Machinery at the Ready

Well, I bit the bullet today and delved into my Janome Heavy Duty sewing machine, which had been giving me fits every time I used it, or tried to; and it is not a cheap machine to have repaired, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get back to making bags any time soon.  
But I repaired the plate and cleaned out the bobbin casing area and she is running like a top!  So excited, just excited to be excited about sewing again after such a long hiatus.  I think I feel my muse getting excited, as well!!  
We have some cold weather ahead this coming week, and sewing will be something I can get into.  I also plan to get back to work on some sketches and paintings and maybe even a bit of jewelry...so I will make my snowbound time useful and creative.  
That's really all the news...good news for getting back to work.  It seems like I spent the bulk of 2014 living out of a suitcase, and that was okay because it really got me back into painting and crocheting and other such activities that could be made portable.  Now that we have a home and I have my studio space set up, I look forward to a productive 2015....I also look forward to finding some fairs, festivals, markets, etc., so that I can get to know the artisan community here in Colorado.  If you know of any folks that might be able to help me get more info on the best events to participate in, please feel free to send me a note.  
No pictures today, but I'll have some for sure when I post again, because I plan to get on with creating some new stuff for GoodKharma!  Stay warm and keep your heart and mind open....

Moving In, Moving Forward

I haven't posted here since August.  That may seem crazy but there is good reason.  I relocated to Colorado in September, and endured some adverse living conditions, which were anything but conducive to creativity.  Finally, I have a home and I have been setting up my new studio space.  It is certainly a
in progress, but it has infinite potential and 
fantastic natural light, so I'm pretty darned 
happy. 
I have so many unfinished works that I am starting to prioritize and get back to work on.  I have so many ideas for new things, modified things, and different directions to go forth with.  GoodKharma will have to find new places to be seen in the world.  I have much research to do on markets, fairs, and festivals in the area.  Also I have to look at the demographics of where the 'targeted audience' for my work hangs out.  And I have just tons of things that I'm dying to try and see what kind of response I get from those who understand the concepts behind all that I do under the umbrella of GoodKharma...it should be great fun and allow my creative gypsy muse to really dig in and do her thing!!!  I'm pretty excited...

                       

Ahh, some of the Buddhas I'm working on....I have many more to work on, but these need to be brought to fruition first.  The first one, on the left, is really just a little watercolor that actually fill just get framed and probably I'll keep him for myself.  He is likely too lifelike for most folks.  The middle Buddha is in a reclining pose and is acrylic on cotton fabric....he'll be part of a tote bag of some sort, and I already have the materials selected to compliment and feature him properly!  And the handsome guy on the right is a watercolor on linen....also to be incorporated into a tote bag....with some beautiful fabrics and textures...so, two out of the three of these handsome me

n will be going places!!

What's that in the background?  Well, still quite the work in progress, but much further along and will be available in a couple of weeks, if I can keep up the good work. I just love quote and designed the picture to go with it.....it will be very different the next time you see it, believe me...but I'm happy with the shape that she's taking!

Now these two are going to be available, or certainly the heart/eye on the left, as soon as I get my etsy.com site back up and going.  I'm not sure about the picture on the right...I may scratch that one and start over.  I like it, but I don't.  I think I can do better, but it was fun to do, nonetheless...and I learned a few things from it, too.

And there is a plethora of fabric and yarn and paints and jewelry-making material for me to delve into based on what I feel like making on any given day.  I am pretty happy to have this kind of flexibility.  Of course, there are some less-than-fun tasks to be done....I need to clean and service my two sewing machines, paint over some old canvases so that they can be reused, and other things that aren't as fun as being in the act of creating.  

Last, but certainly not least, there is my little corner of the office, where I have this little computer to work 

from:  for pictures, blogging, redoing my etsy store, ebay stuff, Facebook page updates, and hopefully re-starting my GKR website.  Much will be happening from this little desk. I also have three books to write in my spare time.  And I'll be assisting my partner with his on-line enterprises. So I will be busy whether I'm in the office or the studio, not to mention the day-to-day activities that happen in between the two locales.  You know: cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening.....life!
So, a hearty welcome to GoodKharmaReThreads' new digs.  If you know any artisans/artists in the Denver area or if you know of any markets, fairs, or festivals that you think would be a good fit for what GKR does, please feel free to let me know, as I'll be seeking opportunities to vend starting this spring...and I appreciate any suggestions or referrals anyone might have for me.
May you and yours have a  blessed and peaceful holiday season....I look forward  to updating you on GKR's progress as we take on the wild, wild west!!!!    

Rain...the Blessing and the Curse!

I am settling into my new space...my little room where my muse and I can enjoy whatever comes through...so different...took me a few days to realize i can close the door...close the door and listen to good music and write and paint and allow ideas to flow...how did I make it without this for so long.  No wonder I gave up my sewing machine, still parked in my bedroom...I know I'll get back there, too...can see that now..
just not ready for that part of my ideas to manifest into reality yet....which is okay, as there is no lack of work and fun and creativity in all areas...inside and out..
The rain should have given me license to come in here and work, but five inches of rain in a couple of days...wow....it became something that made me feel a little trapped...although I managed to get a good start on a painting that I've been commissioned to do for a friend...from a painting she found and loved the message more than the colors, etc...so I got busy and figured out what wasn't quite right about the original image...the message didn't quite match the image...so I have dealt with that as I make this work my own...
it is still a little daunting when I do work for a specific person...have to make myself not allow the fact that I'm making something for someone I already know block the creative process...I'm learning though!

These pictures are of my sketch and then my first pass at the painting....it still has much more to be done before its finished...but I feel like it has great bones...the message 'open the eyes of my heart' is so beautiful, and the original work was missing the thing that I find captures the truth  of it...it had the message and the eye...but it wasn't 'contained' inside a heart...which to me is the whole point...and in the middle of the flower, along with the little nectar-laden things I can't name at the moment...will be a few tiny hearts as well...to me, it will convey the message the way I want to see it conveyed, and will also make it mine...the little things that I perceive as important...fun to get to do this.  The person I'm painting this

for also wanted me to incorporate blues and greens, whereas the original was done with oranges and yellows...so I get to play with that, too.  I will work on this more today and by the time I do my next post, it just might be finished...we'll see how it goes, since my muse is torn between writing and painting at the moment.
I'm also nearing completion of my sweet yellow bird singing her special song...so hopefully that will be done fairly soon.  I'm determined to get some of the things that I had started and then not gotten back to brought to completion....because there is so much that I want to start and I feel I need to get these other things done before I give myself over to the new things...

On the garden front, well all of that rain had mixed results...I lost quite a few tomatoes, which exploded from all the water...but I was able to harvest my first corn...looking forward to trying it out this week...and I had one ear that was overly mature and I will be using it to learn how to turn those kernels into next year's seeds. The whole gardening part, GoodKharmaFarm; well, this is my year to learn from my mistakes, so I'm learning from the earth on a daily basis...I have a gazillion cucumbers...I will be going out and I know picking no less than a dozen today alone.  I see now that I will also be learning to make pickles this week...I have beets to pickle, too....no idea where to start, but I have great books to reference and thanks to technology, between google and youtube I should be able to find more than enough information to make my first products from the things that I've grown.  A new creative process, for sure.  I plucked carrots out...they weren't growing right and so I learned something there....that they should be planted with intention...spaced out instead of dumping seeds in a row and hoping they'd just do their thing...nope, some things don't work that way...I'm learning, and I will be learning from the earth and mother nature for this whole year...as fall approaches and I have to consider what I'll plant, where I'll plant it, get my fall/winter beds that get the winter sun cleaned up, and cold frames built....boy, that will be a big thing to learn...and they'll be made from all recycled wood windows and will be like mini greenhouses, allowing insulation from the cold but sunlight so those fall and winter crops can grow safely....I'm actually excited about the making of the boxes, although not too excited about the weeding and working of the overgrown beds...but it will all be done...and I may call upon some of the people that have been hinting at wanting to come out here and do something with the earth....town folk...city folk...well, I have plenty for them to do....plenty of work to share....I know I can't do it all myself!

And to add to all of the things I already do, I am getting back into the music, have been doing a little writing and playing....last night I enjoyed playing with my husband and son...as we start to evolve into whatever this incarnation of a 'band' we might become....I know that we'll have a good time, and hopefully get out and play some this fall.  Its been way too long....you can check out our former band, which disbanded in the fall of 2010, through our Facebook page or on Reverbnation....we were ShackTown....in case you are curious as to
   what we used to do....as I said, its been a long          time...I didn't play at all for over three years...but I    feel ready to write songs again and get out and        play and share our music again. It has been such a  pleasure to watch my older son grow into his own  as a musician, too!  We will have a good time!         
 So, as always, there is so much that goes into being GoodKharma......creativity comes in all kinds of packages and I've learned to be open to all of the ways that I can express myself...it has made this woman a whole person....and knowing that all that I do involves a positive message, or something made from nothing, made from what others would toss away, and turned into something different and with its own beauty.  It is my joy to share it all with you, dear readers, and I can only encourage you to do as I do, and listen to your muse, and do something, or many things...it is so important to grow and not be afraid to share all the parts of yourself that make this world just a little nicer, a little better...I've got a muse on my shoulder...poking me...whispering that its time to paint...so I will go...until next time, I bid you peace and joy!                                                                                                                                

New Art Space....No More Dining Room Table

I've been busy...
Actually, the garden took some work...lots of work...but in the last couple of days I got it re-trellised (again), took control back over the monster tomato plants, repaired and supported the corn plants, and planted more tomatoes and marigolds...still have to move some of the baby corn plants (not getting enough light), and plant a new batch of radishes and still more tomatoes....we'll have tomatoes when everyone else has none, which is always its own kind of blessing...
Today I also took my art to the kitchen and invented a sauce from the strange green and gold tomatoes...decided it would make a great mexican verde sauce...it tastes divine!  Going to freeze it and have it on a mexican dinner night.  I have a huge 'bouquet' of basil to deal with and also a plethora of cucumbers...may try my hand at pickling...we'll see!
Anyway, the big excitement...I took over my absentee son's room and set up my computer and also a wonderful art space for painting, jewelry making, etc. I have been working on the dining room table for a year, so I'm pretty excited to have a place to claim as my own, with a door and everything!  Oh, the little things...

So I have been able to clear the dining room of piles of paints, jewelry supplies, canvases, boards, and other painting surfaces...I've cleared out all of the stuff I had under my bed - shoes, handbags, rolls of fabric (including my geisha girls), and brought my dress form in and dressed her in one of my favorite creations...she's good company - doesn't talk or do anything offensive...just looks cute and reminds me that I still can sew, too!
I also made a little display to take a couple of pictures for you...wanted you to see what I'm up to with those Buddhas (they are matched with the materials

 that will become tote bags...I'm very excited about
mixing painting with bag-making....totable art!  I like it.  Also, I wanted to show you the shoes I've done and the ones I plan to paint as well as a nice Coach handbag...and my little heart-shaped wooden bird bowl...not sure if she's finished but she's a cutie just the same...and on the easel, my work in progress - my bird board and my butterfly acrylic...the first in the butterfly series I will be doing...so here are more pictures...

The Buddhas with their coordinating fabrics.. along with the little bowl there on the right...then the red paisley shoes....still need to seal the finish and they will be ready to go on etsy.com...my easel with my current works

           

...and some raw materials...a couple of pair of shoes and a lovely handbag..(these can be custom ordered, should anyone have something they would like to have painted just for them).
So I am really excited about my new little studio...soon I will tackle the sewing area, which is in my bedroom and has kind of kept me from wanting to sew...but I will get there...I've gotten this far...GoodKharma is just a busy place these days, between all of the activities....I've even been jotting down some song lyrics and started doing writing exercises to get me practiced for the book I'll begin working on this winter...
I know, I am just one of those people that loves to do everything...I am blessed, and I know it!   I don't take it for granted, although there are times when its too much...my mind is too full of ideas for too many different things...and I have to take a break and regroup.  But I have a couple of vending opportunities this fall that I plan to work toward, as well as reworking my Etsy store and my Facebook page.  I love it all, and hope that my muse will love this new space as much as I do....I'm pretty sure she does; she's had me going all day and I am enjoying every minute of it!
Going to take a break now though, go ride a lovely horse with my lovely niece and enjoy this beautiful day...then I'll come home and do a little painting, I think...that butterfly keeps calling me so I may have to consult with my muse when I return and see what she's up for!  Hope you have a fantastic day...I'll be back again soon..until then, much peace and joy to you!

Yesterday's sunset from my deck...just thought I'd share it with you...I look forward to it every evening as no two are ever the same...namaste my friends!

A Little Bit of This...A Little Bit of That....

I tell you, I've been trying to get back to this blog all week....its just been one thing after a thousand...but here I am...

I have been working on my watercolor Buddha..he's starting to look like a pretty handsome guy!  The way that the statue has weathered has been challenging to represent, especially considering the medium and the fact that it is being painted on fabric...a lot of variables...but I am making it my own so he is turning out well I think...there is so much layering and it gets a bit intense, so I don't work on him all the time...but he's coming along nicely!

I have also gotten back to my yellow bird poster; I've been working on her shading and feathers and such, and also on the branches...the corkboard is kind of difficult...sometimes the paint goes in a direction or makes thicker lines than I want....so it is yet another interesting project...I have started the first layer of the lettering, too.  This one is done with acrylic paint so has a totally different feel of control or lack thereof.  It is an interesting contrast to the watercolor Buddha, that's for sure...but she is starting to sing....and I think in the end she will be quite a lovely creature with such a lovely message...so I work on her every day in some way or another.

 On the GoodKharmaFarm gardening front, I have harvested some of my first planting of beets, and I have tons of strange tomatoes and now I'm getting cucumbers (they are so delicious...it's almost sinful!), zucchini, and yellow squash.  I think my second planting of those lovely breakfast radishes will be ready soon.  We have been getting rain on a daily basis so things are just growing faster than I can keep up, especially trying to trellis the cucumbers and the gourds..I will be going and working on the gourds as soon as the shade hits their garden bed... above is a picture of a wee baby birdhouse gourd...    

I will be starting to work on a butterfly picture that I started last year, and I will also be doing a couple of other butterflies...possibly it will turn into a series of some sort...who knows?  I just know that they always bring me joy...watching them do their thing....I plant flowers specifically for them...yesterday I actually got a couple of pictures of a "baby" monarch...up until now I have only seen one Monarch, and have been wondering if they were ever going to show up...but this young one...so cute...doesn't have the blue spots yet and has a very well-defined 'tail'....hopefully you can see from the picture...I'll be looking for this one and trying to watch it mature...kind of my own little science project, you know!     

                                                                                                          

So that's what I've been doing...not nearly as much as I'd like, but other things (mostly being a shuttle service) have taken much time away from the things that I love to do.  Also, I spent a little time with one of the other facets of GoodKharma...GoodKharmaServices....which involved some serious cat-sitting....which is always okay, especially since I was able to help out a dear friend when she needed it desperately.  So I got caught up on my favorite HGTV shows and the beasties watched along with me..here are three of them...fourth guy is on my lap...and the tabby in the chair is blind, so he's just listening....they are a joy to be around...lots of comic relief!                                                                                                                                                                                           I am going to get to work on some painting now...my yellow bird, Buddha, and butterflies are calling me...I have the house to myself for the rest of the day so I should take advantage of such a gift.  I will keep you updated with my progress and all things GoodKharma!!  Have a peaceful day....

Bringing My Muse Home

So, I got back from my house-sitting job Sunday evening...it felt great to be home....I've been house-sitting A LOT and felt scattered and transient and was ready to be home, even though the work ahead of me here is a bit overwhelming.  I won't even begin to tackle my sewing area until sometime late next week...right now my oldest son is preparing to leave next week for work and his need to spread things out and decide what to do with his possessions...what to take, what to leave and store, what to get rid of....is taking up most of the extra space in the house and will until his departure.  On the flipside, I am enjoying spending some quality time with him, knowing that this house will soon be emptied of everyone but myself full-time and my husband part-time....it will be very different from how this house has been a revolving door of folks needing a home, or coming to hang out, or stay, or leave, and space being at such a premium...part of why my muse checked out for such an extended period of time....it was fairly impossible to be creative when so much other stuff was going on and distracting and detracting from what I wanted to do....but my muse came home...finally she has decided that she too can finally have a little space here to do her job...being my muse, pointing out more new and interesting things that lead me to inspiration...and I am extremely grateful that she is here.  We have so much to do....
Yesterday, after having had some wonderful rain (finally), my son and I went out and toured the garden areas....picked the first zucchini and cucumbers, along with some tomatoes...there will be tomatoes for a long time to come!  And so it was quite rewarding to go around and look at my baby veggies, baby gourds, basically the fruits of my labors as the steward of this blessed piece of land that I am lucky enough to call home.  It feels great to know that this is the small beginning of something that I hope will become bigger than me, bigger than anything I've ever done, and something that will ultimately benefit others less fortunate as I work to turn GoodKharmaFarm into a non-profit, slow money entity that will help sustain others in such a basic but necessary way.
Also, I started picking little areas of the house and decluttering them...and uncovered a few treasures, like some different pieces of foam board that I had reclaimed from the recycle shed at the dump and so I got out a couple of interesting colors of acrylic paint and painted over someone's watercolor prints and will be able to reuse these for my own art....goes back to the original intent of GoodKharmaReThreads that has become GoodKharma Everything....making something out of nothing....And so I just painted over them....as someone will likely paint over my art someday....these things happen...
And I also found a couple of small foam boards that just had prints laid on them, botanical prints from the era of dusty rose and dusty blue and all that...still wrapped in plastic...so I unwrapped and discarded what wouldn't be used and now I have some nice clean boards to work with, too. In the process I actually made some

space in my room...decluttering!  I also got some books cleaned out and listed on Paperback Swap so that they can find new homes.
So, while I hadn't had a chance to make anything, I did make myself useful.  A great feeling...
As I was painting over those boards....this is when my muse tapped me on the shoulder...she said..."what about those Buddhas that you started and had to put aside when the house became too small for you and I to work peacefully...where are those guys?"  I thought, huh?  Well they are right here under this pile of stuff...all these sketch pad and trays and paints and wooden boards, along with all the images of Buddha statues that I found intriguing and artistic and want to eventually try to paint.  So once I could move the boards I'd painted over, I pulled out one of my  Buddhas...a watercolor on linen that was tucked away in the pile...I immediately realized that I would be mixing colors and trying to get back to the original essence (or not) of what I loved about this image of the Buddha.
Here is what I managed to accomplish yesterday during a couple of hours...

This first picture is where I had gotten with him before my muse and I had to take our hiatus...I had found this to be extremely tedious at the time....and hard to figure out ..couldn't get the colors to be like the colors I'd used....and my muse whispered to me to mix some colors and get on with it....so that's what I did....

And by the time I felt finished for the day, as these things have to dry and set a bit...working on fabric is definitely more challenging and interesting than paper....I felt pretty good about what I had managed to do.  I am looking forward to getting back to work on him today at some point...either he or my sweet muse will let me know when it's time to sit back down with this Buddha...

I also unearthed a whole book of poetry that I had written during my teens, and also many poignant quotes that I had written down...and I will be using some of these things as inspiration for posters, the ones that will go on those boards that I uncovered, repainted, etc., and I may dabble with them a bit today, too.  It will be interesting to take a quote and interpret it as visual art.  I think this will be a fun thing....I had started something of this nature...another unfinished work....that I will also be getting back to....for the little bird, she calls to me, wants me to finish her and write her story.....I used a reclaimed corkboard bulletin board type thing that I brought home last year from the dump....and decided to see what it would be like to paint over...

So I have much to do...many places to pick up where I left off...many new places to start from....many things whirling around in my head that I want to try to make or do....its why I work much better with my muse's guidance...she gently nudges me toward a single thing to be working on...and doesn't get offended if I can't get into that particular thing at that particular time....like the seagulls I so do want to paint....I spent two days trying to finish an unfinished sketch before I realized that I didn't want to do seagulls then...and I began sketching from a photo from last year of a butterfly...and it came easy and smooth and my muse just smiled...she knew she was needed here and that her room was ready and waiting...

I'm so glad to have her home!!  Enjoy your day...I know I will enjoy mine....who knows what's waiting for me out there...time to go check the garden!  Peace to you from me and my lovely muse....from our house to yours...

                                                                       

The Art of Completion

Wow, I know! Three days in a row...
I am so thrilled to have finished my little watercolor of summertime blossoms...started in the spring and set aside....well, it is done...and I just wanted to share it with you...still have to take a trip to the Scrap Exchange and find a mat and frame...then I will decide what to do with it...keep, sell, give, donate...I know the universe will furnish me with a sign soon enough...
Anyway, here it is....

The flowers included, from left to right, purple verbena, brown-eyed susans, pink and lavender butterfly bush blossoms, purple coneflower, red bee balm, black & blue salvia, and red yarrow. I added some grass at the bottom and somehow managed to get a light blue sky in there, after the fact.  I guess I don't do many things in the right order, but, hey, it would be hard to change such habits, and I don't think I'd have nearly as much fun or learn nearly as much as I do from the things I create...

This week I will work on my seagulls...I had started a sketch over a year ago and have since taken quite a few pictures during various visits to the beach that will help me recreate and enhance what I started.  I do remember that the original gull flew away mid-sketch and so I would be having to wing anyway.  

Thanks for stopping by my blog...I forgot how much fun this is...all of it...so glad my muse decided to join me again.  We have so much to do and make and plant and pick...have a peaceful and beautiful day!