What's in My Studio... After SeARTle

What's on my desk this week? 

Piles from SeARTle Art Retreat that I haven't put away yet. (I didn't photo the ones on the floor because it's not my desk...haha!)  

These are some of the gelliplate prints I made. It was such fun playing with the other gelliplate maniacs, and I learned a new technique I'll share later... 

A few ATCs for swaps on atcsforall.com

In other news, we have lovely sunshine and 66 degree weather today which is high for our neck of the woods. Yay for spring weather!  

Flowering currant in the sunshine! 

Dandelion fluff in the sunshine! 

Gotta love sunshine... although you can see I need to get some weeding done.

Sharing with Julia and What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday. 

Breathe

Even though I'm still a very tired puppy from hosting the SeARTle Art Retreat this past weekend, I was still up early. My body knows when it gets light out, and just wakes itself up, which this morning was a bit before I really wanted to get up. *sigh*

So this busy morning I packaged up seven orders from the past few days while I was away. A trip to the post office will happen soon. For now I am working on listing items in both my Vintage Shop and my Art Shop to replace the items on their way to new owners.

No rest for the busy self employed! Although soon I'm done "working" for the day, and will be out in the sunshine that is calling me to the garden.

Timely article on Avoiding Burnout on the Esty Blog.

Happy Monday!

What's in my studio...

Or more accurately, what's in the rolling art tote...

1) gelli-plate, variety of stencils, acrylic paints, brayer, variety of papers, small "texturing" kit
2) gesso, watercolor set, brushes, 140# watercolor paper, canvas panels
3) travel art "pencil" bag with small scissors, xacto knife, white, silver, gold gel pens, sharpie, charcoal pencil, blending stump, mechanical pencil, china markers, pencil sharpener, kneadable eraser, small piece of sandpaper, glue-stick, ruler.
4) art roll with water brushes, stabilo pencils, glaze gel pens, glue pen, pitt pens, Tombo markers in shades of gray
5) Baby wipes, paper towels, water container
And whatever else I can stuff in at the last minute...

I'm almost ready for SeARTle Art Retreat.  I'll drive down tomorrow morning making a couple of stops on the way. Now that the art supplies are ready, I suppose I should figure out what clothes I'm going to pack. Ha!

Sharing with Julia and What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday. 

Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter! 

Giveaway winner

Thanks to everyone who entered into the Our World Our Art giveway!

My husband pulled the name out of the bowl, and I'm happy to announce that the winner is Michaele from Twigs and Tulle.  Congratulations, Michaele!  Please contact me with your mailing address by April 21st please, and I'll send your set of cards on their way.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Passover and Easter Weekend!

Garden Flowers

Sharing what's new in my shop:

Greeting cards of Garden Flowers from my origial gesso and watercolor paintings. 

Crazy busy and I can't seem to get anything finished... although I guess prepping for SeARTle Art Retreat next weekend is getting something done. :) 

We had a few sunny days this week, and got a bit of work done in the garden. These little violets wander the garden/yard at will, and I love them. 

Happy Friday! 

What's in my Studio....

Check out this post for my GIVEAWAY, part of Our World Our Art 2014.  

And now on to the Mess Continued.... 

Part of the studio table... with vintage book page covered canvas panels, Artist Trading Cards in progress, old postage stamps (check out this fabulous shop) and a MESS! But then, you figured that part out, didn't you? :)

SeARTle Art Retreat is coming right up (next weekend) and that's what part of this mess is about. The rest is the ongoing sorting and re-organizing. You'll be proud of me... I have tossed or recycled a bunch of stuff. Ha! 

And just a shot of what's blooming in the garden this week. Oregon Grape - native to our area and a hummingbird magnet. Not the best photo, but you'll note the SUNSHINE! Not usual this time of year here, and we're loving it. 

Have a good week, everyone! 

Check in to see what other folks have on their workdesks at What's on your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted by Julia.

On My Book Table...

Currently on my Reading Table, "Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share your Creativity and Get Discovered" by Austin Kleon.  

I love his simple and straightforward approach to his business life. 

One of my favorites is his chart for sharing information on the internet:   

From Goodreads: "Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It's about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time "networking." It's not self-promotion, it's self-discovery-let others into your process, then let them steal from you. Filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, Show Your Work! offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive. "

I recently finished his book, "Steal Like an Artist, 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative", which is what got me hooked on his style. 

These are both easy to read and, for me, very inspiring. 

So tell me... What inspiring reading have you done lately? I'm always looking for a good inspiring and educational read! 

Distracted etc

Have you heard about my One World One Art giveaway? Click here to find out and enter.

Abstract Seascape

This little 4 x 4 inch textured landscape painting I created a bit ago... no new work finished this week.

I'm a bit distracted of late and not creating/finishing a lot of art. So many projects in the works, and without actually working on them, I feel like I'm going into withdrawal. Soon things will calm down again.

I'm co-hosting an Art Retreat - SeARTle - April 25 - 27. While it's not a huge gathering (about 20 of us) it is going to be so much fun!  I'm quite excited! (And distracted)

Some fun news, I filling out my application and sending in the $$ for a large and popular local Holiday show. It is exciting as it will focus on my vintage items and will include some of my art.  How fun is that going to be? More on it later.

Hoping you have a wonderful week!

Sharing with Paint Party Friday, hosted by Eva and Kristin.

Our World Our Art

Welcome to Natures Walk Studio! I'm so pleased to participate in Our World, Our Art, a blog event that celebrates CREATIVE PASSION hosted by Lisa at AWhimsicalBohemian.

My name is Helen and I am a mixed media artist and nature photographer from the Pacific Northwest. The goal of my work is to convey the beauty found in the natural world and the human spirit, using uncomplicated topics and interesting textures. With so much of today’s world creating stress, it’s a small contribution to promote peace and restfulness.

I adore anything nature related. I have a special affinity for hearts and love finding them in nature...and I have a knack for seeing them in the most interesting places.

There are so many things in our natural world to admire... birds and butterflies, flowers and trees, forest critters! It's delightful to see as we walk the trails and also from the many visitors in our backyard wildlife habitat. The birds that come to our feeders keep us entertained daily.

Hummingbird at lavender

Besides photographing everything in sight, I do a variety of types mixed media art. I love to create textured abstract landscapes using a variety of materials,... paints, fibers, buttons, lace. 

Autumn Mountain 8x8 

Field of Buttercups 8 x 8 

I also create tiny 3 x 3 inspirational word art canvases... they make me happy! 

One of my current favorite techniques involves gesso and watercolor, which I learned in a class by Carla Sonheim. Carla is a fabulous instructor, by the way, and I recommend her online courses. I've been blessed to have the opportunity to take classes from her in person as well.  Here's a couple of the gesso and watercolor pieces I've created recently:

Abstract Orange Flowers 8x10

Abstract Poppies 4x5 

I am a member of Allied Arts of Whatcom County and participate in member shows and their annual 6 week Holiday Festival. My work is currently on display at Guiseppe's Restaurant on the Bellingham waterfront.  My art is available online at NaturesWalkStudio.etsy.com and Fine Art America. Besides my blog, you can keep up with what I'm doing at Facebook at NaturesWalkStudio. 

As part of OWOA, I'm hosting a giveaway! Yay for giveaways! 
You have a change to win a set of Flower Garden Greeting cards with images from my gesso and watercolor paintings! You'll receive two of each design. 

The giveaway is open to ALL ACTIVE bloggers worldwide.  Please leave a comment with a way for me to contact you should you win. 
I will announce the winner at 5:00 pm Pacific Time on April 18th here on my blog, on Facebook and by email. You will have 3 days to respond with mailing address. 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!  I'll be by to visit you as well! 

Spring trees

It's actually a bit early to have trees this green... but we're getting closer! 

Spring Trees - 4x4 textured abstract 

Happy Friday! 

Sharing with Paint Party Friday, hosted by Eva and Kristin.

What's in My Studio...

Working this week on some of the gesso and watercolor paintings I started and are still in progress. My sister made an unexpected trip up to visit this weekend, so of course we had to play with our art supplies. This was a technique I showed her, although we didn't get one totally completed. (They take time with all the drying needed, and heat drying just does not give the same cool effect.) I meant to get a picture while she was sitting across the table from me, but we were too busy chatting and playing and it didn't happen. 

What is remaining today is this painting, right before I put another layer of green. You can also see some copper tape (an estate sale score) being made into inchies. The copper tape was attached to strips of mat board and textured using an embossing plate. 

In other news, this morning we went to our favorite Joe's Gardens for a few plant starts. It was sunny and beautiful (although not exactly warm). Here are the kale, beets and spinach waiting to be planted. (The large kale in the background wintered over.)

Oh my goodness, I love this time of year when the sun shines. :)

Check in to see what other folks have on their workdesks at What's on your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted by Julia.