Shared Creativity, Hope, Lemonade from Lemons
November 1st, 2024
Shared Creativity, Hope, Lemonade from Lemons
We shared the joys of nature’s beauty, diverse creativity and unexpected expressions. It had been two months since the last get together of our Mandala & Creativity Circle. September’s Circle was cancelled when I fell the day before, dislocating my shoulder and breaking my arm. Fortunately, we all gathered into a familiar groove of creative flow and found creative expressions in our own ways.
Nature’s Cathedral
Christine T. celebrated the majesty of fall colors that she was surrounded by in a cathedral forest of red maple trees. Embraced by this beauty during a camping trip over the weekend, she created a mandala to honor and remember. The brilliant reds, oranges and gold shine out from her mandala. The dark blue trunks pull eyes upward to the heavenly brilliance. Words of a haiki circle and embrace the trees.
Christine T. – Cathedral of Red Maples Mandala
Anxiety to Hope
My mandala transformed a sense of anxiety to hope. The bright colors and exuberance marks are like fireworks of celebration. When I shared this image at the end of the evening, I said this is what I want to feel after the election – profound joy that kindness, fierce love, truth and the best of humankind has prevailed.
Since creating this image, I am feeling hope that we will celebrate this profound joy. It is such a relief. May our better angels of humanity prevail.
My Mandala Celebration of profound joy that kindness, fierce love, truth
and the best of humankind has prevailed.
Calm
Part of the transformation of my anxiety to hope is the always calming creations of Ann B. Her soft greens and blues calm me. Here she added orange and blue braided and single threads.
Ann B – Calm Colors & Threads Square Above & Rectangle Below
Forest & Flowers
Karen M. shared the beauty of trees in the forest that she experienced. The golden glow of watercolor trunks and leaves. The earthy browns on forest floor all sing together on a background of green cotton paper.
Karen M – Golden Forest
She also honored a flower’s beauty in the burgundy and orange painted flower petals with sewn threads of stem and leaf shapes. This reminds me of the large fall mums in the Japanese Garden that stand tall with only one large blossom.
Karen M – Tall Burgundy & Orange Flower
An iridescent blue/purple flower shines on black paper.
Karen M – Blue Purple Flower Glow
Color Joy
Nancy Y. was inspired by bright colors in her fantasy flowers. A new set of Japanese Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors offered up these colors as Nancy played with them.
The first fantasy flower painting is an abstract landscape with exuberant flowers in yellow below the clouded sky. Interesting cloud shapes show a heart, rectangles and other forms, all created unintentionally, floating in a blue sky.
Nancy Y – Fantasy Flowers Beneath the Clouds
Nancy’s fantasy flower has movement like a starfish in the sea. Reminds me the first time I saw bright orange and purple living starfish on the coast of Orcas Island in Puget Sound. The colors stunned me and this painting brings back those fond memories.
Nancy Y – Fantasy Flower / Starfish in Bright Pink Purples
Color Flows
Linda M. was inspired by some experiments I made with watercolor and acrylic inks, where the inks are dropped into wet watercolors. The ink then flows outward exploding before it stops.
My watercolor & acrylic ink experiments
Linda used metalic acrylic ink on top of watercolors. The watery backgrounds let the iridescent colors float on top.
Linda M – A Landscape of Sea & Sky, Colors with Glowing Circles & Spirals
Linda M – Playful Flow of Colors and Shapes
Lemonade
I am left handed. I can’t move my left arm and hand from a steady position in the sling I’ve worn for six weeks. I can’t write or paint with my left hand. I’m making lemonade from lemons.
My First Attempts of Loose Watercolor Flowers
Using my Right Hand (non-dominate for me)
I’ve had lots of time at home since I can’t drive. I’ve been painting with my right hand. I can hold a brush with my non-dominate hand and let the loose marks flow. Interestingly I have wanted to create “loose” flower paintings for a long time. I have tried with my left hand by sort of faking loose marks. The outcome has been good, but nothing like the genuine loose marks now coming from my less controlled right hand.
In the right side pink flower below I used a brush with extra long hairs, which makes it extra hard to control. I love the even looser look.
Loose Watercolor Flowers –
Using my Right Hand (non-dominate for me)
I am gaining some control with my right hand. The small round white dots were created with acrylic ink dropped from a pipette. It would have been very hard to use a brush to create these circles.
Pinks & Orange Flower – An attempt at creating translucent petals
I’m always inspired by other artists on Instagram. I have seen several artists creating similar flower paintings like the one below. The looseness of the flowers is due to the loose marks my right had makes. I want to make more of these kind of paintings and keep the loose marks coming.
I’m loving the outcomes. I have been able to control some marks more and more, but I don’t want to lose the spontaneous loose marks of this making lemonade from lemons moment.
