An Artist's Pondering ~ by Steve Henderson

This Was Our Shangrila

Like many artists, I have been painting since childhood. I almost left it all behind, however, after getting my art degree at the university.

Fortunately, time and wisdom intervened, and I was able to move past the prescriptivist teaching of some very kind, but limiting people. I do not like painting gritty urban scenes. I don’t like violent art. I do not gravitate toward ugliness and shock value. These, I was taught, are what’s “in” among a select group, but, as it took me years to discover and joyfully accept, I am not part of this group.

Valley of the Goddess

A country boy who grew into a country man, I like beauty, peace, quiet, and space to move around in. In my paintings, I seek to bring about feelings of freedom, joy, happiness, thoughtfulness, contemplation, and contentment. Throughout the years, various viewers and buyers have told me, “I feel like the person in your painting,” or, “I can step into that landscape and fall into a sense of serenity.”

I love hearing this.

Red Sail Day

I believe that we are all given gifts, gifts which, when we spend the time and effort in opening, discovering, and using, can then be given back to the world around us. That is what I seek to do through my art: to take people on a journey of discovery, to invite them into a place of peace, to prompt them into confidently walking forth on their own path.

Reality does not always have to be harsh, cruel, greedy, thoughtless, mean. Such elements exist in our world – in far too great a quantity – but when we focus too strongly upon them, we forget that reality also consists of goodness, compassion, honesty, integrity, innocence, and joy.

On Watch

Representational visual art, because it is quiet and does not feature a talking head, allows the artist to start a story that the viewer discovers, interprets, and adds to. It is an honor for me to start that story.

Steve Henderson is an artist who lives in Washington state. To learn

more about his art, please click on the links below.

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All photos are original artwork by Steve Henderson and may not be used without the artist's permission.  For additional information or commissions, please visit his website.

The How and Why I Create Art ~ by Monica Reents

I want to talk about the how and why I paint and draw while living with syringomyelia, a progressive spinal cord disease.

A quick, brief background, I was diagnosed at the age of 34 with syringomyelia and have been diagnosed with several other illnesses along the way. I also have Chiari Malformation, fibromyalgia, kyphosis, cervical degenerative osteoarthritis, and syringobulbia. Each of these has a long list of symptoms but I won’t get into all of that. For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on what and how I create art despite living with chronic pain. 

I love waking up early in the morning, absorbing the quiet of the world before it wakes, and sitting at my desk to draw, sketch, and color. This creative time is a wonderful way to wake up. It is time that I use for practicing, I just allow myself to make mistakes and to explore my abilities. This is a time when I am having to wait for my medications to catch up with my pain level, so I like to read or draw during this time as a way to distract my mind.

But it isn’t always as easy as sitting down and drawing. There are days that I have difficulty, or can’t, walk when I wake up. Laying in bed all night creates pain, incredible stiffness, and (sometimes) loss of mobility. I use my hands to move my legs when they won’t move on their own. Massaging my legs and lower back as my husband holds me up so I don’t fall over as I work on reminding my legs how to move. On days like this, it can take a few hours for my walking to return to normal.

Can you imagine not knowing if you will be able to walk in the

morning? And having that worry every day? Not everyone with syringomyelia experiences paralysis, or any loss of sensation or mobility. This disease can affect every part of your body, including your organs, there are no limits; so it treats everyone a little differently.

Thankfully, that doesn’t happen every day. But I do wake up with a great deal of pain and stiffness every day. That part never changes. This is what I have become accustomed to, chronic, wide-spread, pain.

I am also a writer and attempt to divide my time as needed. But for the last few weeks, I have concentrated on getting my artwork seen and building an online store on my blog. It really began by accident. I wouldn’t say that I am a gifted artist. It takes practice, patience, and persistence. I have always enjoyed drawing and coloring, but I never took it seriously. But something happened a few months ago… I drew a dragon. That may not sound all that exciting, but it was fairly good if I do say so myself. It’s not perfect, it needs some work. But I’m proud of it as it is. I decided to continue exploring different mediums and chose to play around with my acrylic paint. That’s when the magic happened! I had discovered my ability (and love!) to create fluid abstract art.

It’s expressive, bold, and feeling. I’ve become addicted to the

colors and how they react together. I enjoy hearing what people see in them and how they interpret each piece. It’s like performing a magic trick. Every piece I do, says something different to everyone. It’s comparable to my writing, in that if I write a poem, it provides different feelings for each person that reads it because they will interpret the meaning to tie into something in their own lives.

Something I am still working on, is time management. Honestly, I think most people have some struggle with managing their time when working from home. And with the state of the world right now, that statement is probably even more true. I want to work on everything every day. But my body becomes easily exhausted and it can take days to recover if I’m not careful. I have always worked long hours and slept very little, but since my diagnosis, there has been a huge decline in the amount of activity I can handle at once.

I’ve attempted to implement several different techniques to

improve my level of productivity without overwhelming my body. So far, I’ve seen most of them fail. The simplest ideas are often the best ideas… balance. It’s all in how I balance my days that allows me to check off items on my to-do list. I never paint and do any type of housework on the same day. I try to limit my painting to half days (but not always successfully - it’s hard to quit). Splitting my day so that half of it is sitting at my desk writing, drawing, etc… and the other half doing housework or painting really is the best way I can divide my time. I would like to say that when I’m tired that I rest, but not always. That’s when I end up dealing with several days of complete exhaustion. I don’t know why I do this to myself. I don’t neglect my health by any means, but I choose to be busy.

If you are someone who lives with a chronic illness and works, whether in or out of the home, you will be able to understand some or all of the aspects of daily living that I chose to mention. Daily life with chronic illness is almost a contradictory of terms. Living / chronic illness. These terms go together, but it isn’t a seamless match. There are plenty of rips and tears in the fabric that hold these two terms together. You learn to balance and to cope in ways others will not be able to relate. If this is you, keep going. Do your best because that’s all you can do and it’s enough.

Being able to work from home, doing what I choose to do, is the

blessing that came from my diagnosis. Whether with words, paint, pencil, charcoal, watercolor, markers, or even crayons, everything I create is part of who I am. Being able to share myself in these ways is important to me. When I was diagnosed with syringomyelia, I was given one year to live. Those were very powerful words. Although I have beat those odds, I know how fortunate I am to have an opportunity to follow my dreams. And I don’t intend to waste the time I have been given.

Artist and Author Monica Reents resides in Kansas with her husband and dog, Bentley. If you are interested in knowing more about her writing or art, please contact her at the links below.

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

The How and Why I Write ~ by Monica Reents

Nothing captures who I am more than when I am creating art,

Photo: Deposit Photos

whether with words or paint. The mix of my emotions, thoughts, imagination, and feelings with the words I choose to work with is nothing short of magical (for what it does for my soul, anyway). It’s my love of creating that has always drawn me to writing. But it’s not my love of writing that brought me to sharing my work. Life events opened that door and changed everything about the how and why I write.

Writing was something I always did in my free time before shoving it in a drawer or saving it on some random file on my laptop.

Like so many, I have had a lifelong love affair with books. The

Photo: Deposit Photos

written word garnered a special place in my heart before I even began kindergarten. I excitedly read everything I could get my hands on, looking to escape into the fantastical worlds born from genius minds, as far as I was concerned. It was in middle school that I decided maybe I could write a book. A friend and I tried to write and illustrate a book together. I have no memory of what the book was about or what happened to what we wrote, but a need to write was born.

If you ask someone who writes, why do you write? You’ll gather various answers, but the principal reason may simply come down to need. That’s my why. It offers a release that nothing else compares to. But always keeping it to myself, that came from fear. Much of my writing is dark and emotional. Most of it has no tangible origin, it just comes to me.

Without giving you an entire timeline of my life, let’s jump to 2011. I had been writing poems and short stories for many years, never sharing them. Most people who know me never knew that I wrote. It was for me and, while I wanted to write and publish novels (someday), I was fine writing for myself (for now). Newly married, working on blending our families, and working full time as a pediatric ophthalmic surgical assistant, I didn’t have time to write and I needed the creative outlet it provided. Little did I know that my opportunity was fast approaching.

In July 2011, I began having severe chest pain that radiated up into my shoulder, across my upper back, and down my left arm. I was experiencing numbness and tingling, along with loss of sensation on my left side. After two or three days of coping with increasing pain, I went to the emergency room and was quickly taken back and hooked up to an EKG (electrocardiogram). My results came back normal. Which was great, but the pain persisted.  A week later, an MRI (magnetic resonance image) was taken of my entire back.

This scan changed my life.

The first neurosurgeon I saw (I’m leaving names out for privacy) read the results of my MRI to me, and my husband (of three weeks). Walking into the office, I felt fairly confident that I had a pinched nerve in my neck from a herniated disc. We weren’t worried.

Once the surgeon began speaking, I felt myself becoming hot, nervous, then came the tears. So many tears. I sobbed until breathing became difficult. I became a mess while hearing words like tumor… largest I’ve ever seen… entire spinal cord… not surgical… and about a year left… even, now, knowing that I beat the odds, it’s still emotional

At the age of 34, I was diagnosed with syringomyelia. My tumor (syrinx) was from C2 to T12 (2nd vertebrae in the neck to the last rib vertebrae)

and was extremely swollen. He was surprised that I could walk and still had use of my arms.

Syringomyelia is a rare spinal cord disease that creates a fluid filled sac (cyst) within the spinal cord. The cyst, called a syrinx, can expand and elongate, destroying the spinal cord. The damage can result in chronic pain, loss of feeling, loss of sensation, paralysis, weakness, stiffness in the neck, back, and extremities. There is no treatment or cure for this progressive disease.

It was a long, quiet ride home from that first appointment. By the time we had made it home, my husband had decided what he was going to do. He made me comfortable on the couch and then made  a phone call. We couldn’t accept that I only had one year left to live and our minds were racing with anxious thoughts. But that phone call he made, saved my life.

He called his cousin who works for a very talented neurosurgeon. I had an appointment within a week and surgery two weeks after that… these amazing people literally saved my life!

I survived surgery (obviously), moreover, I have survived ten surgeries!

Every day is different for me. Some days are ‘fine,’ I go about doing whatever I want as long as I can maintain a level of pain to my level of tolerance. Other days are high pain days and I don’t even get dressed, staying in my robe, minimal physical activity, and dozing whenever I need to. I’ve learned to listen to my body because I know that having a busy day means not having a busy day for the next two to four days. 

Post sx 2016

My life is all about the balance of activities. I hate nothing more than a wasted day, so I use my love of list writing and planning to try to prevent from overexerting myself. I see a pain management doctor once a month that helps me track my ever changing symptoms, as well as a myriad of medications. I’m thankful to say, that I have been stable for about a year and a half now. I have a lot to be thankful for.

It was during the recovery of my first surgery in August 2011 that I told my husband about my writing. He was surprised, but not overly. He knows how much I love books, so wanting to write them wasn’t a far stretch. I asked him for a notebook and pen; explaining how I had hidden everything I had ever written in the past and never even talked about it with anyone.

Here is where I walked through that life changing door I mentioned. I immediately began filling the pages with poems and story ideas, character profiles, world building thoughts, and plans for the hopeful future of my writing.

I read my poems to my husband every night. Now, he isn’t a reader, but he listened, said each one was great, and supported me as I had just (re)discovered what I was going to do with my life.

For me, writing out in the open has been a dream come true! I have had several major bumps in the road since announcing to my family and friends, most importantly to myself, that I wanted to publish my writing. Unfortunately, I was paralyzed for about a year in 2016 and was unable to write. I had a year of therapy and have regained use of my body, but I don’t have much sensation and my balance is questionable. Again, a lot to be thankful for. 

I have been diagnosed with several other diseases since learning about my syringomyelia. It makes writing challenging, if you want to publish, because chronic pain hurts more than your body. After years of pain, I have found that my mind isn’t always clear. It becomes a reflection of what my body feels, leaving me tired and weary. Later, reading what I write in those moments isn’t always anything I keep. I’ve learned to listen to what my body is telling me. I never feel rested or that I've had a good night’s sleep. So, I have again adjusted my thinking on what determines a “good night’s rest.” I know that I do best when I sleep from about 10 pm to 6 am. My writing feels most productive in the afternoon into the evening as long as I haven’t been physically active. It’s all a balancing act. But so worth it to have the opportunity to do what I love.

I have published two poems. The first one was in 2014 in the Cogs in Time 2 anthology, called Darkened Love. The second poem, Whispering Seduction, is in the novel Tempted by Kristine Raymond.

Currently, I’m working on a poetry collection and a debut novel. I know that I will publish, but I don’t have a clear deadline as to when. As long as I am taking steps forward, that’s okay with me.

Monica Reents was born and raised in Kansas, where she lives with her husband and Bentley, their dog. She grew up with a love of books and found a passion for crafting her own stories and poems in High School after reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. 

   Monica also runs a blog, My Chronic Happiness. She designed her blog to be a reflection of who she is. It is informative for anyone living with chronic illness, as well as anyone interested in the world of writing and books. You can find her at the links below.

WEBSITE

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

PATREON

FACEBOOK

The Art of Screen Printing ~ by Andrew Tyler

 Screen printing, or serigraphy, is a technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade is moved across the screen to fill the mesh apertures with ink. Whilst maintaining downward pressure on the screen, a second stroke of the blade causes the mesh to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multi-coloured image. 

Based upon a scale drawing or sketch, each of my screen prints are printed in a bespoke manner - there is no limit to how many printings or colours I might add...when the print looks complete, then I stop. In a way they are more like printed paintings. 


‘Without the Aid of a Safety Net' is fairly typical of my approach. My method is termed 'reduction printing' as I start by printing a black square, this representing the whole of the image area to be printed and coloured. Next, I do a drawing using a brush dipped in a water based solution, so that, wherever I paint will block the screen mesh, leaving a black outline below it. 

After that it is a question of filling in the colours in to the unblocked mesh, jigsaw fashion, gradually 'reducing' the printable area. This particular screen print has, in the region of approximately twenty opaque colours, after which I cleaned off the screen and, once again using blue filler, painted and then printed a grading tinted sequence, usually varying from black to a deeper blue/black on top of the previous opaque colours making a richness and depth of colour unusual in most screen printing personal processes. 

Crazy but, true...all that effort and detail for a tiny edition of only nine. The images show the process and finished item, number 3 of 9, 13” x 17”

Andrew Tyler

Andrew Tyler is a Worcestershire-based artist and musician whose creative narrative exposes the duality of the human condition with humour and irreverence. 

A masters graduate of Chelsea School of Art, exhibitions include The Royal Academy of Arts (Stowell’s silver prize), Bradford British International Print Biennale, Angela Flowers Gallery, Wrexham Print International, Cheltenham Gallery (prize winner 2004) , The Kowalsky Gallery, Number 8, Worcester Arts Workshop & Worcester Museum and Art Gallery. He has appeared in Time Out, Average Art Magazine, The Face & Worcestershire Living .” Simultaneously serious, amusing, touching and daring to unravel”, his art is in the collections of notables such as Bill Wyman and Oscar Grillo.

He produces his work organically, without conscious preconceptions, opening the field to whatever ideas and themes emerge from his subconscious or his experience. He then combines these ideas with other, more calculated objects and concepts to further stress these seemingly ‘miraculuous apparitions’. His uncompromising graphic style explores love, sex, romance, vulnerability, female empowerment, nightmares, loneliness, the list goes on; the very ‘lived experience’ of being human, in its beauty and in its darkness, in its joy and in its tragedy.

Breaking conventions from the outset (his most memorable early piece being a depiction of his primary school being blown to smithereens) Andrew has been equally defiant in his experimentation with etching, printing, painting and hand-drawn work. Unsettling and alienating the gatekeepers of the art establishment ‘Cabal’ along the way, Andrew continues to produce prolifically. He awaits your engagement, your applause, hiss or boo.
To connect with Andrew, please click on the links below.

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**All photos are property of Andrew Tyler and may not be used without permission.

Medieval Monastic Female Scribes by Lexa Fisher

Christine de Pisan, 1407 (Wikimedia Commons | Public Domain)

When we think of medieval monastic scribes it's likely that a tonsured male figure comes to mind. But women were also scribes! There are written records of this, such as necrologies that identify these women, and archaeological evidence that also points to these female artists.

The latest evidence to surface is the discovery of lapis lazuli in the teeth of a female monastic who lived at the monastery at Dalheim between 997 and 1162.

Why is this discovery of lapis lazuli in a nun's teeth so remarkable? This pigment was quite rare and therefore only the best artists were allowed access. Its use by female scribes indicates that they were just as highly skilled as their male counterparts.

 Silk repaired manuscript

In many ways, female and male scribes did the same work of copying manuscripts by hand onto parchment or velum sheets, most often using black ink made from oak galls. Nuns and monks also used rare pigments and gold leaf in manuscripts. But it is only in nunneries where we find silk threads used to repair manuscripts.

Alison on the right.

I became interested in female scribes during my Latin studies in college. One summer I was fortunate to have been admitted to a summer program on codicology (the study of old books) and paleography (the study of old handwriting) at Oxford University. There, I met Alison Beach, a fellow student who is now a professor of history at University of Saint Andrews. Alison has a blog on medieval female scribes at http://scriptrix.org/

While at Oxford we were allowed access to the Bodleian library. Access first required a swearing in (in Latin) by a robed librarian and signing of a pledge to treat the books with utmost care. Each item we wanted to view had to be brought from a storage area--no wandering the stacks here! All codices had to be handled while wearing white cotton gloves, and the pages were held open by beads resembling rosaries. It was a religious experience for our class of twelve, all who happened to be women.

Image from Wikipedia

During a weekend trip to London we visited the British library and were treated to a viewing of manuscripts written entirely on purple-dye vellum -- a Codex Purpureus. Purple dye came from snails found in the Mediterranean and was highly valuable. To have an entire book written on purple-dyed vellum was truly a rare treasure, and even rarer to have examples of these books today.

With the plethora of books so readily available to us today, it's easy to forget how precious these volumes were throughout history, and how much labor was required to produce them.

Creativity, Creates Creativity ~ by Nicholas C. Johnson

Several years ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table, racking my brain about what I should be artistically working on. At the time, I really wanted to write short stories, novellas, or better yet, a novel. I just didn’t even know where to start. Not exactly knowing how to start, I just began creating art. Slowly, but surely, I began to chip away at creating things I was really proud of. Stories. Paintings. Comics. I think everyone has the innate ability to create something. Most people just don’t take advantage of that side of their brain.

When I first started out writing, I found people to write with. Having a writing partner or two helped me at the start of my journey. Another person can often help you fill in the blanks in your stories that you may not be able to see. I was writing all the time during those years. In notebooks. On my laptop. In the notes section of my phone. Some of these stories weren’t as good as I would have hoped and like many, I wondered when, and if I would get better at writing. Would I ever be able to come up with something I was proud of? Would I ever create something that would be published?

At first, coming up with things to write about was difficult. I desperately wanted my own Tolkien universe with a fully developed map and world. I never for a second realized how difficult creating something that intricate would be. I kept working on art nearly every day. Even when I couldn’t get anyone to read my work. The few people who did read what I had written often told me I needed to go back to the drawing board.

Eventually, something started happening. Every time I created a

new story or a new painting, I typically found I had another idea. Or I would think there was another story in the same universe. Or another painting that was similar to the last maybe with a few changes in colors. 

Ideas and creativity always seem to snowball. Now, years later, I have so many ideas I want to put into motion. There’s always something else I want to try, and another story to write. Another page to draw. Another canvas to splatter.

Not many artists become successful overnight (Not to say I’m a wild success.) Only after years of practicing, and hitting the pavement, have artists become successful enough to give up their day jobs (which I assume is what most artists secretly wish for.)

When I read the biographies of artists I admire, they very rarely achieved overnight success. No, most of these people worked for years. Created numerous projects of their own, or worked doing small pieces for another person’s project. Until finally those artists get noticed for their talent.

I think everyone can create something great. They just need to start working on what they are passionate about. Work at what you want to create every day. Sometimes you won’t get what you want out of the process. Sometimes you will get what you want out of the process. Other times you’ll create something really special because your plans will work out better than you hoped they would. Either way, during this time you will have created something unique and original to you.

In my oh so humble opinion, the more art you create the more art you will want to create. This all came to a head a few years ago for me. I was talking to one of my old high-school teachers and mentor (he is now a colleague) about what I had been up to artistically. I told him I enjoyed painting and writing and he asked me why I never worked on comic books. I had worked on comics in the past, but I never made this a priority. I took the advice seriously and began working on what I originally thought would be a graphic novel.

A graphic novel is categorized as a comic book that is one-hundred and twenty pages. When I had hit that magic number I knew that I had more blank spots to fill in. I knew I would need more time to finish what I started. I decided to make my graphic novel a continuing series called Callow Corvus. 

Callow Corvus is far from perfect, but I love it! I’m particularly

proud of the writing and the art that I’ve created in that series. The main character of the series, Carl The Crow (yes his middle name is The, no he does not like to talk about it.) Carl is always talking to me, and typically, whenever I put pen on paper, I can’t help but draw this character on the page.

I’ve currently been working on the Callow Corvus series for two years. In that time, Carl has taken on a life of his own. I have a group of people who are interested in the mildly-entertaining continuing adventures of my cynical crow. I’ve had both a doll and puppet created to bring Carl into more mediums. He’s been in advertisements and marketing campaigns for me. Recently I’ve been creating short comics in virtual reality, thanks to the help of Tilt Brush by Google. None of this would have been possible if I never tried to be creative, and bring my imagination to life many years ago at my kitchen table.

I want to say one last thing, there will be people who don’t believe in you. Plenty of them. They will not see your vision. They will not believe in your abilities. They will have the attitude of why don’t you just go home and watch TV like the rest of us. Forget these people. I believe in you.

My Best,
Nicholas C. Johnson

Nicholas C. Johnson, who creates art under the alias Bob Van Starr,

is an author of several comic books and an artist with paintings all over the world. Over the past two years he has published over ten comic books, and a Generation-Z Vocabulary work book. 

Before he began working as an artist and author, he was busy earning a law degree from Charlotte School of Law. Now, Mr. Van Starr lives in Beautiful Down east Maine where he enjoys spending time with his family and friends and working on his various art projects. 

For more information or to view this author's work please visit: 

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An Interview with the 2018 World of Wearable Art winner ~ Natalie Hutton

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Natalie Hutton. Natalie

is the 2018 winner of the World of Wearable Art. Natalie it’s good having you with us today.

Please, tell us a little about yourself (where you’re from, if you

Designer and Artist Natalie Hutton

have a job apart from your craft, family, etc.)
     Hello! Thank you so much for having me! I was born and continue to live in Melbourne, Australia. My parents are Scottish so I wouldn’t say I’m a typical Aussie – really not cut out for the hot weather here.
     I’m lucky enough to have three very different professions. Claudia Savage, of course where I am the designer, pattern maker, and machinist and what often feels like the structural engineer of all the pieces. I’m also an Audio Visual editor for The Office of Public Prosecutions in Victoria, where I work with audio visual evidence in preparation for court matters. And, I work as an illustrator, both in a freelance and personal capacity, selling my artwork and providing illustrations for books and other projects.

What are your most significant challenges when you create?

     Self-worth is consistently a challenge. I feel a lot of pressure to justify what I do to myself as something more than self-indulgence, which can be difficult when the general nature of my work is not commonly understood outside of the creative industries. I frequently feel an internalized pressure to do something else with my time.
     I love creating and when I have been unable to do so, I feel the deepest of depressions but I rationally know that I need to create to be happy. This only pushes the worry to the background and it’s always ready to pounce – usually when something just isn’t working or when my attempts to explain the nature of my work are misunderstood.
     But I’m nothing if not determined, so I push through and keep creating in spite of it.

What or who inspires you?
     I’m inspired by music, predominantly – I have Synaesthesia and when listening to music, I ‘see’ shapes and feel textures/weights triggered by the sounds. I use this as my starting point for most of my designs and from. I also like setting myself the challenge of harder and harder concepts and feats of engineering and I want those pieces to look effortless of the body despite the fact they may have 50m of silk or extreme silhouettes. 

When did you first know without a doubt that what you do today is

what you wish to share with the world?
     I’ll be honest, I haven’t made it to that point. I doubt my work every day.
     I do know that I NEED to be creative in some way, shape, or form, and as far as my wearable artwork goes, it’s something I very much fell into after losing my art folio in a school fire, which left me with nothing to apply to higher education with. The devastation I felt from that event left me unwilling to draw for over 10 years. So I turned to what I considered the only other skill I had and felt I could use in a capacity to make a living and I now find myself here (and finally drawing again, too).

What is your favorite fabrics/mediums to work with and why? Do

certain colors speak to you more than others?
     I’m a big fan of silks and natural fibers in general, but I’ll experiment with anything if I feel it will complete the vision in my head accurately. I’ve never really had an affinity with any colours. Unlike many with Synaesthesia, I don’t perceive colour very often, and in times when I do, it’s usually not accompanied with any of my usual building blocks for design.
     I do quite obviously work in black, silver, and red. I find that my work is usually so complex in lines and textures that the addition of colour would take it too far and overwhelm the viewer. I want to make pieces in which not all the detail is immediately apparent but slowly reveals itself to the viewer upon closer inspection.

Describe yourself and your work in five words
     Determined, exhausted, meticulous, anxious, and unconventional.

Who would play you in a film about your life?
     Haha, I don’t watch enough films/TV to even know who to suggest! They would have to be good at walking in 6 inch heels at all times, though, as I’m rarely without them – my studio table was built by my partner with the extra height in mind so I struggle to reach the center in anything less!

Have you ever decided after completing a piece of your artwork to

totally trash it and start over? Why?
     Rarely do I get to the stage where I’ve completed a piece and decide to start over. I usually know quite quickly if something is ‘failing’. I will give works a chance after the initial feelings of unease as it’s impossible to know when I’ve truly exhausted my limits of problem solving. But I usually use an educated guess based on time to restart vs time to rectify which often has to be coupled with financial loss/preservation of continuing.
     Though over the years I’ve learnt that 99% of the time, starting over again quickly is far better than fighting what will end up something my brain will always know to be imperfect – despite what anyone else knows of it!

Do you create custom items? If so, how far in advance do you

schedule? And have you created anything for anyone famous? And what was it?
     I do and the time frame is completely based on the complexity of the garment and the amount of work I have on at the time. Anything from 4 months to a year. I’ve not specifically made a piece for someone who could be considered famous, however I will have a work or two appear in the 5th season of the Netflix series Lucifer. They will be worn by actress Lesley-Ann Brandt who portrays the character Maze.

How did you prepare for the WOW (World of Wearable Art)

2019 WOW winner

competition?
     In a haze of panic, for the most part. I had never heard of nor intended to enter the competition until about 2-3 months out from the entry deadline. I was in a (one of my many) place of doubt over the validity of my works and was seeking a reason outside of myself to keep going. I found the kick up the butt I needed – a ridiculously tight deadline coupled with the first space in which I thought that “finally!” my work would belong. I’ve always been too artsy for fashion and too fashion for art but WOW offered that sweet spot in the middle I’d been searching for.
     It involved weeks of sleepless nights attempting to finish a piece

2019 WOW winner

I’d had in progress for years in time to photograph both for competition purposes and my personal collection purposes. The time between finding out I had been accepted to send my work in and the deadline for shipping was (for us Australians) about 3-4 weeks from memory and knowing there was the chance I may never see the piece again due to loss in shipping, damage in repeated wearing or even the sliiiimmest of chances of winning.

     I had to organize a team to shoot the whole of my collection of works to date to both create a consistent look in the shoot but also make the cost of the endeavor worthwhile. I managed to do this with about 5 days to spare and the rest of that time was used to build a box, (endless thanks to my partner here) build a structure that would support it within the box and then transport that box to the shipping company, which was made with literal seconds to spare.

What encouragement and/or advice could you offer to someone wanting to break into the world of wearable art?
     There’s no ‘right way’ to do anything in this space. Try not to torture yourself with that idea. The best thing you can do is just START – I can’t tell you where, as it’s different for everyone, but if you have even the vaguest idea, start experimenting and screw it up. Try again and again and again if you need to, but failing and learning with each time is more valuable that having never tried at all. On a similar note to that, don’t spend your time comparing yourself to others, especially if you are using what you see on social feeds as your benchmark of passing or failing at being a ‘real’ artist.
     Doing something ‘full time’ doesn’t make you more of an artist. And realize that things take time, often lots of time – don’t be afraid to spend years on a piece it will be part of what sets you apart from those around you.

We thank Natalie for taking time to share with us today. Since the interview, Natalie has had a DRESS STOLEN from a photo shoot in the Hollywood, California area.  If you would like to connect with Natalie, please do so at the links below.

WEBSITE

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FACEBOOK

All photos shared in this post are the property of Natalie Hutton and may not be reproduced without permission.

Finding a Writing Rhythm ~ by Author/Artist/Photographer Mina Beckett

As my bio says, I’ve been reading romance since I was a teenager.

About me link

While my friends were crowding into football games, I was curled up on the couch, listening to my Walkman, switching between my sketchpad and a romance book.  

My mother remarried and moved to Texas when I was sixteen, but I stayed in Kentucky with my grandparents to attend school. I spent my summers in Midland with her and my sister and never made the long trip without at least a dozen books. Back then, I could gobble up three to four romances a day.

Penny Jordan and Sara Craven were some of my favorite authors, but my first summer in Texas, I discovered Elizabeth Lowell and Diana Palmer. There I was, reading Fire and Rain, Granite Man and Calhoun while living in West Texas surrounded by real-life cowboys. It was the perfect catalyst for my young imagination. I began filling notebooks with ideas, character profiles, and short stories. I’d write a few paragraphs and then do a few sketches of different scenes and characters.

Fast forward ten years. I’m married, have two children, a full-time career and no time to write. My notebooks were shoved to the back of a closet and deemed unimportant. But the characters in my head were stubborn and not easily dismissed. They’d show up at the most inconvenient times, like at board meetings and during presentations, so I tried to appease them by jotting down ideas here and there. But they kept talking, loudly. It wasn’t long until those thoughts were filling notebooks again.

After spending almost two decades earning degrees, working full-time and raising children, I decided it was time to revisit my writing, so I cleaned out my utility room and set up a small writing space. There among baskets of dirty clothes and dryer lint, I began drafting my first story.

I was so excited!

But writing to complete a full-length novel for submission wasn’t anything like writing short stories for fun. I’d write a page or two – usually, things I’d scribbled down while I was at work– but then, my mind would stall. I’d spend the rest of my writing time staring at my keyboard. It was so frustrating! Soon, doubt moved in, pulled up a chair, and began whispering in my ear. Maybe writing for submission was just a childish dream. Maybe I wasn’t a writer at all.

I battled with Impostor Syndrome for months, not knowing it was a common problem among writers or how to deal with it. It took me over a year to finish the first draft and I can honestly say, it was horrible. The book didn’t get any better when a small press publisher contracted it in 2014. My second book was published the following year, but I was still struggling with the words.

My husband and I were financially stable enough that I was able to resign from my job and devote more time to my writing and work part-time in the company we owned. I finally had time to write! I moved out of that dark and dusty utility room and into the guest bedroom. Looking back, I know I resembled Andy Farmer (Chevy Chase) in Funny Farm.

In 2016, I outlined a new series called Coldiron Cowboys, wrote blurbs for the three books, and hammered out a rough draft of the first one (still stalling and struggling). But I didn’t submit it to the small press publisher. My gut told me these books were going to be different and they were.

In 2017, I regained the rights to my first two books, shelved them and enrolled in Gwen Hayes’ Romancing the Beat. That class transformed my writing and I was able to finally find my voice. That’s such a wonderful feeling!

I began working on a series proposal for the Coldiron Cowboys and successfully landed an agent. We submitted The Heartbreak Cowboy (book one) to the big five, went through a grueling four-month rewrite for a top ten publisher, and received wonderful feedback from an acquiring editor at Harlequin. But, in the end, I stepped away from her on good terms without contracting the series.

But it was during that rewrite that I made a giant leap forward. We had a conference call with the acquiring editor who requested the rewrite to discuss the changes she wanted. I did bullet points reflecting those changes in the appropriate chapters and had a firm grasp on what needed to be done. I had written the story, knew it and my characters inside and out, but after an hour of writing, I stalled.

I couldn’t understand why it was happening until I found some of those short stories and sketches I’d done in Texas. Suddenly, it hit me. Walkman. Sketchpad. Book. My brain was wired to multitask not to sit in front of a computer for hours trying to churn out chapters. Those first two books had been written while I was on lunch breaks, in class, and at little league games. I needed to find a rhythm so, I began experimenting by incorporating different hobbies and projects into my writing routine.

I set daily word goals, wrote in short spurts of five to eight hundred words, then switched to working on a watercolor painting, took a walk around the farm to snap a few pictures, baked a cake worked in Photoshop.   

Pinterest link

This has worked wonders for me, and I don’t think I would have been able to write so productively if I hadn’t found this rhythm. I wrote my first Christmas romance in 2019 and I did it in only three months.  

Website

I re-branded myself, started CurtissLynn Publishing, and self-published The Heartbreak Cowboy. I’ve since published three more books and started a new series. Breaking the Cowboy, the third and final book in my Coldiron Cowboys series will be released in March and there are at least three books planned for the Rough Creek series. Hollywood Cowboy (Morgan’s story) will be hitting Amazon sometime in the late summer or early fall. I’m crossing my fingers that Montana Cold (Colton and Lauren’s story from The Heartbreak Cowboy) will make it into readers' hands by Thanksgiving.

With each book I write, I learn more about myself, my voice and my writing process.

Thank you for having me as a guest today!

To learn more about Mina, click the links under the photographs or those listed below.

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

GOODREADS

AMAZON

What’s New and How-To~by Joanne Jaytanie

If you’re looking for a fun story, interested in hearing some new music, or admire a piece of art, Originality by Design is your next must-read. Stop by and see what’s new. We have a wide variety of guest bloggers with a multitude of subjects. And, we’re introducing a brand new page titled, REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS. 

Are you excited to see what there is inside the pages of Originality by Design (OBD), but a bit bewildered?

No worries. I’m here to give you a quick rundown. You’ll become an expert in no time.

When you enter the OBD site, the newest blog post will be the first thing you see (like this one). To the right of this blog post is a list of PAGES. If you click on the HOME page, you’ll see the description of Originality by Design. And as you scroll down, the next block is once again, the newest post. Under that post is a list of the ten most viewed blog posts. 

The next tab under HOME in PAGES is MEMBERS. There you will find an introduction to each of our members along with a link to their PERSONAL PAGE. Each member’s page can also be reached by clicking on their name in PAGES. Along with the MEMBERS, we have our REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS and the list of GUEST BLOGGERS – by year. You can also CONTACT US if you have suggestions, comments, or are interested in joining us as a guest blogger.

Have you found a person you’d like to read more from but can’t locate their posts?

If they are a MEMBER, when you click on their name in the PAGES, their personal page will come up. There you can read all their posts to your heart’s content. You can also find links to their other sites, such as Facebook, Pinterest, and their website. Each member’s page is tailored to their choices.

If you’re looking for a specific GUEST BLOGGER, REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR, even a MEMBER, and you don’t want to scroll through pages and pages, let me tell you a little trick. Scroll up to the very top of the blog. On the top left side, above the Originality by Design banner, you’ll see a “B” next to that is a white box. Just type in the name you are looking for and hit enter. Everything relating to that person will appear. 

Those are the basics. So feel free to pursue OBD whenever the mood strikes. There’s always something new to read, a thought to ponder, or a laugh to be had.

Enjoy!  
Joanne

An Interview with Daniel Travers CEO of Redideo

Tell us a little about yourself (where you’re from, if you have a job apart from your craft, family, etc.)

Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to take a small peek into

Daniel Travers/Redideo

my life.

I’m originally from the Midwest but currently, live in Southern California.

Probably one of the most common questions I get is, “What does ‘Redideo’ mean?” The word may look funny at first, but it’s pronounced “ruh-did-e-o.” It’s a fusion of the words red, radio and video to morph my once red hair, aural, and visual communication skills.

Growing up, staying out of mischief was sometimes a struggle for me but art and music were two things in my life that I could always count on. I was attracted to urban art and underground music and eventually found focus by earning a BFA in New Media from the Kansas City Art Institute. I currently work for a broadcast media company and do art on the side.

What are your most significant challenges when you create?

Not having enough time in the day! Maybe once I’m retired I can pursue art full-time, but for now, I have to focus on what pays the bills. So, I guess you could add funding for art supplies to the list as well.

What inspires you?

That’s a pretty big question! It can vary from day to day and it

Photo: Redideo

really depends on what kind of art I’m creating at the moment. Inspiration can come from something that someone says, or I read, music I hear or, maybe I see it and subconsciously it sits in the back of my brain just waiting to come out.

My environment obviously has a big influence on inspiration. If I’m having a bad day, I may want to produce something more aggressive or however it relates to my mood. Or, I may have a thought about current events, science or the progression of art in general that makes me want to do a more conceptual piece.

In the end, it really depends on the project.

When did you first know without a doubt that what you do today is what you wish to share with the world?

I’ve been doing art for as long as I can remember, and it’s always

Photo: Redideo

had a rewarding effect on me which encouraged me to do more. I wouldn’t say it came naturally, but it just seemed like the right thing to do and pursue.

At this point, I think it’s more about sharing the growth (or lack of haha) and how different events in my life and the world have an effect on my creative endeavors and interpretations.

To be honest, sometimes I wonder if I should be doing something else. But, I think it’s only natural to evaluate what you’re investing your time into.

What is your favorite medium to work with and why?

I honestly don’t have one favorite medium to work in. I like to

Photo: Redideo

experiment and change things up which ultimately contributes to my overall growth as an artist. And then when I have that idea down the road that meshes more than one medium, hopefully, I’ll know how to do it.

But, if I had to name one, it would probably be acrylic painting or drawing. They were some of my first go-to’s and give me nostalgia.

I love doing digital art, but sometimes it’s hard to measure something you can’t physically put your hands on or feel like you put your personal energy into it.

Who would play you in a film about your life?

Brad Pitt, probably. Not because I think I’m a good looking guy, but because he’s from the Midwest as well and he’s played a lot of diverse roles (some better than others). My second pick would probably be Jack Nicholson. He’s just a classy, charismatic guy with a lot of personality.

Have you ever decided after completing a piece of artwork to totally trash it and start over?

All of the time! I’m probably my own worst critic and ¾ of my art is never seen by anyone but me. Art is obviously subjective, but I usually have a vision in mind and some kind of standard for myself. It’s hard to describe what each of those are exactly for every piece just because they’re all different.

What encouragement and advice could you offer to someone wanting to promote their artwork?

Don’t compare yourself to others! I find myself doing it at times, but I have to stop myself. It’s only natural. But, you never know how that person got to be where they are and the things they had to do to achieve it. So, believe in yourself…. Which leads me to the next piece of advice I’ll give… marketing. Marketing is a huge part of the equation and people will not find your art if it’s collecting dust in your house. Get out there and network, talk with people, and utilize social media. If you’re not good talking with people, find someone who is to help you.

I also love a quote Andy Warhol once said, “Don't think about

Photo: Redideo

making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

To connect with Daniel and Redideo, click the links below.


**All photos property of Daniel Travers/Redideo and may not be reproduced without permission.

WEBSITE

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK