Blasphemy or Epiphany?

I love watching other artists work! I eat up YouTube videos, UStream classes, online workshops and creative blogs like ice cream with extra fudge and whipped cream. But... sometimes, I found that it was leaving me a little unsure of my own capabilities.

So, after much soul searching about what I was "trying to say" with my art, I discovered that I wasn't trying to say anything at all. I was simply enjoying creating art for the sake of creating art. However, I was so consumed with trying to be something I am not, that I was in a total "art freeze".

I will never be able to talk like an artist....

Tonight, I have pulled up a chair, lit my wonderful Reiki charged candle (its almost gone, time to go to incense), lit up a cigarette (yes, I smoke), grabbed a coffee (the real stuff, no decaf here today), pulled my favorite colors of paint (Indian Yellow, Cobalt Teal, and any Quin there is), grabbed my favorite paper pieces from my horded stash (really, why am I waiting to use it?), and just went to town creating a giant mess.

I am not posting a picture of the final work, as honestly, it is horrid. But the freedom I felt from relieving myself from having to use the words like "organic", "internal", "natural", etc... that so many of my artist friends use, BEFORE I even started to work was wonderful.

I will never be able to talk like an artist....

These are the new buzz words that many of us hear from our peers, and I often times felt pressure to change my art to reflect these words. I found it very intimidating and even discouraging when I could not describe the "feeling" behind my art.

I will never be able to talk like an artist....

I do what I like and it really has nothing to do with organic, internal, natural, etc.... as soon as I figured that out, I was free. I do what I do.

Why do I have a Reiki candle  or Champaka incense in my studio? Honestly, because it smells wonderful. Centering to create art for me is much more internal than these rituals. It often times involves me waking in the middle of the night to a dream I need to get on paper, and then other times, it involves me contriving art for a corporate customer.

I honor those artists that find their center in these rituals. However, I found that trying to be "like them" when I really wasn't was causing me caution, doubt, and worry in my own art process.

I will never be able to talk like an artist....

I am practical, I am deliberate, I am the farthest away from organic, internal, and natural as you can get. But, I enjoy creating art.

But I need to own my process, not pretend like I am someone else... give me a candle, cigarette, beer, my favorite paints and my favorite papers. I will undoubtedly create something that I again deem horrid, but I will be happy in doing it my way.

I will never be able to talk like an artist... but I do hope that the freedom I have found from knowing this will allow me to express "me" more fully in my work.

I will never be able to talk like an artist.... and that is really ok, I still know I am an artist.

That's all for today!

~Mique

Introducing the Mischievous Ones

Hi everyone... I thought this morning I would do a quick introduction of the namesakes for SillyCats Studio... Yes! Pictures of my cats! LOL!


So, this is Mr. Moe the 19lb Maine Coon cat!!! He came to us by way of the Wake County animal shelter in November 2011. They think he was about 3 years old at the time. He had actually been surrendered by his previous owner because he was "too" aggressive. All we have ever experienced with him is that of a gentle giant. Here he sits in one of my ever present boxes on the floor of the studio just looking up at me waiting for the moment he can play in the paint when I am not looking!

And this is "little" Master Cooper... he also is a rescue from the Wake County SPCA. He came to us as a 6 week old ball of fluff in December of 2012, but soon grew into a long and lanky 13lb miniature terrorist. We originally decided to get a second cat so that Moe would have a reason to get off of his big ol' Maine Coon butt and move a little, but Cooper has wormed his way into our hearts (and my water colors, and my encaustics, and my paper stash, and my... well, you get the picture).

Just so that you get a size comparison of the two together... here they sit at the back door watching birdies fly around the back yard.

And, the whole gang.... no dogs allowed in the studio though. For some reason, they think there is food in the tubs of gesso and tubes of paints!!!

Well, so there ya go... I am sure that from time to time, I will put up a few more pics of the mischievous ones... but, for now, I should probably focus on something fun and arty for the next post.

See you then!

~Mique

The Becoming of SillyCats Studio

Welcome everyone to my grand opening of SillyCats Studio!

I lost so many of my followers when I changed my blog address from mlwCustomDesigns to What is She Up To Now. As many of you know, mlwCustomDesigns was primarily centered around my digital scrapbooking business. Additionally, mlwCustomPhotography was primarily centered around my photographic images and teaching others how to see light, movement and the experience of the moment both on either film or digital. I moved to What Is She Up to Now to try and keep everyone updated on what I was doing after my digital distributor's store went away, but I have not been very diligent in keeping up with that site. Since then, I have continued my digital designs, but I have also discovered the way of the physical arts. I now teach classes in paper crafts, art journaling, encaustics, photography and overall artistic enablement (call me stupid, but I believe everyone has the ability to create).

SOOO... I wanted to re-brand.... I have my wonderful studio that is manned by Moe - my 19 pound red Maine Coon cat, and Cooper my 12 pound all American mutt cat.... they are my constant companions here and provide lots of encouragement and even sometimes "cat prints". It is a small place that can only seat 6 for my classes. The difference is, it is not centered around my previous digitally centered presence. I would not only rebrand all of my previous digitally provided content, but I would also provide tips and tutorials, images, class information, etc under this new brand. Hence, the birth of SillyCats Studio.

Let me know what you think.... many of you are experts at this, so I would love your feedback.

Until next time, I wish you all of the best, and thank you in advance for any feedback you can provide on any of these topics.

~Mique