Scattering joy through paint.fabric.metal

Jenni Horne's byline: scattering joy through paint, fabric.metal reminds me of what creating art does for me - it makes me feel joyful! I love viewing the world through the eyes of another artist and just love the way Jenni depicts the world through her paintings. Spending time with creative people inspires our creative life and that is why I have attended art retreats.  A couple of days in the company of creatives seems to encourage my creative soul to give more time to what I love doing.  I will be meeting Jenni in person at Art and Soul in Virginia Beach at the beginning of March this year, but wanted to get to know her a little before the event and share her with others.

Catherine: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Jenni:  I draw inspiration from so much on a day to day basis.  The class I am teaching at Art and Soul is called, “The American Still Life”.   I am drawn to the simplicity of these subjects; trucks, bikes, campers, old phones, etc.  To me they symbolize gentle reminders to slow down, remember the past and look forward to the future.

  

Catherine: After art, what else is your passion?

Jenni: I am a sucker for decorating our home.  We just moved into a new house so I am having a wonderful time making our home a nest to enjoy. 

Catherine:  What type of classes do you like to take at Art and Soul

Jenni: I love to make jewelry.  Although I am a painter by trade, jewelry making is truly a passion.  I try and take at least one class every retreat to build my skill level.

Catherine: What aspect of teaching do you love the most?

Jenni:  I love inspiring others to create beautiful works of art.  I do not encourage “cookie cutter” art in my classes, but rather encourage students to find their own voice in the creative journey.  I always tell my students in the beginning of class that I am here to guide them through the art making process.  In the end, it is not my goal for them to create a “Jenni Horne”, but rather a piece from their own hands  that is the voice from within them.  Of course as a student they are there to learn from my experiences as a painter, and through a day’s workshop we explore many techniques and materials together.  Always however, the end goal is for my attendees to leave inspired, and full of enthusiasm for a medium I love.  With this knowledge my hope is that they continue to build their creative journey at home.

Catherine: Do you have a favorite technique? 

Jenni: I’ve actually developed my own painting technique over the years.  It combines the skills I learned in the print making studio, painting studio with acrylics and my love of encaustics, without the hot wax!  The end result is truly unique.

Catherine: Do you work in a planned or intuitive way?  How would you describe your approach?

Jenni: As a child I loved the plastic viewfinder toy.  You could click frame to frame at your own pace, flipping fast through lesser exciting images and staying for a spell on the ones that captivated your imagination.  My creative journey is much like this.  I have on my art desks always more than one project.  It allows me to seamlessly flow from project to project, as well as being a better use of my time.  It is not uncommon for a body of 5 paintings to be worked on at once.  They all get texture and carving, they all get cool colors, they all get warm colors, they all get collage at once.etc...  They are all a part of the wheel….and in the end help to create the story I am telling through my art.

Jenni, thank you for sharing your creative process with me.  And I have to let you know that I just love your blog, especially the image of you holding the Paint Something card! And discovering that you just live up the road from me (well sort of) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Visit Jenni's Blog: Jenni Horne Studios

Dawn Time

This past weekend I caught a 6:00am flight from North Carolina to California.  My plan was to try and sleep so I would arrive refreshed in San Jose.  But I was captivated by the changing light outside the plane window.  The bright blues, yellows, oranges, the moon in the dawn sky ... I couldn't help but feel the magic of earth waking beneath me and kept watching out the window.  Every few minutes the scene in front of me changed.  I felt surrounded by magic, and realized just how many mornings I sleep through the beauty of the dawn.

 
“One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one's head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one's heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun—which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so...”    
Frances Burnett
 

This early morning flight was a reminder of the unending beauty of the sky above us.  The sun is always rising somewhere, the colors of the sky are always glowing brightly somewhere in the world.  I am so grateful to be living on this beautiful planet of ours.

Sunset over Glow-Worm Pond

One of my dreams is to one day live where I can see the sun set every day.  There is something about acknowledging the end of the day by taking time to watch the sun move below the horizon that speaks to me.  It seems like a good way to be present to the passing of time and to the beauty of nature, and seems like a perfect time to give thanks for the privilege of being alive at this time and in this place.

Last weekend my husband and I were fortunate enough to be invited to visit the farm of a Joe and Hilda Madaras in Peachland, NC.  Joe and Hilda have created a beautiful haven with trails through the woods, ponds with inviting places to stop and sit, and they get to watch the sun set every day over their pond from their home.

The sunset looks different every day.  A spectacular sunset depends on clouds in the sky.  But even when there are no clouds the jewel tones water-colored across the sky make you stop and want to breathe in amazement at the art of nature.

After our walk around the farm we sat snugly inside as the sun journeyed below the horizon.  Looking through the window I was greeted by the lights of Joe and Hilda's Christmas tree reflected on the glass door adding even more magic to the end of the day.

Live Each Day as a Work of Art

"What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress?

Imagine that you are a masterpiece unfolding, every second of every day, 

a work of art taking form with every breath.

Thomas Crum

What would you do each day if your life were a work of art in progress?  Think about it.  Because your life is a work of art.  You create your life with each breath you breathe, with every thought you think, with every action you take.

Los Dias de Los Mertos

 

I spent some time in Mexico recently and was privileged to be there for the Days of the Dead celebrations. This is an interesting celebration for someone who comes from a culture where we do not have an annual holiday that encourages us to remember and honor those close to us who have died.

The Mexicans believe that people die three deaths: The first is when our bodies cease to function; the second is when our body is returned to the ground and the third is when there is no-one left alive to remember us.

Therefore Los Dias de Los Mertos is important because it is a time for remembering friends, family and ancestors. To do this altars are prepared with photographs of loved ones, flowers, candles, favorite foods and drinks. It is a time to transform grief into acceptance and invite the spirits of those departed to return home for a few hours.

Creating my altar was a soulful experience. I placed a photograph of my father, who died when he was the age I am now, in the center. Around him I placed photographs of my grandparents. It felt very healing sitting in meditation with my memories of these people who were so important in my life.

The marigold is the most traditional flower used at this time. The fragrance of the marigolds leads the spirits home and so one creates paths of marigold petals to your front door to show the spirits where to come. I know it was comforting to me to be able to honor my ancestors in this way and to feel that they were close to me. It felt like the veil between worlds was indeed thin when I awoke in the morning and saw the sun shining through the door on the pathway of marigolds petals.

Following his Curiosity and Intuition

Steve Jobs shows us how following our curiosity and intuition and trusting what happens to us makes our lives rich and meaningful - but only after the event. At the time it can be frightening. He reminds us that our time is limited - so make sure that you love what you do and follow your heart. He says: "Have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become." And his advice to the Stanford graduates? "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." Thank you Steve for sharing from your heart and for following your intuition.

Image Mandalas

Recently I had to write a paper for my studies with Wisdom University for a workshop in which I participated called Moving Toward Wholeness.  The paper was on the work of Stan and Christina Grof and Holotrophic Breathwork.  At the end of Holotrophic Breathwork sessions participants are often asked to draw mandalas, as a way to ground the experience and express it in a non-verbal way.  According to Heita Copony in the book "Mystery of Mandalas"

“A spontaneously painted mandala might carry messages from the psyche into our conscious awareness, sometimes with a clarity that could never be produced by our ordinary consciousness.”   

Since writing this paper I have been looking for a way to create mandalas with my photographs.

This past weekend one of the talented photographers attending my photography retreat showed us the amazing mandalas she had created with her photographs. This led me on search of the internet to see if there was any easy software available to create mandalas.  I didn't find any, but I found a great tutorial which guided me in making this mandala out of an image of daisies in a glass jar. It took some time and the colors are brighter than those I usually work with (I just picked the first image that I saw on the screen to work with), but it feels like magic when you see the final result. 

I know I'll be making more mandalas.