Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Cross Stitched Christmas Stocking

Brittany Stocking

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

 

As promised, here is the finished cross stitched Christmas stocking I made for my daughter.

The next unfinished cross stitch project that I need to complete is an afghan.   It has cute kitty pictures on it.

Happy stitching!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Shadow Artists

 Thoughtful Thursdays

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

During my absence this past month, I have been refueling my inner well.  After finishing a piece of artwork that drained me of energy, I took a break.  During this break, I have kept my creative juices flowing by cross-stitching.   I’ll show you the cross-stitch piece after it is complete.

Now to this week’s Thoughtful Thursday -

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Are you one of those people who likes art and artists but are too fearful to start being creative?

I used to be one of those people.  Then one day I decided to stop admiring the work of others and try it for myself.  I am so thankful that I didn’t let fear get in the way of those first attempts.

In those first attempts, I wanted everyone to like my paintings.  One person in particular did not like my paintings.  All it takes is one person to put the fear of disapproval.  Even though that person didn’t like my paintings, I had enough support from others that kept me creating.  Don’t put your paintings under the bed  and stop creating if someone disapproves.   We aren’t here to please everyone.  We are all uniquely different.  What one person don’t like a lot of others will like.

Some shadow artists live their creative life through others.  They might marry an artist or become friends with an artist.

Another reason someone might not create is that all their lives they have been led to believe that art is a hobby.   We hear words like, “Making art won’t pay the bills.”  So, we find jobs that pay the bills but end up hating the work.

All it takes to create is a baby step toward that first piece of artwork.  Take an online drawing course, get a book on how to draw, or take a drawing class in your local area.  You will be the same age in 5 years if you take that first step or not.  Why not take that first step?  I took that first step 24 years ago.