A Mark In Time

I’m often asked how I come up with an idea for what I make. I can tell you there is no rhyme or reason to it. I see something I like and just add bits to it that I sort through in a box of good quality crap I like to call it.

I often think my designs are too simple but I like a clean look if I can I like to do cold connections so you can see where its connected or to make that a feature in itself.

Below are the things I started with: a old pen tin,tin photo and a Aussie Military

The beginning collecting my bits and pieces try to work out a design

Okay I like this now how to connect it together? No glue i say (No Glue Lobue taught me this)

This is the amazing Riveting tool I'm sell on my website A Mark In Time I so love this tool its amazing and so easy to use.First I punch a hole.

You can rivet and also eyelet with this machine with just the change part to your tool.

I have used it here to set two rivets.

A close up of the rivet going in.

This is the finished product I added a copper number nail at the bottom of the tin photo.Now I have to decide a brooch or pendant.

Art n Soul Virginia Blog Hop 2012

I’m so excited to be teaching at Art n Soul Virginia 1^st March to 6th March 2012. To meet friends I have made from Last years art n soul retreat and to meet new people, my students for one and other fellow teachers. One lady I’m looking forward to meeting is the very talented Catherine Anderson.Her is a bio on this talented lady:

Catherine Anderson is one of those fortunate people who spends her days doing what she loves, be it teaching in her studio, exploring with her camera, journaling, mindfully walking her labyrinth, creating with fabric, image, paper, collage, and other mediums, and generally living a creative life. Catherine's journey of self-discovery has taken her from attorney, to photography-franchise owner, to creativity workshop facilitator. Catherine's book "The Creative Photographer" combines inspiration, instruction, and hands-on exercises to help you take your photography to a more creative level as well as encouraging you to share your images in ways well beyond a simple print. The book encourages you to play and experiment, to open your eyes to see the world in interesting and fresh ways, to notice the extraordinary in the everyday, and to try easy ways to use image-processing software for creative exploration.

Below is Catherine's Book The Creative Photographer

Catherine is teaching at Virginia the classes Below

Photo Transformations - Monday, March 5

Inspired Vision - Sunday, March 4

Here is a Interview I did with Catherine please enjoy getting to know the lovely Catherine Anderson.
Jen: What aspect of teaching do you love the most?

Catherine:

I love seeing students believe in themselves as creative souls by the end of a workshop. Encouraging and inspiring students to see the world around them in new ways excites me. It took me so many years to believe that I was creative and so I really understand the way we can undermine ourselves. It is only through experimenting and playing that we are able to grow creatively, but so often we think we have to be perfect and get it right at the beginning. I love encouraging students to follow their own uniqueness and to believe in their creative voice. When I discovered my creative voice it opened me up to a whole world of joy that changed my life. I was no longer dependent on a person or thing to make me happy, I had the power to make myself happy by immersing myself in creating. I love to share this sense with others.

Jen: Do you follow any routines or rituals in making your art?

Catherine:I have a small altar in my studio with a number of items that mean something to me on the altar (such as shells and icons). I light my candle and ask for help from the unseen world when I am starting on a new project. Often I just light the candle and say “thank you”. I am very grateful that I am able to spend most of my days doing those things that make my heart sing: creating and teaching.

Jen:How do you deal with what you might see as failure in your work?

Catherine:

There is no such thing as a failure. It is all experimenting and learning. Failure presumes that there is only one way to do something. I believe there are many ways to do the same thing. I often welcome a “wrong turn” in a creative process as it so often allows me to exercise my creative muscles as I try to come up with a way of turning the “wrong turn” into a more exciting path than the one I thought I wanted to follow.

Jen :What advice do you have for someone beginning their art journey?

Catherine:

Create art for yourself, not for others. Do it because it brings you joy. When we start creating what we think others will like or will buy, rather than what we love, some of the joy goes out of it and we start thinking about the product, rather than enjoying the process. Don’t compare yourself to others. We so often think that because we are not as good as someone who has been creating for 20 years that we have no talent. Only ever compare yourself with yourself. Constantly improve yourself and look to learning new things or practicing old things. National Geographic photographers take 12,000 photographers for an article and only ten of those are used. If you took 12,000 photographs you might also have ten good ones! Other photographers admit that they only have one exhibition quality photograph in approximately every 3,600 they make. Even Ansel Adams said that twelve good photographs in a year was a good crop. So be patient with yourself. Create first drafts, second drafts, third drafts. Each draft will be an improvement on the previous one and will lead you towards the magical end result.

If your interested in going to Catherine's class have a look on the Art n Soul webs site

I hope you enjoyed this interview Now on to the giveaway:
So what do you have to do to win? All you have to do is leave a comment on what type of art workshop you would be interested in taking and why. On Jan 31, I will pull a random generator number, and that lucky person wins the jammed-packed-full-of-goodness ephemera pack!

The giveaway prize is so generously being donated by generous Judy Gula of Artistic Artifacts.
Make sure you leave a comment to be in the draw.
Continue this blog hop with me tommorow is the talented Serena Barton

The winner of the giveaway was Penny Compton from Australia