The Art of Silliness

Carla Sonheim is offering a fall online class that is now open for registration. You can see all of the details here. I encourage everyone here to sign up and to not let this extremely affordable opportunity pass you by!!!! I am silly with excitement!!!!

HUGE Etsy Update Coming This Weekend and a Giveaway

Hanging Paper Decorations

Zipper Pouches

One-of-a-Kind Handmade Cards

The OrangeSpiral Etsy shop is going to have a HUGE update coming this weekend. This is just a sneak peek. The creative muses have been calling, and I have been listening. My husband and I are also getting ready for a super road trip to the Pacific Northwest. I've been wanting to see the Oregon Coast, Portland, the temperate rain forests, etc. for quite some time now. If you have been around that area and have recommendations for places to visit, including National Parks, artsy shops, awesome coffeehouses, restaurants, and peaceful campgrounds, please leave a comment. Thanks so much! I am really getting excited!

I am also having a special giveaway. I am giving away one of the handmade paper hanging decorations. To enter to win you have to leave a comment if you have recommendations for my upcoming road trip to the Pacific Northwest. To be given two entries, become a follower of my blog. If you are already follow my blog, leave me a comment to let me know. To be given three entries, make a suggestion of something you'd like to see me add to my OrangeSpiral Etsy shop. Good luck. A winner will be announced on Sunday, September 5th, 2010.

Creative Intentions Issue No. 12

Welcome to the twelfth and final issue of Creative Intentions. I hope that the past 11 issues have been of some inspiration and have provided you with something new to think about in relation to your creative life. It has been my intention that with the brief articles posted on this site and the suggestions given at the end of each article that you’ve delved into some new areas in the realm of your creativity. If you haven’t tried new things, well then I hope you were at least thinking about trying something new! I would love to hear from you about this. What topics were most helpful? Which articles did you like the best? Why? Your feedback would be greatly beneficial to me as I make decisions about upcoming issues of Creative Intentions. Thank you in advance.

Feature Article Topic:

For the Love of Creativity

Gilda Radner said, “I can always get distracted by love, but eventually I get horny for my creativity.” It is true, life would be quite drab without the arts, new inventions, discoveries, and the stories that we keep and share. We can be creative throughout each day and within each hour of our lives. It is all a matter of perspective and attitude. Thinking creatively can make mundane tasks seem fun. Thinking creatively can add meaning to our lives. If we love and cherish our creative side, it helps to keep our lives in balance.

Suggestion:

Reflect on your creative life over the past 12 weeks. What has changed? What are you satisfied with? What would you like to change by the end of 2010? What would you like to be using your creativity in the year 2011?

How has your creativity or the creativity of others added meaning to your life in the past year?

Resources in Books:

Inspiring Creativity Edited by Rick Benzel

http://liten.be//a2miU

Coaching the Artist Within by Eric Maisel

http://liten.be//gBKmU

Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel

http://liten.be//3TFti

Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Completing Your Work of Art by Eric Maisel

http://liten.be//zns82

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

http://liten.be//0skIC

Kick-Ass Creativity: An Energy Makeover for Artists, Explorers, and Creative Professionals by Mary Beth Maziarz

http://liten.be//sBAhk

The Confident Creative: Drawing to Free the Hand and Mind

By Cat Bennett

http://liten.be//benSF

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

http://liten.be//2XbSx

SARK’S New Creative Companion by SARK

http://liten.be//fW9Ta

Make Your Creative Dreams Real by SARK

http://liten.be//MfzB5

Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting the World with Your Words and Stories, and Creating the Time and Energy to Actually Do It by SARK

http://liten.be//PAbsI

Resources for Online Classes:

Goddess Leonie’s Goddess Circle

http://liten.be//Me0E9

Dream Boogie with SARK

http://liten.be//nm56R

Remains of the Day with Mary Ann Moss

http://liten.be//n2oeM

Flying Lessons e-book series by Kelly Rae Roberts

http://liten.be//l9RFG

Juliana Coles’ Institute for Extreme Visual Journalism

http://liten.be//PZUC5

Creative Clown’s website for Creativity Classes online

This is an incredible resource for the latest classes available online.

Look for the title “Class Page Links”-black and white on the top of the site.

http://liten.be//zS1wm

Announcements:

The 2010 issues of Creative Intentions were as follows:

Issue No. 1- The Creative Cycle

Issue No. 2- Creative Blocks

Issue No. 3- Creative Flow

Issue No. 4- Creativity and Renewal

Issue No. 5- Creativity and Health

Issue No. 6- Creativity and Body Awareness

Issue No. 7- Creativity and the Writing Process

Issue No. 8- Creativity and Spirituality

Issue No. 9- Creativity and Keeping a Journal

Issue No. 10- Creativity and Awareness

Issue No. 11- Creative Practice

Issue No. 12- For the Love of Creativity

© BrianaCreates 2010 All Rights Reserved

Briana: Artist, Writer, Teacher, and Creativity Coach

Contact at bmriskin@earthlink.net

Blog http://courageouslycreating.blogspot.com/

Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianacreates/

Twitter http://twitter.com/BrianaCreates

Etsy http://www.orangespiral.etsy.com

Sewing Labels

For all of you ephemera loving, paper art, collage, and sewing fanatics, here is a little gift for you this Saturday. I saved these labels from some zippers and thread I used while sewing a project. I will be showing you this project soon, so stay tuned!!!! I am really excited to share with you what I made.

For your own copy of these labels, just click on the image and open in a new window. Then print to your heart's content for use in your ROD journal, or other art projects.

Happy Saturday!

Remains of the Day Fans, Check This Out!

Nicole Austin of the blog Life is Beautiful is honoring her 100th post with a great giveaway. Go to her blog here for information on how to enter to win a collage pack or a custom journal!!!!!

Veggies Can Talk

If you don't know of the children's books that use vegetables as a way to teach beginning concepts, you must look them up now!! Go here and here to see some books on Amazon.com.

Sarah Jaffe

My friend Jon has been telling me to listen to Sarah Jaffe for months now. I finally did, and I am in love with her music! Jon recently saw her live in LA. He's a lucky ducky, if you ask me!

Enjoy!

Mail Art

I received some unexpected mail art in the my mail box yesterday. It was so cool, my husband woke me up to show me! Thank you Sergio, I'll be sending something fun your way, too!

Creative Intentions Issue No. 11

Welcome to the eleventh issue of Creative Intentions. With this newsletter, I hope to inspire all creative types to learn about their personal creativity and how to grow from their creative work. Each week, for twelve weeks, you can look forward to a feature article with information, tips and ideas surrounding the realm of creativity. This is week eleven, so next week will be the last issue!!! If you are interested in having a PDF collection of all twelve newsletters, please send me an email, so I can gauge how many would be interested. Thanks in advance! Without further ado, here’s issue eleven . . .

Feature Article Topic:

Creative Practice

Upon hearing “creative practice”, you might panic and think that means something has to be done everyday, and there just isn’t time, is there? It is true that we live in a modern age of technology and materialism, but in order to maintain balance and a healthy lifestyle, it is important to slow down every now and again. Creative practice can be many things. It can be spending time in nature, drawing in a sketchbook, taking photographs, scrapbooking, creating a collage, or perhaps a combination of these. What is important to know is that if you engage in a creative practice on a regular basis, you will feel a deepened sense of well-being. What this practice does is gets your body, mind and spirit in touch. Unfortunately, we tend to think of these parts of ourselves as being separate, rather than simply part of the whole. But when we create, we move beyond our normal realm of thinking and feeling, and we open ourselves up to something greater. Cathy Malchiodi, author of The Soul’s Palette, wrote, “Transformation is a process that involves positive, long-term change, and practice is the seedbed where the miracle of transformation takes place” (p. 34).

Suggestion:

This week, especially as emotions might be running high as the school year is about to begin, try partaking in some creative practices. Notice how creating helps you to get in touch with your deeper emotions and perhaps your spirit. Is there a particular creative practice that you do already? Are you satisfied with it? If not, what would you like to change?

Announcements:

August 30^th, 2010 Issue No. 12 will feature an article called

For the Love of Creativity

May a creative practice beckon you this week!

© BrianaCreates 2010 All Rights Reserved

Briana: Artist, Writer, Teacher, and Creativity Coach

Contact at bmriskin@earthlink.net

Blog http://courageouslycreating.blogspot.com/

Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianacreates/

Twitter http://twitter.com/BrianaCreates

Etsy http://www.orangespiral.etsy.com

Indie Bookstores part two

For some reason, I have never been to the University of Minnesota Bookstore. I adore The University Book Store in Madison, Wisconsin, so why wouldn't I like the one at the U of M? Of course I would, and I DID! They have a terrific general books section, a University of Minnesota Staff section, bargain books, as well as school supplies, art supplies, and text books. I had a lot of fun in there. The only down side was the parking. If you go to the parking ramp that my dad and I went to, it costs $3 for less than one hour, and $6 for one to three hours. I easily could have spent more than an hour in there, but when I saw the parking rates, I said, "Let's keep it under one hour, folks!" I think it was a world record for me to get out of a bookstore in under an hour, but we made it!

For fun, I purchased my current book for book club, which is The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber.

Indie Bookstores

Yesterday, on Saturday, my dad and I went on an Indie bookstores tour of the Twin Cities. I had this idea last winter, but we decided to wait for nice, summer weather, which yesterday provided. We started at Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, which is owned by well known author Louise Erdrich.

They have an excellent children's book collection, especially for Native American stories and history, and languages.

Susan is behind the counter. She was most helpful, friendly and informative about the store.

Anyone who loves SARK is my friend!!!

The store carries a nice selection of blank journals and book reader's journals.

This unique nook was one of my favorite parts of the store decor.

Below are a few images from the walls of the restroom.

I fell in love with these posters by Kenneth Patchen.

More store decor . . .

After looking around Birchbark Books, we went next door to the Kenwood Cafe. I fell in love with this local coffee and food spot, too!

MMM ice cream . . .

Susan from Birchbark Books offered to take a photo of me and my dad, so we went back briefly for a quick photo opportunity. It is good to keep memories like these in picture format.

Oh, how I LOVE books!!!!

Stay tuned . . . for more bookstore tour reports!

Open Book

Roz presented Jeff/MCBA with a gift for letting us use their space once a month. It is a book of our original drawings, as well as photocopies of our "Portrait Party", where we drew a sketch of a fellow visual journaler. I feel honored to be a part of something that will be a part of The Minnesota Center for the Book Arts permanent collection! Wow!

Minneapolis-A view from the LOFT

Below are some images from an exhibition called PRINT, which is currently up at Open Book.

Hope you are having a great week! Yay, it's almost the weekend!!!!!

Artist's Books

I have a whole rekindled passion for artist's books. What is an artist book, you ask? Well, you can find a lot of great information about them here.

My rekindled passion came to me on Monday of this week, when I attended my monthly Visual Journal Collective meeting. The presenter at this particular meeting was the artistic director of the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts, Jeff Rathermel. Roz posted a photo of his work on her blog here. He was very generous in that he brought about 30 artists' books from his personal collection. He talked about each one, then allowed us to pass them around the room. It was such a treat. It was hugely inspiring to me. It rekindled something deep within. We'll see if I can stick with that feeling of inspiration and run with it! I hope I can. I will post some photos from the meeting on the blog tomorrow, so check back in the evening!

For now, I'll leave you with some images from Google.

By the way, Jody Williams is an artist and teacher who has done very well with her artist's books. You can see some of her work here.