HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Creative Distractions

If you read my blog you know that I was laid off from a full time arts administration job in Sept. 2008. This week I am waiting to hear if I have a new job. Waiting is torture! So I have been keeping myself busy with some creative distractions. I have been sketching, knitting, and working with the Through the Viewfinder technique I discovered a few weeks ago. Here are some images I took in a make-shift studio in my apartment's kitchen yesterday. The day went by so fast and I have some fantastic images to work with. Of course the day would have been even better if I found out if I got the job, but I guess we can't have it all. So I continue to wait and find more creative distractions.

Artist Trading Cards

I was doing some research on swaps and found a great forum and swapping site for Artist Trading Cards. It is a great way to create some art, its a small commitment and is a great way to collect art from artists all over the world. Check out ATCs for All.

Creative Block

I have not been feeling creative lately. I have been pushing myself to do creative things. Even with a new lens for my camera, I just haven't been inspired. Towards the end of last week, I decided to go online and look around at what other artist have been up to. I went to Etsy and just searched and searched for hours. I found many creations that inspired me and in my research I found a photographic process called Through the Viewfinder. It is a technique where you use a digital camera to photograph the viewfinder of a twin reflex camera. Being a toy camera fanatic, I saw the images this technique produced and I was on E-Bay and bidding on a 1950s Kodak camera. It came on Saturday and I was off with cameras in hand. Now I am excited about a new series of photographs, using the images with my mixed media art, creating a handmade book and new images on my website. I just spent today photographing fruit for three hours.
Creative block is hard, I can't imagine anyone who enjoys it, but there is a huge pay off if you can work through it. I have been reading a few books about creativity and they all agree that creative block is like a growth spurt and necessary for an artist to move ahead. Some things you may want to do while working through the block is to just sketch in a journal, do something creative that is completely different from what you are use to, take a class, or research on the Internet like I did. Here are some websites to help you through that pesky creative block. Break that Block!

What the Heck is Creative Block?View Blog
Over Coming a Creative Block
How to Get Rid of Creative Block

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE FIRST
CHUBBY CAT CHAT'S COLLABORATION.
CREATIONS ARE DUE THIS FRIDAY THE 23rd!
SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS!

Quotes About Art

Credo found on dianatrout.blogspot.com

Art is therapy
Art is a spiritual quest
Art is a means of purging the soul
Art hangs on a wall
Art is all around us
Art is a process
Art is about humanity

- unknown source

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE FIRST
CHUBBY CAT CHAT'S COLLABORATION.
SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS!

Be a Part of the First Chubby Cat Chat Collaboration!

I love artist collaborations. Currently I am involved with a book exchange with another artist. Each month we exchange books and in the end we will each have a book with two artistic visions.

I am proposing a collaboration. Download the image and color it, rip it, do whatever you want to it.
Then e-mail me at chubbycatcreations@yahoo.com an image of what you have created! I will post it to my blog and create a small book of all the creations for all the artists who contribute.

In your e-mail make sure you include a link to you website, blog or Etsy page and I will post the link under your image. Also make sure to include your mailing address so I know where to mail your book.

Please e-mail me your creation and information by
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23rd.
I will post the creations the following week and have the finished books to the artists by mid November.

Can't wait to see all the creations!

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE
AND GET CREATING!
If you have any issues with getting the image, please e-mail me, chubbycatcreations@yahoo.com

Craftifesto

The DIY Trunk Show Craftifesto: The Power is in Your Hands!

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The DIY Trunk Show is an annual event that brings the best of the Chicago area's alternative craft community to the people.

We believe:

Craft is powerful. We want to show the depth and breadth of the Chicago crafting community. Anything you want—clothing, jewelry, art, music—you can probably get from a real live person here in Chicago. And buying handmade, one-of-a-kind goods from your neighbor kicks the ass of buying mass-produced, slave-made corporate stuff.

Craft is personal. To know that something was made by hand, by someone who cares that you like it, makes that object much more enjoyable. And it makes you feel less lonely when you realize that you know the name of the person who made the bar of soap you use, the earrings you wore when you met that special someone, or the scarf that kept you from freezing while you waited for the train.

Craft is political. We're not just trying to sell stuff. We're trying to change the world. We want everyone to rethink corporate culture and consumerism.

Craft is possible. Everybody can create something—you don't have to be an established business to make stuff. The DIY Trunk Show encourages new crafters by giving them a place to sell their work for the first time. We hold workshops to teach people how to make things. And we're creating friendships and connections between craftersãbeing a small business owner doesn't mean you have to work in isolation.