Saturday, March 28, 2009

Design Dilemma Podcast--Color


On this second podcast of Design Dilemma, I cover two of the four major color schemes while talking about the power of the color wheel and how to choose color teams. Monochromatic and Analogous color schemes are featured on this segment as safe and subtle ways to include color into an outfit, home decor and more.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Design Dilemma Podcast

Design Dilemma is an inaugural podcast aimed at helping the design disabled. My goal is to demystify the rules of good visuals because I strongly believe that all of us are creative. Too many adults, when they find out I am an art teacher, try to categorize themselves as uncreative by saying "Oh, I can't even draw a stick figure", and while that makes for funny small talk, the sad part is, too many people avoid art out of fear once they are an adult. For those of you who had overly critical art teachers, accept my apologies for them, for those who just never had the opportunity to develop more visual skills, break out...and to all who want to develop your creative side and what I consider to be an innate, God-given desire, let's move forward together.
Check it out here:

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Dreams & Changes


This is one of my impulsive midnight paintings that started out with large blobs of color thrown onto the canvas and then blended into an O'Keefe like floral.

I've been learning a lot about dreams and changes. Dreams can be like that comfortable old blanket that sits around just waiting to wrap you up in warmth. You can collect dreams and store them away like treasures that no one else gets to see--because what if they did see...what would happen? There is some fear associated with sharing the things that are your secret treasures--for instance, you may have someone laugh at your dreams, or maybe someone will smash your dreams...so you tell yourself that it is okay to keep them hidden safely away where only you can daydream about them.
But I think that dreams, just like those little foam animals that come in pill-sized capsules, grow, like the foam toys, when they are let out and put in water--or in the case of dreams, if they see the light of day! Dreams need to be played with, acted on, even in small segments, and not just thought about as they collect dust in the closet of your heart and mind!

I have found the richest times of my life are when I dare to enjoy the things that make me smile and not worry about the impracticality of my craft, or dance, or song or girl's night out, or being goofy with my kids! Dare to enjoy the little things--they are the fertilizer of dreams!