Love in the Service of Creativity

I have a mild addiction affliction, but it could be worse. I could be merely hoarding all these markers, which, of course, would be sick. Instead, I am using them and caring for them and just generally giving them a nice place to live out their days. It's kind of marker foster care, really.

I have been afflicted with a love of markers since I was very young. I really did used to hoard them and not use them. I was afraid of using them up on something frivolous. Eventually they would dry up from neglect, and I'd throw them away. Very sad! I've come to understand that fear does not serve creativity. I'm over the fear of wasting my supplies. I'm using them happily. Every day. And, when I go to a store that sells markers I don't already have, I feel that other affliction: marker envy. Sigh!

Marker Love

Today, I Imagine

I didn't imaginate enough as a child. I'm making up for lost time. This was just fun!

I Imagine; marker on sketch paper

Kyrie Eleison

This took a long time, but I'm very happy with the outcome.

Lord Have Mercy; marker in Moleskine journal

Hope in the Lord

I collected the cardboard drink coasters at a restaurant and did this to one of them. Gesso is a wonderful thing!

Hope in the Lord; marker on gessoed cardboard drink coaster

Me, the Coloring Queen for a Day

I've loved to color for as long as I could grip a crayon. Now that it's becoming very cool for adults to color, I just want to say, "I told you so!" I entered a little coloring contest at Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine, and I actually won. Aw, shucks! They provided the black line drawing, and it was up to contestants to be creative. Here's what I came up with.

Earth, Wind & Fire; marker on paper

EDM 271 - Free Choice

Drawn from memory, which isn't a good enough excuse for messing up the stripes on the lower left. Sorry, Betsy! This is done with water-based markers with a little help from some gesso, when I lost the whites and had to paint them back in.

EDM 271 - Free Choice; 3x3" markers on mixed media paper

EDM 269 - Something Annoying

An increasingly noisy society, even nice music playing in EVERY business, store, and restaurant, is a little annoying to me. Trying to find absolute silence is almost impossible. I guess I am officially old.

EDM 269 - Something Annoying; 3x3" watercolor & marker

EDM 267 - Something Flexible

I could have been a ballerina, if I had been lean, long-necked, graceful, coordinated, and flexible. But I wasn't. I can spell "prima." I'm settling for that.

EDM 267 - Something Flexible; 3x3" marker on mixed media paper

Golden Strands

The first of hopefully many golden girls because I have a huge tube of gold acrylic paint to use up. I hope I can make myself make the next one even golder.

Golden Strands; collage, acrylic & marker in art journal

Elisabeth Elliot

Rest sweet in Jesus, dear lady! I will always think of Elisabeth Elliot as one of the wise women who helped me navigate the early years of marriage and motherhood. She died today, and we should all miss her. She was a treasure! When I think of her, I always think of this quote. It is how she began her radio program every day, and I can still hear her calm voice saying it.

The Everlasting Arms; watercolor & marker in Moleskine journal

2015 EDiM Day 26 - A Sign

Imagine waking up in a magical land where the signs in the park encourage you to keep ON the grass ... and where the dragonflies are as long as the proportion-challenged artist's arm! Duck, there are TWO of them! Agh!

EDiM 26 - A Sign; stamp & marker on craft paper

I now believe that stamping grass is easier and faster than drawing it. The lower two stamps are reuse from an earlier day this month.

EDiM 26 - Sign stamp

2015 EDiM Day 24 - Keys

I went with key concepts, since I went with literal keys earlier in May. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13 Thanks for all who have done this for me and my family.

EDiM 24 - Key Concepts; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, the three little tile stamps.

EDiM 24 - Key Concepts stamp

2015 EDiM Day 23 - Interesting Building Detail

We have interesting plant hangers on our main porch posts. This year, we have no planters hanging from them. I think they're decorative enough just as is. And, I don't have to remember to water them this summer!

EDiM 23 - Hanger; stamp & marker on craft paper

This stamp was not easy! The end.

EDiM 23 - Hanger stamp

2015 EDiM Day 22 - A Basket

This is the sad, empty basket that hangs on a wall in my studio.

EDiM 22 - Basket; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, here's the stamp under all that marker.

EDiM 22 - Basket stamp

2015 EDiM Day 21 - Where I Sit & Read

When I read, my favorite spot is on my front porch in an Adirondack chair. "I wish I read more, but there always seems so many other things to do." ~Jane Bennet

EDiM 21 - Sit; stamp & marker on craft paper

This was a fun stamp to make. And, look at the ink pad I used! It's perfect!

EDiM 21 - Sit stamp

2015 EDiM Day 20 - My Wallet

I bought this quilted wristlet at the Longaberger outlet store while on vacation last year. It was labeled as second-quality, which is another way of saying "imperfect." I always feel like I should buy imperfect products--like we belong together--'cuz I'm imperfect, too. The tag comes out of the pocket. See the comments for "the rest of the story."

EDiM 20 - Wallet; stamp & marker on craft paper

I know I'll use these versatile little stamps again! I thought the push pin on the tiny stamp was a stroke of genius. Is that bragging? :) And, don't you love the irony of the smudged ink on "IMPERFECT"? It made me chuckle when it happened. That'll teach me to brag!

EDiM 20 - Wallet stamp

2015 EDiM Day 19 - A Cupcake

I took this literally. Cake in a cup. What a good idea!

EDiM 19 - Cupcake; stamp & marker on craft paper

Little cup; big frosting.

EDiM 19 - Cupcake stamp

A test impression.

EDiM 19 - Cupcake test

2015 EDiM Day 18 - Lipstick

Since lipstick is a little out of my comfort zone (I rarely wear it), I decided to go out of my art "zone" with this, too. I have loved paper crafting my whole life, and this is my first attempt at decoupage. The lipstick is pieced scrapbook papers embellished with Pitt pens. Actually, the entire piece is made from little scraps from my paper stash. I save the smallest scraps just in case! I think I'm becoming my grandmother (like they had time for art journaling during the Depression!) There's a hand carved stamp in there, too.

EDiM 18 - Lipstick; stamp, marker, & collage

The heart stamp surrounded by scraps of paper for the next decoupage adventure.

EDiM 18 - Heart stamp

2015 EDiM Day 17 - A Measurer

I don't use canning jars to measure, but I could because they have volume markings on them. I couldn't decide which variation I liked better, so I included both color ways. Stamps are so good at duplication!

EDiM 17 - Jar; stamp & marker on craft paper

And, the baby Mason stamp.

EDiM 17 - Jar stamp

2015 EDiM Day 16 - Recipe Ingredients

I've been making this recipe for over twenty years. I can probably make it in my sleep. And, before anyone asks, no that isn't ketchup. The camera did weird things to the glossy medium I used.

EDiM 16 - Recipe; stamp & marker on craft paper

Two stamps that I will use separately, but probably never together again.

EDiM 16 - Recipe stamp