Thanksgiving Sale

Posted by Joye18 on November 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Art Cards

Starting today I am having a being thankful for Joyefulart sale in my Etsy shop.. This sale will last until December 2, 2010.
Please enter coupon code joyefulthanks1 in the check out and you will receive 10% off.I have earrings, pendants, lockets, note cards, and art for sale. Please come and visit and enjoy!

mother earrings

Inspiration Thursday: Producing Art

Posted by Joye18 on November 18, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Sometimes I think I must be out of my mind. I have a M.A. in Audiology and worked as a clinical audiologist for 10 years. But I was always creating, sketching, dreaming up new pieces to design, paint, sew, knit,….so, with the wonderful support of my husband, I quit and started art classes. I have been improving and creating ever since, making oh so much less money, but happy. What inspires me? The process of creating, it is as simple as that.

Making art

Remember those days of painting with the big plastic or wooden easel and loving the way the brush would squish and slide on the paper with lots of juicy paint? You had in it your imagination what the thing was you were painting and it was fun. And as Dr. Seuss says, “Fun is Good”. It is, but what art lovers should realize is that making art is serious, lots of work, and it is not about the money. If it was, we would all have quit long ago. It is about following our passion and presenting it to the world, hoping that it will be appreciated. Even if it is not, we still are compelled to make art.

watercolor cards

I work full time at my art. I write my blog, list on Etsy, photograph my art, design my website, send emails about my art, go to shows and openings, package my pieces, frame my paintings, buy supplies, mail artwork, buy business cards, make flyers, and, oh yeah, I work in my studio. Why do I keep doing this? Because I simply love to create.

Watercolor pencils

Wednesday’s Creative Tip: A Word, Rock

Posted by Joye18 on November 17, 2010 · 6 Comments

Rocks

I have been participating in some blogging fun for the past couple weeks, It is called Week Word and each week an author of a blog picks a word and we are to write, make art, or generally be creative with this word. This is an excellent exercise to get your creative juices flowing! This week the word is “rock” picked by Maria, at Simply Cool Stuff .
Wow, what an awesome word! It seemed at first thought that there is nothing to a rock, but then I started to let the word stew and percolate and this is what the rock means to me. Foundation, unmoving, solid. Homes, buildings are built on and out of rocks. Something that is always there, steady as a rock.

Summergarden

Many homes here in Eastern Pennsylvania are basically made of rocks, specifically, Wissahickon Stone.
Then there is the artistic aspect. I really believe in the Asian principle of putting chi in the painting you are creating. In other words, everything around us has the force of nature in it, even a rock. So when painting, and looking at a rock, an artist can concentrate on that chi and try to infuse the nature force of all objects painted (even the rocks!) onto the canvas or paper so the viewer will absorb the force and life energy when gazing at the artwork.

Japanese tree

Wednesday’s Creative Tip: Smile

Posted by Joye18 on November 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Did you ever notice that if you smile at someone, the majority of the time they will smile back? You have to smile, catch their eye and let them know that the smile you are projecting is directed at them. It is disarming really. I mean if you are in a really bad mood and someone smiles at you, don’t you feel, wow, that human I don’t even know, gave enough thought and caring to actually smile at me, my mood lifts just a little. I love smiling at people. It is a habit I got from my dad. He always smiled at random people and often said hi, and he meant it. That is the key, you have to mean your smile, send waves of hey your ok to another human. How cool is that? Of course, I grew up in the midwest, we are born with smiles.

baby

I went on a short flight today to visit family. I decided to really think about smiling. First, I smiled at the ticket agent, who actually smiled back and giggled! I said, seems like you are in a good mood today, and she said yes, and wasn’t sure why. Then there was the extra long line at Philly airport security. I smiled at the person behind me and we started talking. Turns out, she and her husband live in Mendocino, Ca. where I and my husband love to visit. We ended up trading business cards and said we would email each other. Ok, fast forward to the airport doo dads clerk. I smiled at him and asked him about his day. Turns out he is a freshman at Temple U, misses his hometown of D.C., but loves his campus. Smiled my way to my airplane and onto waiting for the bus, where I smiled and said hello to the young man standing next to me. I think he was genuinely surprised, we then started to chat about the bus, weather, and bid each other a good day. Then I saw my family and really gave a huge smile. Not sure where the creative tip is in here except that smiling opens up relationships with people. It makes each other feel good and who knows what you can learn from each other. My dad said all people have a story to tell and are trying their best to get by.

We love you

It seems to me that a smile makes it that much easier for all involved to get by. It’s contagious you know.
The bad thing about blogging is that you can’t see me smiling and I can’t see you smiling back.

Smiling

Read more at: Things to do on a Rainy Day.

Filed under Featured Posts, Inspiration for Art · Tagged with creative tips, smiling

A Day in the Life: Green, the Color

Posted by Joye18 on November 2, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Hidden Spring

Green was the subject of my watercolor class tonight. Living in Pennsylvania, I am surrounded by green for 3/4 of the year. Anyone who wants to attempt to do any kind of landscape or still life painting here must know how to deal with this ubiquitous color. Here is the secret to painting green, you must have lots of different shades of this rich color. Dark green, yellow green, pale green, blue green, you get the picture. Look outside at the foliage around you and pick out all the different greens that you see.