Tuesday, March 26, 2013

On The Bright Side

Don't Just Look On The Bright Side, Live On The Bright Side. 
"On The Bright Side" acrylic on 3 11x14 canvases by Victoria Lynn Hall.

You may or may not be surprised to hear this, but I am not a natural born optimist.  I don't paint smiling portraits with bright colors because it reflects the way I feel all the time.  I do that because it reflects the way I want to feel, the way I could feel if I took the time to see things a little differently.  That's what painting is for me, taking the time to see things a little differently, and it always makes me feel better. 

So when I say Life Is Better With Art, I don't mean it lightly.  Art is the candle I light when I feel threatened by darkness.  Art is how I look on the bright side and when I practice it enough, I find myself living there too.



"From Within" Art & Quote
"From Within" Art & Quote by Victoriart
Browse Bright Cards online at Zazzle.com
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Craft Closet Happiness

Once upon a time when my craft closet was clean and organized

Recently I read Gretchen Rubin's wonderful book Happier At Home (sequel to The Happiness Project) and it had a profound effect on me.  In particular her chapter on Possessions really resonated with me.  In it she writes:

“Cultivating my possessions...wasn't a simple matter of organization, elimination or accumulation; it was a matter of engagement.  When I felt engaged with my possessions, I felt enlivened by them, and when I felt disengaged with them, I felt burdened.”

I knew exactly what she meant and I could especially apply this to my craft closet.

Craft Closet Creation #1: Set Your Heart Free

 Next to perhaps my linen closet (a story for another time), my craft closet is the biggest organizational hurdle in my home.  However, I have procured, purged, organized and reorganized enough art and craft supplies to know that none of that is the answer for me.   Instead, I decided to really investigate what made me happy and unhappy about my craft closet.

I realized that what made me happy about having a closet full of supplies was that they often allowed me to create whatever I was inspired to create at any given moment.  What drove me crazy about my craft closet was that so much of what was in there wasn't being used or even seen and yet how many times had I purged something only to wish I had it later?

Craft Closet Creation #2: Growing Roots

Then I had another epiphany.  Not only did art supplies supply me with the means to carry out what I was inspired to do, they often provided the inspiration.   (It's not a coincidence that my muse so often appears to me while I am strolling the aisles of Michaels or Hobby Lobby.)

I decided that a sure way to become more engaged with my craft closet was to think of it less as a storage space for things and more as a treasure chest of ideas.

With that in mind, I began pulling out the contents of my craft closet yet again but this time instead of asking, “where can I put this?”, I asked myself, “what could I do with this?”

Craft Closet Creation #3: Flight Of The Dragonflies

The answers came faster than I expected and before I knew it my ample supply of scrapbook paper and picture frames became the first of what I hope will be many craft closet creations.  Not only that but these creations themselves have inspired many more ideas that I am now rushing to keep up with.  I think engaging with my craft closet in this way is going to be a happiness project that I will enjoy tackling for some time to come.

"Craft Cake" Birthday Party Invitation
"Craft Cake" Birthday Party Invitation by time2see
Browse more Happy Invitations at Zazzle

Imagination Note Card
Imagination Note Card by Victoreeah
Shop for more greeting cards online at Zazzle.

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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Snow Days

Snowed In

A couple of weeks ago the grass was green and the daffodils were just starting to come up. I could smell spring in the air and I just couldn't wait.

Snow Growing

 Then we had two big snow storms.

Snow Umbrella

 I've decided to look at it as a reprieve, sort of like hitting the snooze button on the alarm so I can spend just a few more minutes dreaming. I've decided to be grateful for these last, quiet, introspective days of winter; for time to spend in the studio instead of the garden; for time to spend reading instead of weeding; for time to spend planning instead of planting.


Frozen In Time

 Dear Spring, don't hurry.


Garden Angel "Winter Rose" Magnet
Garden Angel "Winter Rose" Magnet by Victoreeah
View more Victoria lynn hall Magnets at zazzle.com


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Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Muse Knows Best




The current, chaotic state of the desk in my studio

 "Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of creativity." - Michael J. Gelb 

My muse should play in the Major Leagues because she knows how to throw a mean curveball.  It seems that just when I start to get rolling with one project, she starts tossing a million other wild ideas at me.

 Sometimes I really dislike this about her.   It makes me question my own ability to focus on a task.  It offends that part of me that likes things to be orderly and chronological or, at the very least, logical.  It makes me feel like I'm not being as productive as I could be.

 But here's the thing: My muse really doesn't care about productivity as much as she cares about creativity.  She knows that while order and logic serve me well in many areas of my life, they often stand in the way of my creative process.  She knows that if I focus on any one thing for too long I become bored and complacent.

 I will probably never be completely comfortable with the madness of her methods but it isn't her job to make me comfortable.  It is her job to keep me inspired and motivated and I think that requires throwing me a little off balance from time to time.

 As you may have guessed by now, being a Slave To The Muse is not always easy.  However, the more I get over my ego's need to rebel against her authority and accept my role as her minion, the more I realize she knows what's best for the work and, ultimately, for me.

 Wow, that is incredibly annoying. 


True Colors Abstract Art Binder
True Colors Abstract Art Binder by Victoriart
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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Missing My Muse


What My Muse Looks Like Most Days

My Muse recently went missing for a couple of weeks. She does this every now and then and I haven't always handled it well. This time, however, I remembered her telling me once that sometimes not showing up was her way of giving me some time off. So instead of panicking I decided I would take advantage of the time she was giving me.

This was great for the first few days. I tidied up my studio, organized my art supplies, did a few chores around the cabbage and caught up on some reading. I didn't really start to miss her until the second week. This is when I found myself casually dropping by some of my Muse's favorite places in hopes of running into her. When she failed to appear at the art museum, the craft store or even the clearance section of HomeGoods, I really started to get worried.

My last ditch effort was to try to lure her with chocolate and salty snacks and her favorite movies and TV shows. I even watched an episode of Bewitched in her honor but still, there was no sign of my Endora look alike. Finally, I decided there was nothing left to do but to go ahead and start creating without her.

I had been in my studio painting for about twenty minutes when I felt her presence. I turned to find her sitting in my favorite chair by the window. She looked extremely tan, was dressed in a colorful, tropical print sarong and had a sombrero on her head and scuba fins on her feet.

“Where the hell have you been?” I had to ask.

“I've been right here.” She replied calmly between sips of her umbrella drink. “Where the hell have you been?”

Obviously from her appearance I could tell she was lying but there was also a certain truth to what she was saying, a truth I know but somehow manage to forget time and time again and that is this: Sometimes my muse leads me to the work and sometimes the work leads me to my muse.

In other words, no matter how all knowing and powerful my muse may be and no matter what island paradise she may have wandered off to, if I am serving the work then I'm pretty sure she is contractually obligated to serve me.

So the next time you see me whining somewhere about missing my muse, do me a favor, would you? Tell me to get to work. Thanks.

Happy Creating!
V.
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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Books, Books and Less Books

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Once upon a time, when I was a young girl, I had a lot of dreams and visions about how my life would be when I was an adult.  In every single one of them I had A LOT of books.  These books would of course be stored in my specially designed library (I made diagrams) which took up an entire wing of the castle where I would someday live happily ever after with whichever member of The Rolling Stones eventually won me over.

As I got older I began to realize that the whole castle thing was perhaps a tad unrealistic and I made the compassionate choice to live without both Mick and Keith rather than break either one of their hearts.  And yet I never did quite let go of the A LOT of books idea.

My messy library before I did the unthinkable.

 Fast forward about thirty years and what I had was a classic case of "Too many books, not enough shelves".  So in 2012 I did two things I never, ever, not even in my wildest dreams, thought I would do:  I got rid of some books (gasps of shock and awe) and I got a Kindle (stunned silence).

My Library with less books.

 Of course I still love actual books and will still buy them, keep them, look at them, touch them, smell them and yes, even read them.    However, the first time I held my Kindle, a magical thing happened; I realized it was possible for a woman who lives in a cabbage to have a castle sized library. 

And she read happily ever after.

"My Favorite Love Story Is Ours" Valentine's Day Greeting Card
"My Favorite Love Story Is Ours" Valentine's Day Greeting Card by time2see
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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Colors Of Courage

"It is only when we are no longer fearful that we begin to create."
- Joseph Mallord William Turner

 Art is where I have courage.  I started my latest painting with those words because courage is something I have been reading about and thinking about a lot lately.  Specifically, I was remembering a conversation I had several years ago where someone pointed out to me how carefree I was when I was making art and how different that was from how I approached many other areas of my life.  That was an "Aha! moment" for me.  It got me thinking about how I could apply the lessons art teaches me to create a more carefree life.  I'd like to think that since then I've learned to loosen up a little, stop second guessing myself so much and take a few more risks but I have to admit that I still find that easier to do on the canvas than anywhere else.

"I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never
let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do."
- Georgia O’Keeffe

 Anyway, I don't always start my paintings out with words but sometimes I do.  Sometimes the paintings that start out that way wind up reflecting or expanding on the words (like when "Shut Up And Paint" became "Just Listen") and sometimes they don't.  Either way the words are usually obscured by layers of paint long before the work is finished.  In this case, however, the word "Courage" kept lingering and popping out at me, so I eventually made it part of the painting.

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
- Brené Brown

 No, this isn't a painting of some ass kicking, weapon wielding, super hero.  However, I do think it is a  portrait of someone who has known heartache and is brave enough to keep on loving; someone who has experienced hurt and betrayal and dares to continue acting with kindness and integrity; someone who has felt the sting of rejection and disappointment but remains determined to keep  moving in the direction of their hopes and dreams; someone who, like many people I meet on my canvas, is a lot like me.


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