Paris, je t'aime beacoup!

In preparation for my trip to Paris, I purchased a copy of this book. It was absolutely adorable. The pictures, advice, and suggestions were very helpful to me! The best thing about this book is the artist's perspective. I really enjoy sketching while I am traveling especially during my last trip to Europe during August of '09. I sketched a little here and there, but with a couple of art classes under my belt, I've really flourished in my style and confidence.


These are supplies that I picked up at Le Bon Marche - very close to the metro stop and very, very fancy and high end. It was really fun exploring the supplies, paper, and journals. It was hard not to pick up a bunch of things, but since I was trying to be mobile and cost-effective, I just settled on some basics.




On my first night in Paris, I braved the cool, cool windy weather and walked along the Seine to the Musee D'Orsay. This area is very arty because the Ecole des Beaux Arts and various art galleries are nearby, too. Luckily, the museum happened to be open late on Thursday evening. The museum has a lot of more recent artwork from mid 1800s to early 1900s. But, there were a couple of statues that caught my eye. The first one was the one of Jean d'Arc which I sketched. And, the other one was Degas' "Small Dancer Aged 14" which I really took a liking to. I enjoy Degas unfinished style in his ballerina paintings, and I think I can relate to the quickly and fast sketch style that he has.


On a Saturday morning, I went to Centre Pompidu and explored the Le Marais neighborhood. Again another cold and sunny day in Paris and as I shivered I decided to capture the crazy and whimsical statues in the nearby Stravinsky Fountain. It was a nice contrast to the classical statues I was looking at in the M'Orsay and even when I was in Florence and we were examining Michelangelo's David. The fountain was inspired by Stravinksy's song "Rite of Spring." It gave me fond memories of listening to that piece when I was a teenager. I also loved the "Firebird Suite" by the same composer and ended up doing a painting in college inspired by the song. So, I found it rather funny that there is real and respected public art in the world that is inspired by musicians.

After walking through the plaza, I went to the top, top, top floor of Centre Pompidou and caught an amazing view of the city. I could see everything up top: Sacre Cour on top of Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, the typical Parisian rooftops, and the spires of Notre Dame. It was so beautiful.



I really enjoyed the sculptures in Centre Pompidou. It was nice to practice sketching forms and shading. I made an attempt to draw "Deux Negresse" and a woman lounging. (I'm not really sure if Matisse did the lounging woman because it could have been Picasso. I forgot to make note.)

So those are a few special pieces that I thought I'd share on artfullyluxe. I hope you enjoyed reading about my creative adventure. I have a few more that I'd like to share. So, be on the lookout for part deux sooon!

Art Journal Part Deux

Over the holidays, someone gave me a $20 gift card to the Texas Art Supply online store. I ordered a new mixed media journal and new watercolors. I also splurged ($4 - woohoo!) on glitter glue. I've been aching to get some more projects in. And, I haven't been to the studio yet. So, I decided to open up the new journal and just start painting. I like watercoloring pages and using it as a background, clipping images from catalogs and magazines, sprinkling some words and glitter. There is just something so satifying with pulling images, colors and words together.

Musings from My Art Journal

Last night was such a great evening. After enjoying a nice bowl of udon soup and broccoli, I brewed a cup of honey ginseng mint tea, threw on my coffee clothes, and lit two candles on my altar. I grabbed my art journal and a huge stack of paper, pens, colored pencils, and markers.

I listened in on Kimberly Wilson's teleclass entitled, "New Year, New You." And, it was totally divine. Her class is a great way to settle in, relax, and reflect especially after all the holiday craziness and experiencing my first day back at the office. She encouraged us to reflect on 8 areas for the start of this year and also told us to pick a word for 2011.

LEAP! Leap is my word for the year. I think I've been laying low and been a bit stagnant spiritually and creatively. After some setbacks with getting sick and having to postpone my graduate school aspirations for some time, it has been hard for me to overcome some roadblocks. I want 2011 to be the year that I take a big leap and grow in courage and in faith.

For our eight petals, we were motivated to reflect on eight areas. It's so much fun to get out all the colors, sketch a bit, and write.

SELF STUDY- How was 2010? How is the start of the New Year? Where do I want to be by January 2012? I'll definately be working on journaling and envisioning more on this soon. For now, I hope to re-commit to my spiritual growth, indulge in my creativity more, practice my French, and travel to some interesting places. I just see myself stretching and growing more these next few months.

EMBRACE MINDFULNESS- I think this is an excellent way to work on spirituality. I've created a nice altar space in my room with two candles, my vision board, my cross, and other things that make me feel centered. It is a nice area for me to practice prayer. I've also enjoyed my morning meditations and the seated meditations we have been doing in yoga class.

PLAYING YOUR EDGE- I enjoyed the quote by St. Augustine, "The world is a book and thow who do not travel only read one page." I want to feel more challenged, and the only way I can do that is my facing my big dreams (being an artist, going to graduate school, traveling to new places). I also have to honor myself, and take care of what I need to do (exercise, work, relationships).

DOING GOOD- I can't remember the last time I was able to do some volunteerwork. I've been involved with Dress for Success these past few years, but I wonder if there is a new place for me to serve here in Houston.

GET CRAFTY- This has been resonating with me lately. I yearn to be part of a creative community. I have tons of supplies, an art studio, and this blog. I hope to play my edge in this area, and one thing I am planning is a cupcake and crafts party for my girlfriends.

SIGNATURE STYLE- This area focused on your communication style and how you express yourself. Do you send care packages, send thank you notes, and do you add your own flair in your wardrobe and your interactions with others.

SOUL TIME!- This was an important one for me. It encourages us to have our sabbath, plan artist dates, and indulge in downtime. I love her suggestions on bed days, going for a walk, paring down posessions, and using luxe accessories like candles, fresh flowers, and scents.

TAMING YOUR TIME- What ways can I improve the way I use my time? Am I being effective with the time I am given?

Homemade Crafty Christmas

To continue my sewing aspirations, I bought a Betsy Ross clutch pattern from Sew Crafty last month. As a project I thought would be fun to do with my mother around, I brought my fabric and clutch supplies and made this awesome craft for my roommate Jennifer. I really liked the simple and bold black and white pattern with the contrasting red. And, it was amazingly easy to make. I would have used a stiffer interface for the purse just to give it more substance, but overall I was very happy with this holiday gift project.

Crafty Christmas Cheer

I have some photos of me, my brother and my sister. And, I'd really like to do something special with them. One idea would be to create silhouettes for my mother. The Fab Miss B blog also has great instructions and pointers on how to make one on your own. Ugh, I am so ready to get out of the office, stop going to meetings, parties, and dinners and get some creativity done!

sources of inspiration for creativity

Inspiration is something every artist needs! One of my favorite things to do is to go bookstore browsing. Find a good comfy chair, take a stack of magazines (I enjoy Somerset Studio for art, Lucky for fashion, and Self for fitness!), and bust out your iPhone camera. I enjoy seeing how other artists create gifts, paintings, and collages. In the above photo, I placed 8 images that I found to be quite motivating.

* How can you make this day worth living? - I love this one because it resonates with the recent musings I've had with patience and fullness. Is there an idea that you haven't lived out fully? Is there someone you should be reaching out to? Do you have an intention for your day? I also really like the colors and script used in the sign.

* Be nice to yourself. This one is a great reminder. I think it would be cute to put in care packages with something sweet, bath salts, lotion, a candle, and a heating rice bag. It's a reminder to put yourself as a priority. Go to your artist dates! Take that French class you've been thinking about. Get a manicure. Go on a trip!

Sunset I love the sunset or sunrise photo. It reminds me of a few moments where I took the time to take a photo in nature: driving up Mount Haleakala, camping at Lake Livingston, early morning trip to the Grand Canyon, or watching the sunset on Tamarindo Beach. We often forget about the simple beauty of a sunset, but it is one of the most relaxing things to do.

Quiet Time This isn't an image from a magazine, but from my fall retreat. It is so important to pen down thoughts, go somewhere alone in nature or a cafe, and rest. "Morning pages" is the foundation for the Artist's Way and it can be a very life-altering activity.

I will be grateful for this day. What a lovely reminder! Sometimes thinking about what and who you are thankful for can inspire new creative ideas and work. Also it's just good to slow down and think about your abundant life.

Smile on a Stone This photo reminds me of a clip my art teacher showed me last year. There is an artist who creates funny and amusing compositions in nature. I just thought it was rather whimsical because I used to see smiley faces everywhere when I was a child.

Yoga images The last two images just remind me of yoga and being still. Hopefully my recent interest in yoga will spark new things in me.

Sewing Class @ Sew Crafty

Last weekend, I went to my Quick Gifts class at Sew Crafty in the Heights. And, wow, it was so much fun. Since they moved to their new space, they have more room to display product, fabric, fun project kits, and a wassail station with yummy cookies. Jenny Gabriel was our teacher and we were able to pick out some fun fabrics for our projects: a rice bag that you heat up for sore muscles, a small pocket purse, a scarf, and an eyepillow.


We moved upstairs to the sewing room and picked our stations for class. We worked from 1:30pm to 6:30pm. It was so much fun though. I have totally forgotten my machine skills. So, I was a bit rusty on that front and I had this nasty tangle on my scarf project, but it was okay. The other projects turned out really nice. Below is my rice bag, purse, and eye pillow. As a nice touch, they gave us fun bags, tissue ribbon, and cards to wrap our gifts with. My cousin got the rice bag and she really appreciated the fun fabric and the individual packets of rice. So, I think my projects were a success thus far!

I was so inspired by the feedback, I am thinking about making more rice pillows and I bought a clutch project. I am hoping that my mom will be around for me to work on these projects with her this holiday season. :)