37 days to wake up

I had been blogging here about a year or so when I stumbled on Patti Digh's wonderful soulful blog: 37 DAYS. Patti posed this question on her blog: "What would you be doing today if you only had 37 days to live? The death of her stepfather just 37 days after being diagnosed with cancer woke Patti Digh up, scared her, and made her examine her own life..." One result was her blog--37 DAYS--where she has touched thousands of readers lives with her inspiring life stories---and recipes for "living without regrets, no matter how many days you have left."

Now Patti has created a book--LIFE IS A VERB--- from her many inspirational blog posts. In the process of writing and creating her book she also invited her blog readers to contribute the art work for the book. Inspired by an artist trading card that blog reader Donna B. Miller sent her--she posted an invitation on her blog for others to create art---in the same artist trading card format---for various essays in the book. She received over 120 pieces of art in 2 weeks.

I was one of those artists who responded to Patti's invitation and created 2 illustrations--which I am proud to say are in this book (pp. 22 & 49).

Rather than explain the images and words I used in these two illustrations---I am instead urging you to buy Patti's book--LIFE IS A VERB--- and read the two essays that these accompany. This is one book you will never be sorry you purchased--one you will want to read over and over and write in the margins and dog-ear as it accompanies you through your life. Thanks Patti! for such a wonderful gift to us all and for being you.

37 Days Art

Over on her blog 37 Days, Patti Digh sent out an invite to artists to illustrate some of the essays from her blog for her forthcoming book. If you have never read her blog---get right on over there and check it out! she has some of the best thoughtful and poetic essay writing on the web, in my opinion.

I decided to try this challenge (as she termed it) and she sent me this essay titled Just Wave to illustrate. She wanted the illustrations to be ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) in size--and we had to have 37 days and the name of the essay somewhere in the illustration.

I chose to make mine a mixed media piece--with my own drawing and artwork, and lace and sewing on the papers with my sewing machine.

I created the art for this essay, Just Wave, in a "creative frenzy"---I just started selecting images from my stash of papers and old sketches, and added lace and started sewing. I sewed on more layers, cut off parts and sewed more--- the piece basically grew as I made it. I did start with an image in my mind, but only a vague image---which included hands and a house---or the shape of a house. The bird is a photocopy of a small part of another painting I made---and I'm still not sure how the bird relates to this essay, but it fit with the art, so into the piece it went. I worked on this all day without stopping at all--even to eat--until it was done, and I was totally absorbed in the creative process the whole time---"in the zone" is how I think of this state. This is one of the highest pleasures for me--finding that creative zone--completely in the moment, creating one piece of art. So for me, most of the time---art making is more about the process than the end product. I found this essay an inspiration, and so slipped into the zone easily and the piece just formed without much real effort like sometimes happens in the studio--on a very good day.

I created a computer illustration for another of her essays the next day; I created this one totally on the computer and I never quite got into "the creative zone." Upon reflecting on the 2 very different creative processes, I began to wonder if I require working with more tactile materials than a computer to find that zone.

Beaded ATC

Here is a beaded Artist Trading Card I made while visiting and playing a year or so ago (oh my! I think it was 2 years ago now--how time flies)--my friend Kari's wonderful fine art/craft studio in Sitka, Alaska. Kari & I planned a 3 day mini "artist retreat"--we asked her husband to take her kids camping and we just played and created in her studio for 3 days. Heaven! she has a huge fabric stash--an extra sewing machine--and the beader (me) learned she actually loved sewing.


This is the front of an ATC I call "Midnight Sun" in honor of Kari as dedicated Mother.


And here is the back, painted in guache.

Every time I talk to Kari--we say we need to do another mini artist retreat--I am sure hoping I can make it up to Sitka sometime in the next year to play with her.