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Artistic Endeavors

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the by-product of a beautiful environment

I took an online landscape watercolor journaling class a couple of months ago through the Jeanne Oliver Creative Network. The class was taught by Michelle Wooderson and I was not only inspired by the techniques and studies, but how Michelle paid so much attention to the details of all of her supplies. Every element was thoughtful and personal. I mean, now I *needed* a rubber date stamp for my sketches and watercolors! And as soon as I saw her mixing her paint in little ironstone butter pats… well, there was no denying that she’s a kindred spirit. As I was watching the videos, I found myself more interested in her supplies than the assignment! It’s like her artwork was just a by-product that sprang forth out of the beautiful environment it was created in. Since that class, I’ve been following her on Instagram @mishwooderson . If you already love art supplies, you’re in for

June 7, 2017 23 Comments

a slice of life

Friday art date

I’ve shared about my friend, Katie, who is an amazing artist with formal training. Well, we had an idea to sketch/paint together once a week on Friday afternoons. Life has gotten in the way a few times, because we’re both busy, but each time we have gotten together, it has been so amazing. Last time, we were just sketching an egg. This time, we were sprawled out on the floor, painting landscapes in oil. It’s rushed and disorganized and we make it up as we go along, but it’s two friends spending time together doing something we love. It’s good for the heart. So, I’ve been wanting to get into oils and I have never used them. It made me laugh when we both pulled out our supplies. Her paints are well used and her palette is seasoned… All of mine were brand spanking new in stark contrast. Well, mine will

April 25, 2017 33 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

Romantic Homes Photo Shoot

Last October, I drove down to West Virginia to photograph the home of Melanie, from the blog Sweet Melanie, for Romantic Homes magazine. This was the second time I was hired as a photographer and stylist for a magazine, so I had one shoot under my belt, but I am still very much a rookie. I stopped by Melanie’s house the night before to check out the spaces, so I could get a sense of what rooms we should shoot first as well as what “fresh props”, like flowers, fruit, and food, I should purchase. There would be some challenges. The rooms were small, so I would have to use wide angle lenses and wedge myself into corners. One of the rooms was in the basement, so the natural lighting was minimal and shadowy. There were a lot of pluses, though. First off, Melanie lived up to her blog name and she

April 3, 2017 32 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

furniture updates…

I have spent the better part of this week playing catch-up and getting back into the swing of things after my trip. I had a full day in the studio on Wednesday, though, and it was so great to be in my creative space again. I cranked my music, got some things checked off the to-do list, and worked on some furniture pieces for Lucketts. Remember my pair of Frenchies? Here is how they are looking now… Kriste stripped them while I was away and she painted the frames in MMS Milk Paint Linen. They still need one more light coat, so the finish is a bit more uniform before I distressed. I picked out an antique windowpane toweling fabric for them, though, and I can’t wait to see how they look in their new digs. Another piece in the works is this hutch top and table base. They were two

March 31, 2017 28 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

sketching

I know that many of you come to my blog for furniture makeovers, tutorials, antique finds, and home decorating inspiration, but I couldn’t take a piece of furniture or my sewing machine with me on the plane to China! What I could take, though, was my sketch book. I was painting a portrait a couple of weeks before I went on my trip and the thought occurred to me that time completely slips away when I’m engrossed in a sketch or painting. Well, that sounds like a perfect activity to bring on a 14 hours flight – just the kind of place you want time to run away from you. So, I brought along my sketch pad and some inspiration pictures to work off of. I actually got overly ambitious and even brought watercolors, but I never had the chance to pull those out. I had an “art afternoon” with

March 28, 2017 34 Comments

a slice of life

I’ve created a monster

My boys were really little when I started my business, both in diapers, in fact. As a stay-at-home mom and new entrepreneur, one of the things I enjoyed most was getting out of the house and going to Hobby Lobby. I would just meander, usually pushing one cart and pulling another (one kid in each cart or two kids in one cart and the other cart for purchases.) I know it was a spectacle, but I had to find a way to make it all work. It was that point when my boys began disliking Hobby Lobby. Even before they could read, they could recognize those capital orange letters. So, we’ve made a joke out of it. Every time we drive by, I’ll ask if I can stop in there for about an hour to look around and they’ll throw their heads back and sigh out a big, “Nooooooo!” Well,

March 20, 2017 41 Comments

Art

barn quilt coloring book & art journaling

I have been working on several projects over the past few months and one of them has finally hit the market! The Barn Quilt Coloring Book is now available. This project was something totally different for me. First of all, it involved drawing instead of writing! But it felt like a project that worked nicely with my brand, despite the fact that it wasn’t like anything I’d done before. I never even thought of doing a coloring book! But, the company who is publishing the Home Design Doodle Book presented this project and we developed the idea together. I first had to do a ton of research on barn quilts and traditional quilt squares. Since I live in Pennsylvania, a place where barn quilts are pretty commonly seen, I was familiar with them, but I didn’t know the history. (For those who don’t know what a barn quilt is, it’s a

March 3, 2017 26 Comments

Art

the discipline of art

As someone with a degree in Musical Theatre, you would think I’ve known for a long time that art is a discipline. I really never thought about that as I was signing into the studio for an hour of vocal scales or filling notebooks with the “inner monologue” of the latest part I was playing. At the time, I just loved every minute of it and figured, since I was studying musical theatre, it made sense that I was doing things musical and theatre-y! I never really viewed it as work or practice, but then again, I had loved it since I was four. Even though I worked hard and I took practices very seriously, I didn’t really put the connection between art and discipline together until recent years. Discipline can be an “ugh” kind of word, but in this case, it should be an encouragement. It means that anyone

February 27, 2017 30 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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