Somewhere

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"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." - E.B. White

Artist Spotlight: GingerBloo

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Artist Interview: Amylee Weeks

Name:  Amylee Weeks
Name of Business:  Hidden in my Heart
Creative Influences: My grandma (Nanny) and Hallmark (yes, the card company)
Preferred Medium of Creativity:  Painting: acrylic and paper (mixed media), Digital 

:about amylee::

::i am:: a follower of Jesus.  HE directs my paths – literally.  Through many life experiences, through all life experiences, He has amazingly molded my life, my heart – and given me this gift of artistic ability.  The quote that explains this best is by my favorite author, Oswald Chambers.

"My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings,

altogether insignificant.

But if I obey Jesus Christ

in the seemingly random circumstances of life,

they become pinholes through which I see the face of God."

::i am:: a mother to 2 little girls (ages 7 and 5) that have pure hearts and active imaginations that require many props – and my life’s mission is to love and grow those imaginative hearts .  My girls are my life.

::i am:: a wife to an amazing husband.   I was so blessed to have found him in this crazy world.  After losing my fiancé when I was 24 because of a car accident, I was able to open my heart and find the love of my life again.   He is an amazing dad, amazing husband – and my anchor in this crazy, crazy world.

::i am:: an artist. It is my therapy and my passion.  I battle with depression --  and combining my faith and my art together helps heal my heart.  My hope is to bring that same peace to others through my art.

::i am:: a country girl – an IOWA girl!!!!  I love fishing, camping, and need a lot of open space around me to breathe.  Oh and cannot live without my country music twang.  

Links:
Blog: http://hiddeninheart.blogspot.com
Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/hiddeninheart


Did your creative habits make a smooth transition into your adult life?  What did the evolution look like? 

My creativity while growing up was geared more towards writing and crafting (floral arrangements, mosaic creations, collages, cross stitch, candlemaking).  I have files and files of poems, short stories and music lyrics that I have written throughout my years.  Many family members have  floral and other crafty art creations from me throughout their homes.  Not until after business college did I find this ::love:: for drawing, sketching and painting.  I dabbled in many art forms but it honestly wasn’t until I enrolled in an art college in 2006 did I really, seriously, take the leap from casual crafter to artist in my heart.  My creative life has definitely been an evolution … taking with me all that I learn from one creative endeavor to the next.  
  

If you had a creative hiatus, what event/circumstance brought you back to your creative lifestyle? 

A few years in business college I wasn’t that creative or crafty.  I was so busy, busy, busy!!!  My creative life came back when I started writing again.  I wrote many, many song lyrics. I even had some looked at by a record company in Nashville!  ;-)   Other than that, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating something.

How has GOD been a part of your creative process/lifestyle?
Everything that has been brought into my life, good or bad, has a purpose. He has a plan for my life.  He breathed into me this desire.  He continues to whisper it into my heart.   If the shouts return, stating “you are not good enough to be an artist,” and I turn away from my art – the whispers always bring me back.  My favorite quote by Oswald Chambers explains how I view God in my life …

"My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings,

altogether insignificant.

But if I obey Jesus Christ

in the seemingly random circumstances of life,

they become pinholes through which I see the face of God."

 CLICK HERE to purchase the e-book of this Interview series for $4.99

Joy

I dabbled in YouTube a few months back and LOVED it. I know I am kind of late to the party. And it is not the first time this has happened (etsy treasuries is another fun endeavor). BUT now that the dust has settled in a few areas of my life, I can really have fun with this creative medium. Feel free to post your channels in the comments as well.

Play And Laugh

 Have you heard of the podcast Creative Living with Jamie?  If not, SOON YOU WILL become a fan!  Here is the podcast I listened to recently and I am telling you AMAZING!  
Here are the details on the podcast and click below take a listen:


"Creative Living with Jamie: Lisa Pijuan Nomura
Creative living coach Jamie Ridler talks about when the creative well is dry and then chats with multi-dimensional artist Lisa Pijuan-Nomura about having a balanced, diverse creative life."

  

CLICK HERE

Waiting

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"The more resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you - and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it."
-Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Whole World

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Owning our story and loving ourselves through
that process is the bravest thing we will ever do.
-Brene Brown

Crates

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I wanted to share a great link of some thought provoking psychology behind the words "it's not me, it's you" presented originally on the "Roots of She" blog - click here to listen

Artist Interview: Studio JRU

Name: Jennifer

Name of Business: Studio JRU

Creative Influences: God’s beauty all around us! My mom… she has always been very creative.

Preferred Medium of Creativity: mixed media paintings

Brief Bio: I am a mixed media artist living in rural Nebraska - gravel roads, fresh air, peace and quiet. I am married to my best friend, my husband, Heydon. Art has been a lifelong passion of mine. I feel blessed to have know since I was young that art was the gift GOD granted me for this journey. I want my work to reflect the beauty of God and I hopes it brings joy and inspiration to those who see it.

Links:

http://www.studiojru.com

http://www.artfire.com/users/StudioJRU

http://www.incourage.me

 What is some of your earliest creative memories? 

I remember as a young girl I would sit in front of the tv watching painters on the local public television station. I would have my paints and scrap cardboard or something like that to paint on. Then I would paint right along with them. It was so much fun! I remember putting together photo shoots with my sister of our dolls. We would use our sandbox as a beach. J  I remember making bracelets with my friend to sell. We even made order forms! lol

Did your creative habits make a smooth transition into your adult life?  What did the evolution look like? 

Yes they did! My favorite class in grade school was art. My parents found me an art teacher in our town that I was able to take some classes from. I was always creating at home. I took the one and only art class available in high school. Then I chose to go to an art college. It has always been a part of my life.

If you had a creative hiatus, what event/circumstance brought you back to your creative lifestyle? 

I have not really had a hiatus. I love to create. For myself, for my family, for my shop. Every once in a while I just need a break to step away and get the creativity flowing again. But it is never far from me.

 

How has GOD been a part of your creative process/lifestyle? 

God has always been an important part of my life. HE gets all the credit for the gifts that I have been blessed with. I feel He has put art in my heart and this is what He wants me to do. I couldn’t be more happy with that!

What are you working on currently?

I am part of DaySpring’s (in)courage group and I am working on several pieces for their online store. They are the Christian division of Hallmark. I am also always trying to fit in some of my own original work while filling these orders! I have a lot of new pieces in my mind that I am just starting to work on.

 CLICK HERE to purchase the e-book of this Interview series for $4.99

New Ventures...

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Rob Bell, founding pastor and visionary behind Mar Hills Church in Michigan has been a mentor of sorts to me.  His accomplishments include authoring many books and then taking the information in those books on the road in rock star type tours in an attempt to share Jesus with those who may not walk through the doors of a church. He has used art as a catalyst to share GOD with the world that is both innovative and transforming and has challenged me many times to look at more that simply conventional means to do the same.

I have attached a link to his talk on his decision to once again move from a comfortable and successful space to venture into unknown territory:

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Artist Interview: Bev Falls

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Name:  Bev Falls
Name of Business:  Soul Blessings
Creative Influences:  God, scripture, music, nature, other artists
Preferred Medium of Creativity: Canvas, paper, paint

Shop: Soul Blessings
Blog: My Awakened Heart

Brief Bio: My name is Bev, I am 57 years young, I love GOD with my whole heart, I am a maker of art and beautiful messes, I'm married to my high school sweetheart, mother to two sons, grandmother to two precious boys, who is journeying through this sweet life full of love, growth, trials, surrender, and grace...

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What is one of your earliest creative memories? 
One of my earliest creative memories is  finger painting, and making greeting cards for my family members on birthdays, holidays, or whatever reason! Lots of pasting, gluing, and coloring going on there!  And of course, making paper dolls with my sister. 

Did your creative habits make a smooth transition into your adult life?  

Yes, they did. Creating has always been a part of me, a part of who I am...whether it be sewing, quilting, stenciling, card making, scrap booking, photography, and now my collage art. 

What did the evolution look like?  

Creating gifts for loved ones, sewing blankets and quilts, making clothes for my kids when they were little(after a certain age,they wouldn’t be caught dead in anything handmade!), decorating my home, scrap booking.   

If you had a creative hiatus, what event/circumstance brought you back to your creative lifestyle?  

Deeply painful circumstances with loved ones in my family took me deep into hiatus about 9 years ago. About 3 years ago, God and my “re-awakening” with Him brought me back to my art.  So, I had a period of about 6 years of my life where i was grieving around alot of tragedy, and felt very “damned up” emotionally.  God has helped me to release and express my grief and eventual healing. Art truly has been my therapy. 

How has GOD been a part of your creative process/lifestyle?  

God has clearly been instrumental in my ability to express myself artistically. He wants to use me to glorify Him through the art we make through my heart and hands. 

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Is there a particular moment where your creativity became infused into a spiritual practice?  

I read an amazing book by J. Scott McElroy called “Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in your Creativity”.  It really embraced and validated my own feelings about making art for and with God...He wants to collaborate with me!! 

What are you working on currently? 

My collage art.  It’s right where God wants me, for now...

 CLICK HERE to purchase the e-book of this Interview series for $4.99

Choices

 

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When we are enthusiastic we are intoxicated with passion
rooted in our true selves and it flows into all we do.
- Linda Saccoccio

Artist Spotlight: So Cute It Hurts

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Determination

I came across this series produced by Morgan Spurlock (creator of "Supersize Me" and "30 Days"). Another thought provoking series by him which I hope you will enjoy as well.

Search

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Every journey starts with a separation, a leave-taking, a realization that
the place you are right now is a place where you can no longer stay.
- Justine Musk