E: Easels, Envelopes, & Empowerment

I don't feel particularly inspired or motivated today, which may be why I haven't convinced myself to include an image to this post.  Although, it would probably be good of me to do so, considering this is an art blog.  And yet, here I am, not feeling up to drawing or painting or designing.  The ideas are there, but the act of bringing them out is being stifled by the little sleep I got last night and the full health that continues to elude me (Ooooo...  There's an "E" word I love the sound of: elude.  Elusive.  Eluding.  Hm... the reason for why I like this word eludes me at the moment.).

Easels... I love my table-top easel.  It was a loyal friend that accompanied me on so many sleepless, college nights in the studio.  And it continues to aid me with my small, painting projects.  I also own a few standing easels.  But, until my most recent commission, I had little use for one.  Most of my paintings are small and do not require I standing easel.  I am so glad I have both kinds on hand though.  And easel is definitely an artist's ally.

Envelopes... I really cannot tell you what it is I love about stationary, but the more I design it for weddings, the more I am amazed at the plethora of options there are.  The envelopes are my favorite part. Sizes, shapes, colors... all can be so different.  You can have outer envelopes and inner envelopes, reply envelopes, envelopes with pockets, envelopes with belly bands and wax seals and stickers... the choices are limitless.

Anyway, as far as things happening right now in my life go, I'd have to say 2012 has been rather uneventful thus far.  However, I have been excited for all the possibilities this year has to offer.  So many things going on in the world already, like National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, which I have been announcing in the streets!  And by "streets" I mean Facebook.

It is amazing to me how much your life can change when you simply know something that you didn't know before.  In my case, it started out with food.  I learned about the atrocities in the food industry and about the benefits of cooking at home and buying organic as much as possible.  That knowledge paved the way for a new lifestyle for both me and my husband, and the family we may one day start.

Then followed the knowledge of how much of our life is touched by slavery.  The food we eat, the clothes we buy (chocolate, sugar, shoes, pants, shirts, bananas, etc.).  The knowledge of such things allows us to be informed when making purchases, but knowledge like this also empowers us to do something to help those who are being exploited in the first place.

Knowledge, as they say, is power.  If we do not strive to be informed on the decisions we make, we will continue to live in the comfortable ignorance that allows those in control to decide the futures of those with a voice and those without a voice.  You do not always need to use your voice to benefit yourself.  Sometimes you just need to lend your voice to those who have none.

D: Double Indemnity and Design

The last few months, as I've said, have included a lot of various things on my plate.  Many of which have been art-related.  The above image was a voluntary illustration I did for The Dark Pages, a bi-monthly newsletter put out by a group of film noir lovers.  I was introduced to it by one of the customers at the grocery store where I work.  He is one of the contributing writers of the newsletter.  He said that it would be wonderful to have some good talent contributing to it in the area of artwork, and that although I wouldn't be paid, it might be a way for me to get some exposure.  This illustration was the result: acrylic ink on illustration board.  It was inspired by the film, Double Indemnity, which was the newsletter group's film of choice for the issue.

While I enjoyed the film and a chance to get my name out there, after seeing the printed issue in person, I'd have to say I was not thrilled.  I just felt like the print quality of all the included images was lacking, and the overall design and layout out the newsletter itself was static and un-intriguing.  My illustration, while neat to see in a magazine-like context, was washed-out looking.  Overall, while fun to contribute to something like this, I feel it will not be truly conducive to showing the world what I'm made of as an artist.  It just didn't do my artwork justice, nor did I get the feeling that people might actually see it.  But, at least I got a nice little illustration out of all this.

Also... I've been designing wedding invitations for friends and family.  I have been developing a deeper love for design throughout the process.  The other night, I actually had some time to myself. When I didn't have the option of working on other commissions or priorities, I grabbed the laptop and started designing a sample wedding.  I want to eventually do more of this so that I can have samples to show brides and grooms.  I enjoyed picking out a theme of color and subject matter for this "playtime" of mine.  Maybe, at some point, I'll even put together a live sample of these designs in action.  Who doesn't like butterflies, anyway?

C: Celebrating...?

I had major plans for the letter C.  But the last 3 months (I could even say the last year and a half) have been rather... how shall I put it... chaotic.  In the midst of youth ministry, art ministry, work, wedding commissions, promotional illustrations, the holidays, and the like, I have found very little time for myself.  Little time to enjoy my own creative passions.  Little time to read.  Little time to even socialize much with friends outside of business-like settings.  Blogging, especially, has taken the farthest backseat possible to the rest of life's priorities.

You should know that I desperately wanted to create a charcoal piece for this post, as it is one of my favorite mediums.  I may have even chosen clouds as my subject matter, for they are another favorite "C" of mine.  However, with the New Year soon approaching (about 25 minutes to go), I felt it time to move ahead with this alphabet thing.  So here are some New Year's goals, alongs with some favorite C's.

New Year's Goals:

1. Put less on my plate so that I can enjoy life once in a while, not just stress myself through it.
2. Try to make homemade paper (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).
3. Finish my still life (I started it in September... it's seriously gathering dust now).
4. Look into the professional benefits of having a Twitter account (I have been avoiding the idea all together, but am questioning lately if it would be a useful networking tool).
5. Start exploring more useful, homemade craft ideas.
6. Do the small, personal commission I was given earlier this year.
7. Read the whole Bible in a year (this is the hardest one ever...).
8. Work with paper mache again.
9. Create more wedding stationary samples to show future clients.
10. Read all the books that people have let me borrow!

Favorite C's:

- Clouds
- Charcoal
- Christmas
- Cheese
- Creativity
- Cooking
- Craft Stores
- Celebrations
- COLOR!!!

Back to B for a Bit

I mentioned in my last post that I had made vegan chocolate cupcakes, but did not include the recipe.  They were just as tasty as any cupcake with eggs or dairy would be.  The only thing I did not make was the frosting, so they were not completely vegan in the end.  But the cake recipe is completely vegan.  My favorite part about this recipe is that it is simple and uses ingredients you probably have on hand all the time, so you really can make them whenever you feel like it.

To be honest, I forget which website I found this on.  But they were all basically the same as far as ingredients go.  I actually sort of combined two recipes in the end.  This was originally for cake, so I had to refer to another recipe to determine the baking time and the like.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1-1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup oil (the original calls for vegetable oil, but that stuff is no good for you so I used safflower oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Pretty straight forward here.  Preheat to 350 F.  Mix together the dry ingredients first.  Then add in the wet ingredients.  Mix it all together.  Line your muffin pan with baking cups, pour in the batter, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

As for the frosting, you can use anything really.  You can make it from scratch, which is easy since it's usually just powdered sugar and milk or something simple like that.  Or you can buy your favorite kind.  Whether you are vegan or not, these cupcake are easy to make and even better to enjoy.

B: Blogging and Baking

The Blog:

I'm one of those artists who gets bored easily with what I'm working on, or what I've already done. And, unless I am officially sold on something, whether it be the title of this blog or the overall look of my web presence in general, I will mull over it until it feels right. Sometimes I give it a week to decide if it stays or goes; sometimes it takes me longer (usually the simple issue of a busy schedule).

Anyway, it was time for a change. The overall look and layout of this blog had been driving me mad for quite a while. And, while I've been changing it off and on, nothing had quite satisfied me visually. So, today I finally got a chance to mess around with Blogger and to create new designs in Illustrator. Not only am I pleased the simple, clean, new header, but I'm glad I was able to use my own design. I hadn't had time before to work this out, and so I'd been using the pre-made templates. You can only customize those so much, and sometimes it's still not quite right. I have yet to learn the html tricks that will allow me to customize the side bars to my liking, but that will have to wait/

I also changed the title from "The Colors of Joy" to "A Stroke of Joy." Who knows... maybe it will change again, but for now, at least, I just like this better. Sort of the play on words I'd originally wanted when I started this blog, and it reflects my interest in fine art as well as design. I think I will be more likely to update this blog, now that I can tolerate the new layout.

The Baking:

I decided last night that it was time to start getting rid of my cocoa powder, so I made some chocolate cupcakes (they happened to be vegan and were delicious).  I want to start buying ethically sourced ingredients, especially chocolate. But, rather than toss all of the possible, unethically sourced items I've already ignorantly purchased, I will just try to hurry through it, so as not to cause any child slave to have worked in vein all the more.

I love baking. Especially with chocolate. But since my recent discovery of slavery in the cocoa industry, I can no longer go through life and think of chocolate the way I used to. I cannot eat chocolate, bake with it, or buy it... unless I know that it has been ethically sourced. That means the cocoa farmers get paid what they deserve, and, therefore, can sustain themselves without the work of slaves.

If you are reading this, if you believe in freedom for all people, and if you truly desire to make the world a better place... let this knowledge change your life with the hope that it may benefit the lives of those being oppressed. The cocoa industry thrives at the expense of many innocent people. Namely, children. Children who are manipulated into slavery, who are kidnapped from other countries and brought to work the cocoa plantations until they die, or are killed because they are too weak to work. These kids are the same ages as the ones who go Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, filling their bags with chocolate goodies. The saddest difference, besides the obvious one, is that the kids working the cocoa fields have no idea what chocolate even is or what it tastes like. They have no idea where the cocoa goes, or that it's used to make the delicious treats we enjoy.

Do not buy Hershey's products... or Nestle or Mars/M&M or Cadbury products. In fact, you should look up every brand you know and love, and discover what's really in your chocolate.  But chocolate lovers, fear not.  There is chocolate out there that IS ethically sourced.  It might be a little more expensive, but it's worth it to support this cause.

If you are at a loss for what company might be good, Green&Black can be found at most major grocery stores.  It's a good place to start and they make good chocolate.

Other favorite B's:


- Books
- Birds
- Bed
- the color Blue
- Brushing my teeth
- Blankets
- the color Brown
- Brainstorming
- the color Black
- Bold lines
- Ball point pens
- Bumble Bees (the cute, fuzzy little guys)
- The Bible