Warming Up With New Pencils

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….trying out my new pencil crayons that my son-in-law gave me for Christmas

To start the New Year out right I signed up for a three hour art class that went live over Zoom. There were over 500 people in the class and I recognized a few faces that I’ve come to know from Carla Sonheim’s on-line classes.

The class was intended to bring out our creative juices in writing and drawing. It was hosted by Carla Sonheim and Chris Wells and featured painter, Bobby Lucy and Guitarist, Jeremy Bass. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable session. I especially enjoyed the writing activities.

Before the class began I put together some art tools for the class and I came a cross an old ink line drawing that I had done years ago. I decided to test out my new coloured pencils that my son-in-law gave me for Christmas. The colours were rich and lovely to work with and gave the old line painting new life. My first official bit of art for 2021.

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Getting Back to Art Making

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…there are lots of free tutorials on the internet

Sometimes you need to start small to get back into the groove. With Covid-19 and self isolating there is only so much cleaning a person can do. I managed to clear away enough clutter from my art table and I tuned to Sketchbook Skool’s free classes called the Drawing Party.

Today I did the first two classes. It gave me just enough inspiration to get my creative juices flowing. The first lesson focused on laying down shapes of colour and then adding detail with black ink. I pretty much followed Danny’s lead but I can see doing this on my own. For the colour I used my chalk markers and Artist Loft markers.

The second class was all about slowing down and drawing lots of detail. My subject was a dried up hydrangea.

New Flower (February 20, 2020) – Purple and White Orchid

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New Flower (February 10, 2020) – Orange Chandelier Plant

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Adding Music to my Creativity Experience – Day 23

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Rainee for introducing me to the 30 Day Creativity Challenge

Last week I started piano lessons. I have a beautiful baby grand piano sitting in my living room that no one has played in almost 20 years. Last year I had it tuned but I finally found a piano teacher who comes to my house for 40 minutes on Thursday mornings.

Gerry is also teaching my neighbour across the street and that is how I got to meet him. Little did I know last week that I would be starting my first lesson the same day. I am a complete newbie and he’s started me on scales and reading simple music. Luckily I know how to read the treble clef notes and I know where middle C is. I’ve been a good girl and have practised every day. I even went out and purchased some beginner piano books from our local thrift store.

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Anyway I need to warm up before he gets here this morning. Wish me luck.

A “Flow” of Creative Paintings

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Rainee for hosting the 30 Day Creativity Challenge

Although Rainee has completed her 30 days I’m only on day 9. Today my creative activity was taking in the creativity of others. I made a trip to the Women’s Art Association of Canada in Toronto and took in the new show called Flow. I was truly inspired by the work of these amazing artists.

30 Day Creativity Challenge – Day 6

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Rainee for hosting the 30 Day Creativity Challenge

Today I finished my scarf. I was hoping to have enough yarn left over to add a bit of fringe. It was not in the pattern.

I’ve just finished adding the fringe. There was just enough left to make two large tassels. 3228C05B-7945-43D4-9DA1-73310C374E84 F81A3CB8-DED7-48C9-8489-C709992CCA02

Day 5 of the Creativity Challenge

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….I picked up my inks and pens for this one

On Creative Bug there are numerous daily creative challenges for all kinds of art and craft projects. I usually go to the drawing and painting section but I have used some of their knitting patterns and DIY projects. I went back to one of my favourite artists on Creative Bug, Lisa Congdon for her 31 Days of Drawing and Painting with Ink Challenge.

For today’s creative project I chose to paint Barnacles. You start with a light layer of ink and then add lines in a pattern that resembles a barnacle. It is very meditative. AD747B4F-E142-4138-8D53-98AEED876FE7

Thanks to All About Words for hosting The 30 Day Creativity Challenge

30 Day Creativity Challenge – Day 4

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…..my attempt at free form poetry

Sisters and Cousins

Sisters

sibling rivalry

shared memories

some bad but mostly good

some forgotten

others not

separated by marriage and distance

reunited by an aging parent

and children

Cousins

offspring of the sisters

separate lives

because of distance,

circumstance and work

a longing for family connection

reunited because of their children

an unbreakable bond of love

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Four generations; Dad, my sister and I, my youngest daughter and her daughter and my sister’s son and daughter and her daughter’s son.

Thanks to Rainee for hosting The 30 Day Creativity Challenge

Creativity Challenge – Day 3

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….today I started a new crochet project

I’m more of a knitter but last year I decided I wanted to learn how to crochet. I took a class and discovered that I already had the basics down. After crocheting a few coffee cozies and dish clothes I stopped. Before I did that though I bought a pattern and yarn to make a shawl. It was suppose to be easy but every time I looked at it I couldn’t figure out the pattern. I’m very much a visual learner and I know that if somehow showed me how to start I’d be fine.

This week I came across a pattern for a very easy scarf that just uses double crochet. No problem…..until I started and I had a nagging feeling that I wasn’t doing it correctly. I went to the computer and a youtube video popped up and sure enough I was doing it incorrectly. Luckily I hadn’t done too many stitches and once I got going it was quite easy. The scarf is crocheted along the length so there are only 15 rows but I had to start with 223 chains. I’m just finishing my 4th row. It’s quite addictive and I’m sure I can finish in a few days. Here’s what it looks like so far. 6D16C6ED-2B49-4976-883A-BF42BCC937BC