What the Poet Does

Maybe some of you know that I have been writing poems rather intensely for quite a long time (and some of them even made it into anthologies) some years ago. I still do now, but not very often honestly. Seems that my actual need to express myself in stamped, collaged or painted images has taken the place of the urge to express myself in written images. But I definitely feel that there's not much of a difference between writing or painting an image...I always feel like painting with words (and also sounds and rhythm) when writing a poem and I often feel like creating a poem when making a mixed media piece of art.

So I tried to put in words, images and colours what it is that a poet does exactly on this art journal page.

The background is a gelli print and I found that the 6''x6'' format is a size I really love. Maybe I will just bind some more pages into a booklet some time. I also love the borders of the prints - with those imprecise overlaps from the various layers. So I left some white around the edges instead of cutting them off.

I love that poet stamp from Paper Artsy! Being a good poet requires a lot of discipline and the will to force yourself not to content with your very first tries. So I find the gentleman really appropriate.

To me words have colours in a special way. Or maybe some feeling of "visible" sound that evokes an impression similar to colour when I hear them play together. I often pick the words before I realise the idea that has already started to form in my head to find that they evoke exactly what I wanted to write about.

Sometimes I build poems around certain words - just because they evoke a certain melody, rhythm and/or image in me. It's always a wonderful thing to let the words take the lead, but trying to guide them into their perfect places. Which is really very similar to working with colours and textures, isn't it?

I am sure poetry means something different to each of us, but we all feel those similar "ingredients" at the core of our creations (written or painted ones) - bringing something to light and into shape by partially letting it build up from our vague ideas, letting the materials we work with take the lead sometimes.

And you simply feel it, when you have done a "good poem/painting", don't you? (And most of the time you also feel when you have messed up ;).
Being creative to me means that perfect balance between controlling a medium and letting go at the same time - listening to the inner nature of the materials we work with. Which is what makes it that joyful I guess.

Seen from this angle we are surrounded by poetry, aren't we?

Hugs and happy crafting/composing.

Claudia x

Another brilliant sundown over Vienna

I am still struggling with some health issues and even though they are nothing too severe (and should be fixed within the next two weeks hopefully) they cause a creative block which I really hate. The weather over here in Vienna is mostly grey in grey during the days - only the evenings bring the most beautiful sundowns of the year.

The view from my balcony shows the Danube Tower to the left and the large dark building in the center is our General Hospital. The soft hills in the background are my beloved Vienna Woods.

About twenty minutes later the city looked like this:

I really never tire of watching my Vienna change its face within minutes.... and even my son often calls for me to take one more picture ("Mom, it's even more fantastic now! You HAVE to take a picture!"...one minute later..."Mom, it has turned even more fantastic now! Please, take a picture!...;)

If you want larger images just click on them. Hope you have a good time crafting!

Hugs,

Claudia x

White On White - Try It On Tuesday

Servus and welcome back to another edition of Try It On Tuesday challenges!

The new challenge asks you to create something

White On White

(which from my point of view is one of the supreme disciplines of card making and crafting....which is why I really struggled with this theme - but the results are worth it honestly - just hop over to TIOT and see for yourself ;).

Sadly this will be my last DT project for Try It On Tuesday and I want to thank my wonderful team for having this wonderful, wonderful time. TIOT was my very first DT and (also because of that) will always remain something special to me :). Thank you so much, ladies! You really helped me with growing into challenges and DT stuff and made me love it. 

I recently had some health issues which made me think.... and after I had thought enough I decided to reduce some of my crafting time and rather spend it on becoming more agile and healthy again (instead of just "waiting" for better times and hiding out behind my crafting desk). I also wanted to gain more time for creative experiment (which includes also projects that might go to the bin - and this should not happen when under pressure with DT projects to be done).

My white on white card is not white on white on the back honestly...*lol. I hardly ever manage to make anything without leaving at least one final fingerprint...*sigh. I really admire all those card makers out there, who are able to produce all these immaculate cards!! I definitely will never become one of them *lol.

But now to my card for your inspiration:

I did some dry embossing, some heat embossing (which is so very white on white that it was almost impossible to photograph *giggle) and some die cutting. And that's mainly it.

To make all the white shapes a bit more visible I blended the edges and raised areas with Distress ink "antique linen". Hope you like it (as it is really the best I can manage with card making I am afraid ;).

See you over at Try It On Tuesday (to admire and learn from your white on white projects) and I wish you all many many more crafting fun with the TIOT challenges. It's definitely one of the best places I know ;)

Hugs,
Claudia x

Imagine...

...us all talking in numbers or notes.
While I am the one who loves words (to hear them, read them, write them, even see them), my husband is a maths genius (and obviously my son is too) . To him numbers and algorithms are just different ways to express ideas and ways to describe systems in our world.

When I stumbled upon the music sheet background page in my art journal I thought that notes are a different kind of language too. So I decided to bring letters, notes and numbers together and do an art journal page about ...well, about what exactly? About life I guess. Life seen (and expressed) from a different perspective. My son and my HB both find systems almost everywhere - in shopping malls as well as out in beautiful nature - and they all can be described numerically.

Being able to write down a wonderful musical composition is just another language, isn't it? I love it when music is in the air - and imagine the notes flying around, dancing in the air to a mathematically (?) organized choreography, weaving a wonderful carpet of sound - talking to us without words, but evoking a lot of images, feelings, colours maybe? Music and imagination go together so well, don't they?

I really admire composers and mathematicians - they "speak" languages I am not able to use myself as I am a words-fixated girl. I even guess they see the world differently.

I love the shapes of letters, different fonts, the look of music sheets or calculations on paper. Doing this page I enjoyed playing around with the shapes of numbers, letters, single words, black and white space and covered against non covered areas.

Have a good start into the week! It's grey in grey over here again....*sigh.

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia x

PS: as mathematics will always remain a big mystery to me, I enter this journal page to Simon Says Monday Challenge "It's a Mystery". 

More Gelli Plate Adventures

When I first saw monoprints done with the Gelli Plate I was instantly intrigued - not only by the cool idea for this clever product but by the special appearance of monoprints in general. As they are built up from layers and "used" and "blank" space, from overlapping colours and shapes you never really have complete control over the finished project - which is something that I love AND struggle with at the same time....

...coming from arts university (where I was tought a lot of old school painting techniques and the dogma that only art that is created in complete control is "good art") the discovery of all those messy techniques in the world of mixed media, stamping and scrapping was such a gift to me. Suddenly I had found a place in art where I felt I belonged. Suddenly I felt freed from some "wrong idea" about art that had been holding me down for so long.

Monoprinting with the Gelli Plate takes me back to my students days - when I tried to work out how to become a painter in complete control of the colours (which actually still is something I am not good at as I am more the graphic art type)... I had to redo a lot of lessons from the painters masterclass honestly and never really managed to find my way into creating with colours without having this feeling of "insecurity" in my head. I always knew I am no painter and I believe that nothing can turn you into a painter if you simply aren't already deep inside of you.

So my first struggles with the Gelli Plate came as no surprise to me...and I knew what it was that made me want to master this medium and let go of control at the same time ;)
Well, maybe you now can imagine my joy with those first results I want to show you today - it's paint on the paper! And it even mixes up into something that looks not only cool but also joyful. (and you can still see the graphic art girl in them too *lol) ;)

Hope I did not bore you too much with my blah blah, but it just had to be said aloud I guess. Please, bear with me and enjoy the prints.

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia x