The Artistic Journey of Linda Kay's Art ~ Chapter 552

I am delighted to be a member of the Cre8ive Klatch.  It is a wonderful place where we share our cr8ivity and inspirations. Today I want to share with you a part of my artistic journey.

Ever since I can remember, art and craft making has been a big part of me. So, I guess I have been on my artistic journey my entire life. I have a unique way of looking at all the things around me and find creative ways to use and beautify my surroundings. It is a passion of mine to find new ways to use gently used items and give them a new and beautiful purpose.

I have been building my art business over the last 8 years. Most of what I do is on the small scale, sold locally and has given me a lot of enjoyment. I have learned a lot and feel confident in what I do. Now I have the opportunity to expand and grow my business and this is where you will be joining me on my journey, part 552.

I have been working in my home "studio" which consists of a 9 foot work bench in my laundry room. As you can imagine, it gets pretty crowded in there, especially if my kids are doing their laundry while I am working. At times I have spilled over into the living room, but working at the coffee table is not that comfortable. Recently I tried using the dinning room as a place to work and teach classes. It was a nice big space, but not quite convenient should we want to all eat dinner together. I was having growing pains!

As luck would have it, an opportunity to rent studio space from my local arts council, Arts in Bartlett, materialized just at the right time. My friend Jenny and I are now new tenants in a small studio together. Jenny is a pastel artist and does wonderful bird and nature art work. I am a mixed media artist and working on refining my work. Since we both need a place to put some serious effort into our work, this seems a perfect solution for us both.

The space we are moving into was formerly a beauty spa and salon. There has been a lot of work put into changing it over for arts council needs. Cleaning, patching, painting, trim work, plumbing, and more! It is exhausting but with all the volunteers, along with our contractor, we are pulling it all together nicely.

 Our studio space is smallish, but has a nice feel to it. We only have 3 walls as one has some gentle curves in it. I think it adds charm and movement to the space. We had a sink installed after I laid some tiles down. A coat of the lightest shade of lavender paint came next, the carpet was cleaned and now we are moving in!

Jenny has a portable table to work on. She fashioned a kitchen cupboard unit into a tableau with a nice counter top on it. This repurposing warms my heart! I have a folding table that I use for art fairs as my work surface, which will get a new padded table cover. Storage for my supplies will be next. I fell in love with a trendy turquoise cart from Ikea, so I bought 2, one for home and the other will go into the studio. A couple of chairs and we are set to go!

Being part of this group and working in a gallery setting will be a new experience for us both. I am looking forward to the new opportunities it will bring us. I for one welcome having others around me more often. I tend to keep to myself a lot and have missed interacting with others.

And so my journey continues down a freshly painted new path. It's pretty exciting, don't you think? 

Linda Kay Kinnaman of Linda Kay's Art
Website ~ http://lindakaysart.com/Blog ~ http://lindakaysart.com/blog/Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/LindaKaysArtInstagram ~ http://instagram.com/lindakaysart/Pinterest ~ http://www.pinterest.com/lkkinnaman/

Cre8ive Klatch

We can't wait to see all the cre8ive things you come up with!

Organization and The New Studio Space Part 1 by Kim Hyer

I have recently relocated to Oregon just a pinch south of Portland.

That being said I get to re-assemble a working studio. Join me in this journey.

I live on 4 acres with a 15 X 30 shop, a similar size garage and a huge barn. I had plans. Grand plans....

So after several weeks of debates (in which I lost) sadly I didn't get the shop or the garage. I can have the barn. The upstairs with the rats and spiders. No heat and a trek in the freezing wet weather through the mud.

So let me tell you about my space I do get.

It's cozy. It's painted peach (ugh) and my new name is Harry Potter. If you have read the first book you will understand. If not,  Go here and you'll understand. I am in the cupboard under the stairs. 

Hee Hee Hee!!!

"the cupboard under the stairs"

So, the first step was to move this junk to the barn. Tractor with a wagon and teenage boy.

So there is the junk... 

Here is the transformation...... drum roll. Please????

Much like a blank canvas. I now can start from scratch. Designing and getting my creative juices going. Trying to sort and fit only what I will need into my 6 X 6 space. 

Don't for a second get the mistake. I am over the moon to have the cupboard under the stairs. It has been 9 months without a space to paint, play and create.

Next was a trip to storage. Worse than it sounds. I got some shelving and some boxes. I attempted to be selective about tools, paints, ephemera and what not.

I moved from a custom made art room 10 x 10. Into storage then 958 miles to the cupboard under the stairs. 

I added 2 shelves. Then adjusted the table height and have unpacked some boxes. 

Maximizing the space the best I can.

I brought all my rolling carts. They are cute and I like them.

As you can see I have some more organization to go. This is the start. 

Join me for part 2.

Wish me luck.

 Where to find me:
My BlogInstagramEtsy ShopTumblrTwitterFacebook

Join our group and tell us your moving stories!

Cre8ive Klatch

We can't wait to see all the cre8ive things you come up with!

Meet Our Cre8ive Vagabond

Hi there fellow Cre8ives!

My name is Janet Forrest, and I'm new to this group. Well, at least visibly.

When Susan, Lori, and Ursula first launched this new new project I thought it was a GREAT idea. But because of my crazy lifestyle I felt unable to commit to projects and deadlines. I’ve just been watching the progress from a distance, trying to be supportive, but wishing I could participate without setting myself (and them!) up for disappointment.

Well, those sweet ladies did it! They found a way for me to be involved on a flexible timetable that fits my reality. I’m now their “Cre8ive Vagabond” - a guest blogger and occasional participant. 

I hope to bring you a different perspective on cre8ivity, based on my need to find it in some pretty non-traditional places.

But let’s start with a little background.

For twenty years I owned a brick and mortar business - a florist and gift shop that was non-traditional, as well (you’ll figure out pretty fast that’s the way I do life!) It was heavy on the gifts, unlike most florist shops, but gifts came first and flowers were added later. It began as an outlet for my creativity - my arts and crafts - but I quickly discovered that there weren't enough hours in the day to be supplier, displayer, salesperson, janitor, accountant, etc. so I had to re-define creativity. For many years I had to express myself through the products I purchased for sale, and creating displays that made people NEED to have the merchandise in their own home.

As the store grew (from under 500 sq. ft. to 2500 sq. ft) I added staff and was able, eventually, to return to designing and producing (with the help of some talented ladies!) merchandise for sale in the store.

But then life changed again when grandchildren started arriving. With them came the need to reassess what was important in life, and the store lost. In 2005, just a few months shy of its 20th birthday, I sold it and embarked on a new adventure.

I was having so much fun with my new granddaughter that it took a few years for me to realize that the creative part of me, the part that made me, me, was withering up and in danger of dying. To make a VERY long story short, a friend encouraged me to go to the book store and peruse the art section and see if anything spoke to me. The next thing I knew, I was taking an on-line art business class and met “my tribe.” The journey to rediscover creativity in my life had begun.

I was trying to stay open to all the possibilities, but I had it in my heart I wanted another creative business, so I explored how to make that happen in the computer age. The next three years were full of ups and downs. I struggled with defining “creative” and figuring out how to make it work in my new “post-working/caring-for-grandchildren-while-their-parents-were-working-life.” I’d started out hoping, in my heart of hearts, to have another creative business, selling things that I made, but when I got reacquainted with how much time and energy that takes, I realized it just wasn’t going to work in my new reality. But I KNEW I needed to have creativity in my life. And so I kept pushing ahead. And I’ve ended up going places I never could have imagined. 

I rediscovered my love of writing, began photographing the world around me through what I’ve come to call my “Tattered Lens,” 

begun doing art for the fun of it,

and developed a serious case of wanderlust - thus my current title of “Cre8ive Vagabond!”

And here we are.

I hope I’ll be able to inspire you to expand your definition of creativity as I share stories and art from the road. Thanks for joining me on this leg of the journey!

We couldn't be more excited about having Janet join us!! Want to connect with her? Want to read her fascinating blog?

Tattered n' Worn

Or join the conversation over at our Facebook page:

Cre8ive Klatch

Happy Halloween From The Cre8ive Klatch

From all of us to all of you...

have the spookiest Halloween ever!!

Come join the spooktacular conversation in our Facebook group:

Cre8ive Klatch

Thanks to Itkupilli for the clip art graphics that I used to put this together.

Ideas For Bringing Back Your Muse

Do you ever find yourself in a creative slump? A day or more of fleeting ideas and a lack of creativity? It feels like you just can’t come up with an idea or figure out what or how to tackle your creative tasks?

What do you do? How do you bring back your muse? What ideas do you use to coax your art back?

I took a poll from our fantastically artistic group..who just like you…has those same moments and this is what they said...

I have a great network of creatives from a variety of backgrounds that I lean on. Artists, musicians, dancers, writers....I could go on.... I brainstorm with them, swap ideas, explore my project, and before I know it, the creative juices start to flow. I truly believe that we create more than we could alone when we allow another into our play world!

Scribble Swarm

Also the Scribble Swarm.  Another thing I do is just start scribbling. Doodling has become an art form, so if I think of it that way, it is about being creative. But scribbling can be messy and energetic. 
Rachél Payne of Creativity Tribe

Do something non-art related
Like dishes, laundry, purge a closet. Also just painting super freely/abstractly in my art journal that no one has to see. That gets me in the mood!
Jill Lambert of Jill’s Dream

Get up and dance to a great song. Pull out some great books and/or magazines and look for color, texture & shapes. Go for a walk. Do something boring.        Linda Kinnaman of Linda Kay’s Art

I go for a walk in nature … Or my favourite way is to visit a store in town that I find inspiring and makes me feel like I am "Refilling the Well" {a little artist's date a'la Julia Cameron} then I go home, put some music on, get my art supplies out and get onto it.          
Cat Athena Louise of Bohemian Dream

I go for a drive or read.     
Ursula Smith of Ursula-Smith.com

Drag out some of my 843678986 Stampington magazines.
Lori Leissner of LeissnerArt

Start a non-creative project that I don't want to do! That almost always works!
Janet Forrest of Tattered N' Worn

I go to nature or meditate... Clear my mind of the local traffic.... Daily crainess...
Kim Hyer of A Paper Addict

I do something unrelated to art. Dishes, start something in the crockpot, chop firewood or something else physical. Works everytime.
Sally Rose of Hidden Talents

Pinterest, I just get on and do something creative - I usually start by finding something I like on Pinterest and copying it then I make another one and modify it and another making it more my own.
Michelle Reynolds of Shells in the Bush

As for me…well...my first inclination is to clean the studio. But you can read my top 6 fixes for my creative slump over at my blog...Susan’s Art Circus

In between posts you can always join the conversation on our FaceBook page: 

The Cre8ive Klatch

C’mon over and tell us what you do when your muse leaves you!

Until next time,

Susan

Gr8full For All Of You...and Moving Forward.

Well...we have been here for almost two months. All our bio posts have run and you, our reader, have stuck with us through our experimental soft launch. I truly want to tell you how gr8full I am that you've shared your precious time here. 

This has been an idea on the back burner for quite some time and its a thrill to have it come to life.

If you missed any of our fabulous artists you can look them up on our biography page.

Moving forward we are going to start with some fabulous ways to make gifts for Christmas...which if you've looked at a calendar is coming up fast! Too fast...

The girls also have some tips for your studio. Moving it from your home to an outside space, how to fit one into your house, and if you have a studio why its okay that its never tidy.

Business tips, show season foibles, quick cre8ive things for the holidays, and lots, lots more.

Our hope is you will continue to come back for more...continue to find something here to connect with...discover cre8ive ways that resonate with you.

In the meantime come join the conversation on our Facebook page: Cre8ive Klatch