PHOTO A DAY MAY: Day 8, 9, 10, 11

It's time for another Photo a Day May creative challange update!  The past few days have included some of my favorite photos.  The themes included a scent you adore, something you do everyday, a favorite word, and kitchen.  Now, onto the pictures and anoter glimpse into my life.

Day 8: A Scent I Adore.  These little beauties are blooming in my garden.

Day 9: Something I do everyday... read.

Day 10: A favorite word.  'Journey' written in black lipstick and then distorted (This is one of my favorite photos!!)

Day 11: Kitchen... the view from mine.

PHOTO A DAY MAY: Day 7

Day 7!!  Time to capture someone that inspires you.... what a tough one!  When I think of who inspires me I didn't think of one person on my day to day basis (sorry!) but rather I thought of characters, artists, and random strangers I've never met.  One particular artist that I often think about is Kelly Rae Roberts, a mixed media artist that is living the dream I wish I could.  Her work and life inspire me to create beauty and follow my passion.  So in honor of my idol...

Kelly Rae Roberts, inspiring me to create beauty & follow my passion!

PHOTO A DAY MAY: Day 6

The theme is YOU for day 6.  So I snapped a quick pick of moi and gave it the Corel PhotoShop treatment.  I love the distorted, cartoonish effect it has, perfect! 

Day 6: It's ME.

PHOTO A DAY MAY: Days 4-5

The theme for day four was FUN!  I love this because it can really be anything and everything.  So what's fun in Sarah's world?  Paint, ink, stamps, oils, chalks, gel medium... ANY artistic tool, style, or activity is MY idea of fun.

Tools of my favorite pasttime.


Day 5:  Birds. 

PHOTO A DAY MAY: Days 1-3

I'm taking part of a photo challange called Photo A Day MAY... and it's as  simple and fun as it sounds.  Every day there is a different theme for which you are to take a photo and share it with the world.  You can be as creative as you want and have tons of fun along the way.  If you're interested in participating click here.  Here are the pics from the first three days...

Day 1 : PEACE
Such a small word, such a big concept!

Day 2 : Skyline
Hazy Chicago Day



Day 3 : Something you wore
Starlight, Starbright, The first star I see Tonight!

CHALLANGES: Literary Moments & A Leap of Faith

          So I was perusing the recent issue of Somerset Studio, a paper crafting and mixed media magazine, and learned that their next issue was going to be focusing on Literary Moments.  Basically, they wanted artists to be inspired by moments in great pieces of literature and create something that reflected that moment.  I was sooooo excited when I read that.  It seemed like the perfect theme for Celio Designs. 

          I have always wanted to submit a journal to a magazine but to be honest all those nagging doubts have always raised their ugly head and held me back.  Literary moments was just the theme I needed to give me that extra push.  I knew that getting published would be nice but it was more important to make the submission.  I didn't worry about the end result so much.  If it didn't get published this time I could always improve and try again...and of course you will never get published if you don't actually take the chance.  So, pushing those fears down I decided, with book board, paper, and gesso in hand, to dive right in and take a leap of faith. 

           On a high of excitement, inspiration, and courage I made not only one but two journals to submit.  The first was a no brainer for me.  I simply chose my favorite book, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and immersed myself in her beautiful, haunting, and dark world.  For the moment, I chose the scene after Catherine's death where a tormented Heathcliff is crying out for his beloved to haunt him.  I worked with watercolor crayons, embossing powder, stamps, acrylic paints, and gesso to create a dark, sad, and wild atmosphere.  I also heavily layered the gesso on the front and back to symbolize the moors.

          For my second submission I made a mini journal based off of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire.  I was inspired by the scene in which Mitch forces Blanche under the "naked" light bulb... unmasking her mental and physical fragility.  To complete the look I took strips of pretty, feminine paper and ripped and singed them....layering them on top of one another to symbolize Blanche's tattered layers coming undone.  I also incorporated a image of a woman with lines running over her face and finally an additional image in which she is forced into the light and finally does crack.  I also included a sheet of music to reference the music she is always hearing in the book.  On the back cover I wanted to illustrate Blanche's decaying world.  I used a photo I took on a trip and distressed it a bit.

         
          Overall, I loved making these two pieces...and to be honest being published would be thrilling but I'm actually just so proud that I put myself on the line.  When you create something and ask someone to judge it... you make yourself vulnerable.  But all you can do is continue to create, send it out into the world and hope it's received well.   Fingers crossed!