Denthe has invited me to play along in her blog hop.... and to answer the following questions:
Here goes...

1. How does my creative process work?

let's see, it's harder than one would think to describe something you never even think about. Plus my process changes regularly.

Mostly I paint at work on my lunch hour on breaks from my day job. Painting at home doesn't happen too much because of my son. Autism and paint do not always mix. He doesn't enjoy painting and doesn't understand why i am doing it. He doesn't like things out of place or most messes.

At work,  I can pull out a piece to work on and put it away after 15-30 minutes...
that's mainly why I do watercolors as opposed to acrylics.

I am inspired by everything... nature, flowers, rocks, bees, bugs, mushrooms, little girls, ladies, color, music, water, quotes... I am mostly painting whatever I feel like at the moment without too much regard for what someone else might want to have hanging on their wall. and I am constantly trying new areas...

here's my little space at work...

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

 I don't know how to answer this one as I am actually unaware what genre I fit into.... I don't see many other falling ladies being painted out there. Of course I have moved onto mandalas, and flowers and rocks....with just the occasional falling lady now.

3. What am I working on now?

 I am trying to loosen up with my watercolors, Instead of always outlining all my sketches or adding lines in my mandala, i want to try more light and free looking pieces. I like the simple, alla prima style and want to give up some of my pattern and detail, and lose the overworked feeling to some of my pieces.  I have  a few to show you by next week I hope.

I am also working on a novel I mentioned awhile ago, about 20 started paintings, my sketchbooks, 2 different children's books with illustrations, more rocks and jewelry, and whatever pops into my head at the moment. I also have  a bunch of needlefelting projects and crafts I would love to do.

4. Why do I create what I do?

Easy...

I simply make what feels good at the time to make....

OR

whatever is nagging at my thoughts enough I simply NEED to get it out into daylight!


you can read Denthe's answers by clicking here. We think alot alike creatively.

come foraging with me

when i was growing up, my parents read Euell Gibbons, I remember going on foraging trips in the back of an old brown truck with a broom stuck in the back...

Now I have Euell Gibbon's book, 'Stalking the wild asparagus' and I have been trying to force my family to eat things I have gathered. I am just learning and I will post a bit every now and then about my success or lack of it as I go. I tried violet syrup this spring from the violets in my yard and it tasted like grass syrup. 

fail
 Actually that was my second try...I do have to say you should be very careful that what you are foraging & eating is really what you think it is, I thought I was picking violets my first time trying the syrup and when i decided to double check, and identify it through the internet I found I was picking something not edible. So now I am very careful before i make my family eat something.

recently I tried Elderberry blow fritters...

partial success

I gathered some elderberry blossoms, "elderberry blow" sounds better.

Euell Gibbons has a recipe in his book, and I followed it but any pancake batter recipe would do...

after mixing it up, cut most of the stem off the elderberry blossom, 

hold it by it's base and dip the blow in the batter then drop it into a frying pan of hot oil. Let it cook a minute or so then flip and cook the other side till done and turning brown.

after you take them out of the oil, we dipped them in sugar. I liked them, but my son thought you could taste the stems. Maybe it would be better to actually pull all the petals off and just stir them up in the batter to avoid those little bits of green stem.


Daylillies are next...

white flowers in watercolor

amidst all the other things I have been painting I have been wanting to do more white flowers in watercolor, after i enjoyed doing those white roses so much. If you missed it they are here.

I like it but I was much happier with the white roses...

I have a bunch more photos of other white flowers to pick from though so there will be more art soon...

another page

Another page in my picture book, 'the Bee Queen's message"...

painting shoes again

I am working on finishing some of that art from last week but there's so much else to do too...
I decided I really like making bright colorful flats or sneaks... my first pair are here
and my new pair are shown here in progress...

Inspired by the colors of the daylilly...

 I mixed up some fabric paints with water to be less stiff, and used a pen as a stamp, I stamped polkadots. I almost wish I had stopped right there with just yellow polkadots but i kept stamping with smaller pens, I did some doodling in my ICAD book to try out looks, then when it was all done, it seemed a tad too bright so i smudged white over top the dots to tone it down. I am pleased with my new pair!

I will show you what else I did with daylillies on monday...

Blackberry smoothie

i love being able to step out my backdoor and pick something fresh and organic to eat or cook with! We have been eating our own zucchini and summer squash and broccoli and cucumbers, and adding mint to our water, and chives and basil and parsley to our meals....

and picking our own blackberries which grew wild behind our shed...

I made a smoothie with them before work...

To my blender I added one banana and the following:

It was perfect!

I have done it again...

*! SCatteREd creAtiviTY !?*

I keep starting paintings without finishing others, i have at least 10 going I think...in all different styles, i want to use acrylic ink lines over top of these bright watercolors, I wanted to make a looser mandala... then I have also started a bunch more realistic white flowers (i have masked the white out and stopped there) and I am trying to finish up some bird paintings I started last winter, and still writing

...and...and...and...

If you'd rather see something finished I did post The Bee Queen piece monday...you can see it here

the Bee Queen

I posted some watercolors awhile back that have been turning into a story... here's another piece towards that picture book....

 This illustrates the conversation the Bee Queen has with the leader of the crows, to ask for his help...

Hopefully more to come soon...