A Crafting Karis? Who Knew?

I picked up a magazine yesterday entitled Artful Blogging. Have you ever heard of or seen it? I devoured every word, soaked in every beautifully laid out piece and wanted to earmark the day for visiting new blogs. The featured bloggers seem to carry a theme: they are creative, in a visual sort of way. Reading what each of them penned, expression through the written word is not lost on them either. It got me thinking about my own creative side, something that has been buried between the lines now for months. In fact, I'm not sure I've even revealed that side of me here. Who knew?

I come from some very talented stock. Mommie Dearest and her 3 siblings are extremely crafty. My childhood included matching dresses worn by sissy and I during our annual Olan Mills portraits, products of mom's sewing machine. These days Mommie Dearest is at one with her camera and canvases [something I now too enjoy]. She is an oil painter ~ something she does with seemingly amazing ease and eye ~ and world traveled shutterbug. My local auntie is a gourd crafter, with loads of shows under her belt, teaching stints and representation in a local studio. Idaho auntie has never met a craft she hasn't liked or been fluent in. My Ohio uncle, who suffers greatly from Parkinson's disease, has long been a drawer and painter. With very limited motor skills these days, he has become a prolific zentangle artist and was recently featured in his local paper.

While my dad never considered himself creative ~ he can manhandle a camera with the best of them and has some fabulous photographs worthy of walls. Painting also reached his side of the family with 2 cousins both extremely deft with the brush.

While drawing and painting were a lost art for me in my early years, I do recall having some success with a crochet hook. I may have mentioned it briefly, but for the record, my stay in Italy produced a large number of knitted and crocheted scarves and hats. Upon my return to the states, I even found myself teaching crochet at a local yarn shop for many months. If you were to ask Hubby #1 or any of my children if I were artsy, they undoubtedly would laugh and say, "which craft would you be referring to this week?"

I squealed in delight when I rented my current home, as I devoted a whole room just to my art. I moved in February 1st ~ set up the arts & crafts room and have barely walked into it since. Kind of like my blog, my crafts get ignored and then, as though someone bopped me on the forehead with a 2x4, I say to myself, "oops, I forgot, I'm kind of an artist" and off to the races I go! I dare admit here that in late December I was so busy with my newest art form, felting, that I quit my day job to become a full-time artist. I sold a dozen or so handbags and assumed it would be my newest fortune. Damn.

So, here I sit with time on my hands today and an abandoned craft room. Before me lies a magazine of hope and inspiration. Inside of me resides desire and good intentions. What to do, what to do. I will search my photo files and see what strikes a chord in me today. Here is some of what I see:

~ Quilting ~
An art quilt for Mommie Dearest
bad picture, nice quilt

~ Stamping ~
I hand-carved the torso stamp
Layered with paper elements

~ Photography ~
I'm a hobbyist at best; however,
this one was selected for a juried show.
"Cortona Man"
taken in Cortona, Italy: 2003

~ Oil Painting ~
First class was in 2006
Here I used my favorite photo
It is now my favorite painting

~ Felted Crochet ~
A short-lived money making endeavor
Commissioned handbag
December, 2010

~ Felted Crochet ~
This one is all mine
Fully lined with closures and pockets
A friend calls my purses "Art Bags"

~ Needle Felting ~
Another commissioned  felted handbag

There are SOOO many more. The jewelry; bath and beauty products; paper crafts; gourds; greeting cards; ALL of the photography (numbering in the thousands). Yes, I am a crafty Karis. Some days it's overwhelming and I become paralyzed; others I feel movement. As for today? Perhaps I'll finish something I started or maybe begin a new project. Or maybe I'll just take a nap.

Have yourselves a creative day.