For The Love of Art and Design

I love quotes.  When I come across one that is really good, I have to write it down.  I have pieces of paper everywhere with quotes written the right way, side ways, crossways and upside down.  Most of the time I can find what I am looking for, I just can't read everything I have written down.  I have a few that I came across that I thought were a good follow up to yesterday's post.

"Art is like reading a good book, only you decide how it is going to end." -J.Kleykamp

"Design is an opportunity to continue telling the story, not just to sum everything up." - Tate Linden

"Design is intelligence made visible." - Alina Wheeler

"It should not be hard to stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or ashes of a fire or clouds, or mud or like places, in which you may find really marvelous ideas." - Leonardo Da Vinci

I love the last one by Da Vinci.  So when you are out and about this weekend, keep your eyes open wide for ideas in the unexpected places.  Live graciously this weekend.  I will be.  I'll return on Wednesday and tell you all about it.  Go and be inspired.

Living graciously,

Lisa

Do You Need To Satisfy A Craving?

I came across something wonderful for Etsy sellers today, and I knew I just had to share it with y'all.  If you have a craving to be mentally alive, I found something to satisfy.  For those of us that love to read and design, I found a website that brings together books and media as inspiration for art.  This idea is brilliant.  I wish that I thought of it myself, but I didn't.  The website is www.craftybookclub.com.  The book club idea is that artists will read a book every two months and then design one item inspired by that book.  Right now they are accepting votes on books to read up until August 4th, 2010.  There are six choices.  If you are interested, go to the website (the link is above) and see the choices for yourself.  The host has created a link for each book so you can read a summary and then vote on what seems interesting and inspiring to you.  The bonus, besides reading a good book and designing, is added promotion for  your items.  Members will post items in the Crafty Book Club group on Flickr.com, and Etsy sellers tag their items with "crafty book club."  Select items will be featured on the blog each month.  So what do you have to lose?  Nothing, and you get to satisfy your craving at the same time.  "I can't get no SATISFACTION," doesn't apply here.  Oh, and in case you are wondering, I voted for A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.  Go and be satisfied.

Living graciously,

Lisa

Are You Gifted With Style?

Are you gifted with style?  One of the reasons I started this blog is to be able to share with you things that have inspired me in the wide world of creativity.  Not just good design, a good DIY project, what's in/out in the world of fashion, or good food, but all of those things.  I know people in my life or come across people on the web that I am impressed with mainly because they have what I don't, and they inspire me and challenge me to be more creative.  Any one that knows me knows that I love a good challenge.  In my quest for creative inspiration, I came across a website/blog that is absolutely fabulous.  There isn't anything on there that I can say, "I don't like."  The name of it is Design Dazzle, and I have created a link on the right side of my page so you can go and see for yourself how wonderful and inspirational it is.  The host's name is Toni, and she definitely is "gifted with style."  The blog and website are not all of her ideas; she also showcases the talents of parents, moms, designers, decorators and those who have a natural talent for design.  Toni says that the reason Design Dazzle was created was "to bring attention to fabulous room design, decor, awsome kid's parties and creativity for babies, kids, and teens."  On Design Dazzle's website, they feature a "Room of the Month," an "Artist of the Month," and a "Designer of the Month."  There are so many ideas on there, you might want to pace yourself over a few days to soak in all of the good stuff.  My mind started rolling, and I began to dream and create.  On the right side of my page above Design Dazzle's link you will notice that I have a spot for those "gifted with style."  I will only list the ones that I feel stand out in the world of creative style.  That's what I love.  Go and be inspired to create and share your gift of style.

Living graciously,

Lisa

Are Your Senses Being Stimulated?

Do you have a talent?  I came across this quote that I wanted to share with you. "When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'." Are you using your creative talent, or are you stuck in a rut and uninspired?  I think most of us are talented creatively whether it be in art, music, cooking, crafting, writing (the list could go on), but we just don't have the time for things that STIMULATE OUR SENSES.  Sometimes we don't even take the time to be inspired by the things that surround us.  After reading the above quote by Erma Bombeck, it made me stop and think, "Am I using the talent God has given me?"  If you are anything like me, life gets in the way of doing the things that make us feel ALIVE.  I feel most ALIVE and like myself when I am painting, yet I rarely make time to paint.  I hope that when you follow my blog, your SENSES ARE STIMULATED, and you are inspired, inspired to use your talents.

Living graciously,

Lisa