Today I just wanted to pop in and share with you some of my flickr faves. I love flickr. I love the way these mosaics bring all my favorite photos together and give me a giant wave of excitement and happiness! I love the way that you can pick up similarities in color, style and even perspective in the photos. I think that my favorites say alot about me and what's going on in my mind. Click the mosaic to view larger over at flickr. I hope you enjoy them!
I'm gonna start sketching again. It's been awhile. The longer I go, the more I wait. It's just like anything else, when you stop for awhile you're not so good anymore. You get scared that you'll be worse than you remember and then you won't want to do it anymore.
Hopefully I won't have too much design work to do tomorrow, (and hopefully school is not cancelled again for Dev!) so I can devote some time away from the mouse and monitor, to good old fashioned pencil and paper.
I've been feeling sorry for myself all night. I spend alot of time online, browsing online shops, wishing I had one, wondering why no one wants anything of mine...and then it hit me: I've never put myself, or my product (whatever that is) for that matter, out there for people want. I haven't even narrowed down what I want to do exactly, and when I'm asked, I give vague answers. I feel like this time I've been given (thanks njjn!) is for a reason and I need to use it wisely. I've been brushing up on a few technical things, getting comfy with a few problematic programs, and making lists (oh I do love making lists.)
It's sort of clear to me that I need to take some classes if I want to truly feel comfortable selling my skills to anyone. This is my main reason for not putting myself out there. I just feel like when it comes down to it, a degree matters- maybe more to me than to a potential client. I think that if I were able to explain things in a text book kind of way, and use programs in a text book kind of way, rather than just shrugging and smiling and saying I just learned by playing. I'd have added confidence. Not that there's anything wrong with learning by doing, I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly. My interests are diverse and I know I jump all over the place. I just think it would help if I focused and learned things in a more traditional way, if for no other reason than to help me feel better about myself.
I've been looking at some summer courses, starting in June that will get me back in the swing of things, and push me further down this path.
I just hope that our finances aren't too strained between now and then, that I can actually pay for some courses. My grades were perfect when I was going to school in the past, so maybe a scholarship or something is possible.
It's kind of funny, all this inspiration and drive was caused by looking at some shoes.
I'm in LOVE with this guy's sketches. I love the little tiny feet on everyone. I especially love the one of the lady sucking her own nipple. I don't know what the purpose is with these sketches but I love the curves and the movement and the plumpness of the ladies. Click the image to see more of John Mitchell's sketches.
Sometimes I discover something - it may be a color combination, a pattern, two fonts used in conjunction, a photograph, shadows on the wall, a person's profile, a basket full of handpainted yarn, a 'to do' list, a texture, a smile, a flower, a chair,... anything... and my heart beats faster. It affects me. It makes me happy or sad, or it makes me feel restless, or hopeful or inspired, or it just makes me think-- and not do anything (aka paralysis!).
There's a website that I've browsed a couple times, never really giving it much thought, but the other day I took a closer look. Little Birds is a really wonderful blog, and is also today's feature blog on Typepad. Browsing through her flickr photos - it's just one bit of inspiration after the next. Her photos of her children are just beautiful, and her stuffed animals are amazing. I just love it!
Another amazing toymaker can be found at Wee Wonderfuls! Another source of endless inspiration! Again, these are sites I've browsed before, but I've never really taken the time to click around and get really involved. I downloaded her free cat and bunny patterns, and took a peek at her flickr photos. OH MY GOSH! This is the most beautiful quilt I have ever seen!!!
I don't even think I have words to describe how all of these images make me feel! The author of wee wonderfuls also has another site, thriftcraft.com that seriously gave me about 8 thousand ideas as soon as i started looking at it.
