Making Marks

Art-O-Mat Progress

A few weeks ago I shared that I was accepted as an Art-o-mat artist. That was exciting, but then I had to get to work!

The good news was that I had kept pretty good track of the steps I took with my prototype, and I had drawings ready to go. The bad news is that 50 is a lot. I did two batches to break the project into manageable chunks.

Here's a picture of the first batch in progress. I was in the middle of attaching little hangers, using tiny ball chain out of my existing supplies. I tried to not buy anything for the project and just use what I had. I ended up buying a few things (such as star buttons)to keep the look consistent.

This photo reminds me of my love/hate relationship with my work table. I love the stainless steel because it takes a real beating. However, I don't like it for taking photos. Getting a good pic without too much reflection is very tricky!

Work In Progress

One of my art friends, Teresa Burgett, makes wonderfully clever and charming art with animal themes. I have admired her work for a long time, and Michael has bought me several of her pieces for presents.

Ever since Scooter ensconced himself in our house, I have been thinking about having Teresa make a portrait of him. She agreed and then asked me to trade work with her. I was and am completely flattered.

She made several concept sketches of Scooter, and we selected our favorite. (I'll share it with you when I have it in my possession.)

Then I was motivated to get going on the piece I was making for her. She asked for an oil pastel with the theme of Silverton, and I had a good idea of the image I wanted to create. This image is the work in progress (20 x 26"). I am happy with the start and am anxious to see if she likes the completed piece.

Small Accomplishments

Most days I really like seeing the big picture: I like to strategize, make plans and figure out how to get where I want to go in different areas of my life.

Other times, however, I get by through seeing small accomplishments. Today is one of those days! If I get a few minutes to sketch at the end of a long day teaching, I'll be happy.

Counting the small accomplishments (and blessings) helps me see how they add up, too! That helps shift my perspective and I start feeling more positive about what's in front of me (such as a stack of papers to grade and the dog to walk and dinner to cook and . . .).

The next ARTitude will have an article I wrote about focusing on small accomplishments, what works for you and how to build on the positive. This is a strategy from the perspective of Appreciative Inquiry.