The future has arrived... today

July 6th will mark the official 7 year anniversary of when I started this blog. This week marks the 7 year anniversary of when Hubby and I formally filed and formed our corporation, Rosehaven Cottage Inc. with me as the CEO and him as the VP-of-everything-else. We had the foresight to know that we needed to incorporate and created a corporate "umbrella" for my creative pursuits that would follow... but that's about all we could foresee.  

Seven whole years is the longest I've ever "worked" at one job. I started this creative journey fueled by the creative spark digital photography had re-lit within me after I'd been on a creative hiatus for a while. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do along the way or what I wanted to grow into becoming. I simply knew that I wanted to create beautiful things to be appreciated and consumed visually by others.

I am a classic introvert by nature (as many bloggers are) so I spent years trying to hide behind the moniker "Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage". It was easy to write blog posts about my garden so a large portion of my posts were focused on the outdoor life. Writing about our house, Rosehaven Cottage, was easy too, so I shared some of our DIY adventures here too. The title "Rosehaven Cottage" became synonymous with gardening and home improvement and "Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage" was seen as a "garden blogger". The audience that this blog attracted ended up being more interested in my green thumb and sledgehammer-wielding skills and less about the creative career I was building and very passionate about. 

Like many things in the digital realm, blogging has gone through evolutions and I've seen it go through a few in the seven years I've had this blog. The current trend in blogging is leaning toward catching and retaining readers with slick Pinterest-ready posts full of helpful tips or with attention-getting titles that lure a reader to read the blogger's personal insights, philosophies and musings. Several big-time blogs have had to revamp their way of doing business in order to remain financially viable now that content is often generated on mobile devices that don't accommodate sidebar advertising. They've had to resort to embedded advertising within blog posts to keep generating revenue. And none of that is what I'm really focused on in my "real life".

What is my "real life"? Some of you may already know the answer to that question but some of you may not. Here's the answer...

I am a professional photographer, artist and graphic designer. I am a business owner (technically a "CEO"). My business is about creating visual images that:

• have been licensed to appear on stationery you might have seen when you were shopping for just the right card for a special occasion. 
• are sold as canvases, fine art prints, cards and cell phone cases
• are sold as digital files to other creative professionals that incorporate my work into their own work like websites/blogs, advertising, publications, crafts and derivative art 

For the past several months, I've been at a professional crossroads regarding this blog. I am at an exciting point in my creative career where I am seeing my dreams becoming realities. This is wonderful but it has created a conundrum I've had to face. As a creative professional whose work is of a visual medium, my online presence (some call it "brand") needs to remain professional. My online posts can't just be an open garden journal. They can't be filled with personal musings that I then wish I hadn't published a week after I have. And I also cannot hide behind the moniker "Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage" and be taken seriously by my creative peers and mentors.

This is why I've spent the past couple of months creating and fine-tuning a new online presence at www.CindyGarberIverson.com. It is a cohesive and responsive format so anyone can enjoy it on a smartphone, a tablet or a desktop computer. And I have integrated a blog into the design that I will be posting to regularly as I release new work. Coupled with social media like Instagram (where I'll still share some photographic snippets of what's happening in the garden), I am embarking on a new blogging journey that will be all about my creative pursuits and passions. If you follow me on Pinterest, you can be a fly on the wall as I gather inspiration for new projects and you can watch the early stages of my creative process "real-time" (so if you start to see me pinning lots of photos of vintage sinks you can bet that it has something to do with what I'm working on at the moment).

I'm finally doing it. I'm finally being what I always wanted to be when I grew up. As one of my favorite songs by The All-American Rejects (on the Meet The Robinsons soundtrack) says... the future has arrived!

The future's arrived

Nobody can doubt

The future is what everything's about

It's better for you

It's better for me

It's better than what everybody thought it would be

It's time to create

Time to grow

If you're feeling right

The world

Yeah she's changing

And life's rearranging

Don't it make you feel alive?

The future has arrived

See you over at CindyGarberIverson.com

Marching to the beat of my own drummer... again

Carolynn at A Glowing Ember left a comment on my last blog post that has given me yet another epiphany. (Actually, her comment is the only comment that's been left. And I think I know why.)

First, here's Carolynn's comment:

"It sounds like an interesting read. Author, Barbara Sher offers a different perspective in her book Refuse to Choose. It spoke to me, because I have so many diverse interests and have always felt paralyzed and unable to take action because I felt I had to choose to do just one of them. Her website, www.barbarasher.com has more information on the books she's written."

I read and re-read the above comment. I let it mull in my brain.  Here's what I think...

I think the majority of creatives are like Carolynn describes herself above. The full title of Barbara Sher's book is "Refuse to Choose: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams". Most creatives need permission to pursue anything they want and not have to focus their efforts in order for them to be inspired, bloom and produce beautiful things.

I think that the minority of creatives are like me.  Today, I realized that for my entire life I've thought that if I am capable of doing something well then I was obligated to include it in my repertoire of "what I do". Just as Barbara Sher suggests, my mental script was definitely allowing me to have as many creative pursuits as I wanted.

I believe this mental script is a product of growing up in the unique household I did where the general family motto was (and still is) "How hard can it be?" If you wanted something but were on a tight budget you figured out how to make it yourself. It didn't matter what it was... a fashionable outfit... delicious artisanal french bread... a finely upholstered piece of furniture... a house. It didn't matter. The motto always applied, because, heck, somebody has to make it so why not that "somebody" be me?

Well, there's a downside to that way of approaching life...

Since I have been encouraged to be proficient in many things, from tiling my own shower to sewing my own clothes, when it came to my artistic pursuits my repertoire has become unwieldy, unmanageable and paralyzing. I currently sit in a studio surrounded by the supplies to make just about anything imaginable. I have bookmaking supplies to make and bind a book from scratch (and I mean "scratch"). I have every kind of paint in every color you could slap on a canvas or piece of paper with the proper paint brushes for each medium (I've got the blank canvases and paper too). I have sketchbooks full of illustration sketches that still are waiting to be finalized and brought into being in full technicolor and idea notes hanging on my bulletin board reminding of me of illustrations that don't even have sketches yet. I have enough supplies to provide the floral arrangements for an entire wedding and not have to buy anything but the flowers. And the sad thing is that most of what I've just listed remains in its original packaging untouched and unused.

Why?

That's the place I've been at for quite some time now... the place of "Why?"

If I have a dedicated studio and all the supplies I could possibly imagine, why am I not creating something with them? Why am I seemingly paralyzed?

Now anyone following my blog all this time is probably thinking, "You weren't paralyzed. You were posting photos and creating stationery designs all this time. You were creating like crazy!"

Notice that my case of creative paralysis affected every creative pursuit in my life except photography and stationery design. Every time I've felt like I'm drowning in all the creative projects and supplies that remain untouched, I have retreated to the place that makes me the happiest and still lets me feel the gratification of creating something--the "go to" creative outlet of photography and/or stationery design.

Yes, I'm probably the odd ball for having given myself too much creative permission (it wouldn't be the first time I'm an odd ball). I'm also probably in the minority among creatives when the thought of narrowing down my creative pursuits to only two focuses feels like the most liberating and freeing act I've done in a long time.

Yup... the more I think about it, I really am an odd bird.

This male Anna's hummingbird didn't crash into the water fountain, he isn't dead and he isn't taking a nap...
he's taking a rather vigorous bath and loving every moment of it.

I have no affiliation with the book mentioned in this post.

I don't receive any compensation for having mentioned the book.

I don't receive any compensation for you clicking the link 
that I've provided for your convenience.

Learning about when to quit and when to stick

In less than a month, this blog will have been in existence for 6 whole years. When the blog came into being, so did my business, Rosehaven Cottage Inc. (even though our home had been "Rosehaven Cottage" for quite some time before either). Six years is the longest I've ever worked at any "job". This is a huge milestone for me.

Last week, I started listening to an audible book by Seth Godin called "The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)" (it's in printed form too). I have several of Seth Godin's books in hard copy, so when I saw the title of this one I was very intrigued and asked Hubby if it was available on Audible.com. Hubby has credits built up in his Audible.com account and downloaded the book for both of us to enjoy.

Anyway...

I started listening to the book during my time sitting out on the chaise lounge in the shade of the oleander and wisteria in the late afternoon and evening. While hummingbirds would flit down to the bird fountain for a last bath before bedtime, I was listening the book through my iPhone propped on my front with the speaker turned down so only I could hear it.

What have I discovered about myself as I've listened to the book's insights? Actually a great deal. But there have been some epiphanies that have been particularly important.

I've realized that it is okay that my passion is photography--that even though I'm capable of drawing, painting, illustrating and lots of other art forms it is okay for me to devote all my creative energy to photography. I don't have to do all of them. In fact, doing more actually dilutes my efforts. And it's okay to quit the things that dilute my energy.

I've also realized that what I happen to be passionate about is also what resonates the most with my audience. The vehicle I use to make my work usable by my audience is stationery designs (online, printed and printable stationery). And the designs that include some element of my nature, floral or "life vignette" photography and my digitally manipulated vintage paper ephemera are the ones that are the most popular.

And guess what...

Those are the pieces that I've derived the most enjoyment from during the creative process! Huzzah! Interesting isn't it?

So I've concluded that I'm "quitting" all the other creative pursuits that I kept thinking I needed to maintain in order to be "diversified". It turns out diversification is not necessarily a good thing. And "quitting" isn't always a bad thing or a sign of failure. Sometimes it is the wise and smart option.

Many of you are part of my creative community. I'd like your thoughts on this. Over time what creative passions have you chosen to focus on and be passionate about? How has that resonated with those that appreciate your work?

I have no affiliation with the book mentioned in this post.

I don't receive any compensation for having mentioned the book.

I don't receive any compensation for you clicking the link 
I've provided for your convenience.

Early blooming rudbeckia... why couldn't I have been like you?

A patch of rudbeckia blooms early this year--probably because it overwintered quite well and didn't have to play catch up.

How I wish I didn't always feel like I was always playing catch up.

I listen to podcasts of accomplished creative twenty-somethings. I often find myself thinking, "Why couldn't I have been that together at that age? Why couldn't I see what I really wanted... no, needed to be?"

Old enough to be a mother to many of them, I feel like I'm only beginning to emerge...

A reluctant late-bloomer, I feel so behind.

Self-talk riddled with "should have's" clogs my thoughts. Hubby says I'm "should-ing" all over myself. He's right. I know it. Yet I can only make the "should-ing" go away for short periods of time before it's back jamming up my creative senses to the point where I can't hear anything but their clamor.

It is then that I retreat to photography...

Eight years ago, it was photography that pulled me from the dark abyss I had entered when I abandoned all creative and artistic pursuits and swore I wouldn't try again. After 10 years of trying to "make it", I had been rejected by so many gatekeepers and curators of the world of creative professionals that I couldn't do it anymore. I had determined I was not talented enough or educated enough to rub shoulders with those that called themselves "professional artists". I figured I had missed the boat by not getting my act together in my early twenties. I concluded it was my own stupid fault and, despite the ache inside, I had to accept this self-imposed sentence. I was bruised and my dreams had been crushed so many times, I decided to quash them altogether.

But eight years ago, walking along a beach on the north shore of Oahu with a little Sony Cybershot digital camera in my hand, I let my photographic passion come out to play. The place (one I consider to be a personal safe haven), the moment and nature combined forces and reached out to the part of me locked deep inside--so deep I thought it wasn't there anymore. There was enough of a spark to start a small flame, and as I allowed myself to fan the flame it grew progressively brighter as the months passed.

In the years since then, I've often thought that photography was just the entry point to get me back on the creative track.

But maybe I'm wrong...  maybe photography is my destination and not a stop along the journey.

Maybe that is why when the "should-ing" in my head becomes overwhelming, I retreat to photography and not drawing or painting.

When I look at it that way, then I don't feel so far behind. I don't feel like such a late bloomer. I don't feel out of step or weighed down with thoughts of, "You should have done something long before now..."

Why? I don't know. It just is. And photography takes me there.

Cherry parfait roses and Instagram

Hubby is even more of a techie geek than I am (yes, that is possible), so he's often an early adopter of new technology in the world of social media. When Twitter entered the scene, Hubby was there signing on with an early account. When Google+ was there to challenge Facebook's share of the market, Hubby was signing up for an account. So, it stands to reason, when Instagram first made it's debut, Hubby was there with an early account. After he "played" with each one to see if it had value, he would encourage me to sign up for my own account on each.  I have often ended up being a "semi-early" adopter through his influence. In the case of Instagram, I was excited about it until Facebook bought the company. That soured me on the idea and I removed the app from my iPhone...

...until a couple of weeks ago.

I was at the wedding of two good friends who are great amateur photographers and Instagram users. At regular intervals throughout the reception, Hubby was taking photos with his iPhone and then post-processing them on the spot. Periodically, he'd show me his creations. Then he'd quickly post them to Instagram. I was intrigued. So I started playing with taking some photos at the reception. I had to load the Instagram app back on my iPhone so I could play with post-processing photos I was taking. Before I knew it, I found myself deeply immersed in the creatively inspirational world of Instagram.

This isn't the first time this has happened.

Several years ago, I had a similar phenomenon happen when I was corresponding with a fellow photographer blogger, Jen at Muddy Boot Dreams, whose work I greatly admire. She offhandedly mentioned how much of an inspiration the Flickr community was for her creativity. I took her advice and joined the world of Flickr. She was right. I found myself feeling like I was in a master's class of photography on a global scale. It was wonderfully inspiring for me and pushed me in my work and my creative eye. I ended up adopting new techniques of post-processing which led to me finding a completely new way of digitally painting my photos. It opened up a whole creative world for me. All because I acted on the advice of a fellow blogger.

I am finding that Instagram is doing the same for me. I am pushing my photographic eye and my creativity at just the right time when I feeling like I needed to be more creatively challenged.

There are some Instagrammers (IG'ers) who are iPhone only contributors that are really pushing themselves creatively. I have to admit, I'm not quite that brave... yet. My Instragram gallery is a mixture of shots from my DSLR cameras and iPhone. Maybe someday I'll take the brave leap into iPhone only.

For now, I'm thrilled to be discovering the work of some really brilliant IG'ers. Some are also bloggers, so I've gotten the bonus of discovering some beautiful blogs along this journey!

If you'd like to join me on Instagram click here

The roses featured in this post are "Cherry Parfait" all from the same bush. This is the most spectacular display it's put on since I planted it probably about 4 or so years ago.

Yeah, this is how geeky we really are... we sit around thinking up stuff like this

illustration by Cindy Garber Iverson

Sometimes it's hard to believe some things are possible

I've long been a fan of digital collage artists and designers such as Wendy Paula at Mulberry Muse (I've admired Wendy's French-inspired work for years), but I never had the courage to try my hand at it... until today.

Possessing the technical knowledge (and tools) necessary to build a collage piece hasn't really been my issue. The process of finding just the right vintage illustrations to combine together just always seemed daunting. I just didn't believe I could actually do it. I finally decided last night I should just try it--determining that if I failed, I could fail privately and no one would know the difference.

I really wanted to do something Christmas-y. I found a lovely antique fashion plate of a woman in gown trimmed in red. That was a good start.

Then I had to put in her a setting. I wanted something a bit on the whimsical and fanciful side. I thought it would be neat to have her walking through a snowy forest. I went over the Graphics Fairy blog to hunt around and see if she had anything I could use. She did! What I found was a bonus, because I had also envisioned incorporating a reindeer or moose image too.

As I set to work on the long process of digitally restoring, enhancing, and altering the antique images, a story began to form in my mind. Here's the story that unfolded as the digital collage came to fruition...

On Christmas Eve, the annual festive holiday ball was being held at the estate of one of the wealthiest families in the county. Close to midnight, the belle of the Christmas ball walked out onto the veranda for some air. 

Just off the veranda was a pretty-ish sort of wilderness. The newly fallen snow reflected the light of the full moon and glistened back at the twinkling lights of the ballroom.  

As the belle stood alone at the edge of the veranda, she thought she heard the soft jingle of sleigh bells coming from within the forest. Her ears must be deceiving her, she thought. The horses and sleighs that had carried all the guests to the ball were housed in the stables far away on the other side of the estate. 

The belle was flushed from dancing and the glowing fire in the hearth of the ballroom. She didn't feel the chilly nip in the air on her bare arms as she stepped off the veranda into the edge of the woods to investigate.  

Only a few steps into the snow-covered thicket, she was greeted by a timid yet curious reindeer. She should have been frightened, but she was not. Why she wasn't, she didn't know--she just knew she was enveloped by a calm serenity. The reindeer lowered its head and gently nuzzled the belle's outstretched gloved hand. 

Just then the belle heard a rustle and the faint jingle of sleigh bells again. From behind a tree not far away, she thought she heard a soft and jolly baritone chuckle. 

"Could he really be real?" she asked herself, "Can I really believe?" 

Free ecards or invites

Personalized Christmas cards

Being a stationery designer means I have to think about a holiday long before everyone else does

I've said it before... I love designing stationery. There's only one downside to it. I have to be thinking about a holiday LONG before everyone else. I have to be in a "Christmas-y mood" months before I necessarily feel like it.

I try to release at least one new design for every major holiday every year. This year I've had a design in mind for my 2012 Christmas release for quite some time now. The problem was the more I mulled it around in my head, the more elaborate it got. After I discovered the fantastic paper art of Kevin Kidney, the design in my head got even more elaborate (click here to check out his great blog post on making a Christmas poster). It reached a point where I intended on handcutting every element of the design out of paper, mounting it just right, lighting it just right and then photographing it.

Then visions of trying to do all of this with the "help" of my feline studio companions, combined with their stray hairs and the inevitable creative meltdown that would ensue started to pervade my thoughts.

I was at a creative standstill (it happens to me often). So the design wasn't getting done and the time to release something in time for people to use it for the 2012 holiday season loomed closer.

Yesterday, I finally decided to break down and just do it. I figured I could create a similar look digitally (it wouldn't be near as cool as Kevin Kidney's, but OH WELL!).

I ended up visualizing the pieces the same as if I was going to cut them out of paper, except I created them as digital vector shapes instead. I did all the letters in Illustrator (a major feat for me) and then brought them into PS3 and did the Santa shapes with the rudimentary vector tools in PS3 and was just as happy with the result (if not happier).

Once I had finalized the art. I started incorporating it into various layout versions for different stationery styles.

First, a simple no-message layout for sending as a free ecard at pingg.com (for an added fee you can have it delivered in a cute digital envelope like the one below):

Then I did a layout to send as a free photo ecard at pingg.com so people can add their own photo to personalize it:

I did another version of the layout so someone could include a personalized message on the free ecard at pingg.com:

Pingg.com also does a cool printing and mailing service called "postal pinggs" (click here to learn more about "postal pinggs"). So for people who want to send out printed Christmas cards, all my above pingg layouts can be sent that way by pingg.com.

And, finally, I did a layout for a printed photo card for my zazzle shop, Rosehaven Cottage Stationers:

If anyone is interested in a DIY personalized printable file, I will make that available too.

Now my 2012 Christmas design is finally out of my head and available for other people to enjoy. You can't imagine what a huge relief this is for me. Now I can sit back and look forward to Thanksgiving instead of being haunted by visions of paper Santas being pawed at and chewed by naughty kitties... just a tad different from the sublime visions of sugar plums dancing in one's head.

Swallowtails, palms and why procrastination is sometimes a good thing for an artist

"Swallowtail on lilac" by Cindy Garber Iverson
digitally painted photograph
Fine art reproductions available here 

Around here it's still too hot outside to start the big garden projects Hubby and I have lined up. Based on the weather forecast, we'll probably have to wait until the first of November to get a cool down significant enough to go out and start moving big rocks, digging post holes with an auger and breaking a sweat. No one wants to do that when it's threatening to be 90F (32C).

And lest anyone think this is due to global climate change... it isn't. This is typical for October.

"Queen palm" by Cindy Garber Iverson
digitally painted photograph
Fine art reproductions available here 

Because our days are shorter now, I don't get the lovely twilight hours I get during the summer to putter in the garden. So that means I'm mostly inside in the studio creating and keeping busy.

I've been creating some "for fun" pieces the past couple of days. It's nice when I can just hunt around in my photo archives and pull something that strikes me fancy. Then I bring it into Photoshop and start to play. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's just nice to have my stylus in my hand making "brushstrokes" and digitally painting something. I find it therapeutic. I have lots of time to get lost in my own thoughts and ponder things. It's a form of meditation for me.

And sometimes I'll have something that I got about two-thirds of the way done years ago and then never got back to finishing for one reason or another. Like this...

Send this as a free ecard here

I don't know why I never got around to finalizing it, but I'm glad it stayed in the archives for the past few years. I've learned more about my digital tools since then and have a better idea of how I like to use them to achieve a certain style. Because I waited on this, I was able to finalize a version that I think is more representative of what I do now in that style. Had I pushed myself and finalized it back then, it would have ended up as one of those pieces that I would always look at and say, "Eeew. That's definitely a practice portfolio piece." I have too many of those already. I'm glad this didn't become another one. Trust me. It would have based on what it looked like when I reopened it earlier today.

The swallowtail butterfly photograph (above top) was a photo I took 5 years ago and didn't really do anything with. Again, because I waited, I know my tools and my own style better now then I did then. I can create something now that I wouldn't have even ventured to create back then. I didn't know how, and I couldn't have envisioned at all.

Then there's the case of a photo like the one of the palm tree (above middle). I took that only a month ago when visiting my brother and sister-in-law. They have gorgeous queen palms lining their backyard. I took the photograph, got it home and wasn't impressed with the backlit result I'd gotten. It wasn't until I had the time to just play with it yesterday that I happened upon the right post-processing techniques for that particular image. If I'd pushed it when I first took the photo (and was busy with other creative work for clients), I probably wouldn't have gotten the result I wanted.

Sometimes procrastination pays off.

Solving the conundrum of sharing the fruits of my labors

Over the years, I've noticed a phenomenon with my blog. When I post about "life stuff", readers leave comments or send me a private email. But when I post about "work stuff"... well... it's like in the cartoons when you only hear the sound of crickets. I don't know why that is but it has made me reticent to post anything about my professional creative pursuits. 

Here's my problem... a huge part of who I am is that creative professional. Being creative and running my design studio takes up most of my day. I spend hours on end in my home studio. So when it comes time to blog, I'm always faced with this conundrum of whether I share anything that I'm doing and risk the "sound of crickets". 

Consequently, my blog posts end up representing only a fraction of who I am. Yes, I am a nature lover and steward over a small backyard wildlife habitat. Yes, I am also a survivor of some serious DIY projects.  

But I am more.

Here's an example of what has happened to me many times. I'll be in a conversation with someone in person, and they'll mention my blog as something they enjoy reading. Then they'll ask, "So what do you do for work? Anything other than work in the garden?"

*sigh* [my conundrum has once again reared its ugly head]

Or here's another example that's happened more times than I can count. I'll be in a conversation with someone in person and suddenly they'll say, "You're a graphic designer?!?! You design stationery?!?! I had no idea. So-and-so just ordered their wedding invitations. I wish I'd known. You probably could have designed exactly what they wanted instead of what they settled for."

Again... *sigh*

I thought of a potential solution. Add a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page to this blog. So that's what I did. Look up at the top right and you'll see the "FAQ" link. In some of my answers in the FAQ, I include a link to my newly created "Design services and fees" page (or click here to see it). I hope you'll take time to go visit what I've written. 

Oh... I guess I should add (just for the record)... I am a designer, illustration artist, and photographer. Rosehaven Cottage Inc. is the name of my design studio where I create beautiful custom stationery, custom web elements, logos and just about anything else graphic design related.  That's what I "do for work". And, yes, I design invitations and other stationery. So don't ever settle for something that kind of looks like what you want when I can design something that looks like the invitation of your dreams.

And hopefully after I post this I won't get the "sound of crickets" as a response.

My photo "Land of milk and honey" led me to some creative epiphanies

The "recipe" for the above photo "Land of milk and honey":

Used my own textures Emerald Isle at 35% Soft Light and 

Lace Camisole at 65% Screen with strategic erasing

A couple of years ago, I was just getting into the groove of creating photographic art using techniques I'd developed through trial and error while learning Photoshop CS3. The above image is one that I produced back then (some of you may recognize it). The past couple of weeks, I've been revisiting this image in order to turn it into a suite of wedding stationery (hence this post).

When I first started honing the technique I now think of as digitally painting a photograph, I wasn't being conventional in my use of Photoshop.  I use what is known in Photoshop vernacular as "destructive" techniques of erasing, burning (darkening), and dodging (lightening) directly on the layers of an image instead of using masks that were "non-destructive". I couldn't get my head around mask layers (still can't). I think it's because I need to see the result of every stroke of my stylus as I make it the way I see the result of every stroke of the paintbrush when I paint traditionally.

Secretly, I've felt like I'm "cheating", haunted with thoughts like, "If other Photoshop users knew what I was doing they'd be appalled because I'm using this tool the wrong way!"

Over time, I realized I'm not "destroying" anything with my technique, because I always work on duplicates of the original photo layer. Using the word "destructive" is... well... destructive.

When I decided to think of what I do as "strategic" erasing instead of "destructive" it changed my perspective. I've come to the conclusion that if it works for me, then it's okay. No one is here in my studio staring over my shoulder going "tsk tsk".  The result is what matters. And if my techniques free me to create something I couldn't create otherwise, then I say, "So what?!?!"

It seems that life lessons I learn often come around full circle. Just as I had to get over a mental hurdle with embracing my way of digitally painting photographs, I've recently had to get over the mental block I've had about creating suites of wedding stationery. And the above photo is what led me through that journey.

Imagine me being a stationery designer but having a mental block about creating suites of wedding stationery! I'd tackle and conquer the designing and layout of a wedding invitation no problem. But when it came to designing the coordinating stationery (e.g., save-the-date cards, enclosure cards, response cards, etc.), I'd just poop out. I'd get a bad case of creative ADD and frolic on to the next pretty and shiny creative project that came along. Doing the layout of the same art again and again seemed too repetitive. And repetition=boring.

I decided that wedding stationery wasn't really my thing. I'd do other stuff instead.

That only worked for so long until I was approached by someone asking me to specifically design suites of wedding stationery for a new online venture in which they wanted me to be a featured designer. Talk about a good swift kick in the butt. It was time for me to get over the hurdle that I'd been avoiding.

In most of my creative pursuits I engage in a great deal of "mulling"--a process of thinking and thinking about something and letting it form in my mind. That's what I did.

I mulled...

and mulled...

and mulled.

If not reined in, mulling can transform from a stage in the creative process to a stage in the procrastination process. It almost happened that way for me this time. Fortunately, the image of "Land of milk and honey" swirled around in my head in all that mulling and began to form into stationery designs that intrigued me so much I had to get them out onto the computer and see them come to life.


Click the image to see everything larger

Click here to see the e-vite version I did for pingg.com

Again, when I changed my perspective from thinking of designing a wedding suite as a "repetitive" process into thinking of the process as "evolutionary"... things changed. The creative ADD went away and was replaced with a fervent creative drive that kept me at the computer designing (often into the night). Nothing really changed except my perspective and the accompanying vocabulary with which I approached the creative task.

It's made me think... what else in my life could be approached with a slightly different "vocabulary" that would make all the difference? I suspect quite a lot.

What about you? Has this experience ever happened for you?

Artful Blogging

I was experiencing a particularly rough spell back in January, when out of the blue I received an email from the editor of Stampington/Somerset Studio's Artful Blogging magazine telling me they would like to feature my blog in an upcoming issue.

I felt it was a wonderful miracle sent to lift my spirits.

There have been many times that I've stood in the bookstore gently flipping through the pages of the latest issue of Artful Blogging soaking in the wonderful images. Having my blog featured there seemed like something totally unattainable--too lofty a dream to even hope for.

I don't know how the magazine's editor found my blog. I don't know what prompted her to want to feature my blog and reach out to me. But I do know that the timing was impeccable and perfect.

I went through the process of writing the article needed for the feature. Then I had to choose a selection of images that were my favorites as well as provide hi-res copies of images the editor had requested after seeing them on my blog. I had a deadline... it was in February. The Summer issue wouldn't be out until May.  That translates to two things I'm not good at: waiting and patience.

Earlier this week, I was having a particularly rough day after coming out of a fatigue episode that has lasted over a month. It has left me emotionally raw.  Lately, tears have come easily for seemingly minor reasons.

And then a little miracle arrived in the mail--my advance copy of the Summer issue of Artful Blogging. On top was a piece of paper that read:

Congratulations!

 You've been published in Artful Blogging

We would like to congratulate you on being published and hope you enjoy this complimentary copy that you can share with family and friends before it hits the newsstands! We wish you the best of luck with your artistic endeavors and hope you will continue to share your creations with us.

Despite feeling self-conscious, a bit numb and still in a state of disbelief, I'm doing what they suggest. I'm sharing with all of you--my family and friends.

P.S. The Summer issue will be available at bookstores and retailers May 1st.

Orchids and dragonflies

There are many things I can grow in my garden, but one thing I can't grow is orchids.

However, my mom (who lives in a different micro-climate in the Bay Area) has the good fortune of having the perfect sheltered outdoor setting to grow cymbidium orchids where they are sheltered from frost in the winter and the hot rays of the sun in summer.

I was beyond delighted yesterday when she dropped by our cottage for a visit and brought me a sprig of yellow cymbidium orchid buds beginning to bloom!

Today, I took the opportunity to photograph them. In my mind, I could see the exact framing I wanted... the lighting... everything. It was just a matter of replicating what I saw in my head. Sometimes that's pretty difficult. Fortunately, this time the process of converting my mental image to a photograph wasn't too bad.

And once I got the photographing done, of course I had to "play" and create a digitally painted photo with it that I could use as the base for a new stationery design.

I wanted a sort of "zen" feel to the finished image... something restful with a strong sense of nature woven through it in a subtle way. As I worked on it, I decided that dragonflies were a must. I used a very old Japanese silk painting for reference and drew minimalist dragonflies to overlay faintly in the background. Little by little it took shape until I was seeing on the computer screen something similar to the image from my head. When I can successfully make that transition it makes all the painstaking effort worth it.

The above image is available as a free e-card or e-vite at pingg

This image is also available on customizable printed invites

Enter Lady Spring

I was laying in bed last week just beginning to wake up, when I had an image come into my head. It was the image of a Marie-Antoinette-type woman whose big bouffant hair became clouds. The more I thought about her, the more she formed in my mind until I finally had to go into the studio and sketch her out (that doesn't happen very often for me). Since then, I've been working on her when I can. Despite missing the first day of spring, I finally completed her today.

The composition is a symbolic representation of the entrance of spring and reads from left to right with the beginning of spring (March) being on the left progressing through to the end of spring (May and June) on the right. I wanted to represent how spring comes in chilly and ends with beautiful blue skies. I did this in two ways. First, I made her dress a lighter grey on the left-hand side with the dress becoming a deeper blue as the eye moves right. Second, the movement in the background on the left represents the wind and bluster of spring's beginnings and then the calm tranquil background on the right represents what late spring is like.

I adorned Lady Spring with blossoms from the spring garden. The trim on her dress is made up of hundreds of almond blossoms (the first flower of spring). The almond blossom petals are carried on the winds of March which are represented by the fan she carries. Lady Spring also has crocus, periwinkle, jonquils, lilacs, daffodils, roses, and tulips adorning her gown.

Lady Spring is followed by her puffy grey tabby as a nod to the old adage "March comes in like a lamb, and goes out like a lion". Kitty has her own little adornments of spring blossoms around the base of her tail--jonquils and almond blossoms.

I did the entire composition digitally in Photoshop from beginning to end (even the first sketching that I usually do in pencil on paper). I used a lot of new techniques I haven't used before too. Usually when I do that, I'm not very happy with the result because the methods are so new, but this time the art came out just like I was seeing it in my head. That's a sign to me that I'm making creative progress.

"Enter Lady Spring" is available in fine art prints, canvases & greeting cards by clicking here

I'm finally publicly sharing my Disney California Poppy Series paintings

Over four years ago Hubby and I visited Disneyland. While there we stopped in the art gallery on Main Street and ended up having a very long chat with the cast member who worked in the gallery about the paintings on display that were beautiful interpretations of classic Disney characters by various artists employed by Disney. It was wonderful to see the iconic characters revisited through the eyes of each artist. That conversation fanned the embers of the dormant creativity that was beginning to burn inside me again. As we wandered through Disney California Adventure later in the day, I conceived the idea of doing a series of mixed media shadowboxes that incorporated my own watercolor interpretations of different classic Disney characters into compositions with California poppies and call it my Disney California Poppy Series.

The first I created was Tinkerbell. It was a first in another way too because it was the first time I had painted with watercolors in a very long time. I reproduced the original painting into hi-res prints that I handcut, layered, glued to wood blocks, and embellished to create the shadowbox art below.

The Tinkerbell shadowbox hangs on my studio wall today as a reminder of what motivated me to begin creating and painting again.

I painted and created a shadowbox with Snow White next.

In order to have copies for my portfolio that I was slowly populating I also created digital versions of the shadowbox art in Photoshop (which is what you see above).

But I didn't share my work publicly. I guess I thought that because it was connected to Disney that I couldn't. I figured that unless I was an official licensed Disney artist I wouldn't ever be able to share my work with others beyond my family and close friends. So I've kept my paintings private for all these years. That insecurity about sharing them eventually led to me abandoning the rest of the series all together. I put away the many sketches that were all ready and waiting for me to paint them and bring them to life with full color.

Since that time, I've watched as social networking platforms such as Pinterest have caused an upsurge in the sharing of art. As I've nosed around I've come across many beautiful reinterpretations of Disney characters (click here to see some). Some of my favorites have been of the iconic character Mary Poppins (click here to see some).

It finally hit me that I probably should share my own work even if I wasn't an official licensed Disney artist!

That's the first big leap I'm taking with this post. The second big leap is that I'm also sharing a work-in-progress that I need to finish (something I rarely do). It's always been hard for me to share unfinished works or rough drafts of anything. I drove my college art history professors crazy because I'd never want to show them my papers in rough form. If I was ever a published author (something I'd like to be someday) I'd probably drive my editors nuts too, so I really need to overcome this tendency.

So taking my cues from illustrators I admire, and I am sharing a piece of art before it is complete.

This is Alice on a Golden Afternoon in the California Poppy Series. I'm thinking she won't become a shadowbox. Instead I'll complete the painting of each character and then digitally marry them against a background I paint once I know what I want.

Picking up where I left off after years of a hiatus is going to be tricky, but I think I can do it. Alice is my next big creative hurdle I must clear. Wish me luck.

Introducing... The Merrilee Esther Nature Collection

Last Friday night, Hubby and I went out to dinner with a couple whom I hadn't met yet in person although Hubby had. We sat in a cozy local Italian place chatting and eating delicious authentic Italian food. It was one of those meetings when I felt like I really hadn't met someone new. It helped that because of Hubby we had been Facebook friends prior to the dinner. But there was something else in the ease in which the conversation flowed. It was very nice.

One of my newfound friends is the reason for this new collection I'm featuring. Like me, Merrilee is a nature lover through and through. And she graciously asked if I would like to offer some of her nature photography as free digital downloads at the Rosehaven Cottage Digital Download Shop. Of course I said yes!

Named after her, The Merrilee Esther Nature Collection will hopefully grow over time. The first set Bark and Branches and the second set Water and Waves are now available to download for FREE to use as desktop images, scrapbooking backgrounds, Photoshop textures or anything else creative you can think up. You can pick and choose which ones you want to download out of each set.

To receive announcements when future sets are released, "like" Rosehaven Cottage Inc. on Facebook or follow Rosehaven Cottage Inc. on Twitter.


Oh... and by the way... Merrilee is also the proprietor of Life Is But A Dream - Cupcakes and More. Click below to see some of her delectable desserts.

Finding creative motivation through flickr

"The County Fair"
collage created for flickr Creative Challenge group's weekly challenge "Collages"

One my greatest sources of inspiration are the creative communities that exist at flickr. There's a group for just about every niche, hobby or interest you can imagine. And within those groups are wonderfully talented individuals that "gather" to share and support others with like interests.

Not very long ago, a new group was formed by a very talented woman whose flickr handle is Simply Hue (aka Vicki Dvorak from the blog Simply Hue). The group is simply entitled Creative Challenge. As a challenge group, the purpose is to "motivate us as artists, photographers, and designers to keep our work fresh and new". Vicki presents a challenge each week and if we choose, we can share our own interpretation of that challenge theme.

This week's challenge was simply "collages" with no boundaries other than that. Last week was "your favorite color" with the only rules being "post anything (illustrations, collages, photos, mixed media work) that includes your favorite color! The work you submit should have about 75 percent of your favorite color with a few other colors sprinkled in" (my interpretation to last week's challenge is found below).

I've mentioned several times that being part of the flickr community is a lot like being in a master of arts seminar. I feel enlivened by the work of others, inspired by their views of the world, and buoyed up in my own creative attempts by their kind comments and insights on my own work. Flickr has been responsible for a great deal of my creative growth over the past couple of years. I can safely say that without it I probably wouldn't have pushed myself and discovered new styles of creative communication. I am so grateful for the technology that makes this wonderful phenomenon possible!

"My Favorite Color: Ballet Slipper Pink"
created for flickr Creative Challenge group's weekly challenge "Your Favorite Color"