Celebrate Love

This weekend my hubby and I took off for the coast to celebrate our anniversary.  We talked about past memories and all that has happened in the 15 years that we have known each other (married for 9).  We've lived at the beach, in the city, in the suberb, in small towns.  We've been through births and an adoption.  We've experienced sickness and health, richer and poorer.  It has not always been easy.

But through it all we have had our love....sometimes romantic, sometimes friendship, sometimes it's not defined, but it's always there and it's grounding and safe.  It's all i've ever wished for......

.....so this weekend I wished for as many years as I can get with this wonderful man.....

(who is crazy enough to put up with me)!!!!!

Friday Feature Artist: Lisa Ferrante

Today's Friday Feature Artist is Lisa Ferrante. She is a self-taught mixed media artist, a wife, and a mother. 

Once she discovered mixed media years of feelings about her life literally began to flow from her hands and from her heart. Initially she found herself expressing long suppressed feelings about her mother who died when she was 5 years old. Intimately woven in are her passionate feelings about her own two baby girls and how mothering them finally allowed her to work through the pain of the absence of her own mom while celebrating every moment of their young lives.

Each piece represents another step in her evolution as a woman. As the themes have evolved from the worship of a goddess mother she never knew to her love for her girls, the loves of soul sisters and romantic love for her husband she has learned to love and accept herself for the first time in her life.

Hi Lisa, thank you so much for being today's Friday Feature artist.  I am so excited to have you here on my blog.  I just want to tell the readers how I found you....we were in an on-line class together and I saw one of Lisa's art pieces and was immediately drawn to it.  The art piece that I saw made me think so much of my 11 year old niece who lost her mom to brain cancer last year.  When I went to Lisa's website I discovered that she also lost her mom at a young age and I had one of those moments when you wonder if you were brought together for a reason.  I reached out to Lisa and told her about my niece and how last Thanksgiving my niece and I made art together and I could see how freeing it was for her.  Lisa was kind enough to not only respond to my rambling message but also offered to send my niece a print.  So I am so excited to be able to spotlight her and her art today as I think she AND her art will be so inspirational to others.

So Lisa, I read that you describe yourself as a "self-taught artist".  Does that mean you did not go to traditional art school and if so how did you learn your beautiful craft?   

I wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember but art school didn't appeal to me(I don't like rules very much)it didn't seem right for me. I felt like i'd have to waste so much precious time taking classes that didn't interest me but I decided to see for myself so I took a few art classes at the local college, I was right, it wasn't for me. I must say that I have the upmost respect for those artist's who have chosen that path but I decided I'd be an artist anyway right now, not in 5 or 6 years but right now. I took some online classes from artists that I really enjoyed like Suzi Blu and Misty Mawn and learned some of the basics and the rest just sort of came out of me. You see you decide, it's your journey, you create the life you want. It's not about finding out who we are, it's about creating and becoming who we want to be! It actually happens the minute you change your perspective, the moment you realize that it's really that easy. Be right now who you've always wanted to be. I promise you'll thank yourself for the rest of your life.

On many of your art pieces you use inspirational words? Why? And how do you choose them?

I do use inspirational words on almost all of my pieces. Usually the words are what inspires the painting in the first place. I had a difficult time as a child expressing my feelings and always struggled with anxiety. This led me to really try to find positive ways to release and work through alot of pain and repressed feelings. I've come so far and I would love to help inspire others who are struggling to realize that it will be okay, better than okay beautiful even!

I know you lost your mom at a young age, has art helped you through the grieving process and if so, how?

Absolutely! I've only been painting for a few years now and it all started with me wanting to create with my little girls, you see my Mom died when I was five. This led to many years of imagining and sort of creating the mom I wished I could have had. I would imagine this playful, loving, silly mom who loved nothing more than spending time with me.  I was not fortunate enough to have this but I was fortunate enough to realize that I could be that mother to my little girls. Originally all of my paintings where of mothers and children because that is where the healing was needed. Such long suppressed feelings literally came pouring out of me. I am so grateful for this gift of art!  My love for my daughters and my love for art they have both transformed me in ways I never thought possible. I am a completely different person than I was 10 years ago, I can't wait to see who I become in 10 years from now!

Take us through a typical day for you.

I'm not a very structured person so i'm not sure I have such a thing as a typical day! I've learned to embrace the sort of ebb and flow of creativity. At first I had this idea in my head that I needed to schedule in painting time and be productive and that just led to constant pressure and disappointment.  I like to believe that my art comes through me rather than from me. I've learned to trust this process and sometimes i'll paint all day, sometimes not at all! Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night and paint until morning, it comes when it's ready and i'm okay with that.

Do you ever get "blocked"? What do you do to get the creative juices going again?

I do get blocked and it used to scare me. I remember thinking what if that's it, what if I have nothing left to give. It almost always happens right after a creative explosion. I'll find myself making like six or seven paintings in a row and then nothing! It's like all of the feelings that needed to be purged were and I have nothing left. When you get blocked you just have to go with it and do something else like write or play with your babies it will come back to you, it has to it's part of who you are.

You use mixed media for your art work, what is it you like about mixed media and what are your favorite supplies to use?

I am so in love with mixed media art because as i've said before i'm a very spontaneous unstructured girl. It's total freedom with endless possibilities! Some of my favorite supplies to use are inks (i'm a bit obsessed) I love to drip them all over. I also love oil pastels, I really like to smudge them and add them to a painted face for some more texture and depth.

Where do you hope to see yourself and your art in 5 years?

In five years I would love to open up my own little art school called  'The Bohemian Mermaid's School of Art' (my daughters came up with that name to describe me and i love it!) I would really like to concentrate on working with teenage girls to help them find a positive way to express themselves and to heal whatever their struggles may be through art.

Last question.....What do you know to be true?

What I know to be true is that love really is everything! Everyone everywhere wants to give love and be loved.  It really is all that matters!

Thank you so much Lisa!! Your art is truly brilliant in color and meaning and I think we all benefited from hearing your thoughts on life and art.

To see more of Lisa's art please visit her website and Etsy site:

LisaFerrante.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/chloeandsofiasmom

I encourage you to send one of her prints to someone in your life that could use a little "pick me up"; I know my niece will be getting her print any day now and just knowing that it will put a smile on her face brightens my day.

Have a great weekend!!!

Rainy Day

When I said, "Let's go play in the rain," they thought I was a little crazy (and they're right;) but we had a great time.  Of'course the best part is drinking hot chocolate afterwards and warming up next to a glowing fire.

Tomorrow's Feature Friday artist is another phenomenal artist and I found her interview to be so insightful and inspiring.  Please check back tomorrow to learn more about Lisa Ferrante and go get a little sneak peek of her stunning art work.

Happy Anniversary.

(On our Honeymoon....Southern France)

Nine years ago I married the most amazing man.  At our wedding we didn't say the traditional vows, but we summed it up with, "I love you exactly how you are, right now and always."  Those words are still true today........and always.

I love you Babe!!!!



Happy Valentine's Day

Photography 101

I took a wonderful photography class this weekend from Cynthia Thompson Shaffer, and guess what??? I can use my camera in Manual mode now, oh yes I can.  I can even adjust things......I just don't remember what they're called, but I can turn dials and push buttons and come up with some pretty good pictures ;)  Below are some I took at that class.  Hope you had a fabulous weekend!!!!

Introducing Jennifer Rikkers

Jennifer Rikkers is a Wisconsin-based artist who specializes in mixed-media arts incorporating her original photography and love of painting.  She is a mother of four children, with a connection to Ethiopia as an adoptive mother of her daughter who has now been home from Ethiopia since March 2010. 

Jennifer's paintings are soulful reflections of the people, objects, and situations that surround and inspire her in her everyday life.  Jennifer's art is an expression of her love and gratitude for each subject. Sometimes the attraction is purely aesthetic– the way the light hits a surface of a tree’s leaves, for instance. Other times, the subject has a message, thematic, or narrative significance that references her passion for an issue.

Using mixed media, Jennifer incorporates her digital photography into her paintings via an image transfer process.  This use of both paint and photography results in a very personal, unique and soulful piece of artwork.  As an artist, Jennifer hopes to capture and communicate the moment or spirit of a subject by creating a sense of modern realism through dimension, depth and luminosity with the paint and glazes. 

Jennifer's intention as an artist is to evoke emotion and elements of contemplation while sharing a message.

The artist may be contacted through her websites or art blog.

www.fiddleheadart.com
www.jenniferrikkers.com
www.fiddleheadart.blogspot.com

Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for participating in my first "Friday Feature" where I will be featuring a different artist weekly and asking them questions about their Art Journey.  So let's get started.....
When did you know you were an artist?
I came into this realization slowly....While I knew I wanted to be an artist long ago, I didn't actually claim or give myself permission to realize this until about a year into my first ever art "studies".  After the birth of my third child, Jack, I began taking art lesson with my mentor, Deborah Meyer.  She opened up this whole world of creative expression that I so desperately was seeking and needing.  As a stay at home mom I was needing to nurture myself as much as I was nurturing everyone around me.  On the day I hung my first art show in a coffee shop it felt like a dream come true.  To see pieces of myself, my creations on display was an incredible feeling...it was on that day that I felt like and called myself an "artist".
How have you paid your bills while staying committed to the art?
I feel a little ashamed to say this when I know so many people are struggling to both live and create....I am very fortunate to now be able to stay at home full time as a mother and nurture the artist within.  My husband is able to support our family and encourages me to nurture my love of art.  Happy wife, happy mama, happy life ;)  I give myself permission to purchase new supplies when I have made a sale....most recently I purchased an encaustic set after an art sale...that was a splurge.

How do you balance working with family/friends/errands/health?
I wish I had more balance.  It is a constant struggle both internally and literally.  At this time of my life I realize there are so many demands with raising 4 children.  Right now at this time in my life my little ones, my family, always comes first.  That is a choice.  I want to be present with them when we are together.  I have found the best way for me to give myself time to focus on my art is to dedicate a certain day of the week.  Right now I have my two youngest children going to childcare all day on Fridays while the older ones are at school.  This is my designated day to work and really is the only way to get things accomplished in the art studio with any regularity.  I will often find myself going up to the studio during nap time, or when it is quiet at night.  There are even times I bring the kids up into the studio (and ignore them) so I can work and they can play (rip up the studio)...often with markers and cardboard boxes.  Of' course, the inherent problem with having an art studio in your home is that it is in your home, and constantly requires attention of some sort.  At times, I will leave the dishes, the mess, the Legos on the floor and allow myself to escape to my studio.
Last June I had a surgery to repair my ruptured spinal disk.  This was painful and all of my art just had to go on hold which was frustrating.  It felt great to get back in the studio when I was feeling better.  I felt inspired as my body began healing, but it continues to recover and need attention.  Focusing on recovering (with yoga, exercises, acupuncture) leaves less time for art.  Right now that is where I have to be.  Like the airlines always say, "Put on your mask first"....I need to take care of my body first before I am fully present in my life as a wife, mother and artist.  I am hopeful that with time I will create more balance within my body and with time as an artist. I Will!!

How do you deal with your inner critic?
The inner critic.....is insecure and doubtful, harsh and disappointed.  I try to remind this inner critic that the expression and the process is often the most important journey in creating.  That every piece isn't going to be a masterpiece, but still has value.  I enjoy taking one of those paintings "that just didn't go anywhere" and covering it with a fresh layer of paint and making it something new.  Knowing that there aren't mistakes, that it is all apart of the process makes me feel empowered to continue creating!

(mixed media by Jennifer)

Have you had any life challenges that art helped you to get through? If so, how did art help you?
Simply, art has helped me become more of myself.  It has helped me to express my joys, the gratitude I feel, my pain, my angst.  Art was particularly therapeutic to me as I returned from my journey to AIDS Walk Africa in 2008 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.  Coming home from that journey in Swaziland left me with a felling that I need to do more, that I need to share what I had witnessed.  From this the art series "Message from Swaziland" was created (works on my website www.jenniferrikkers.com). Each piece was a true expression of a moment or a person I had encountered.  While I created these pieces tears flowed as I felt the pain of the circumstances in Swaziland (33% of the population is infected with the AIDS virus.)  At the same time I came away from AWA with enormous hope and such inspiration to share the message from this journey.

What is a "typical" daily schedule that includes art?
I wish there were more typical days! I would say on my (Friday) art day, that I carve out a slow morning.  A little peace and quiet after the kids are out of the house, some tea and stretching out my back with some yoga poses.  Then I head up to my art studio, which we built above our garage.  I have a warm cup of tea on hand with my favorite playlist in the background.  I often am working on several paintings at once and have those laying around the studio, going from painting to painting and letting things evolve.  Usually Bob the Bulldog and Cecil (my 15 yr. old cat) follow me up there and keep me company.  I relish in the space, the quiet of just doing what feels good in the moment.  On these days I usually "lose time", it goes way too fast and this is the only time I will forget to eat in my excitement to paint.

Where do you hope to see yourself and your art in 5 yrs?
In five years....all of my children will be in school full time and I will have more time for creating.  I am hopeful that in 5 years I will have established more daily balance in my schedule and physical health so that I will have a regular practice time for my art.  I will have branched into some new mediums (I would like to explore encaustic and pottery).  In the next 5 years I hope to have been able to travel to new places and be influenced by their cultural vibes.  It is incredibly important to me to find a way to travel to Ethiopia to both share art and create art to benefit the children of my daughter's country, Ethiopia.  In 5 years....it is my hope that my art will be even more inspired and inspiring to others.

Deep breath...here is our final question:
What do you know to be true?
"Your live is happening right now and this is the only moment you can control.  This is the only minute that really matters.  If you are constantly dwelling on something that happened in the past or feeling anxious about the future, you are missing out on YOUR LIFE. Do what makes you happy in this moment and your life will be full."-Jill Costello

Well this has been SO eye opening and you have already been inspiring to me.  Thank you again for putting so much time and thought into these questions.  By giving us a sneak peek into your life as an artist and mom and wife (and the many other roles we all play) it helps us to feel a sense of community and lets us know that we are not alone in all that we are trying to accomplish in this lifetime. 

Thank you Jennifer and thank you readers for following along.  Please leave a note in the comments to let us know that you were here!!!

To learn more about Jennifer Rikkers work please visit her websites and blog:
www.fiddleheadart.com
www.jenniferrikkers.com
www.fiddleheadart.blogspot.com

A Little Crazy....

So, I went a little "crazy" and added Purple to my hair!!!! My mom thinks I am trying to "regain my youth" (maybe) but I think I am just getting old and now choose to wear purple, do you know that poem? I encourage you to go read it, even if you already know it, it's a good one!!!  So here are the pictures of my "New Do" and see below them for my Big Announcement....

...and the close up....

Announcement Time.....

I have been doing a lot of soul searching about what my Art Journey means to me and the direction I would like to see it going.  Thanks to some very inspiring artists (Jenny Doh and Misty Mawn) who's classes I am taking, I have ideas bursting at my seams right now.  I kind of feel like Jerry Maguire when he stayed up all night righting the "Memo"....a little crazy and a lot excited!!!!

Part of what I would like to do is inspire others through stories of Art and Life.  So I am going to be doing a "Friday Feature", hopefully every Friday (depending on how much my 3 little monsters beautiful children have depleted me during the week).  I will be interviewing artists about their Art Journey and their Life.  My focus will be how Art has influenced Health and Well Being and how we do our best to "Do It All".  So stay tuned for a peak into different artists' lives.

I hope you will come back tomorrow and hear more about this amazing and beautiful artist: 

Jennifer Rikkers.

Mommy Artist of The Year!!!

Not every day is a walk in the park, or even a walk down the street to get the mail that's been piling up for 5 days while wearing your pajamas with paint and that morning's breakfast spattered across your front as you drag one child that is clinging to your leg begging for candy while the other child screams from the porch that you are the WORST MOMMY ON THE PLANET.  Nope, not every day is like that, thank goodness!!!  Maybe if I would just take them to the damn park once in a while they wouldn't act like caged animals, but let's face it the park is booooorrrring and it is so much more fun to try to squeeze in a little art time for mommy while they are dumping cereal all over the floor while watching educational TV, like SpongeBob.  I mean who thought of a show about an underwater sponge and made millions?  I kinda want to kill that person.  Ok, back to my day.....it wasn't a walk in the park.....but I did reward myself with some new make-up:

And here is what I am working on when I am ignoring my children spending scheduled time in my art room:

And last, but not least, here is how adorable my little guy is when I beg him to smile:

How was your day??????



Slacking....

So I kinda slacked this week on blogging...sorry about that.  Last weekend was rough (healthwise) so I just needed the week to re-group....still working on that a bit, but have made some progress.  I think I may have a Fructose Malabsorption issue....anyone have this or know someone who does???  I have been following a FODMAP diet and it does seem to be helping.  I'm still working out some kinks but have found some HOPE again.  HOPE is key isn't it?? It's hard to hang onto it for so long, and it's okay to lose it once in awhile and just let go (pretty much me last Sunday) but when you have such sweet faces looking at you you just have to pull up those bootstraps, get some more information, formulate a plan and voila.......you have HOPE.
So here's our week in photos......have a wonderful weekend and Happy Superbowl Sunday!!!!

Some of my artwork will be displayed at American Sanctuary, a local Gallery/Design store, so I dropped it off this week...very exciting!!!

My little ones enjoyed Rootbeer floats....

....I enjoyed a beautiful sunny "winter" day that felt like spring!!!

The boys played video games while I made.......

.....Gluten Free pancakes.  I wasn't too fond of this mix (does anyone have recommendations?) but my kids asked for seconds so I guess they weren't too bad (when smothered with butter, cinnamon and syrup;)!!

Hoping to be blogging more next week, along with a big announcement, so stay tuned......xoxo