A Month's Adventures

Happy April 1st!

It has been over a month since I blogged, y'all, which is just nuts to me.  In some ways, I suppose my life has been too full of living and has left little room from writing about living. 

I've been on Instagram, so those who follow there have seen all that I've been up to. Two things on that:
1) FOLLOW ME! @MesAventureHAK 
I definitely Insta more than anything else because I love sharing snapshots of daily life.  
2) Look up^^^ I added that cool, scrolling bar of photos this morning. Those are my Instagram pictures via SnapWidget. So, if you click a picture it will take you to SnapWidget, but you can link to Insta from there. Fun stuff. 


There will be more stories on all of the below soon, but for now let me give you a fly by of the last month:

1) Moby Gimli Bat-Cat. He's that silly black cat in so many of my photos. He has quite a story all by himself, but the gist of it is that we have the best cat in the world!

2) Biking. With only 7 weeks till the Tour de Cure, training is in full swing. Audrey has been a trooper as I challenge her day after day to push her mind and body just a little further in the saddle. To climb one more hill, pedal one more mile, practice riding on the roads and in the rain, etc. 

3) Drawing. I won't be so bold as to say that I'm doing a drawing a day, but I'm trying to do several a week. Some are just quick sketches inspired by a verse in my morning devotions, and others are exercises in my sketchbook. I tend to be a bit pencil shy--strongly preferring my paintbrushes-- but the time has come for me to develop my drawing skills. 

4) Reading. I.love.reading. But I've done less and less of it in my spare time over the last few years as college work has dominated my reading energies. With just a month of university left, I am being more intentional about building "fun reading" back into my life. I recently finished Demon Fish and Ender's Game and am now tackling Atlas Shrugged. Good stuff. :-) 

Remember, I always love to hear about your adventures in the comments or on any of my social media outlets! Be in touch!

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK   
 

Studio Update: Watercolor Word Art

This piece grew out of a desire to encourage a young teenager who has been struggling to find her place in life. The details aren't my story to share, but the bottom line is that she has been needing some reminders of God's plan and purpose in her life and His love for her. 

As I worked on this piece, I also decided to offer Watercolor Word Art as a custom listing in my shop because I think other people would enjoy having their name surrounded by their favorite quotes, verses, lyrics, words, etc. 

This piece is unique in that I spent a lot more time planning it than I usually do. I'm rather notorious for just sitting down to create or paint without putting proper forethought into the matter. Sometimes it works, but trust me, there are plenty of things that never make it to the shop or the blog or anywhere else! 

I got a text in class one day about what was going on in Siena's life and almost immediately jotted a doodle on the corner of my paper:

Over the next few weeks (and our move), I kept scribbling ideas in my sketchbook, playing with lettering and how to frame her name...how to include verses and add color, but without making it look too "busy." 

By the time I sat down today to give this idea its first real go, I had a general idea of where I was heading...just enough that the work took on a life of its own as soon as I began. 

My very first steps were in pencil, then I inked over those lines and added the verses. The little geometric shapes were my first hint that this piece already had its own ideas.

Shockingly, I slowed down enough to make a color palette. I'm so glad I did!

About halfway through I panicked. Her name was colored, the key words were "highlighted," and I'd started adding the extra geometric shapes around the outside sections. It looked VERY awkward, and I wasn't sure it was going to work at all... But I was surprised and delighted when I finished!

Once it dried, I took it off the painting board for proper photos:

 

As I mentioned, your own customized word art is available in my shop. 

Names, quotes (verses/lyrics/words), colors, and general style are all fully customizable!

Click here to learn more. :-)

Adventure well; Live fully. 

HAK

Share a Friend: Audrey

Howdy y'all!

As you know, I recently started a wonderful nannying job as "Mary Poppins." What you don't know is that one of my new kiddos, Audrey, is a super awesome artist!

 She has been taking classes from a local artist, Larry Smith, and this is her latest work in progress. 

Here's a few questions I asked her this afternoon: 

Why do you like to paint?
A: It's relaxing. When you have so much to do, and you finally get to sit down to paint, it's calming. 

What do you plan to paint next?
A: A fox in the snow from a photograph my friend's grandfather took. 

What other creative things do you like to do?
A: I like to sculpt polymer clay, and I like to paint with watercolors. And I occasionally sketch. 

Watch out, Etsy, she's heading your way in a few years! ;-) 

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK

Studio Update: My New Sunroom Studio!

Hey, y'all!

The Hubster and I are back to my hometown outside of Atlanta, and I'm just about done setting up my studio! I wanted to sell some early photos with y'all. :-)

My studio is in our sunroom, nestled between the living, dining, and guest rooms. 

 I have this huge, wonderful window, too. 

It's been snowing all afternoon, and I have the best winter view in the house!

 One of my bestie's Christmas gifts was this "Hipster Decorating Set." 

Polaroid cards, strings, and clothespins.

I love it!!

And, in case you were wondering, it's still mug cozy central around here. 

I love these, too! :D

But, wait! There's more!

 Mes Aventures, Crafts & Co. has a mini "store front" in my studio now!

I'm hoping there will be some snowish art soon to come. Until then, stay warm!

Adventure well; Live fully. 

HAK 

Seedlings of a Creative Life

"To live a creative life,

we must lose our fear of being wrong."

~Joseph Chilton Pearce

It's an odd and interesting thing to feel oneself transitioning from someone who likes art and does it occasionally to someone who does, pursues, and lives art. 

I have this ideal in my mind of the slightly eccentric, fascinating artist that I want to be. Long hair, cleverly matched (or mismatched) clothes, fun jewelry, the occasional paint smudge. Sketchbook toting, notebook keeping, book-loving, new food cooking, adventurous, traveling... My list could go on and on. After all, I've loved art and admired artists for a long time, so I've had a chance to dream and idealize. 

On the one hand, my ideal can be paralyzing. I fear doing it "wrong." Whatever the heck that means. While I sometimes exemplify parts of my ideal, I don't think I've ever really embodied it. But that's okay--"Life's a journey, not a destination," right? 

But I have to admit, I get really excited when I find myself growing into this graceful, creative being, albeit in very small ways. Little things, like a day of knitting, feel like seedlings of a more creative life. 

That's part of my 2014 blog goal, I guess: to document and share with you the growth of these little seedlings.

Now, that day of knitting I mentioned: Yesterday, I put a halt to everything except hours and hours of knitting. Sure, there was a bit of unpacking from a weekend trip and even some cooking and laundry that "needed" to be done (and today they will be so), but yesterday I indulged in hours of wonderful knitting. In addition to my Tree of Life gloves (warm fingers--finally!), I finished the first of those mug cozies I told you guys about. I'm completely in love.

(I'm working on an order right now before I put any up in the shop, but if you're interested in custom ordering some, let me know!)

Adventure well; Live fully. 

HAK

(Top image from crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Pinterest)

Share a Friend: Tiffany at One Small Sparrow

Hey y'all!

I'm out of the studio for a couple days, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to share another Etsy artist with you! 

Tiffany Moeller, based out of Chicago, started One Small Sparrow at the end of September. 

I fell in love with her work when I saw this painting:

Isn't it FABULOUS!

So creative! 

Brilliant, endearing, wonderfully rendered. 

Tiffany shares on Etsy, though, that portraits are truly her passion because of the value of each and every human life. 

"For me," she writes, "painting and drawing people becomes so interesting and beautiful because it is a celebration of that truth."

This portrait is listed in her shop right now:

Captivating. 

Why not hop on over to her shop right now by clicking here?
Think about commissioning her for a portrait. :-) 

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK

2014

Happy New Year!

As you may have seen on Twitter or Facebook, the Hubster and I celebrated fairly simply and had a lot of fun with just the two of us and the two dogs we're petsitting. We played Monopoly (he won), sipped champagne, watched The Fall of Sam Axe, and hid under the table with the pups when the fireworks freaked them out. You think I'm joking:

Yesterday we dutifully, and delightedly ate our pork roast, kraut, black eyed peas, greens, and cornbread. I was very pleased that I managed to cook all of the above--four first times in one meal was a bit daunting--especially the greens which I bought fresh! I was glad I had saved some of our Christmas ham in the freeze for flavoring the beans and greens, too. yummmm.

Anyway, I also spent some time reflecting over the past couple of days, looking back at 2013 and ahead to 2014. I thought a lot about the "hats" I wear. 

I became a wife in 2013--a role that I love and am still growing into. 

I learned a lot about being a daughter, a friend, an adult. 

In light of two of my best friends' moms dying this past year, I have been both mourner and comforter, prayer and prayed for. We carry that weight with us into 2014--a weight of grief and a weight of the hope of glory. We're all hoping that this year brings renewed joy and peace as we weave memory and hope into our hearts. 

I continue to be a student, and, for maybe the first time in my life, I struck a healthier balance between schoolwork and the rest of my life. I was astonished that, other than in French which is really hard, my grades didn't change that much even though my quality of life did. 

I started a business, too--something that maybe surprised me as much as anyone else. Mes Aventures, Crafts & Co. started as an art shop about place and has already morphed a bit to be about all kinds of life adventures--big and small. With this rather big leap I became an entrepreneur/ small business owner and, of all things, a professional artist. 

I don't ever remember not wanting to be an artist. Whatever else I was pursuing, I always seemed to add "and an artist." in my head and heart. But after about age 6, it was always like that--a sort of afterthought. 

And yet, here I am, a newlywed in 2014 (another thing I didn't see coming ;-) ), who has decided to take a break from the education required for all those other pursuits (after I finish my B.A. this semester), to encourage and grow the "afterthought." 

But now that I "really am" an artist, I find myself paralyzed with fear of my own inadequacy. 

I didn't go to art school--I'm a lit student, teacher, and budding linguist by training. I find myself spending plenty of time thinking about art and much less time doing it. I want that to change. I don't want to just pursue the idea of art or creativity. I want to embrace and act upon them. 

So, a couple of days ago, I sat down with journal and tea to make a plan. (Just ask April: I love plans. She can tell you, too, that things rarely go according to plan.)

 Across one page I scrawled the words of Andy Warhol:

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if its good or bad whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art."

That's where I'm heading this year. As I create, I know my skills will improve, as will my focus and routine. 

Maybe by the end of 2014 I won't feel so sheepish when I tell people I'm an artist. ;-) 

Adventure well; Live fully. 

HAK