Invoking Your Inner Creative

Salutations Friends!

For a while now, I've been wanting to do a post about being creative and what inspires people to be creative. I have periods of time when I can really tap into my inner creative and come up with all kinds of things covered in awesome sauce. Then other times I just feel like all my creativity is all dried up and I'm just wandering around lost.

I dunno how anyone else is, but I almost have to set the mood to be in a creative space. I typically have more juices flowing when it's after midnight and it's just me, my project, & the silence that night time brings. It's kinda like you don't have all the sounds and distractions of the waking hours and can just concentrate on the task at hand. It's when I've done my best work. Another time I'm at my creative best is when I've seen someone else's work that I really liked.  It could be paintings, sculptures, woodworking, fashion, cooking, or whatever. If it is creative then I can be inspired from it.


A couple years ago, I was able to see KAWS artwork at The High Museum of Art here in Atlanta and it was so awesome! I loved how he kind of re-created the Simpson's and called them the Kimpson's (among other cartoon characters). I wouldn't have thought about doing that, but seeing someone else's idea or take on something makes me think outside the box!

COMPANION: Passing Through
~ Photo Source ~

I'm also a fan of my friend Courtney's artwork. He's been amusing the hell outta me since high school with this drawings. And the things he can do with color pencils are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I've secretly been a little envious of his abilities since I first saw what he could do. I just found this doodle the other day that he did when we were in Spanish class that absolutely cracked me up! Our teacher Ms Finny would always be running of at the mouth and whatever she said she would end in 'Por favor!'

'Silencio, por favor!'

'Everyone sit down, por favor!'

'Open your books, por favor!'

And of course being teenagers, we were bored or sleep and wouldn't pay her any mind.

I've read numerous things where people advise "stocking up" of your creative ideas, so that when you don't feel creative you can nab one of your previous ideas. I've tried this before and it doesn't really work that well for me. I'm just not as passionate about the subject matter anymore once the moment has passed. So I thought I'd look up a few things and see what other advice is out there.

Wiki-How has a laughable 3 step version on how to be creative. I mosdef fail at all 3! It's a work of art! How can it not be personal?

Inc.com on the other hand gave some goodies that make sense to try out when you're in a my-brain-is-empty-of-all-creative-goodness mode.

Funders and Founders says to destroy, be wrong,  & be brave (as well as 28 others tips)! You should definitely check this one out!


So when are you at your most creative? Do you have to set the mood? And what do you do when you have a creative block?

Ciao!

She's Licking the Floor..

Salutations! 

 

 

~photo source~

 

Hello friends & Happy Friday! I decided that one of my goals for this weeks Weekly Wishes was to find some art to inspire me and jump start my creative juices. For me, looking at other peoples creativity seems to ignite ideas inside of my own mind. The same thing happens when I watch Project Runway... I have no idea how to make any type of garments, but my hands always seems to start itching to make something! I generally just pull out some yarn and start crocheting or drag out my sketch pad and just doodle!


I was scouring the internet for art that caught my attention and this painting totally made me laugh! I really love and appreciate street art. It always seems to have some sort of humor, deep thought, or optical illusion attached to it. This mural has a softness to it, like watercolor paints (even though they aren't watercolors) and humor. I totally dig this and kudos to whomever the artist is. I'm sure it was no easy feat! The thing that's killing me is that the tongue is so life like.... I love it!


Honorable Mention: The sky this morning was just beautiful! Half the sky was covered in the dark ominous clouds and the other half was clear with fiery red and orange colors. It was as if the sky was on fire! There was a plane flying through as well that added dramatic effect. It appeared to be dragging the 'fire' with it. :)


What has inspired you today or this week?


Ciao!

 

 



The Dragon in the Village

Greetings...

 

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! Mine was pretty fabulous. Thank you for asking. :) Since I wake up at the butt crack of dawn (according to my friend), I was decided to get out and about to run an errand before the day really got started. On my way to the Post Office I saw a new (at least new to me) sculpture and I just had to take pictures to share!

 

Part of the reason I like living where I do is because you get to see all kinds of street art. Now why there is a dragon in the middle of the village, I don't know. However I can totally appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

My favorite part on here is on the chest of the dragon. I am a heart fiend. Anything to do with the hearts and I swoon. No lie, I probably have at least 8 jewelry items right now that are hearts! So a hand holding a heart, is all the better to me. :)

 

 

 

 

I love the fact that the dragon has so many different textures that make up the whole sculpture. Not sure what those symbols mean. Can anyone give me an idea? I thought this was a finished piece that had been here for while since some of the areas seem to be rusted. But later that afternoon as I drove by, I saw someone still working on it. Using recycled material, maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that's it for now! Have you seen any awesome street art lately? Let me know! ;o)

 

Ciao!

 

A. Sparkle

 

Art & Crochet

Greetings...

Happy Thursday! I've been in a super creative zone as of late and I've been riding the wave and will continue to do so until it has exhausted itself. Don't get me wrong.. I'm also creative otherwise, but there are moments when it's so overwhelming that you have no choice but to create something, anything, or explode! If you hadn't noticed, I have a new look and new name now (trying to get the domain name loaded has and still is a hassle!!), which is as you guessed a part of this creativeness oozing out all over the place. To be honest, it's been in the works for a while now. Something said, 'Do it now!' and so voila! I did. :)Did you notice that I know have tabs at the top of the blog?? Go check it out already!

I have to wonder if that's what happened in this instance with this street art. I was at Kroger minding my own business when this guy here on the pavement let out a forlorn moan. I don't know why he looks so melancholy. Maybe that's what the artist was feeling when he/she did it? I always wonder what time of day street art occurs... Is it all at 3 am or in broad daylight?

On to a little art of my own.. These are my newest yarn addiction projects. I finally made a slouchy hat for myself. I've made these for quite a few people now and I wanted to keep each one of the hats I made. Well now I can sport mine. Self-promotion, anyone?

If you've been following me on Facebook or Instagram then you'll know that this is my first Man Scarf of the season! Please excuse the rough quick pictures.

What's more manly than ribbing, right? And guess what else?? It's reversible! The guy that requested it wanted these colors, I guess for those light or dark khaki days at the office? You like it, I love it!

It's another snow day here in Atlanta and I'm pretty much trapped in my complex until tomorrow's temps melt it all away. So enjoy the day kiddies, because I certainly will!

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

Vision Board 2014

Welcome to 2014!

I love the start of the New Year! It’s almost as if everything from the past year just gets cleaned away and you get to start anew. I know it’s all in people’s mind, but it does provide some comfort and hope knowing that the new year can bring new joyous beginnings. Speaking of new beginnings, why is it that making resolutions seem to get a bad rap nowadays? I wasn’t really into the whole making New Year’s resolutions for most of my life, because let’s be honest.. most people (including myself) have just broken them. I do like the idea of setting goals that you’d like to achieve though. It’s the same thing as making a vision board, which I’ve been told by my friend that I must join in on this year.

I’ve decided to create one on Polyvore. If you’re addicted to or even remotely like fashion…. you need to be on Polyvore. You get to make a collage of outfits, themes, and your personal style. For me it’s like going on a carte blanche shopping spree and everything fits perfectly! Warning: It can be very addictive.

Vision Board 2014 by ptyfashvic featuring Kate Spade

Strapless dress
sincerelysweetboutique.com

Tom Dixon black light
$695 - madeindesign.co.uk

Vintage Marquee Lights wall lamp
purehome.com

Kate Spade home decor
amazon.com

RoomMates Decor vinyl wall decal
target.com

My Official Goal this Year: Discipline!

It encompasses everything that I want to accomplish or work on, (i.e. living a healthier lifestyle, keeping up with chores, really setting up a schedule for my Etsy business and taking inventory, learning how to let my light shine, writing and blogging more consistently, etc, etc, etc.) So what are your goals or resolutions? Let me know!

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

My Picture Sunday

Greeting all!

 

I thought I would do something different today and show you my Sunday in pictures. It starts out with breakfast at J. Christopher's, then to the mall and a few of the favorite things that I saw and liked. Enjoy! :)

 

Breakfast & Art

 

 

 

 

My favorite things at the Mall

 

So that was my Sunday. What did you do today?

 

+Peace+

 

A. Sparkle

 

A Change is a Coming!

Ok.. Alright...

I've made a major decision about this blog.

My theme or focus is gonna change somewhat. I will Still post the randomness that I love and enjoy, but I need a blog for the creative process of my art. It will feature what I'm working on and the joys and struggles that I have with it. Kinda like a background history on my pieces.

It should be fun and it's time to jump start this whole art thing I've been tryna do for what? Oh.. um.. just my whole life. lol. Time to push the fear aside and just go for it.

Oh boy, here we go!

Street Art

Hello All,

I love going out and seeing murals on public buildings. This for example really caught my eye. At first when I saw it, I thought it was just another Marlyn Monroe painting that you can see everywhere at anytime.

As an artist I get so sick of seeing the same ole pictures, drawing, paintings, whatever.. of famous people. I'm not gonna lie and say that I've never done those type of pics, but that was back in middle school. I just get tired of seeing people do the same thing over & over again. It's boring! And half the time the people doing these portaits don't even do a good job. I digress though.....

Moving on..

So this ended up being Spock from Star Trek of all people, with make-up and hair like Maryln Monroe. How great is this?!?!?? I think it's very creative and it makes you have to look more than once. So I gotta clap it up for this artist! See --> :::: Clapping ::::

This happens to be on some building in NYC, and I just happened to see it when me and Beloved were at a stoplight. I just might make this my computer wallpaper. (smile) Ok, I guess I'm all out of words.

Ciao!

A Day at the Gallery

Happy Sunday kiddies!
Last weekend I went to my local gallery in The Village. I like to step in there every now and then to see the different artwork that they have on display there. Its actually rather big to be in such a small area and off in the cut. But then again they do have a dance rehearsal studio and a theater in there too. The picture above is the hallway coming back from the classroom area.

There were some pretty nice pieces in there, and they were quite expensive too! If I ever make it as a 'starving artist' I could be making the big bucks! I saw this amazing painting here featured above. I thought that the zebra sky was quite clever and I LOVE the texture at the bottom of it. It's a horrible picture I know, but I was trying to take a picture of it on the sly. (I don't think you're supposed to take pictures of the work, but oh well! lol)

This little area here happened to be in one of the classrooms. Your thinking, 'What in the hell is something like this doing in a classroom?' Yes I thought the same thing too and I have no idea what the area is for really, but it looks like it's probably used for storage. That's actually up above the the room, kind of like an attic. The funny thing about it was that there weren't any steps leading to this little mysterious area. (not that I saw anyway.)

It was a nice visit and I wish that I had more friends who liked going to galleries and cultural things of that nature. But I guess I will have to keep going by myself for now (unless family is in town), and I'm alright with that. I guess that's it for tonight.

Ciao!

New Joy

I was riding around downtown and saw this awesome sculpture of MLK Jr. Its stuff like this that you can see around your town that makes the day seem a little bit nicer. This just makes me wanna travel around town and find all the great artwork or things that make you smile and be amused.

Speaking of art, I've started a new project. I'm doing a triptych (a set of three panels or compartments side by side, bearing pictures, carvings, or the like). I'm in the starting stages right now, so you may not be able to tell very well what everything is, but I will explain. Its basically 3 pieces of a woman looking satisfied or content, or at least in my mind she does.

This first one is of the top part of the head and you can only see the eyes, nose and some of the hair.

The second of shows the most of all three b/c you can see most of the nose, the lips and the chin.

And finally the third just features the woman's neck and the flip and curl in her hair. Each part of the hair that is shown on each painting has a different design and texture. If you wanna get all interpretive with it then I guess I would describe it as, 'The different designs in the hair represent the the different moods or thoughts of happiness and joy that she is pondering and enjoying and the lime green represents that calm aura that surrounds her.' So ta-da, there ya go.

I'll be back with an update sometime in the near future.

Ciao!