arty « KateWares

Tag: arty

Monday, June 14th, 2010

What the Heck Am I Doing?

Before I formally unveil this site to the world, I’d really like to have it pretty much figured out. And I don’t just mean the whole “How do I blog?” thing, I mean knowing what goes where and what exactly I want to focus on. Yes, I want to blog about the creative experience, but is there some aspect or theme I want to explore? Do I include “mundane” creations – like cooking? Should I force myself to be more “arty” than “crafty”? What the heck am I doing anyhow?!?!?

Well, I’m still mulling over all of the above, and I likely will be for the next little while at least. (If you have any suggestions, PLEASE feel free to share them.) However, I did make one decision. In addition to having at least a few posts already up for you to read, I decided to include an unchanging gallery of things that I’ve made in the past. Partly so that readers could get an idea of where I’m coming from, and partly for my own inspiration. There’s nothing quite like looking at things that you love to encourage you to create more of them.

A photography page was a must, seeing as I spent four years earning an art minor in the subject, and considering my lifelong enjoyment of the hobby. A page dedicated to sewing…and knitting…and embroidery…and so on, made sense too as I also spend a lot of time in these endeavours. Next, a papercraft page for scrapbooking and the like, and then… And then what? How exactly should I categorize the rest of my repertoire? And voila, I was stuck.

So, dear reader, I have spent today uploading photos of my various creations only to shuffle them around repeatedly, like an awkward looking sofa. And then there was the whole child-rearing, household-tending, and garden-weeding time conflict. And, as a result, I have had little time to challenge myself today to create something new. Other than this blog, that is. But with a few minutes to spare before dinner, I grab my “spy cam” and make use of the blooming peonies in the garden and my son’s old, rusted watering can to create this.

And this.

I couldn’t decide which I liked best, so you get both. Yay, me.

Tags: arty, blog, creating, embroidery, how do I, inspiration, knitting, papercraft, Photography, photos, Scrapbooking, sewing, spy cam

Posted in Musings, Photography | 2 Comments »

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Alright, Here We Go Now

Recently, it occurred to me that I spend WAAAY too much time on Facebook. Okay, well maybe not recently – but I’m finally getting to the point where it troubles me. Now, don’t get me wrong. As a “stay-at-home-mom” FB has provided me with much needed diversion over the years. But. With all of the hullabaloo lately over privacy issues and whatnot, I’m getting more and more reluctant to post anything on the site. And truth be told, I am spending far too much time being concerned with what other people are doing instead of actually doing something myself. Which, when you get down to brass tacks, is fundamentally who I am. A builder. A creator. A maker of stuff and things. So. Here I am. Attempting to get myself back on tacks…er, track.

I have been making things ever since I can remember: poorly spelled poems about a childhood trip to the sea, crookedly stitched wall-hangings that my grandmother displayed with pride, grainy photo portraits of friends and family taken with the Kodak Instamatic X-15F that my Uncle George got for me when I was 10, and that I dragged around with me everywhere. Why give somebody some crappy knick-knack manufactured in a heartless factory on the other side of the world when you can give a little bit of yourself? Hmm. Perhaps this has something profound to say about my deep-seated desire for acceptance…but that’s another post for another time.

All I know is that the act of creation is fundamental to my existence. And even though I create on a daily basis – whether via cooking or tending to my home and garden or creating healthy, happy children – I find it hard to carve out time for more “arty” endeavours. I am hoping that this blog will set me on the straight and narrow. Or rather, the curvy and wide. AND give me the opportunity to share some of that creative experience with those who may be interested in such things. So…welcome! Alright. Here we go, now.