Planting Seeds -- Within and Outside, too!

"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate." Alert Schweitzer

"When a seed is put into the ground, the law pertaining to growth operates and a plant is produced...unless a seed is planted, no plant will be produced." The Science of the Mind, page 206

There are flowers growing in my yard on this fine Spring day. The seeds that became these flowers laid dormant for weeks or even all winter long, until the conditions for their growth set them free. Within each of us are seeds as well...seeds of peace, joy, recovery, health, and abundance. The thoughts we choose to keep and nurture in our mind create the conditions for the blossoming of these internal seeds. It is our role to create the right conditions, through our mind and heart, for these seeds to bear fruit. I will begin by making sure my thoughts of constant kindness are directed toward myself.

How does your garden grow...well I hope. Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Trust Yourself as a Creative Person

Vintage frame refurbished and ready...

Trust yourself. Trust yourself to do the things that only you know best.... Trust yourself to do what's right and not be second-guessed.... Trust yourself to know the way that will prove true in the end. Trust yourself. Bob Dylan

I found myself in the studio today second-guessing almost every action I needed to take. It really slows down the creative process.

Beauty can come to us as creative people, enter into our thoughts and heart through every sense, and then that beauty can be expressed as we manifest or create with our hands. This process is magnificent unto itself. Then, the humbling magic happens for me. When that beautiful item I created is purchased, placing it into the hands of another who enjoys the beauty I, too, can see, but also, gives that fiber art new meaning by thinking about it and enjoying it from their OWN PERSPECTIVE, then the circle is complete

Art does that--art touches something unexpected in people who look at it. The artist likely will never know the real meaning that the object acquires from its new owner. There is such poetry in this whole experience and I suggest that it can't often happen without Trust.

I decided today to ease-up on the second guessing in my studio. Instead, I can ask myself, "Does what I am doing at this moment contain kindness, possibility, or good energy? Does it feel comfortable, and does it sit well in my heart?" If so, just go with the flow, trust, create.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

New Colors for an Old Design



Freckled Bird pillow in progress

One of my favorite things is to receive a special commission request. Most often, I'll get an email from a customer who will send me a photo of one of their rooms--bedroom or living room--and ask me to make one of my folk art pillows to match their color scheme. I love this! We talk about the photos they send me and I ask questions like, "Am I seeing tomato red in this bedspread, or is it more like a lipstick red?" Back and forth we share ideas and then The Creativity can begin.

Traditional colors for Freckled Bird design

This scene from my studio today shows a fun color adaptation of my popular Freckled Bird pillow design that I'm making for a new customer. She has asked me to make the pillow more vivid than my standard color scheme. I'm having a blast. Don't you think her color choices are great! (I'm showing my traditional color palette for you to compare.)






If you'd like a special commission item from my Nestle and Soar Studio, feel free to drop me a note at georgianneholland@comcast.net. I'd love to work with you!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

My new favorite things...

I stumbled upon two new favorite things this morning and I want to get to know these Etsy artisans. I think we have similar passions.

I create only 2D work with wool, but I do like this folk art bird pattern from Cheswick Company in Connecticut. I especially like their button eyes and the feathers on their heads! I like that this is a pattern, not the finished item for sale. I think Etsy is a great source for those who make things, as well as a source for those who want to buy things. I know I look at other artists to be inspired. I have a few patterns in the works of my own designs, which is fun. I never thought to clamp the soft sculpture like this. Love it.

I also found a great bright green tote bag (and how many tote bags do I need... unending urge to collect them). I like this Love Languages tote by Buck Toothed Bunny in Boston because I am entranced by the best way to add words to art. There is silk screening, iron-on transfer, printing directly to fabric, decoupage, applique...can you think of any more techniques? I most recently embroidered words by hand and that is very time consuming! My particular OCD comes out when I do hand embroidery of words as my stitches are never as even as I think they should be. I really like how the words on this tote form a heart.

What has caught your eye already today? What will be your favorite thing this week? I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Nestle and Soar Studio Scene



Long's Peak 100% Wool Landscape

It has been a busy week in my fiber folk art studio! There is something special about hunkering down to artwork when it is consistently rainy and cool outside. My space feels like a cocoon.

I have been looking at my landscape of Long's Peak for a couple of months now as my progress seemed to stop after I accomplished the background layers. I now need to hand embroider and dry felt the mid-range and fine detail work, and I am stumped. I just keep looking at it, waiting for inspiration to strike. I think I should take a drive and sit with my sketch pad for awhile as I look over that scene again. I was inspired while on the gym's treadmill to begin this piece...my view from the west-facing window at my gym is just spectacular. Not sure why some folks stare at the television when they could be looking at this mountain view instead...to each their own.

Coexist Tree in Blue Sky Series, 10"x10"

The last photo shows how messy my work table gets during a busy week. I have been using all these colors of wool -- Delicious. I like having everything close at hand, and at the same time, I long to have everything neatly tucked away. The creative process is not a tidy thing--Don't you agree? I am almost finished with my 10"x10" sky series that depicts a tree with birds; I like to call this design Coexist. Birds in many colors, shapes, types, and all personalities are welcome...Coexist. I plan to make 12 of this design, each slightly different. The trees are becoming more and more plump as I go. Never trust a skinny tree, that's what I say!

My work table right now...

Thanks for stopping by my studio,
Georgianne











Sunrise...Sunset

I have always been a sucker for the magical feeling I get when presented with a bright sunrise or sunset. Do you ever get that awestruck quickening when you turn the corner and see the sky on fire? I found this photo of a sunrise on the Internet [sorry to not have the photographer's name to share] and wanted to let you enjoy it, too.



Winter Sunset, Georgianne Holland, 2011



Yesterday I listed my own version of a sunset on my Etsy shop, Nestle and Soar. Finding this sunrise photograph makes we want to make a whole series of wall felts to try to capture that magical feeling! I definitely want to add more purple to the sky next time...




"Rays from the sunrise drew forth the buds and stretched them into long stalks, lifted up sap in noiseless streams, opened petals, and sucked out scents in invisible jets and breathings." Thomas Hardy

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne