Wednesday, December 16, 2015

More Making

Guitar Stand From Remnants of BIG Art Projects
MORE Re-Purposed Remnants
The flash is making the painted parts look dark grey. They are actually more of a dark brown. "Labrador" is the name the mix is given at Lowe's. 

I had a few pieces left...my boyfriend needs a guitar stand to keep it safe from studio escapades...couldn't figure out what to get him for Christmas...AND Voila! Decision Made.  

Friday, December 11, 2015

Organic Streaks; Hair Art

Chemical Free Hair Care since August 8, 2015
Home Grown and Home Made ~Buck Thorn Berry Ink plus Black Walnut Hull Powder
The Quest to Incorporate Ancient Wisdom into my Modern Life Continues. 
I think I may have finally found a way to simultaneously appease my vanity AND my immune system! 
This particular aspect of the Quest is all about being Human, Naturally and the adverse effects of NOT doing that. 

After searching through many assorted local wild things, I have landed on a combination of Buckthorn Berry Ink (berries harvested after first frost), home-dried and ground black walnut powder, and home-harvested and made Elderberry Syrup in a coconut oil base with Apple Cider Vinegar to help retain the color. 

It's a lot of work for a short-lived outcome but, it is ALL natural... and kind of fun in a weird, I-am-stubbornly-determined-to-find-a-solution-to-this-question-without-being-forced-to-reside-in-the-margins-of-society kind of way. 

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Creatively Merry

Making Holiday Cards (2015) 
And Hand-Made Wreaths from Home-Grown Stuff
The Studio has once again been transformed into a Holiday Workshop. 
These are some of the things I have done so far this week. 
I sell my Christmas Cards here.
AND 
Shop owners, don't forget to check out the Affordable Holiday Cards in my Wholesale Collection, too! 

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Giving Art

"The Busy Bucket" I DIY Gift for Toddlers 

THIS MONTH I WILL BE SHARING SOME AFFORDABLE AND CREATIVE IDEAS FOR GIVING ART. 








It's a crazy busy time of year so I cannot promise to post EVERY Day again. However, I will post projects as I complete them. If all goes well, this will include some new Christmas Card designs, too.
Got started in November with:

 The Busy Bucket for my Nephew's Daughter's 2nd Birthday. I made it during POSTS for the Art Every Day Month Challenge made possible by my Patrons. [They will be receiving some fun exclusive Seasonal-Gifty posts, too.] 

and a printable coloring page for my youngest Nephew's 2nd Birthday. He lives 3,000 miles away and I was able to send this to him via his Mom's email address. It is based on a reference image she shared from his Birthday Celebration.

Studio Tree
Most of the ornaments on the tree at the studio are hand made here. A few new ones are added each year.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

A Season of Gratitude

Art Every Day Month ~Day 26

A Time to Be Thankful... for the sacrifices of many others who gave us this day...

And to celebrate Life Every Day as a tribute to that sacrifice.



Although it began with mini glimpses and small sparkling flickers of remembering over the years culminating in an open window of attraction to the mullein plant in Autumn of last year; I have to say that my full awakening to the wild abundance around me happened in 2015. To achieve balanced wellness, I am learning to apply this ancient wisdom in my modern life. For that, I am thankful. 
Last night I prepared a new all natural hair color treatment made of black walnut husk powder ground from walnuts found about an hour from my home and black night shade berries found in my own back yard. Today, I am making elderberry syrup from wild elderberries I found on a nature walk in September and Wild Rosehips that I picked in October. As I type this, I am drinking dried mullein leaf tea to help with my spinal nerve pain. For some other health issues; yesterday, I made Evening Primrose Root Fritters from fresh roots harvested from my frosted garden and Evening Primrose tea made with the dried flowers I harvested this summer. 

I am thankful for these wonderful five years with my awesome Grandson. Every day that I have with him is a blessing which reminds me of the better person I want to be... 

I am thankful that the year I fell in love with my Grandson, I also opened my heart to the love of a wonderful man who continues to keep an open mind and an open heart of his own as we stand side-by-side to face each day as it comes. 

With all of the ups and downs thrown at us over the years, I am thankful that my children are making their own way in the world. Tempered with love, joy, pain, frustration, failure, and success; they are each walking the path they have defined for themselves. 

At times like this, I recall with much gratitude the tremendous encouragement and support I received from my older sister as I pursued my own creative path as a single parent. I am pretty sure things would have turned out quite differently if she had not been so generous, forgiving, and loving during those challenging years. 

I am thankful to my parents (all three of them) for showing me what love is supposed to look like. 

I am thankful for fond childhood memories of my extended family and the friends, far and wide, who still remember who I am despite the transient nature of my childhood.  

The oral history of my mother's family always lead me to believe that my heritage included the Iriquois Nation of Indians.  However, in searching our family tree, there is no actual written documentation of that origin. I have reason to believe that at the time in question it was not safe for my Grandfather's Mother, or her parents, to allow this to be noted in writing anywhere. But perhaps the oral history was wrong. Again, I have little proof and the people who could explain the situation to me have passed on to other places. 

Suffice it to say, for whatever reason-a part of me feels a pull toward the lost culture, the history, and the meaning that this day has regarding the losses and the lack of knowledge about my own personal connection to it ...or not...as the case may be. 
RELATED LINKS:



Monday, November 2, 2015

November ~ The Hibernal Descent


Saying farewell to summer as I fall into winter.... 
November is "Nervember" and "Art Everyday Month" and Diabetes Awareness Month and so many other things that will truly test ones awareness.  
I have decided to participate in Leah Piken Kolidas’ Art Every Day Month Challenge during the Month of November. For the first time, as I do this 30 day challenge, I will be posting my progress HERE on the Healing Art Activities List for arachnoiditis survivors and advocates.
I hope you will join me for this creative journey. If you are an Arachnoiditis Survivor creating any art during the series that you would like to share with The Art For Arachnoiditis Project feel free to do so in the Art For Arachnoiditis Project Facebook page, share links in the comments below, or submit the work for use in YEAR 2 of the Survivors’ Art Exhibit. (Accepting Entries until Feb 15, 2016.) Although the Art By Survivors’ exhibit is open only to the Survivors; other creative minded individuals are invited to share in all of the other places.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

September 2015 ~ 30.30.30


THE PLAN: 

Thirty days, thirty pieces, thirty minutes each. My Patreon Patrons get exclusive first dibs on ALL of my 30.30.30 project work coming up this year! 

I am not sure what work it will be but, I guarantee it will be work that I have never posted anywhere else.Alternating between visual art and writing; My 30.30.30 activities have previously been posted on my blog and on my facebook page. April 2015 started HERE: 

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE and HERE
January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE 
September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, "A Round Now In A Square Time" with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project starts HERE
The Show is HERE 

Friday, August 14, 2015

New Moon Studio News

"Transformations" Buy Now 

Evolution of An Artist

These past few weeks/months have been full of ups and downs, not just in the temperature, but in the studio plan and my approach to how I am shifting my focus away from too many FREE projects. I am discovering that there is a fine line between being generous or benevolent and simply undermining my own sense of worth as an artist and as a person. I guess that means that Venus in Retro probably is not the ONLY reason I've been in a state of turmoil. 

I am back in the studio painting again and working on projects that people have actually ASKED me to make and are willing to PAY me to make them. Bills need to be paid but, it is NOT all about the money. A product of a culture that revolves around consumption and the mighty (or not-so-mighty as the case may be) dollar; I still cannot help linking some form of payment to a sense of validation for the work. It isn't just that though... I am ever-so-slowly realizing that because I am aware of the value OTHERS place on the dollar, knowing that they are willing to invest something of themselves in obtaining the work indicates that they are committed to having it. 

No. I don't obsess about this 24 hours a day. I have too many other things to think about and to DO. The thing just kind of sits there in the back of my mind fermenting into questions about the value of the work and the best use of my time. I start to feel like my creative freedom has been severely stifled. Gradually, it builds to a subconscious sense of discontent. Combine that with winter cabin fever and voila! there is a glaring recipe for Life Evaluation. 

"That's what I love about Intuitive Painting when it's purely focused on process not product. With intuitive painting there is no agenda, no end-goal, no master piece for sale afterward, no techniques or skills to learn. 
It's just you, paint, brushes, paper and your muse. Instead of looking to someone else for the answers, you tune into your own inner wisdom. Just ask yourself what color and where and go from there. 


You have the creative freedom to trust your own voice, move through your blocks, and express your emotions. There's space for exploring the taboo, giving voice to the unspoken, befriending "ugly," and diving into your dark side."  ~Jennifer Lee

So, I continue to work on being my most authentic self and making work which reflects that instead of trying to conform to the "correct" way to be a self-sustaining artist. Getting sucked into the world wide web of information is surely a death sentence for art-making here. There is a saturation point in which there simply is no more room for MORE information and it is time to just DO stuff. 

This new moon I am releasing my connection to chemical/commercial products, my compulsion to try to predict what the market will buy, my blocks about making that art that moves me the most, my perceptions of the world which push me to work for FREE too often. 


is still FREE.
Become A Patron  to get and support 
the Release of 
Affordable Art for 
the Wellness of 
Your Home and Business.


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Earn More B~Arter Bucks

FROM THE B~ARTER FOR ART PROGRAM 

B~Arter Bucks Are Not Redeemable for Cash

SHOW THAT YOU ATTENDED
THIS LOCAL EVENT FOR
 Hart Comfort House EARN $10 IN B~ARTER BUCKS GOOD TOWARD ANY PURCHASE OF ANY PRE-PRINTED STUDIO ITEM. 


Event Poster


Thursday, June 4, 2015

TIME FOR A CHANGE ~ Empowering My Audience

DEAR READER 
(a.k.a. "fan","follower", "tweeter", "blogger", "patron",etc.) 





It has come to my attention that there just is NOT enough time...for so many IMPORTANT Things....partly because MY time is being EATEN by social media demands to market AND "increase awareness" and "sell" my intentions....
I am bombarded on a daily basis with a plethora of urgent "tips" on best practices for 'finding my audience" "developing a target market" and promoting myself on social media. 

This month, the pressure-to-post-everywhere-in-case-there-is-an-audience-I-missed was getting to me so much that I even started a trial with Hootsuite to try to schedule my posts in advance to meet the "need" to market.

It just feels ludicrous to have to do that. 

I am actively managing my Studio Website & Facebook Page, The Belfast Organization For Artists Blog and Facebook Page, The Art For Arachnoiditis Project WordPress Website and Facebook Page, AND profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Patreon, Google+, Youtube,...and of course here at Blogspot, just to name a few. There is no "marketing team" doing the PR. I am doing all of this just to try to make potential patrons aware that I am here in the studio making the art. However, this continues to eat up more and more of my actual creative pain-management AND art-making time. The demand that we must engage via social media is a threat to becoming/remaining Sustainably Creative.

I am posting posts with no clue who is reading them...or if anyone is. 
IT IS TIME TO JUST SAY, "NO" to the time-sucking, no guarantees, commercial industry that all of that has become. 
Instead of blog-moaning about it anymore, I am making CHANGES

As an experiment, my NEW Art, Studio Announcements, Project Updates, Inspirations, Musings, and other Studio bloggy-news will now be posted in my Patreon Activity Feed along with patron-only printable portfolio art, special offers, events, and anything else the muses inspire me to make available to YOU. Art For Arachnoiditis Project news can be found there, too and (until July 25, 2015) on Rocket Hub. My Patreon posts for The Art For Arachnoiditis Project will always be FREE.

At Patreon you can choose any amount for your subscription price from $1 and up. That $1 allows you to have access to my Patreon patron-only activity feed. 
Then,  YOU choose how much you want to get, pay per Release, and YOU choose the limit for the number of payments you will make per month. The amount you spend determines the amount you receive. 

Not only does that sound like a fair exchange, it also Empowers YOU with the ability to decide how much of my Art and Commentary you receive... No more unwanted posts in your newsfeed, etc. You get JUST the SheilaLynnK Art Studio dose that you want and ONLY when YOU want it. 
AND you can win stuff like your own pet portrait
similar to this one:


Or Get Rewards Like this
$25 Subscription  Loving Love! You get one of these! 

From what I understand, this will be a way to consolidate ALL of my time-crippling marketing (read as "social media") demands, post my studio news and offers, and provide AFFORDABLE art to those who want and need it most instead of Making and Releasing my hard-won, heartfelt ART out into the ether in hopes that SOMEBODY who needs or wants it will catch it. 

 Become A Patron Here if you'd like to continue to receive Previews of New Releases, Public Posts about Charitable projects, and other Announcements Like the one about this NEW Summer Sale Idea from me at SheilaLynnK Art Studio. 
REAL LIVE ART SALE AT THE STUDIO~THIS IS NOT AN ONLINE EVENT

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Mandalas, Mullein, Medicine

Common Mullein, Uncommon Medicine
My preliminary adventures into Making Mandalas and  Naming Nature have since expanded to living and sharing the benefits of this knowledge. 






As I open the last packages of dried mullein leaves from last September I am certain that this plant made this difficult NYS winter as productive as it could possibly have been. In Gratitude and Hope, I am watching the progress of the new plants that we moved into my yard last fall. 

The most benefit will come with being able to harvest and prepare this medicine right from my own property. No travel or transportation issues, or physical limitations will be able to interfere with the use of this wonderful discovery. 
FIRST TIME USING MULLEIN 
I started with a mild tea/infusion of mullein leaves to rule out allergies, etc. 
2-3 medium fresh leaves in a 1 quart mason jar
Cover with boiling water, (filling the jar)
Cover and Steep  4-6 minutes
Lightly shake to blend the mullein infusion into the water
Strain using a coffee filter *this keeps the fuzzy hairs from the plant out of your medicinal tea
While still warm, pour into a small cup and sip as any other tea

[Allergic reactions to mullein are quite rare. This preparation results in a low concentration of mullein medicine. However, if you notice any itching or swelling in your mouth or throat stop use immediately.]

Some pain relief and Uneventful consumption at this "dose" allowed me to increase to a higher dose using the decoction method and eventually building to a regulated dose of mullein root tinctures. Fresh mullein flowers and fresh flower stalks also work well for making tinctures. 
*Disclaimer - The information presented herein by The Wild Pantry at SheilaLynnK Art Studio is intended for educational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own trusted health care provider.
 As I work to share the Empowerment that I have found, I am reminded today to find time to keep healing and caring for myself. This is an aspect that is, unfortunately, easy to forget. 

In spite of everything that has happened, I still have some faith in the intentions of Modern Medicine. It has it's place but, there is another Medicine that works its ancient magic above and beyond the boundaries of Patient Harm.  

I am pretty sure I have mentioned it before but, just in case I haven't, I am using the Wild Plant Ally Workbook that I got from Food Under Foot to continue to document what I learn about Common Mullein and another ally, Evening Primrose. Foraged, dried, propagated, high-jacked from abundant "untreated" sources; I now have a few of these wild plants around my house. EPR seeds I found in my foraging adventures last fall are now sprouting in a comfy spot on my window sill in my studio.  

Both plants are upright biennials. Both possess safe and useful/beneficial properties found in the entire plant. 

Other Edibles Also sprouting-to-blooming in the yard now are: Henbit, Purple Deadnettle, Creeping Charlie, wild Strawberries, Chickweed, Speedwell, Yarrow, Milkweed, Cleavers, Lambsquarters, Mallow, Harebells, Grapevines, Sunflowers, Blue Vervain, Plantain, Dandelions, White Clover, and Mint. 

These spring-y images are creeping across the lawn and sneaking into my new Mandala drawings. 

(Cue Marketing Department) 2017 Update

Patrons subscribing at $8 per month are the Sprites and Sages who help fund the Wild Pantry at SheilaLynnK Art Studio Get Monthly High Res Images of my Original Art featuring indigenous and homegrown plants  and instructions for one monthly Wild Crafting activity  delivered via the patrons only activity feed.  (Begins 5.1.17)
Includes
  • Vote on Future Content
  • Instructions for ONE monthly Wild Crafting Activity
  • Original Art featuring Indigenous & Homegrown Plants for Wellnes
  • Patron-only content feed
SUBSCRIBE AT THIS LEVEL 
Local patrons might also like to browse my Wild Pantry Catalog

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

New Moon Magic~RELEASING NEW STUFF




















STUDIO UPDATES 

LIFE IN MY WORK SPACE
My oldest daughter just completed her Bachelors' Degree at Alfred University. I am so proud of her. My youngest daughter is visiting for this occasion and then they are both off to new adventures in the big city. 

My Grandson, just lost his first baby-tooth-from-natural-causes. He lost the first two when he fell off his bike at age 3. Hopefully, this means he will have some "big-boy" teeth to fill up the space later.  He says he wants to be a under-cover detective, an artist, a chef, and a gardener when he grows up. He recently brought over a bean sprout he had been growing at school so that it could be added to our garden here.  At the grad party/picnic, he informed his 17 month-old cousin, "This is my bean stalk. When it gets bigger we can climb it!" There was lots of adorable cousin-love happening but, out of respect for their child-time privacy, I will refrain from posting the proud-over-indulgent-Grandma photo collection here. 

Surviving a late-Spring 31 degree night and Freeze-watch, with lots of plastic and bed sheets, my wild edibles garden is now looking lush and promising for the new season. 


FROM THE ART FOR ARACHNOIDITIS PROJECT

The First Survivors' Exhibit at the Fountain Arts Center closed on May 8th.  Eighteen pieces have been selected to be a part of the Artist Among Us Travelling Art Exhibit in Upstate New York. Schedule and Locations TBA. Making space amidst the "I'm-home-from-college-can't-carry-all-my-stuff-on-the-bus"-hooplah happenings to store the remaining pieces until the Second Survivors' Exhibit. 

Still Standing, Sometimes Part 1~Permanent Spinal Arachnoiditis as Consequential Medical Harm ; NYS Injured Worker appeals for Accountability 
Is an independent Art For Arachnoiditis Project Publication. 

Part 1 includes case history, facts, resources, references, and replicas of documents presented to the New York State Workers' Compensation Board and the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court pertaining to this uncompensated, preventable medical injury, consequential spinal adhesive arachnoiditis in the lumbar and thoracic spine, which occurred during treatment for an established work-related knee injury. 

Published to: provide a creative release about the current accepted average standard of care, the importance of Patients' Rights, and the current accepted practice regarding "Informed Consent" in the United States as consequential medical injuries continue to occur. 

FUND THIS Your tax-deductible contribution provides funding forindependent publications of written works by Arachnoiditis Survivors and other forms of Creative Expression by Survivors. With your help we promote Healing through the Arts and Arachnoiditis Awareness & Prevention. Thank you for your support

More about Still Standing, Sometimes Part 1





Arachnoiditis Survivors Song Search 
The Spinal Arachnoiditis Survivors need an Inspirational Song. 

Beginning August 30, 2015
Spinal Arachnoiditis Survivors, Singers, Poets, Musicians, Songwriters, ANYONE interested in inspiring Survivors with music may submit ONE entry.

After the close of the Call For Entries, Survivors will vote for the favorite entry. The winner will be notified via contact information on the registration form, then, announced on Social Media.

The song will then be licensed for project use for the duration of The Art For Arachnoiditis Project. The creator will be noted publicly whenever possible (sometimes text limitations in social media platforms make this difficult, however the artists name will be listed with any video production utilizing his/her work) and maintain all ownership and copyrights to the original work. 
The winner receives $35 and assistance (if needed) with submitting the copyright application for the song. 

How will we use this music? Use may include but, not limited to.....

"Music is a great addition to works in progress videos from SheilaLynnK Art Studio like Arachnoiditis Survivor Portraits and tough times when we just need a little creative incentive to keep moving through our day...to never give up. Pain can really make us question the value of the day. The Arts, Including Music, help us to cope with the obstacles presented by Living With Arachnoiditis. Music can open the door to grace when we are confined within the walls of pain." ~slk

Please share this song search.


UPDATES FROM MY PATREON PAGE


Making Art is my way of Releasing Love into the World. 
[Due to the creative nature and obligations of my Art For Arachnoiditis Project, I will average 1 or 2 RELEASES here per month.] 




As a subscribing Patron, Exclusive Activity (for which you will NOT be charged) including written works, images, and video will be posted for you in between those Releases. 
With each Release; I am Empowered.
So are YOU.

NEW When you Subscribe at the $10 Level Loving the LOVE! Empowering the Art! Thank You! You'll get all of the goods from the $1,$3,And $5 levels plus access to a weekly Portfolio Printable from the SheilaLynnK Art Studio SHOP, behind the scenes videos from SheilaLynnK Art Studio including New Project previews, Works-in-Progress, Quests for Inspiration, Links to the Music that Matters in the Moment, Adaptive Art Activities, and anything else the Muses Might Muster.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Going To Extremes

From posting daily for Thirty, Thirty, Thirty in April to going Screen Free this week will be a big adjustment!

ON THE AGENDA
Sunday getting ready... 
all day yard clean up and re-locating escaped strawberry plants, nettles, fresh dandelion greens, and other findings...That Night mini Bonfire with the full moon.

Monday 
Neglected house chores
Wellsville Community Garden Project Village Clean Up (April B~Arter Bucks for Participants extended to May 4th)

Prepping my back deck for fresh paint

Tuesday
Rain is in the forecast. So, planning to draw portraits that day. ...and maybe make a little un-scheduled impulsive, spontaneous art, too! 

Wednesday - Friday
More Outdoors! 

Saturday - Sunday
Annual Mothers' Day Planting tradition with my grandson

Some Ideas of the Week
Food Under Foot Shares, 11 Ways to get out and enjoy nature. 
Ideas pdf from Screen-free and More 

I also need to paint the post on my re-purposed Satellite Dish Bird station...and maybe raise the bird feeder up a little bit higher...the birds seem a little bit afraid to use it now...or maybe they don't like this bird seed?  




In any case, I am sure I will find plenty of stuff to do! 

Signing off until May 11th! 

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Day 30 Phew! Thirty Days!

Arachnoiditis Survivor Portrait in Progress