Sunday Weekly Wrap-up/ Month's End

October is coming to a close and as I look back I can see that I am creating more regularly and trying new challenges. Life has a way of getting in the way of having big blocks of time to create, but I try to slip in smaller moments.

Here is a look at some of the projects/challenges I have been working on:

GPP#45 Challenge Back to Back

I have been enjoying these challenges and this month we were to create with the scraped pages we created last month. I used one sheet to create Hallowe'en ATCs.

I hope to do more with this challenge in the coming month.

Photo a Day for a Year

This has been the most regular challenge. I love photographing skies, flowers, trees and have been doing a lot of this in October. Here are a few of my favourite shots:

Art Heart and Healing

I have recently signed up for this free e-course and am enjoying the lessons and the art. Tam gives so much and I love her approach. I am no where near finishing the first week's lessons but here is a glimpse of my unfinished portrait. I am looking forward to working through all the projects.

Art Every Day Month

November 1st begins Art Every Day Month at Creative Every Day. I did the challenge last year and am looking forward to taking part this year.

My goal for this month is to create every day, a minimum of 30 minutes a day.

I love the idea of using a small journal and drawing something every day.

I also hope to work on some of the projects I have begun and not finished.

I will continue to work on my photography, on the TNC - The Happy Book and the many other photo challenges I take part in. I have a number of ATC swaps to complete as well.

ATCs

This month I have done a number of photo swaps, as well as a couple of 1 to 1 swaps which were fun. Here is a swap for :


African animals:


In the style of Picasso:

Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadows are everywhere usually! It has been a hectic week and shadows escaped me this week. I was looking up mostly at skies this week and did find some lovely ones. So I decided to look back (pre SSS) and see what I could find!

At a friend's house - in her garden

and a woodpecker.

That's me, in front of an old school. (my hubby's entry for SSS!)

Had to include this one of the swan - from one of my favourite spots in Stratford.

Be sure to visit the great participants of SSS, at Hey Harriet!

Weekend Reflections

Time to share reflections - once you start looking, they are fun to find!

When I was searching for skies on Wednesday, the reflection of the sunset was in the Grand River.

It was in the church windows as well!

Be sure to check out other great participants here.

Sky Watch Friday

The clouds around Cambridge this week have been gorgeous! I went snap-happy, especially on Wednesday!

Here are a few ( okay - more than a few!) of photos I took:

Be sure to visit the other great participants of Sky Watch Friday here.

ABC Wednesday - O is for Onley, O'Brien and O'Keeffe

Once again it is time to check in at ABC Wednesday. This week our focus is the letter O.

Artists for this week are:

Lucius O'Brien (1832 -99)- an influential 19th-century Canadian oil and watercolour landscape artist

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887 - 1986) - American artist, best known for her beautiful flowers, as well as for "rocks, shells, animal bones, and landscapes in which she synthesized abstraction and representation." (Wikipedia)

Toni Onley (1928 -2004) - A Canadian artist, best known for his watercolour landscapes and complex colourful abstracts

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Last Sunday, we took a drive around town so I could search for some pictures for swaps for ATCsforAll (doors, churches, fall trees and bridges). Bur during that search, of course I had to look for shadows! And of course I found quite a few. Here a a few I found:

Tree shadows at a church.

Grocery carts at Costgo!

This last structure was in a tiny park which we had never been to. The foliage was lovely and as I took photos of trees, I saw this strange structure. I wouldn't call it a building though. It turns out it holds burial plates in stone that date back at least a hundred years. This site was original a church that burned down. I am going to have to investigate more and go back again.

Be sure to visit the other shadow sleuths at "Hey Harriet".

Weekend Reflections

While driving around town last weekend, I was finally able to capture a few reflections! Usually I don't have my camera when I need it - this time I took it with the intention of finding reflections and a few photos needed for some ATC swaps (doors, churches and bridges)

I was looking back at the clouds and I couldn't resist this shot!

Be sure to visit the other wonderful reflections here.

Sky Watch Friday

All week I have been snapping photo after photo of skies. Changeable moods of the clouds make for some interesting photos.

Here are a few from this past week:

Be sure to check out the wonderful skies here.

ABC Wednesday - N is for Newton and Negative space

Time once again for ABC Wednesday, that fun meme where a different letter of the alphabet is highlighted each week. This week it is N.

N is for:

Lilias Torrance Newton (1896-1980)

She was one of Canada’s most successful and respected portrait painters. She painted about 300 portraits and was well known as an art educator.

 

 

I love this quote by her:

“It’s impossible to jump into a portrait. It takes time to make up my mind about the best, most attractive pose, and as I sketch, my subject becomes natural, more unconscious, and I catch an impression I may have missed at first.” (Lilias Torrance Newton, 1957)

Negative Space (An excellent article on what it is appears here. Following is some info from that article)

"Negative space is the space between objects or parts of an object, or around it. "

"Is It a Vase or Two Faces?
The classic example of negative space or shapes is the brain-teaser where depending on how you look you see either a vase or two faces (as shown in the image above). It becomes very evident when the image is reversed."

Non-representational Art (in other words - Abstract Art)

 

"Abstract art, nonfigurative art, nonobjective art, and nonrepresentational art are loosely related terms. They are similar, although perhaps not of identical meaning."

For more information, see the article here.

Be sure to visit the other great participants of ABC Wednesday here.

The Happy Book

TNC - The Happy Book was started by Jamie Ridler and each week a random page is chosen on Friday to focus on for the week. I finally have my own copy and I am playing catch-up . I haven't taken part the past 2 weeks but have tried a few "happy" pages on my own.

Stickers That Make me Happy(Pg. 81)

I had fun with this one - I have a lot from school I was able to use.

Hand Turkey (pg. 34/35)

I did this for Thanksgiving - took me back to what I used to do with my kids. I still have a couple of them in a memory box.

As I look at mine, I am reminded more of a chicken than a turkey - but it certainly makes me smile, and I did have fun making it!

Time Machine

I have started this, and plan to keep compiling things for an actual time capsule for Jan. 1/11. I plan to open it and add to it every New Year's.

My youngest and I made one for the millennium 10 years ago and we looked at it last year. We had made t-shirts and had put in a newspaper, along with a few other things. That was quite a time for memories and looking back.

Be sure to check out Jamie's blog and join in the fun with "The Happy Book".