by Heather Plett | Jul 27, 2009 | Creativity
It’s amazing what you can accomplish in 5 hours. I’ve just had the gift of five hours of creative time in my studio. Thanks to my supportive husband and (mostly) understanding kids, I’m trying to carve out 5 hours every morning of the next 2 weeks (before I go back to work) for studio time.
This morning was the first installment and OH MY what a delight! I managed to finish a painting that will be the banner for my new website, do a little writing, take a few pictures, and just get lost in my imagination. Even though it meant getting up at 7:00 a.m. on my holidays, it was SO worth it!
Things are starting to fall together for the fulfillment of my big dream and I’m as giddy as Maddy was when she saw all the friendly comments about her art giveaway. (That girl knows how to BOUNCE!) I can almost taste it, and oh, it tastes good! Yes, the practical truth is that I have to go back to work in a couple of weeks, but that’s not stopping me from dreaming about the day (I’m hoping it’s by next summer), that I’ll have managed to create a big enough space to hold my dreams AND provide enough income that makes quitting my job not too much of a hardship for my family.
It’s going to be hard to pull myself out of my studio in 20 minutes (I told my family I’d emerge by noon), but I will be able to do it feeling refreshed and happy.
And speaking of my studio… another package arrived in the mail today – this time from the lovely, talented, incredibly encouraging, big dreamin’ rockstar, Jamie Ridler. It’s my very own little Jamie-created dreamboard! I think I will get lost in the dreaminess of it – especially the picture at the top that she says is “my book”. (Yes, a book is in the works as well as the website!)
Here’s Jamie’s contribution. Thank you Jamie!
If you’re curious about why I’m getting lovely art packages in the mail, you can read about it here. And you can see some of the other pieces here. And if you want to get in on the action, leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll send you my mailing address.
by Heather Plett | Jul 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
Maddy loves to paint. Once, when she was painting, I said “maybe you’ll be an artist when you grow up”. She looked at me in that long-suffering way and said “of COURSE I’ll be an artist when I grow up. I already am!” If you ask her what kind of art she prefers, she says “modern art.”
She’s having a hard time resisting the urge to take over my studio. It almost kills her when I insist on having a little mommy time alone in here. I manage to appease her now and then by letting her come in and create with me.
When she saw all the lovely art I was receiving from other people, her creative juices got going and she said “Mommy, we should paint something together and then give it away to someone on your blog.” So that’s what we’ve done. Here’s Maddy telling you all about it…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On01LtLySq0&hl=en&fs=1&]
And here’s a photo Maddie took of the painting…
If you’d like it, just say so in the comments, and we’ll pick a lucky winner.
(I think we have a budding blogger on our hands. She’ll outpace me in no time.)
by Heather Plett | Jul 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
I’m so excited about the new art pieces that arrived in the mail while I was away! To show them off, I stretched myself a bit creatively and did something I haven’t done before – I tried my hand at “vlogging” (that’s video-logging, for the uninitiated).
If you’re new to this blog, you might want to visit this post where I showed off my creative sanctuary and asked people to help me decorate it. There’s still room for more, so if you haven’t already done so, please consider sending me something.
Click on the video below and spend a little time with me in my new studio. You’ll get to see the first three pieces hanging on my “inspiration from others” wall. And for a bonus, you’ll see the things I splurged on while on vacation – the amazing pottery mug that called out to me from a wonderful gallery in Duluth, and the swirly silver earrings that I couldn’t resist at an equally wonderful little gallery on Madeline Island. (The links aren’t to the actual pieces I bought, but to the artists’ pages – both worth visiting.)
(The video quality is a little poor due to poor lighting and a cheap low res camera, but hopefully you can still see enough to enjoy the tour.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi3KWZ21gL0&hl=en&fs=1&]
Here are the links to the lovely people who sent me art…
Sherri from Life After Web
My sister-in-law, also known as Accidental Poet
Andrea Pratt from Colouring Outside the Lines
by Heather Plett | Jul 25, 2009 | summer, vacation
We are happy, healthy, and… home.
We spent the last week and a half wandering around Minnesota and Wisconsin, starting with a big soccer tournament the girls’ teams were in, hanging out in a lovely hotel with a big waterpark, then camping in a few different places, visiting the zoo and the Mall of America, taking a ferry to Madeline Island in Lake Superior (one of my new favourite places – I want to go back!), and ending with a night in a hotel in Duluth.
I have lots of pictures to download and oodles of stories to reminisce about – not to mention mountains of laundry to do. But for now, I’ll leave you with just a few of the many pictures we came home with.
First off, this picture stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. It surprised me just how happy and relaxed I look. It’s been a little too long since I’ve looked in the mirror and saw that much contentment on my face. Apparently the vacation was the right kind of healing for the lines that have been deepening on my face.
This picture may not seem like much, but if you look closely, you can see by the body language and facial expressions that Marcel and the girls were having a good laugh (at the Minnesota zoo – one of the best zoos I’ve ever been to). I love to watch my family laugh. We did a lot of that on this trip.
And speaking of laughing, the girls were having a hoot on the air mattress at the beach on Madeline Island. I think, for the coming year, when I need to go to my “happy place” it will be that beach on Madeline Island. Pretty close to perfection.
And one last shot of the girls and I on the ferry leaving the island. Ferries have a unique ability to make me happy. There’s just something about them.
If you’re looking for a fun place to spend a few days with your family, and you enjoy a place with relaxed island charm (where you can play pool at the local beach club as you watch baby ducks float past the window), a lovely woodsy secluded campground (where deer wander past your site at dusk), a beautiful sandy beach with crystal clear water (and very few people cluttering it up) and you’re not too far from Lake Superior, you might want to consider Madeline Island. (I have not been paid for this endorsement. Just trust me – it was a little bit of magic.) I think Marcel and I may go back some time for a little “second honeymoon”, but this time we might check out the quaint little inn or one of the bed and breakfasts we saw. (And wouldn’t you just love to attend an art camp here? I think I may add that to my “list of things I want to do before I die”.)
Happily, I still have a couple more weeks off work, so we’ll be doing more fun things a little closer to home.
******
Oh… and one more thing… it was oh so DELIGHTFUL to come home to REAL MAIL – not just bills and grocery store flyers! I got the first pieces of inspiring art for my studio! I’m so excited! I’ll take pictures soon and show you what showed up. For those of you who already sent yours… thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! For those who still want to… it’s never too late!
by Heather Plett | Jul 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
We’re having a lovely vacation. This is my first time plugged in in 5 days and I can’t say I’ve missed it. We’ll be home soon and I’ll tell you all about it.
If you’re curious about why I’m getting lovely art packages in the mail, you can read about it here. And you can see some of the other pieces here. And if you want to get in on the action, leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll send you my mailing address.
