I have a degree in Fine Art, I teach art to middle schoolers, and I'm starting to come out of the fog of my first year as a mother. The only art that I have made is the last two years, with the exception of a single series of photographs, has been specifically for my middle school students- examples of stuff I want them to do. I have been feeling the need to get back to making art for myself and for my own enjoyment. In other words, I need an outlet. I have also been hearing my art professors in my head repeating statistics like "90% of people who leave college with a B.F.A. never make art again", or something to that effect. I don't want to be that person anymore. I hope that this blog will be a humble way to display some of my efforts to get back to my creative side in many different mediums.
While I was working on my art degree I painted, drew, photographed, and made pottery. The professors over my program had a very post-modern mind-set and didn't seem to have a lot of respect for anything that could be described with the term "arts and crafts". With that in mind, I share my first Creative Exploit:
A few months ago a friend of mine posted a picture on her blog of a stuffed animal she had made for her daughter. I loved the idea, and since I am tightly wrapped around my daughter's finger I was excited to make something for her. I had never worked from a pattern before and have very rudimentary sewing skills, but I did it. Not perfect, but pretty dang cute.
I have been feeling very crafty lately and am feeling more connected to crafty arts like scrap booking and fabric arts than I am to drawing and painting, maybe because I feel like my efforts are more useful and appreciated. Above is the lamb I made for Aven that was featured in this blog's first post. I liked it so much and had so much fun making it that I decided to try one using felted wool:
I love this version even more than the original and I think it turned out great. I really like the visible seam and the old-fashioned look it has. I am looking forward to making more stuffed animals and will be looking for different patterns and will definitely be working with felted wool again.
When I complete a drawing in my sketchbook Aven doesn't want to cuddle with it and carry it around the house- that must be why I am turning into such a Holly Homemaker.
