Time flies when you have a deadline...

Where did the last three-plus weeks go? It's amazing how time flies when you're trying to be creative (and productive) under a deadline...  although sometimes, it both flies and drags. The creative process never ceases to amaze me. This is especially true when I'm under one of those deadlines and feel like I'm not completely satisfied with the expression of an idea (or not happy with the progress of a project), and then something clicks–it just comes together. When the process drags, it's usually because I've forgotten that trying too hard to be creative can get in the way of letting the process follow its natural course. Deadlines can make this a real challenge. I definitely got caught up in that for a while this time and didn't do a good job of telling myself to "relax and let it happen." You'd think I'd know better.

But you might ask, "how can you relax when you have a deadline?" This surely seems a contradiction. I think it goes back to the old saying, "slow and steady wins the race." I can't really explain how or why it happens, but I know from experience that it does. If I keep heading toward my goal with an open mind, a project always seems to come together. Sometimes it's sort of an "ah-ha" moment, other times, it falls into place more gradually. And it isn't always exactly what I envisioned, as a matter of fact, it's usually better. But the trick is, I can't slack off and just wait for this to happen–I have to keep moving forward.

Now, this is not foolproof... there are plenty of times when I'm under a deadline that it still gets all "crunchy" toward the end. But in hindsight, those are the times that I tried to control the process too much. Sometimes that "ah-ha" moment comes when I've exhausted myself trying to make something work (the way I think it should) and I'm done in... so I back off, and voilà! When a project drags, I need to remind myself that I don't have to get to that point of exhaustion (or frustration) before the process will flow. Creativity happens, but you have to remember to give it the opportunity. Relax, work with confidence, and trust that it will come together.

It's so easy to get caught up in deadlines and forget to follow our instincts, (or listen to our own advice). I really need to find a good way to remind myself to trust the creative process when I'm in the midst of it all. Maybe I need a sign in my studio that reads "it'll happen–just get out of the way!"

To learn more about trusting the process, read my February post about an excellent book on this subject.  

And the winner is...

Or should I say "and the winners are..."

Thanks to the generosity of Lora Hart, not one but TWO names were drawn today for a copy of Bronze Metal Clay! Lora was also sent a copy for review and kindly offered to pass it along in the drawing.

Approaching this drawing was harder than I expected... especially with some of the compelling comments... The drawing was made using a random number generator and assigning a number to each of the comments (knowing that I would discard the numbers of the comments by me or others not included if they came up), this seemed the most fair - to use the actual comment number, not an altered one created by removing some comments.

Have I kept you in suspense long enough?

The winners are (drum roll please...) Susan Dilger and Vickie Hallmark!

Congratulations!!!

Please leave your email address as a comment (which won't be published) and I'll contact you for your mailing address.

Thanks to everyone for playing... (I wish each of you could have won a copy!!!)

You don't have to ask me twice... (but I'm glad you did!)

About a week ago, when I checked my post office box, I found a package from Lark Books addressed to me as blogger/reviewer. Inside, I was surprised and pleased to find copy of Yvonne Padilla's new book Bronze Metal Clay for review. What fun to get an early peek at this new book! I started looking it over right away. The next day, a package arrived at my home. It was another copy of the book sent for review. It appears I'm on more than one list - and the very best part of the duplicate mailing is that someone gets to share the fun...

Lark Books has published many of my favorite books in the jewelry/craft field. Yvonne M. Padilla has written another great addition to the Lark collection. This new book is a comprehensive guide to working with bronze clay. The basics are covered thoroughly in a question and answer format with an illustrated troubleshooting section that addresses many common problems. A wonderful gallery of bronze clay work by a variety of artists provides inspiration and 35 projects from very simple to more complex are presented to get you started. The book is well designed, and the projects, photographs, and illustrations are nicely integrated, making it very pleasant read.

Here's the fun part: since I was sent two copies of the book, I'm giving one away! If you'd like to have a chance to have my extra copy of Bronze Metal Clay, please leave a comment after this post - it need not be more than something like "I'd like a chance to win." If you don't have a profile and leave an anonymous comment, be sure to leave me a clue (like your first name and last initial)! Next Friday, I'll announce a winner chosen at random. So check back to see if you've won! I'll provide information about how the winner can contact me and let me know where to send the book.

More old silly... the unfortunates.

It's silly how busy I've been. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to post. Here are a couple of more silly old silly cards... both from what I affectionately call the "unfortunate" series @1985.

© 1985 Catherine Davies Paetz

Silly old silly...

Well, I've been trying to be more silly, which for me, includes trying to keep up with the Silliness workshop. It seems the first silly thing I did was to think I'd have time for this workshop... the second was to buy more sidewalk chalk... (now I'm prepared!).

I'm batting about 50% for some of the drawing activities (which isn't bad considering...). Just need (more) time to scan them into the computer and upload to Flicker. So while I don't have any more new silly to share yet, I thought (just for fun) I'd share some "old silly."

Once upon a time, I used to illustrate greeting cards - lots of them. I don't think I bought any cards for about a decade or so... I just drew them. In honor of my birthday (last week), here's a silly old birthday card I drew - circa 1986...

Card front and inside © 1986 Catherine Davies Paetz

I feel a little silly...

And I'm not alone. There a quite a few of us feeling silly right now thanks to Carla Sonheim. We're all thinking silly thoughts as we participate in her online workshop in The Art of Silliness. When I saw this opportunity, I jumped on it. No arm twisting needed - I was raised on silly (thanks Parents!). A favorite childhood book is The Silly Book by Stoo Hample. I've always thought being a cartoonist was a dream job - need I say more?

Of course this wonderful adventure came along in a month that's already silly with deadlines, but I will do my best to play along. And what I don't finish this month - especially all the "extra credit" opportunities - will surely keep me silly all summer. Yep, silly days are definitely ahead. I did say I wanted to draw more - I just hadn't gotten around to it until this opportunity came along. Maybe it was because I thought I had to draw serious things, but that's not really my style. Ah, the freedom of silly...

I'm really looking forward to getting my (silly) drawing chops back in shape - they're extremely rusty. I didn't know how much I missed them until I started this workshop. There's a Flicker group where I plan to post and will also share some silly things here.

"I am silly, You are silly, All of us are silly, Willy. All of us but cousin Millie. She's upside down." The Silly Book


Special thanks to Ruth Baillie for bringing this workshop to my attention!!!!


More silly workshop stuff... 
If I had sidewalk chalk (yes, we're out - and at time like this) I'd be out there putting X's everywhere and watching what happened for sure. I have a history of finding random chalk on the sidewalk and leaving silly faces for the kids who left it there... note to self: BUY MORE CHALK!

This is noteworthy!

From serious to silly in the blink of an eye...

What is art?

After my last post about Alexander Calder, I heard from some people who love Calder's work as I do, along with others who don't get the same reaction from it. Well, that's just fine. Life would be pretty boring if we all liked the same thing. Having spent time at the National Gallery and Smithsonian recently, I was treated to some amazing artwork. Not all of it was to my liking - but that's OK. Seeing it gives one an appreciation for the broad range of "accepted" forms of art.

And what about art that doesn't find its way into museums? What about the artistic expressions of ordinary (and extraordinary) individuals whose work isn't traditional or even something that could be put into a museum? No doubt you've seen work sent around the internet by the amazing chalk artist Julian Beever or the paper cut artist Peter Callesen. If you haven't seen them, do check out them out.

Artistic expression comes in many forms. What about 32,470 painted eggshells as artistic expression? Eggshelland represents 52 years of devoted creative spirits sharing their vision with children and adults. It has touched so many people that an award-winning documentary was filmed about the experience. Would scholars call some of these things art? I can't say - but they're pretty cool... and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder anyway.