by Valores Moon | Mar 16, 2016 | Art, Creativity, Interconnectedness, Mixed Media, Painting, Poetry, Stories, The Space Between
i am a comma
i sometimes stand in for one of the twins
when words from a past life are to be repeated
when i feel a little bit moody and out of character
i will team up with a no-nonsense full-stop
to make a hybrid statement
just for a giggle i sometimes apostrophise
and hope you notice when i shout with my hands around my mouth
“hey you giant, hellloooo, there’s something missing here!”
but,
when i am my favourite kind of me
i am the comma that adores the space
that has to happen when i happen
it could be a spectacular pause,
a space to breathe,
or just room to change your mind if you feel like it.
Note: The idea behind this sketchbook project was to complete the sentence I am a [metaphor]. I made it for the
Misty Mawn Make/Do Art Workshop. Also for me and my very lovely handmade book that I bought in Venice some years ago! I had two ideas. First, I am the pink thread that runs through a white dress passed on from one generation to the next. Kind of like a timeline. And second, I am a comma. The poem came so easy and then the painting just happened. I painted the girl as a comma next to the letter ‘e’. I thought that I could illustrate a comma best next to a letter. I decided to make that letter an ‘e’ because a lot of wonderful words end with an ‘e’. Words like love, hope, peace, believe and bee :)
by Valores Moon | Mar 9, 2016 | Process, Studio, The Space Between
I am sitting in the kitchen. Walk On The Wild Side (Tok Tok Tok version) playing on the music machine. This post is in real-time format:)
Making
I am trying to make some blue ink. To this purpose I cut off all the flowers from my dying hyacinths. Water and flowers in a pot. Now I’m waiting for the water to boil away. The water is green. It smells like hyacinths and vegetables. I wonder…
The Space Between
Over the last months I’ve been on a journey to renew my sense of wonder. To find the art that there is to everything. Helping me on my journey:
- Misty Mawn’s art workshop Make/Do Art
- Elena Brower’s Art of Attention meditation workshop
- Danielle LaPorte’s ‘What would you do to feel the way that you want to feel’ Day Planner
The ink still looks green. Rather cabbagey. I think if it stays like this I will add blueberries. It will still be natural and that’s the point. Handmade ink with earthy ingredients. Maybe I didn’t take enough flowers. I could add either turmeric to make a yellowy-green or blueberries. What do I feel like? I think blue. Might be a bit dirty, but that’s ok. The hyacinths deserve a second life.
About to start reading The Balance Within by Esther M. Steenberg, M.D. It’s about the Science Connecting Health and Emotions. The Wasington Post review on the back starts with “Uncommonly artful…”
See, it’s the theme for me right now – to live an artful life.
I am also following Lilla Rogers’ #bemorewoowoo videos. She is sooooo cool. Calls herself our fairy art mother in her online workshops. I’ve noticed that woowoo isn’t always welcome in all circles. But Michi and I binge-watched Star Wars on the weekend and come on, Star Wars is super-woowoo. When you believe in the force, you’re kind of part of the “woowoos”. “Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him you will.” – Yoda. The woowoo-closet out of I will come :)
The ink is ready now and very blueberry. So I’ll call it Blueberry ink with a heart of hyacinths. I will go make a label now, while the ink is cooling down.
Tada! Handmade Ink
I added a bit of rubbing alcohol to keep the ink a bit longer. And done! This was interesting. The ink pot spilled over when I opened it for the first time after adding the label. That’s ok. There’s something nice about the stains left after we spill over. Like learning or memories or change and new beginnings. And now my label has character.
by Valores Moon | Dec 2, 2014 | The Space Between
Epeolatry is the worship of words. Now I wouldn’t go that far, but I do love words and what you can do with them. The value in words, I think, lies in how you string them. Like a beaded necklace. Week 3 in the Paperlove course is all about words. Work I’ve done before with words include The Knit of You, I can still taste the sea in my tears, Good Wolf Bad Wolf, The Fish of Far-sigthedness, etc. To try to name them all doesn’t really make any sense, because the pieces that don’t have text are still endowed with a story. Where would we be without words and stories?
More unique than fingerprints, is the mantra repeating to form the face of my painting: The Knit of You. Repeating phrases is good for the soul. I am still repeating my original mantra “one step at a time, one step at a time” regularly.
Poetry by Spoken Word Artist Sarah Kay – I absolutely love this. It is so easy to relate to.
Little books – perfect for lists and prompts. The insides are folded using only one piece of paper.
Little books – perfect for lists and prompts. Giving some old Bhoomie calendar pages a new purpose as book covers.
Some wonderful washi tape and a tiny torn piece of paper with a heart on that I couldn’t throw away.
Little books – perfect for lists and prompts.
Little books – perfect for lists and prompts.
by Valores Moon | Nov 21, 2014 | The Space Between
collage (according to the Collins English Dictionary) is
1. (Art Terms) an art form in which compositions are made out of pieces of paper, cloth, photographs, and other miscellaneous objects, juxtaposed and pasted on a dry ground
2. (Art Terms) a composition made in this way
3. (Art Terms) any work, such as a piece of music, created by combining unrelated styles
[French, from coller to stick, from colle glue, from Greek kolla]
Now, I am no stranger to collage. Collage represents what I call “the heartbeat” in many of my paintings. It brings texture to any painting and is a fantastic way to get over the fear of the white page (which can be really intimidating).
Repurposed tea-bag wrappings. Such beautiful colours!
I also find collage to be a metaphor for who we turn out to be. The wonderful Ane Brun has a song called Armour that says:
‘Cause this armour’s different pieces
Were delivered from different places
With their own delivery dates
I think the concept is relevant to both good and bad experiences. Think about it – you’re little and it is just you and your mum and dad. The qualities you were born with together with the input of your parents form the foundation – the piece of paper, canvas, wood, etc. Then you get to an age where you start interacting with other humans and your parents no longer have full control over the influences in your life (I guess that must be a scary place for parents). So every new bit of information written in your heart and mind is a piece of the collage that will keep changing and shaping you into the person that you are today and will be tomorrow.
Word collage
It came as a surprise to me how much I enjoyed this. Try this – cut out some words from magazines and when you have enough pick a few and rearrange them. Some musicians like David Bowie have also used a similar technique to write song lyrics. After I tried this I could see how that could work. It takes you to another place.
Humble attempt at some Word Collage – oh the places I will go with this…:)
Collage requires me to be present, to be a witness of the beauty that emerges.
From my sketchbook: Collage brings a richness to any background
by Valores Moon | Nov 11, 2014 | The Space Between
Tada! My very first self stitched paper journal. What excites me even more than my new journal (which I love!), is the future possibilities of my newfound knowledge. I tend to always over-knot things afraid that they would fall apart if I don’t. It seems that a simple reef-knot will do the trick. Perfect imperfection. Paperlove is a collaboration between one of my favourite business women Beth Kempton and paper artist Rachell Hazell. It is definitely worth checking it out.
Pamphlet stitch found paper journal
Pamphlet stitch found paper journal
by Valores Moon | Nov 7, 2014 | The Space Between
Who received her starter kit in the mail yesterday? It’s me! Beautiful paper samples, papery bits and paper tape. Definitely Paperlove(ly). I also managed to meanwhile rearrange my studio and I think I am ready to start. It seems that I need a fresh start with every project. To get myself properly in the paper zone, I chose to do a paper project for my 7-year old art student Elizoe. Our mission: Creativity Preservation. It was wonderful. She is wonderful really, I am just lucky to be a witness.
I am working on my main project today for Week 1: Paper. The project is to make a journal or an even better word for it as per the assignment instructions – a receptacle. I’ve done the texture exercise this morning and it was great fun to just work with paper. No glue, no paint. Just paper. I love the outcome. I love the textures, the possibilities and the whiteness of it all.
Week 1: Paper – Texture
Will be getting on with my receptacle now. I wish you a beautiful weekend!
PS. I will be celebrating my 5th wedding anniversary tonight with my lovely husband. I am a lucky girl x
