Kayaks, Summer Sketches, Cherry Blossoms & ICAD 2016

Summer is a crazy kind of different!

The daily routine is just not the same.  What time do we get up now?  When is lunch?  What should we eat? (Can't I just go back out to my art room?)  Can we really call it a routine?  Like making my way through a darkened room, I am feeling my way through the non-scheduled months.  It's a feat to keep some sort of routine especially where art is related!  It's easier if I'm being flexible.  In the back of my mind, there's a commitment to not relapse into an artistic drought.  At this time last summer, my art room was just beginning to be situated for daily use.  Many new routines and goals are in progress now.  While I want to hold on to making art, I don't want to miss the joys of summer!  Children are at home for the summer days.  We all adjust.  I embrace life in this season.  These days zip by and won't be back again!



We've got two kayaks this season; they are such a great addition to our family time on the area lakes/reservoirs.  We'll have many summer afternoons spent on the water.  There's just something so therapeutic about water.  A few strokes of the paddle and I'm in the middle of this expanse of water.  A new perspective of the land and the surface below makes me want to take pause and soak it up.  Now that our kids are in their teens, we focus on what will interest them so they'll look forward to family getaways.  Here, we think we've scored in that department!  They have always loved the water, but the days of rolling up your pant legs and wading along the shore are gone.

Brave Enough: Artist Camping and ICAD 2016

It has been hard to give up the Thursday blog post for this week.  Here it is Friday night, and I just need to build a post because I have stuff I want to share.  I'm feeling like I've jumped some hurdles art wise.  If you've been following along, you're aware that the travel art kit has traveled but not gotten used on previous trips.

 While we were away camping over the Memorial Day weekend, I was able to pull out the watercolor palette.  It was so sweetly calming even with the chilly weather, I didn't mind bundling up to stay by the fire.  It felt great to fill a page in the watercolor sketch book!  I read Wideness & Wonder, The Life and Art of Georgia O'Keeffe by Susan Goldman Rubin.  It's an artist biography for young readers.  It's a beautiful book and perfect length for anyone short on time for reading.

Last summer, I joined in on the index card a day challenge or ICAD.  It's a challenge to create something with or on an index card, one a day, for the months of June and July.  It was difficult for me to find my groove in the challenge.  I was feeling a great need to be more creative.  Within myself, I felt out of shape art wise.  It seemed forced, disjointed, and frustrating.  I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with the art supplies.

Without much time spent using my art supplies, the creative energy did not flow easily.  Knowing it was time to quit avoiding this struggle, I kept pushing forward, even if I didn't like what I made in the end.  I made the challenge for 8 days.  That's it...barely more than a week.  In that week, I did make my way over some hurdles.  It wasn't a complete failure though I took it rather hard.  Somehow, it fueled me to be more determined in my artistic pursuit.  The incomplete ICAD challenge led me to many new goals in the past year.

Day 7 index card has been trimmed and placed in a small gold trimmed frame.  This little painting gave me hope that I could find my way back to more art on a regular basis.

On day 8, my last card of 2015, my index card has my words of challenge to myself,

"Am I brave...enough to step out & find out what I can do AND whether anyone will appreciate what comes from my mind to the paper through my hands and my brush...let's see!"

I am taking the ICAD challenge for June and July of 2016.  I want to see what it brings this year.  I am in better condition, excited and ready to see what waits to be created on an index card!  I'm taking the nature inspired route with various plants as my subject matter.  That may change before June is done.

If you'd like to follow my creative Instagram feed, search christysheeler.artist.

I will link to the Daisy Yellow ICAD information so that you can give it a try!

Thanks for dropping in to let me share this quick update!  Please drop in again soon!  I'll be sure to keep the inspirations flowing through words and photographs.  My camera waits to have the memory card unloaded; we'll see what treasures I captured on our camping trip.  I believe we are finally going to experience summer here in Montana...oh, wait that could change withing the next 5 minutes.

I'm relieved to have the survived the past two weeks!  It's been crazy busy and now I'll be able to clean up my work area and begin again.   I'm weary and resting up to get busy in the art studio with artwork again.

What challenge can you give yourself?  What hurdle are you afraid to attempt?  What is holding you back from trying even if you fail?  Like me, maybe you need to change your idea of failing.  Maybe it's time for you to give it another try.

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely."  -Henry Ford

Christy
-she must make art.