Getting Back to Blogging....

Well, it seems I've been on hiatus in a big way....wish I could tell you its because I've been so busy creating things....and its not that I haven't been creating things, its just that I have encountered many blockages and many distractions and life has kept me spinning in ways that have made working very hard for me....
The good news is that I am finally feeling like winter is over and spring is here and its time to get back to making beautiful things...
I have changed....things have happened in my personal life that have at times seemed to suck the life and creative energy right out of me.  I am awakening from this finally....I have plans for things...things I want to make....things I want to paint....sew....turn into new things...
This is good...this is very good....I will post some pictures of what I've been working on soon...I am not on my own computer so I don't have my own files to pull pictures from at the moment.  I just felt like it was time for me to check back in...to this blog, to my creative energy, to all the good stuff...
I have done alot of purging during my time as a hermit and recluse and it has been very good for me, given me new directions to go in and allowed me to let go of the work that no longer fulfills me as an artisan.  One of these things is the re-making of clothing items...I don't want to concentrate on this anymore...I don't enjoy it at the present time.  I have decided to concentrate on making the many different types of bags, and incorporating my painting into the bags.  I also have been working on wall hangings, furniture, a few jewelry  items, and I am finding my groove again...at least I hope so!
I think being an artist or artisan or craftperson or writer or dancer or whatever comes with highs and lows.  Sometimes I am overwhelmed with ideas for things to make...sometimes I sit down to make or paint something and realize that my muse is vacationing somewhere and unavailable to me...and I get up and go do something else....
My newest endeaver is an organic garden of foods and herbs and flowers....I plan to learn to make skin care products, hair care products, tinctures, soaps, teas, bath soaks....as well as fill my freezer with food for the winter to come, and share the abundance with homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries for those who wouldn't have anything to eat without people's donations of food, money, time, etc.  I think that this path will be extremely fulfilling...which is good, since it is also going to be extremely labor-intensive and filled with botched batches of things I try to make.  It is all good...it all comes from a special place inside me that I want to expand and explore and grow....along with all that I will plant and nurture and infuse with love and goodness.
So here's to spring....emerging from the dark, deep sleep of winter, after many life-changing experiences....may spring bring forth many new and wonderful things and much creativity....
I will be back regularly and will post some pictures soon....thanks for your patience and support through my time of transformation....

I Didn't Mean It....

Really....I never meant to be away so long.  I have been on a bit of a sabbatical....looking into doing different things because I have had a very low income year and, frankly, it has been a bit depressing and disturbing.  So I decided with all of the things that had happened over the past several months, that I probably needed a break...so I took one.

 I have been doing other things, things that will become a part of GoodKharmaReThreads...like reclaiming furniture at the local trash/recycle centers and painting them....both cosmetically and artistically, giving these pieces new life and value.  I have also been working on shoes, same thing, shoes that I've bought at thrift stores or claimed at the county recycling centers.   And I will be doing the same with handbags and tote bags....some bags that I have rescued and some that I have created from rescued thrift or 'dump' items.

My images have come from nature....there is no end to the wonder of it all....add in a bit of imagination....you get something, something unique and intriguing, at least if you're lucky!

The picture above is of the top of a small, handmade table that I found in the recycle shed at the 'dump'.  It was blue and grey and moldy and I could also see the cute lines (the sides, etc., that aren't in the photo) and would be a fun project.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it...other than clean it and paint it a color I like and then I thought, what the hell, I'll paint something on it....I knew I had the proper art supplies somewhere for acrylic and watercolor work, so I just started playing with it.  The images I have painted on the table top are strictly from my imagination...it is incomplete but I will chart my progress and post pictures of the rest of the table, as I continue to 'play'.  I plan to finish it with a high gloss clear polyurethane so that it will be impervious to water or most other damaging things that tables and the like encounter.  The second picture is a wooden tray. and I am still not convinced that it is finished....I am about 98% sure that it is, but I have no reason to rush it along.  It will be finished with the same glossy poly stuff.  Again, this is strictly from my imagination, and I hope this blog will allow you to take a closer look at the details, such as butterflies, birds, buds, etc.  I have a larger tray just like this one that I haven't started yet, but I think it will be a seascape or sailboat or something nautical.
The picture of the palm trees and beach is about halfway complete.  I think I want to add either an umbrella or a boat that is beached or something like that.  I have made some dunesand will also add sea oats and birds and waves or ripples....still lots of things to do with this one, but again, I hope you can zoom in on it and see the details on the palm tree...I think it is pretty cool!!  This is painted on a regular canvas-covered art board that I found at the 'dump'....So my only purchases of new or retail stuff is the art supplies:  paints, brushes, that kind of thing.  I try to find as much as I can at thrift stores, but that is a rare occasion.  I do use paints from the home improvement stores that are rejects and therefore heavily discounted.  I have found some interesting colors this way...great for painting furniture and other large items.

 These shoes have very detailed flowers...they are Ecco clogs, and likely cost someone $100.00-$150.00 new.  They are a green nubuck suede and are in excellent condition.  I got them at a thrift store for myself, but they didn't work for my feet and so I decided to sell them on ebay.  Well, I had them listed for a couple of weeks but no bids, so I took them off and they were my first shoe-painting experience.  I preserved the artwork with a spray-on clear acrylic sealer in a matte finish. It did darken the color of the suede a little, so they look more khaki-ish than the original light green.  I know that they will make someone very happy, and I'll be listing them on my etsy store very soon.

Here are a couple of other pairs of shoes that I am in the process of painting....for these I have been using fabric (one is a dish towel and the other is a pillow cover, both from thrift stores, as well as the shoes) as my inspiration.  The red ones will be paisley when I am finished...The others will have the birds and flowers from the pillow cover (my yellow bird is probably going to get redone, but the pink one is quite cool!).  I am having such fun with this process...another way to make something out of nothing, or make something average into a piece of art.
These next three pictures show my source of inspiration, the photo of the butterfly enjoying a nice drink from a phlox plant.  I wanted to put this image on a handbag... then I was a little freaked out at the complexity of the butterfly itself...so I decided that first I would just try to paint the butterfly on paper and see how it went...

I have been filling in all of the flowers and greenery....just did the leaves this evening, and I am pretty proud so far...I think it will be a lovely painting!  My ultimate goal...the handbag:  this was a black leather handbag that I painted sky blue.  You are seeing the back of the bag...I was 'afraid' of starting with the butterfly (this was before I decided it might be a good idea to do it on paper first) so I painted the flowers onto the handbag.  Yesterday I drew the basic outline for the butterfly....scariest part...this is just the back of the bag, and I will have the front and the flap to contend with after I finish the back.  I have taken quite a few pictures of the butterflies, though, so I have plenty of other images to use for the other parts of the bag.  Another project that I will continue to chronicle for you and for me.

One last image for you....this is a watercolor in progress (I am good at being in progress or process or whatever you would call not quite finished...hahaha!!).  I am still trying to get the morning glories that are below the bird feeder to have more depth....and the blank spot on the left side of the railing will eventually be filled with a sleeping cat.  There is still much to be done here....the ground, the sky, etc., but I am taking my time, since this is the second watercolor I have ever done (since grade school, anyway).  It is a medium that I think I will explore till I can no longer hold a brush....I really like all the things that can be done....it is great fun!

So, to sum it all up....this is where I've been and what I've been working on for the past two months....new directions for GKR....all good things....I have decided that I will do clothing on a custom order basis for now, continue making bags of all kinds, and continue exploring what I can do with paint.
I vow to you, I will keep this blog updated with what I'm doing and how things are turning out.  I hope you like my work...it is a labor of love....it keeps a smile on my face and paint on my fingers.
Ah, and the fingers are itching to do a little more painting before bedtime, so I will bid you farewell for the night.  I send you peace and positive energy....thanks for checking in!!

A Good Day's Work,,,,

I wanted to continue sharing my work....I got a lot of interesting things done today, amid crazy storms whirling and pouring on and off....thses three 'onesies' will be completed with some embroidery stitching around the appliques'...

The little white tee shirt has frogs playing the banjo...so cute for girl or boy!

 
and this was just a crazily inspired girls/teens/tweens/ tee shirt
cut out hearts everywhere....love it!!

Creativity Flows in the Tree House...

I want to share some pictures of what I have made so far.
...   I know these aren't great pictures, and I am dealing with my phone and my netbook, so this is as good as I can get them...but...you get the picture!

Treehouse Studio...

I am happily working here in Virginia...the house sits on top and off the side of a mountain.  This place has always been a haven for me and a place where I can conjure up creativity with little or no effort.  I have already finished a couple of cool things, and have more in the line-up for this coming week. 
It feels so good to have this ever-flowing artistic juice coursing through me.  I know that a few weeks ago, when I stayed at my former home, and tried to work in my former studio, I quickly realized that there was no muse there for me anymore.  It was a little sad, and a great deal reaffirming that I don't belong there...and I am glad for the experience, and knowing that I am on the right path with my work and my life. 
I will try to upload some pictures later this week and show off what I am creating here in the treehouse...right now my fingers are itching to get back to work...I keep looking over at my dressform and the partially completed dress that she is wearing, and I am anxious to see what will happen next.  I will be back in a few days...until then, may you feel as peaceful and blessed as I do at this moment....

Time to Take my Shop on the Road...

Yep!  I will be heading for the Virginia mountains in a couple of days. I spent today picking out what I would take to work on...dresses and tops...while I'm up in the treehouse....the magical place full of love that I treasure so much...I always feel so creative there..its in the air and it buzzes all around me the whole while.  It truly is quite amazing.
A couple of weeks ago I went and stayed at the farm where I lived with my family for years, and set up my things in my old studio.  I couldn't make anything.  Everything I tried to do became a jumbled mess.  There is nothing of me left in that place.  After the first couple of days, I gave up.  I spent most of my time outside because I felt more myself there.
I know that it won't be that way in Virginia.  It is and has been a special retreat for me, and I am counting down the hours till I head that way.  I will try to post again while I'm there, and include some pictures.  Just wanted to check in. I didn't realize I'd been away for so long.  I have changed my vending schedule to include new and exciting venues, and I'll be telling you about them in the near future.  Right now I'm off to bed, and will wake up one day closer to my departure...stay safe and live peacefully.

The Merry, Merry Month of May

I can't believe it is May already....mainly because the weather is still stuck in a winterish pattern....
For me, for GoodKharmaReThreads, the past month of weather ups and downs has been a definite issue as far as production (my fibromyalgia doesn't like weather changes) but I have managed to get a few things put together.  Sales have been light, not just for me, for all of my artist friends.  Weather, economy, taxes, and other shopping squashers...well, we will have faith that spring will take hold this month and give us a buffer before summer gets here.

I wanted to share a few of my creations...the first is a stunning top, in a plus size 4X.  Hard for me to show it off on the dress form but I embellished with native Jamaican/African type fabric from a dashiki.  I look forward to its person finding it.  In the meantime, I just may have to wear it over some leggings as a long tunic....maybe even this coming Saturday at the market...you never know....but I digress...

I got several more tops remade, each different from the last....which is always the best part...each piece being original, new, fresh....I'm never bored with my work...I also got a few girls' tops completed...from infant to extra-large....much fun!!!  I have such a good time working on the girls' pieces, and I am getting ready to launch a new category....boys' tops...from baby to teen....I have had many requests from young men and even a few not-so-young...wanting something unique and fun and how can I pass up that opportunity for my own creative growth...so I will be tackling that in the near future, along with my diaper bag prototype...I will be diving into that in another month or so, as I have an order for one to be completed the latter part of June.