It's time to take a giant JUMP...are you ready?

Hello Creatives!

I am so BEYOND excited to be announcing this...

As many of you know, my One Little Word for 2016 is JUMP: 

One of my first big JUMPS of 2016 was to launch my VERY OWN SITE!!

WHAT!?

YES... The Creative Life Studios has a new home on the web:

KERISALLEE.COM

I will be leaving this blog up so that you all can see my old projects and tutorials and have a link on my new site to easily get you back here.

I hope you will check out my new blog and leave me some love when you do!

XOXO,

KERI 

Studying Under the Masters: Week 1- Matisse

Hello Lifers!

As many of you know my One Little Word for 2014 is CHOOSE and one of my BIGGEST choices this year is to spend more time and  money on knowledge and less on stuff.

My first step towards that has been starting an online course called

 "Studying Under the Masters: Becoming an Apprentice." 

It is a 9 week course developed by Jeanne Oliver where she brings together herself and 8 other modern day arts and asks the question: What can we learn from great artists of the past if we sat at their feet and learned by doing what they did? That's the way people learned for centuries...they would be chosen as an apprentice and spend YEARS doing grunt work just for the opportunity to be around a master painter and gleam knowledge and skills from him/her. 

Week 1 is with Jeanne Oliver herself and she chose Matisse.

 I am only about 2/3 of the way through week 1, but already I am learning so much, about Matisse and about myself. This week is making me look at art differently...yes...I can say I do or don't like art, but why do I feel the way I feel? Am I seeing beyond the basics of the picture (it's a portrait, it's a landscape, it's a still-life, etc) and breathing in the COMPOSITION of it (the brushstrokes, the patterns, the medium, the white space, etc.) 

One of our "assignments" this week was to look at Matisse paintings and start seeing the patterns he used (he LOVED mixing Patterns!) We were to use a black pen and watercolors to do quick sketches of patterns that stuck out to us in some of his paintings. 

Here are 4 of my favorite paintings and patterns:

I couldn't find the name and date for this painting, but obviously I like it enough to use 2 patterns from it.

I loved the boldness of the white and red striped tablecloth and obviously Matisse liked it too...he was known for reusing props and I saw this tablecloth in at least 10 other paintings. 

I loved the elegant, gold scroll work on the wall. I like how it was such a contrast to the bolder and less-serious pattern of the striped tablecloth. 

This is "The Window" from 1916. I was immediately drawn to the flooring pattern...I guess chevron has been around for a while, huh?

I liked how some of the "chevrons" were broken. I think it says a lot for an artist letting go of the need for perfection. It was accidental, but this ended up with an ombre effect on the aqua color!

This is my favorite of the ones I am sharing today. The bold colors and patterns speak to me. It's called "Interior with Egyptian Curtain" from 1948 and it is an oil on canvas.

This window is my favorite part. I love that you know it is these big, beautiful branches outside this tropical oasis, but they are not so defined that it feels like your looking at real leaves. It keeps that feeling of fantasy. 

Isn't it great that all three of these are so different? During my search for patterns, I came across 2 other paintings I wanted to share because..again...they are so different from the ones with all of the big, bold patterns and scenes.

This one is called "Open Window Etretat" from 1920. The only real pattern is the small one on the curtain. It is serene and uncluttered. 

I couldn't find the name and date on this piece, but note how it is COMPLETELY devoid of patterns, people or props. It is simply an open door, giving the viewer hope that that open door can  lead anywhere...to anything...to anyone. 

I wanted to share a few things that Jeanne pointed out about Matisse that really hit home with me:

(1) Matisse was an insecure artist. Oh thank goodness...it's not just me! He struggled just like every other artist to find himself and his style. which lead to...

(2) Matisse was ALWAYS trying new things. If you look at his body of work, you would think the guy had multiple personality disorder. No...he wasn't crazy...he just knew that he always needed to keep growing as an artist and that as an artist...he would never truly "find" himself permanently..that art was a journey. 

(3) Matisse believed that nothing was permenant and it was OK to repeat. He might have 5 different versions of the same scene, with small changes like the medium or a color or a small movement of a prop. And these are just the changes that are documented. There were probably thousands of changes made because the chose NOT to get too attached to things and knew it was OK to paint over whatever he wasn't happy with until he was. 

So there you go...that is my Matisse journey (so far.)

I can't wait to share more with you over the coming weeks.

And if you would like to join me on this journey, you can check out Jeanne's website: Jeanne Oliver Designs for more information and to register. 

Until next time...make your art intentional...not an afterthought. 

XOXO,

KERI

The First "Oh Scrap!" of 2014!!

What's up Lifers!?

It's time, once again, for a little "Oh Scrap!"

Today, I want to inspire and encourage you to scrap those pictures and events that might not be "perfect." They are still worth remembering. 

Let's start with a little "Hello Reality"

This layout features:  Pink Paislee's Hey Kid Collection  . 

I'm sure if you're a parent...you can relate. You pay all this money for a photo shoot so you can have fabulous pictures for your Christmas card and when you get them back, you are only partially shocked that out of 50 family pics, there is not ONE where the whole family looks good (in our case..that would be 5 people perfectly posed at one time.)

So...instead of being upset about...we rolled with it. My husband actually came up with the idea of adding the little bubbles and the idea of "what were we really thinking during that picture?" I decided to take it a little farther and write a little Christmas poem to make everyone giggle during the stressful holidays.

This layout is all about playing up the playfulness of the Christmas card with crazy lines, clustered embellishments and arrows pointing everywhere (which is pretty much how that photo shoot felt! LOL!)

Next up...let's talk about my youngest apparent animosity toward peeps...

"Where My Peeps At?"

Yes...this actually happened this past Easter. My youngest (who will be 4 next month) ate JUST the heads off of an entire box of peeps. Houston...I think we have a problem. :)

For this layout, I wanted to focus on bright, fun colors of Easter, so Pink Paislee's Spring Jubilee was perfect for my accent papers. My background was made with Pink Paislee's Artisan Collection Mistables Paper and Tattered Angels paints in coordinating colors.

For texture, I added some rosettes, gems (which are kind of hard to see on the left side by the "where") and feathers were, of course, necessary!

I kept my title a little zany by mixing up American Crafts Thickers in different fonts and textures, with some Pink Paislee Wood Shop letters. 

I hope you have giggled along with me at my crazy little life and are inspired to keep it real! Not every scrapbook picture has to be a professional head shot...or perfectly posed. This is life! It's messy, funny and rarely perfect, but it's all our's. 

Until next time...remember to make your creativity a choice...not an afterthought. 

XOXO,

KERI

Good Bye 2013...Hello year of Choices!!

It's the last day of 2013 and it's a day for looking back and looking ahead. 

If you've been around since last year, you know my One Little Word for 2013 was "NEW." I wanted a year of new passions, new dreams, new plans and a new, more confident me. And...I think I fulfilled my 2013 One Little Word. 

I quit my job so that I could focus on my art and my family and it was one of the best (and scariest) decisions of my life. 

I put myself out there artistically and tried new things that in the past I was too intimidated to even try. And you know what? I found out...I'm actually pretty good at them. 

I took steps to figure out my little place I this big industry of paper crafting and found a home with Susan K Weckesser and The Craft Warehouse Design teams and a couple of temporary homes with Authentique Paper and Want2Scrap. 

I learned a lot this year about grace, both for myself and others and learned to let go of the fear of being judged and just be authentically who God has made me to be. 

So...as we say good-bye to 2013, it's time to pick a new One Little Word. 

This year I picked: 

It might seem like a weird One Little Word, but let me explain..

Each day, just like I choose my outfits, I get to choose my attitudes, my thoughts and my actions. 

I can choose joy or mourning. 

I can choose grace or judgement.

I can choose faith or fear. 

I can choose trust or solitude. 

I can choose just getting by or I can choose a full life. 

My life is what I choose and my choice is for it to be awesome. 

What about you? What's your One little Word for 2014? 

Leave me a comment...I would love to hear it. 

Thank you so much to all of you who have made it YOUR choice to go along the creative journey with me.

Here's to 2014!! 

XOXO--Keri

Keepin' it NEW in 2013!!

This past weekend I added to my stack of NEW experiences for 2013...

I RAN MY FIRST HALF-MARATHON!!

You read that right! I chugged along for almost 3 hours and ran 13.1 miles through the streets of Springfield, MO for the Go Girl Half-Marathon. 

My hubby got some awesome pics like this one with my time shot. I will take that time for my first race! :) Especially since 5 weeks ago we weren't even sure if I was going to be able to run bc of an injury. I lost 2 1/2 weeks of training because of it. 

Another fantastic action shot!

These girls were my fabulous "coaches" and cheerleaders! Deana (in pink) was my go to girl when I was like "what am I doing?!?" She and her sister, Diana (in blue) are avid runners and after they finished (with an amazing time of 2 hrs 11 minutes!), they came back and ran the last 1/4 mile with me, yelling encouragements the whole way. 

These beautiful ladies are my sis-in-laws. They, along with Deana, were part of my original inspiration to get off my butt and run. They decided just a few days before the race to put their running skills to the test in a half-marathon. They are very lucky to have each other as BFFs, neighbors, and running partners. 

Ok...one more pic. At the end of the race, they had a place where you could pick different sayings to customize a shirt and when I read this one...I knew I had to have it. 

Too funny right?!?!

So...here we are. Almost halfway through the year and for the first time ever I feel like I am keeping my "new year's resolution." I am having NEW experiences, finding NEW venues of creativity, and daily making the choice to wake up to be a NEW and better person. 

I hope and pray that you will continue to join me on the ride through MY Creative Life as you live YOUR life to the fullest. 

What's Your One Little Word for 2013?

New Year...New Me...

Well...it's been a while since I've been here, but that is all about to change!!

This year, I am participating with a lot of you in ONE LITTLE WORD!

I have decided that 2013 is going to be my year to rise above fears of failure and pursue...with passion...NEW things.

My first NEW thing for 2013 is....

I am VERY excited to announce that I will be launching my own teaching company called The Creative Life Studios!

You can contact me at thecreativelifestudios@gmail.com to schedule me in your studio or store!!

I am excited to be constantly trying new techniques, tricks and projects that I will share here on The Creative Life Blog.

More details to come from the Studio...until then my friends...get caught being creative!!