Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Inspired. Wanted. Needed? Craved!

So, I've been kinda down as of late. There are just SO many things that I love and want to do...things that inspire, want, crave...and ultimately don't need. And as this is a time of financial burden the need for restraint is crucial. But I still get the magazines and catalogs and I lust.
To make me feel more as if I am getting a dose of those things I crave, I have decided to start making a collection of things that I love and want. Things that inspire perhaps a future purchase, a cheaper option, or even sparks a little inventive building of my own.
So, here I start this little inspiring wall of longing.
First off are the things that I look at every time the catalogs come from my local chain stores that I like to walk through, Pier One and Crate and Barrel:

And then there are those things that I think I will never be able to afford, but could never bring myself to pay that much for even if I did. They should change the name of Luxe Magazine to Lust Magazine.

Monday, July 12, 2010

I Could Do This

I have to say, I may have not loved living there but Redding does have a few great ideas yet! I found by way of an artists call for the 2nd Saturday Art Hop in Redding, and also the website for this gallery & organizer: http://www.hawkmanstudios.com
Now the cool thing that they do, that I KNOW I could do are these "Arty Parties" for kids. I have a few ideas on how to expand on this. This seems right up my alley of things I would/could love to do as a business here in Sacramento. My dad is already into the idea.
In the mean time, check out the link below and if you live in Redding and have children, consider the option!!

http://www.hawkmanstudios.com/arty_parties
(picture property of Hawkman Studios)
And please, if you have any other ideas to contribute on this, let me know! I'm always open to suggestions!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Need to get that Creative Genius going?

we are all gorgeous creative geniuses.

So get used to the idea of it, with the friendly and soothing help of Andrea of ABC Creativity.

Read her blog & get inspired, OR even better, sign up for her free workshop.

It's easy to do and we could all use the extra time for ourselves, couldn't we? And who better in our lives to pump up, but our own Creative Genius??!
Whether creative is something you do all the time, or just something you're trying to tap into for the first time, this could be one of many ways in which you could get in touch with that part of you that's waiting to be discovered (more?).

I have only done the first exercise, but so far, so good! It will be good to see what else I can get from myself (and others) from another class to work on me. Shannon's class and blog were a great deal of my sanity and finding of myself as of late. It's good to have another contributor to my mental stability.

Well, I hope that this looks good to some of you others out there and you are able to participate! I mean c'mon! It's for your betterment AND it's FREE. How often does this opportunity come along?

Monday, June 28, 2010

Carry On.


Freshman year at Sac State.
Me: an interior design major. Class: Art History 1A.
Also me: struggling to stay awake.

And then, this:

La Primavera, Boticelli, ca. 1495

I can honestly say that as I struggled to stay awake in classes darkly lit and stuffy, in that first art history class I ever took, that La Primavera was the first piece of art to grab my attention amongst what seemed an endless parade of European monotony (yes, I realize this to be a bit of uneducated and harsh in thinking in regards to art history but at the time that is all it was to me).

What it was that caught my attention I can only guess at now, I really don’t remember. I think part of the appeal is the fact that the scene has such a distinct femininity and interaction. But not just any form of femininity. Besides the literal meaning and symbols/ association with seasons and change, and in quite a few interpretations – music, it is a freedom attained with carelessness that I think I longed for at the time. It was not a careless abandon, but a willingness to accept the change to come, as it was destined and natural. I think I wanted to revel in being me, just as the three practically nude attendants to Venus traipsed within the flora. I wanted to revel in being female. I wanted any form of freedom that could make me appreciate it and smile. It was the first thing I can remember besides The Beatles and Elvis Presley that I could feel in my SOUL. It didn’t’ matter if it didn’t really mean what I thought to anyone else or at all in its original execution. It was wholly mine in a way that only I understood.

I bring up this piece not because I want to analyze it historically, but because I believe it helped to fuel my interest in art and start paying attention in class (3 years later I would change my major & obtain my BA in Art History – although not European). Second of all, I came across this painting again recently in reading and was reminded how it made me feel. So I thought I would share it with you. Perhaps I do this now because it resonates with me so much again these days. It seems that it means a lot to me in times that I feel lost, although it provides no answers, only the encouragement to carry on. It’s all DESTINED. It’s all NATURAL. CARRY ON.

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Bictor.

No, I didn't misspell that...well, I did...but it was on purpose. It's kind of joke between us, me& Vic, the eldest of my younger brothers (confusing how I said that, I know).

My family is full of jokers and sarcasm, but also FULL of PASSION. When I begin to feel all down and bleh on anything - life, art, writing - there's Victor with an uplifting word, insightful thought, or even better...his inspiring natural talent. When I hit a brick wall, he has a million new thoughts; takes it from a completely different angle and leaves me in awe. He might not know it, but I do: he's got "IT".  And while I await him to figure this out, let me show you some of my favorites of his raw "quick" sketches that look amazing to me, just how they are.

First of all, he has a great understanding of how the body should look and how it moves. There can be no mistaking that. From his gesture sketches, which I have always found beautiful in their a-sexual undone appearance:

















 To his fleshing out a figure:

To his animation inspired figures in action:
He has an understanding for form that I can see, but can only dream of attaining to on paper. It makes me want to work harder and also gives me another reason to talk to my little bro' more. :o)
Besides his grasp of the human form and motion, he has the uncanny ability to capture someone in a photo. Now, you may not know the people he has done portraits of, but you can't say these quick sketches are bad! And you can take it from me, there is all sorts of these people's personality in these portraits.
First, see how even his un-finished sketches come across in this one of our youngest brother:

Or our grandfather:
(I swear it's him to a "T" and it's not even complete!)
And then there are portraits of people I do not know. Heck, he may not either. They may not even be real. But they are on paper:

When he does get further on a portrait, you get something like this self-portrait:
And this is still an incomplete picture. But you can see the wheels turning, the process moving. He is calculating each new step to create an even better piece of art either with his next step, or his next portrait. He evolves, learns, and keeps an open mind. And whether he knows it or not, those moments of learning are what inspire me. His "in-complete" works are what get me going. The sketchy almost there quality haunts me.



And then, of course, he can also create things out of his head that no one else can. It drives me to think more outside myself and the box of security that most of my own work lies within.
 Visit his blog. Start from the beginning. See his process. Absorb his enthusiasm and sarcasm.
Go on, get inspired. I dare you.
www.y2dart.blogspot.com

Friday, May 21, 2010

The First of Many Hellos.

his is my space to share with the vastness of the web those things of which move or inspire me at any given time, in the hopes or chance that someone else is inspired. There are many beautiful things to share and see. I love new things, and I love when others share new things with me. So don't be shy, feel free to contribute too.

To begin, let me introduce myself.


My name is April.
I am 28 and very happily married. I live in what I think is a beautiful conglomerate of city and open space.
I'm a lover of: music, art, people, design, creativity, life.
I love things that are big, small, gritty, streamlined, and all of the above. You will see what I mean as I continue with my blogs of inspiration.

I call this little piece of me Inspire Fire because I feel that when I am truly inspired, it is starts as a spark and consumes me and just makes me want to continue to spread...the love, the heat, the inspiration....
It's an Inspire Fire.
I am really not trying to limit myself to what this blog should be specifically because 1. I dislike limitations and 2. It's mine & I don't have to.

On that note, perhaps we should begin with a few celebrity and non-celebrity people who inspire me in one form or another.




There is so much more. And I'm sure I will bring up each of these people in future posts. Maybe even introduce you to those you don't know yet.
And there's always room for more!!
See you soon...maybe even later today....