Day Twenty-Two – Brain Freeze

It's been three weeks since I started this daily commitment and the first day I experienced a complete creative mental block. I finally put my distracting phone and it's social media minions in time-out while picking up a craft magazine I'd already read. Then looking for something better to read and giving up on being creative for the day, fate had me pick up "Concerning the Spiritual in Art" by Wassily Kandinsky I had purchased at LACMA last year. Pretty cerebral stuff and too many concepts to discuss in this lowly blog post. But I tried to look for some helpful information for lifting my "petrified barriers" today. I ended up also turning to his essay, "On the problem of form."

Free Curve to the Point -
Accompanying Sound of Geometric Curves
Ink on paper - 1925, Wassily Kandinsky
image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Here's a few principles.
Kandinsky likes to operate in threes and triangles.

It is every artist's responsibility to:
1. Express his inner need and talent to create art
2. Help create a spiritual atmosphere through thoughts, feelings and actions
3. Shape and modify the spiritual atmosphere for the improvement of humanity.

What blocks the "good fertilizing white ray of creativity by the evil black death-bringing hand" of destruction:
1. Fear of the clear path (evolution of art)
2. Fear of freedom (allowance of new ideas)
3. Deafness to the spirit (haters, negative thoughts)

The barriers must be removed to allow the creative urges from the internal Abstract Spirit (content) to transform the external material (form). "The most important thing in the question of form is whether or not the form has grown out of the inner necessity." I guess I wasn't feeling the Spirit today. But my headache and stiff neck/shoulder is feeling better! Thank you Kandinsky.

Day Twenty-One - What A Lovely Day

Today, the family went to see Mad Max - Fury Road. Not only was the story an imaginative ride but so were the costumes, vehicles and props. I don't think I'll be cleaning out my clothes in favor of new ones in the post-appocalyptic style any time soon but I can appreciate all the concept design that went into the movie. If a war was choreographed by Cirque du Soleil, it might look like this. All in all it was shiny and chrome!

Day Twenty – Strange Fruit

My creativity energy today was focussed on setting up our Apple TV. The main incentive came from having missed the first episode of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, a new mini series on BBC. It was available on demand but only in SD. We're so spoiled by HD. I tried recording a repeat broadcast but it turned out to be an error in the guide. Hearing that it was available on YouTube, I hoped Apple TV would save me from having to watch on computer or tablet and it did! It was easy to set-up and the streaming YouTube video was full screen crystal clear HD quality.

Jareth, The Goblin King

I really liked the show so far. It takes place in early 19th century Britain as if magic was real, just not considered reputable. It is based on the Hugo Award winning book by Susanna Clarke. It seemed a little slow but when this male bad faery character appeared I almost thought David Bowie's Goblin King role had been reprised. Like some other shows about magic, such as Once Upon A Time, we get a sense that magic always comes with a price. 

Day Nineteen – Loose Ends

Today I just finished up my extra red, white and blue ATCs from last Saturday's trade. I will have them available for trade at the next Rubber Stamp Convention in July at Carson, CA. They were mostly complete from working on them during the meeting. They just needed some final embellishments. I added some tiny star brads after breaking the ends off. I wish I had thought of using them for the last ones already traded.

Day Eighteen – Astrowives

Inspiration today came from the past. I took a trip down memory lane while watching the TV series debut of The Astronaut Wives Club based on the book by Lily Koppel. Having grown up a few miles from one of the main aeronautics firms in this country that designed and manufactured everything from rockets, Apollo capsules to space shuttles, the space race was ingrained in my childhood memories. I remember standing on the playground in elementary school and seeing a block long rocket being transported on a flatbed. Our own 60's neighborhood coffee klatch included space race engineer wives.

I couldn't help thinking of my mother and how she would have loved this show. She was always a big proponent of the space program. The show focuses on the women behind the first American spacemen and their stories. I like the way it shows their strength while having to conform to the gender roles expected of them at the time. The space race is portrayed as an American PR program as much as the arms race and how the U.S. of A. HAS to be the first and best in everything ahead of the Russians. The wives are recruited to promote the apple pie image further. Of course there's a certain amount of Real Housewives melodrama to make it interesting. I don't know how accurate the wives' stories are but I plan on reading the book to find out more. The astronauts seem to be treated like precursors to modern major league sports celebrities with cars, parties and women while their wives both compete and cling together for support. In that era, a woman's accomplishments were tied to her husband's success, not her own. 

It's also nice knowing ahead of time that there will be 10 episodes. So I can watch it without worrying about it being yanked off the air after 3 episodes or ending unfinished due to cancellation. The series will move quickly to span the 60's decade up to the first man on the moon that exactly coincides with my child and teen years. I'm looking forward to future episodes. 

Day Seventeen – Pop Card

I finished my special card today but am still keeping it under wraps for the reveal after it has arrived. (Updated photo, card has been received.) After hand writing a sentiment on the center panel, I assembled all components into the stand-up card. I also added a stringed banner with stamped letters. It was hard finding the right place for it without hiding the art or interfering with the card folding functions. Then I made a belly band to keep it contained in the envelope. I found the best way to handle this type of pop-up is by holding the outer left and right oval edges like a book and pulling them straight outwards. My card does fold up like an accordion for mailing.

Day Sixteen – Look Oval There

I am almost finished with the special card I am making. I am hoping to get it in the mail tomorrow.

Yesterday I cut out the parts for the 3D accordion oval card with dies designed by Karen Burniston for Elizabeth Craft Designs.

Today I stamped two B.Kliban cat images on watercolor paper with Ranger black archival ink. Then I colored them with distress markers using a watercolor technique. After stamping a cloud background, I cut out oval shapes with dies included with the die set. I'm keeping photos of the images under wraps so they are a surprise to the recipient!

Here are the parts cut out and partially assembled. To be continued...