Getting ready for the Mariposa Festival

Happy Monday!!

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Day of the dead skull to be used for a pendant

Hey, there! I hope that your Monday morning is full of promise for the coming week. Since my mom, Maralee Lowder, and I are heading south to the Mariposa Festival this weekend, I'm going to be out in the garden shed creating pendants for the event. It's kinda funny. I have made so many butterfly pendants so far, yet the new images I've been working on are "day of the dead" skulls. It's been fun to do something so different. To follow you'll see what I came up with. I just love the imagery, especially the bright colors

Special Mother's Day painting for a wild momma's pendant

Sunflowers always make me feel happy inside. This one will make such a cute pendant.

I had a wonderful time teaching classes at Trezher's Gift and Gallery in Sacramento. The students came up with wonderful projects. I find it so humbling to offer a group of people a framework to create within, then watch them come up with completely unique works of art. The shop owner was so happy with the class that they booked four more for the coming year!

That's me on the right, teaching a class at Trezhers Gift shop in Sacramento, CA

Enjoying Success

Sunflower painting for pendant

Hey, all! 

Today I'm crazy busy getting ready for the last night of the gallery exhibit at Little Relics and getting materials together for my class tomorrow. I've been feeling overwhelmed by all the activity I'm doing related to my book and art. The last few days I've actually been thinking, "once this stuff is over I'll be able to get back to my real life." Funny, huh!?! I've been working my booty off to get my businesses going and now that I'm seeing success, I'm stressed because I'm behind on the laundry... *sigh*

So, I've decided that I'm going to stop worrying about what I'm not doing and enjoy what I AM doing! I thought I'd share a sunflower mini mini paintings with you, today.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Laura P.

My creative process

Today I've been thinking a lot about my creative process. I guess it's different for other people, but for me it is a wild ride. First an idea starts small in my mind. I visualize the project coming together and very often switch it around many times in my imagination. I thoroughly enjoy this process as it gives me a chance to make the project over many times without using any resources other than my time. I can change everything about the project, the colors, scale, etc. Finally, when I'm ready to commit my idea to canvas, start the quilt, begin to sculpt, or write it down, (depending on the kind of idea I'm noodling) I love the beginning. I'm thrilled as my vision begins to take shape...

Then, almost always at the half way point, I HATE it! It's wrong, what was I thinking? Since this always happens, I push past the middle point and begin to fall in love again. Once it's finished, (in the case of a painting) I sign it and put it up on the mantle. When I pass it, I have mixed feelings of love and displeasure as I see what I think are imperfections. Within a couple of days, the imperfections become my favorite parts and I no longer want to part with the project at all! :)

Here are my latest pieces. I'd love to hear your process, too!

Monarch on California Poppy (16x16) on the mantle.

Monarch on Sunflower II with Karen Wall Garrison's little gift

Two new monarchs

I've always loved butterflies. There's the brighter than life colors, the fact that they FLY, transformation symbolism... The cover of my book, Walk in Your Own Footsteps is a photo of the trail that ends in a butterfly sanctuary in Santa Cruz, CA. There are really a lot of reasons that I love butterflies. About 2 years ago I painted my first one. I fell in love all over again. Each one is like a snowflake, it looks just like the others, but not quite. Today, I finished two more paintings. I have so many ideas for butterflies fluttering around my head, it looks like I will be painting many, many more. So, here's what I finished today.

I will be printing out tiny versions and creating pendants with them. Gosh, what a lovely way to spend my time. It surprises me that my heart, soul, and imagination can be so excited and my body gets so tired that I can't create. I'm never out of ideas or inspiration. I hope you enjoy these, too.