This month I have signed up for some art classes with a dear friend. I have been away from this type of thing for a couple of years, and quite honestly, even though I love to do art in any medium, I seldom seem to find the time when I'm NOT in a class! Well, anyway, the timing is right because I have actually done some pieces on my own, and now also in my art classes. I am LOVING it!
The first thing I have done in a while was a wax piece for my daughter. This was a special piece of art because it contains within it her actual wedding flowers which have been pressed. The whole piece is reminiscent of her wedding - the colors, the decorations, the words I used, the theme and of course the flowers.
I started off with bits of color and some fall scrapbook paper. Then I added background words using words printed onto tissue paper (that is a very tricky think to do by the way - tissue paper doesn't pull through the printer without jamming it!). I also added some silk leaves that were actually used as decorations at the reception around the border of the piece. At this point I was ready to start adding the wedding flowers.
Once the flowers were on, I completed the piece with some curving lines, a photograph of the bride and groom and the words - all of which are a laser transfer. I included the theme that they had on their wedding invitation as well as some other pertinent information. As one final touch I added a small transfer of the temple that they were married in. That was my first piece of art completed in a long time.
The next thing I want to mention is the piece that we were instructed to do in our art class last week. We were given a magazine, a piece of watercolor paper and a picture frame. We could have brought additional items, but for some reason I hadn't received the material list, so all I had was just my basic stuff - no odds and ends at all! Well, the assignment was to create a piece of art that said something. The instructor also had some colored cardstock that we could use, which I ended up needing. I decided to make 3 dimensional flowers from the magazine pages. I also found a picture of sunflowers among the pages of the magazine and decided to make a letter from it. The theme or saying I used was, "Be Always Blooming". As I worked, I realized that there was no way I could finish the piece in class, I needed stuff from home. However, the following day, I finished the piece at home. This is my second art project of the year....
Once I got it home I was able to add in some color in the background using shimmering watercolors. I added the rest of my letters using my cricut and the card stock I had from the class. As a final touch I added some dimensional glue and some glitter to the leaves, words and butterfly. I worked until I was satisfied with how it looks and then I added the scripture reference for Galatians 5:22-23. I chose this scriptures because if we are always blooming, there is always fruit...
The third project I have on the go was started days before I started my art class. At that time, I began to remember a technique I was introduced to last summer, but have not been able to do anything with. I decided to look it up and see if I could learn to do it on my own. The technique is called rouging and I am loving it! Here is my piece so far...
I have several more colors to add before it is done, but I am really enjoying this technique.
In all truth, I don't know what it is about art that I love so much, but I have found that as I learn new techniques, and apply them to my own small creations, I have become so much more aware of the beauties that surround me every day. I LOVE how the light can make a thousand different pictures of the very same view. I love how the variety of colors makes the same types of flowers more interesting. I love to see how nature blends colors, and then try to imitate that with my paint brush. But no matter how much I do, or how many techniques I try, I am always in awe of the ability of my Father in Heaven to bless us with a new beauty found in each new sunrise or cloud burst that is resplendent in the sky! I am in awe at the detail of each flower, and the feelings that such things evoke in me. Perhaps that is what I am trying to catch in my art, that wonderful feeling of overwhelming, heart filled, awe and gratitude to my Heavenly Father.
A few years back, I was selling some of my art at a local farmers market, and I had a lady come by my table and admire some of my pieces. And then she said something to me that I will never forget. She looked me in the eye and said, "You love the Lord don't you." I responded, "Yes, very much, but how could you tell?" Her reply was simple, "It is in your paintings."
Yes, that is why I paint. It is one way that I can thank the Lord for the bounties and beauties that I am blessed to enjoy, and then, I can in some small measure, share those things with others.
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