20 things you can do to kickstart your creativity

http://fluxplay.blogspot.com/2010/03/20-things-you-can-do-to-kickstart-your.html

This post comes from the website of Maria Whetman. She is a jeweler in the UK who works with silver and recycled tin. Her website is here:
http://www.fluxplay.co.uk/

Maria has some great ideas and I already do some of them like looking through old journals from years ago to get inspiration. I also like her idea of taking the train someplace I've never been or a class in something that's out of my usual realm...like foraging for edible mushrooms!

Her work is delightful and inspiring.

My kitty Delilah is inspired by Peonies

In Praise of Idleness

I love this article printed in the New York Times. Read it!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/

Life is too short to be busy.

More needle felting and knitting up on Etsy

Here are two new listings for my Etsy shop, Artnest. One is a needle felted pin in the shape of a house with embroidery and seed beads. The other is a hand knit scarf with fabulous colors which are good for chasing away the winter blues.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/artnestbydiane

Needle felted pin with hand dyed silk and beads

Hand knit ribbed scarf

Inspiration: Leonore Tawney

I have just come across this artist who lived to be 100 years old, Leonore Tawney. She was quite a revolutionary artist, working as a weaver and collage artist.

"She manipulated her weavings into sculptural forms such as The King Iand The Queen, 1962, a revolutionary concept at the time.

Many of her works incorporate handwritten and printed manuscripts in a variety of languages from the early Discours Historiques,1966, and Epîtres, 1967, to That Other Sea, 1967, and Distilla, 1967. More often than not she employed strips of paper in a weaverly fashion."

http://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/lenore-tawney-spiritual-revolutionary

Google her to find out more about this inspiring woman and artist.

Improvisational Quilts at Penland with Sherry Lynn Wood

Hi Ya'll. I can't upload any pictures yet, but go here if you want to see what my class has been up too.
www.daintytime.net

Today we went to an all town garage sale in a town nearby...I found a lot of old linens and antiques cotton baby dresses to incorporate into quilts. Oh, found a fez too. Where making flags for the Penland 4th of July parade. I love being in the South in the summer. I'm seeing fireflies and listening to cicadas every night. In our workshop we listen to John Cage and some folk music too.

More details when I get home!

Vera : The Art and Life of an Icon

"It doesn't matter where I go as long as I break my routine and see new things." – Vera Neumann

This book is a must read for all lovers of color and for textile artists (who are probably all lovers of color anyway!). Vera: The Art and Life of an Icon

I can relate to much about her life, including the inspiration she gets from travel. She was a woman way ahead of her time. She was one of the first to copyright and license her work. All her scarves started with an original painting. She introduced Op-Art designs in the late 50's. She reminds me of Sara Little Turnball. I like to imagine that they knew each other.

Cover of the book.

Inspiration: Mixed Media Artist Christine Sauer

I'm planning to attend Confluence, a conference put on the the Surface Design Association. I was looking through their member gallery and came across the work of Christine Sauer. It's wonderful. She uses crochet, freehand stitching, embroidery and machine stitching. Visit her website to see more of her great work. www.christinesauer.com

Mixed Media Contstruction by Christine Sauer

Maira Kalman at the Jewish Museum in NYC

My favorite illustrator is Maira Kalman. She has an exhibition of her work going on at the Jewish Museum. Check it out if you can...it's just up the street from the Cooper - Hewitt museums and the Guggenheim, both of which have great shows right now.

http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/mkalman

Thinking about snowboards today.

I don't snowboard but the graphics on them sure are cool. I'm going on an interview with a company that designs things for snowboarders so I've been doing some research today. I like this one by B.O.N.E.

Mop Chandelier

Check out this mop chandelier showcased on Design Sponge. Way cool.
Click here to read all about it.

Felt Jewelry Artists - Inspiration

I happened to see some felt bracelets by Cynthia Toops at Souvenir in Ballard. They blew me a way. Cynthia has done intricate and wonderful jewelry in polymer clay in the past and I didn't know she was now working in felt. Apparently she's in a new book that's coming out. The link to the book is below. Wow. I'm blown away and inspired by her work and the other artists in the book.

http://bijoucontemporain.unblog.fr/2010/07/21/felt-jewelry-upcoming-book-500-felt-objects/

Cargo - the most amazing store in Portland

I took a trip to the Rose City (portland, or) last week. I visited some of my favorite stores and discovered some new ones. Cargo, in the Pearl District is a must see on every trip. It's like walking into 100 foreign countries at once.

Yummy Goods - Inspiration

I just found this website and totally love it. Yummy Goods.  www.yummygoods.com

It's done by Melissa Averinos: self proclaimed fabric designer, author, shopgirl, painter, Cape Codder, good listener and lover of pie.

Check it out.

 

Resurrection Fern - Inspirations and things to make with your two hands

I'm blown away by the blog, Resurrection Fern by Margaret Oomen. I showed some of Margaret's crocheted rocks a few posts back. Now she is sharing tutorials for all sorts of wonderful handmade things. You can learn how to knit a forest,make a snowflake pendant and much, much more. She's my new favorite artist and her website is so inspiring. She also has a store on Etsy where she sells her handmade things. You can buy pictures of the crocheted rocks there.

Wow, Look at this crochet!

I just saw this over at Lucky Handmade...the crochet work of Margaret Ooman.
http://luckyouhandmade.blogspot.com/

See her etsy shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop/knitalatte

Inspiration- Textile Designer from Madrid

I found this textile designer from Madrid, Monica Romero Martin, while doing a search on LinkedIn.
http://www.porvariosmotivos.blogspot.com/

I love her palette.

Inspiration - Apolline a Paris - handmade dolls and other Wonderful Things

See here website here:

http://www.apollineaparis.com/

Inspiration - Julia Rothman

I love the work of artist Julia Rothman. Her designs are on the cover of two new pattern books by Reprodepot...another inspiring place to visit.

Joseph Beuys - Inspiration

CREATIVITY

"One of Joseph Beuys' fundamental messages, delivered again and again in lectures, interviews, and artworks, was that human beings can and must learn to be creative in many different ways. His famous slogan "Everyone is an artist" was not meant to suggest that all people should or could be creators of traditional artworks. Rather, he meant that we should not see creativity as the special realm of artists, but that everyone should apply creative thinking in their own area of specialization--whether it be law, agriculture, physics, education, homemaking, or the fine arts."

Quote from the Walker Art Center's website.

Inspiration - Lit

Check this out, Lit.