I felt like I had to use.  Other people do awesome stuff with cereal boxes, so I should keep mine...but, you know what, I'll never do anything with them.  I am not everybody else...I'm just me, and that's the only standard I should measure myself against.

I come from a place of meager means, and maybe a part of me got twisted into believing that it's frugality to keep everything you ever come into contact with.  But that's not true.  There's no shame in getting rid of something that's broken.  There's nothing wrong in passing something you are not going to use on to someone who will...even if you spent money to have it.  There's no one searching through my trash bag with a ruler saying that two inch scrap of paper was too big to just throw away!

I don't want to have that heavy feeling holding me down anymore...especially not in relation to my studio!  

I'm not done with the purging just yet.  In all honesty, I'm probably only about halfway there...but egads, if the ending brings me half as much relief as the beginning did, I'll be doing the happy dance for weeks!

In one of the Reverb14 posts, I mentioned that I'd like to have a house full of things that I love...that no matter where I look, I want my eyes to land on something that brings me joy.  And the practical aspect of starting on that goal is to rid myself of anything that doesn't.  So cheers to me for starting on that goal a little earlier than the new year!

To quote Mary Oliver, "I want to be light and frolicsome", and if getting down and dirty with cleaning is the first step, then I'm on my way.

Reverb14 Rabbit Wrap-Up

I just want to say before I start, that Reverb14 is coming to a close , and I am NOT ready for that to happen!  Thank you to Kat McNally for this AWESOME experience and thank you to Deborah Weber, the extraordinary woman who led me to Reverb14, and thank you to everyone who left such wonderful comments here on the blog.  I am the world's worst comment responder, but I want you all to know that your good words, like Kat likes to point out, are truly magic and to thank you from the bottom of my heart for bestowing your magic on me during this time together.

Alright...I'm moving on before I start to blubber like a baby...

Today's prompt for REVERB14 is:

Revisit what you wrote on the first day of Reverb14.  How does that compare to where you are now i.e. what can you say today with certainty?  Then, without thinking about it too hard, finish the following sentences:

In 2015, I am open to...

In 2015, I want to feel...

In 2015, I will say no to...

In 2015, I will know I am on the right track when...but when I find myself veering off course, I will gently but firmly...

In December 2015, I want to look back and say...

"Silly" Rabbit...I told you those bunnies keep popping up for me!  I've been thinking about the whole symbolism of rabbits ever since that prompt about signs and symbols...Did you know that the easter holiday originally came from paganism (most 'Christian' holidays do...it's actually an interesting thing to read about...just google it some time) and the celebration of ostara (or astarte) was basically a celebration of rebirth and new life...the rabbit being a symbol of fertility (as well as the egg).  If one were so inclined, I suppose, maybe these rabbits that keep popping up in my art are symbolizing my longing for such a rebirth or a transformation regarding life.  Not that I go in for all that, mind you, but I just thought I'd throw that in there for those who do...you can make of it what you will... :)

There has been a HUGE shift for me during the course of Reverb14.  That FIRST DAY I said "I'm never certain about anything".  Oh buddy, let me tell you, has that ever changed!

Right now, I can say with certainty that I feel Powerful.  That's right, Powerful...with a capitol "P"!  All the forward progress I've made over the past year or so seems to have been focused down into a singular beam of awesomeness through Reverb14.

I am worried, because I've felt this power before.  I know that it is fleeting.  I let things come up and make me doubt myself...make me feel as though all this bravado is just a show...and then I wither, telling myself that I'm not really that girl.

But I'm not going to let that happen this time.  I'm going to continue to own this powerful feeling.  When I start to doubt myself, I'm going to come back and reread my Reverb14 posts to remind me of the girl who wrote all those courageous things...to remind me that the brave girl who poured her heart into this work was me...to remind me that I still am that same Powerful girl determined to make a life for herself.  I am that girl...

Close up of my version...I think he needs some more defining, but I like him too much, so I'm just going to have to make another copy and push that copy further...I'm wimping out of going to far with this guy, cause I REALLY like him!
You can find the original art on my Pinterest board 'Copycat With Respect' or if you speak (I believe) Japanese, HERE.  I believe the original artist's name is Kamoko Sakai and I think their art is MAGNIFICENT!!!

In 2015, I am open to CHANGE.  I am open to feeling fear, facing it, and taking the chance anyway.

In 2015, I want to feel FREE.  I want to feel, at last, as though I am the only person deciding my fate.

In 2015, I will say no to (paraphrasing Walt Whitman) THAT WHICH INSULTS MY SOUL.  I will say no to anything I choose, without feeling guilty and without feeling as though I have to explain my choice.

In 2015, I will know I am on the right track when I JUST KNOW.  I honestly and truly believe that I will be doing some mundane thing in the new year and it will suddenly occur to me that I am on the right track...that the things I had previously only had words for will have finally be put into action...there will be proof, physical evidence that my goals are being met and my dreams are coming true.  If, after that happens, I find myself veering off course, I will gently but firmly REFOCUS and REDIRECT myself.  I will remind myself, in times where I doubt or question, that I am in control.  If I find I don't like where I'm at, I have the ability to change it.  I've lived with very little before and, if need be, I can do it again.  Hard work never hurt anybody, and it's not going to start hurting anyone anytime soon...I will not be afraid of having to work hard to make my ideals come to fruition. 

In December 2015, I want to look back and say THIS YEAR, I WAS THE HAPPIEST I HAVE EVER BEEN.  I want to be able say that I didn't waste another year waiting for change to happen...but, instead, that I went out into the world and I made those changes I longed for.  I want to be able to say that I KNOW I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICES FOR ME and that I AM LIVING A LIFE THAT I'M PROUD OF.

I hope too, that all my Reverb buddies (and anyone reading this) will be able to say the same thing: that in 2015, we are the happiest we have ever been...we made the things we longed for become our reality...we made the right choices...we are proud of where we are in our lives...and that we are looking forward, in eager anticipation, to the joys that each new day will bring. 

♥♥♥

Reverb14 Days 1-3

I wanted to play along with Kat McNally's REVERB14, which I found out about through the fabulously interesting DEBORAH WEBER, but I missed the first couple days, so I wanted to catch up...

I thought I'd share a few sketches with you from my bedroom sketchbook while I answer the questions..."bedroom" because I sketch before I go to sleep...not because there are naughty drawings in it...shame on you for thinking such a thing! Heathens!  :)

Day 1 question: What can you say right now with certainty?

First, that I'm never certain about anything...we've talked about this before... 

Second, that the year is almost over.  And this means that I've almost finished two year-long projects, Documented Life and Journal 52.  And I'm certain that I'm REALLY proud of myself for sticking with it.  I can be a bit flaky at times and I wanted to work on that...and now, a few weeks short of a year later, I can finally say that, even though I can be flaky, I can also see things through to completion!  That's a big deal for me!

And third, related to the second thing, I am certain that I have grown a lot this past year.  I'm really happy that I have the blog, because it shows me how far I've come.  Sometimes I take baby steps, and sometimes I backslide, but looking back over this past year through the eye of the blog, I really have made forward progress!  That's an AWESOME feeling!

I use the bedroom sketchbook as a place where I can blatantly copy (well, as closely as I can...) cool sketches I've seen on Pinterest.  You can see the originals on my Pinterest board, "Copycat With Respect".

Day 2 question: What unfinished projects from 2014 are you willing to release now? (Regret not required.)  

Last December, which seems worlds away, one of my goals for 2014 was to get better at realistic drawings...there was a plan, involving a sketchbook and a determined attitude...but that plan ended up not happening.  And that's ok.  Overall, my art has improved.  I've done enough practicing that it has to have improved!  I will take one small step in the right direction over being stagnant any day!  

That doesn't mean that I've completely let go of this goal.  It just means that I release it for now.  I tend to put a lot on my plate and then can't finish it all (I think it's one of the reasons I end up being 'flaky')...and that's what happened with this goal.  That doesn't mean I won't keep trying in the future, just that I'm ok with the fact that I didn't put that much effort into it so far.

I like so many different styles of art and I constantly try to make progress...I want to get a little better with every attempt!  And I think that learning more about one kind of art, getting better at one style of it, improves my artist's eye over all.  And that's FANTASTIC!

So maybe 2015 will be the year of the realistic drawing...or maybe it won't.  As long as I keep making art and as long as I slowly and steadily keep improving at it, that's more than enough for me.

These bunnies were too cute not to try to copy them!

Day 3 question: It's all too easy to put off loving where we are until everything is perfect.  What can you love about where you are now?

At this exact moment, I'm loving that I have some good friends in my life...especially the kind of friend who buys me Mexican food...which happened last night.  I haven't had a spontaneous outing with a friend for a really, really, really long time...and it was SO FUN!

Despite my recent realization that I've somehow become a person who likes consistency and routine, there are still times that it makes me feel a little like a caged bird.  So it's good to be able to stretch my wings a bit and remember the feeling of enjoying the unexpected...even when that feeling comes as a result of a friend locking her keys in her house!  (It was Sweets to the rescue...I felt like Underdog: "Here I am to save the day!")

It's nice to have someone in my life who I can laugh with, take turns venting frustrations with, and someone who will tell me the truth, even if that's not what I want to hear.  Finding someone who will be honest with you (especially someone who does it in a kind way) is a rare and glorious thing, and it's very precious to me.

And who doesn't love a good fairy godmother!  I am pretty darn proud of this one!  My copying skills at their finest! 

So now I'm caught up  with Reverb14...despite my love of all things art journaling, I do like a good set of writing prompts once in a while!  I think it stretches my creative brain in a different direction.  I think, if inspiration strikes, I might like to make pages to go along with some of the prompts...but we'll see how it goes...

December has kind of turned into a blog-a-thon month for me...three posts in three days?!?  Crazy!  You know, I haven't done a single blog-a-thon all year, and last year I did several...  Maybe a December blog-a-thon will send 2014 off right?  I mean, I'm accidentally off to a good start...perhaps we'll see how far I can get before the laziness kicks in? 

Dish

The prompt for this week's JOURNAL 52 was "Favorite Foods"...and liberties were taken with this one...LIBERTIES!!!

Here's what I did:

"Whatever you cook"
"Boy! What a swell dish"

I blatantly copied this week's page from an image I saw on Pinterest...I've had this gal pinned forever!  ...I'm so happy I finally got to use her!!!

I couldn't find anything about the original artist, so I can't give credit where it's due...if you know who it is, please let me know!  I really adore her so much:

The original...wish I could find the original artist's name/info to share!

The only thing I added to it was "Whatever you cook", and that's what I'm going with as my favorite food at the moment.  I work til late in the evening, so when I get home, I'm strongly opposed to cooking...so I don't.  There's just me and my husband, and he's fully capable of feeding himself, so I just plop down in my studio and occasionally eat slices of American cheese if I get too hungry.  ...I recognize that this is solid laziness, but I'm comfortable with that...

The silly part about it is that I actually like to cook...or at least I used to.  But I got out of the habit of it (and have no desire to get back into it) so I don't cook anymore.  I also only wash my laundry...and I don't vacuum ever.  I'm basically just here to look good...

I wish you could have heard my husband's reaction to this page...which was something like "Is she only wearing an apron?!?  ...That can't be sanitary."  I think the full effect of the pin-up girl is lost on him...