Theme 47: Orange Blossoms

How you choose to interpret the theme is completely up to you. It simply needs to be tasteful – no pornography or messages of hate here. When you sit down to create, you cannot think about how people will or will not receive your work. You are required to simply enjoy the act of creating.

Image by Judy Epstein




Important Guidelines


The work submitted must be something you have created and/or worked on between the time the theme was revealed and the Thursday unveiling. Please submit your response to Natasha@creativenachos.com no later than end of day Wednesday, March 3rd if you would like it to be posted on Thursday, March 4th. OR send me a link to your response to include in the comments section of the post.




With your response please include:

1. Your name - either first name, shop name or both.

2. The name of your piece (if you choose to give it one)

3. Something you'd like to share (process of creation, idea behind piece) if you'd like to share anything. Please limit this to 2-3 sentences

4. The shop and/or blog links you'd like to include

5. Two photos of your piece or of each of the pieces (3x5 or 4x6 and 72dpi or a max of 96dpi - if you need any help with that please don't worry I'd be happy to help!)


Most importantly, enjoy what blossoms in your imagination!

The Tropics as Seen Through the Eyes of Talented, Creative Artists

What I enjoyed about this theme was the unique road each artist traveled down while creating their pieces. Some drew from memory, others from wonderings but all found an idea that spoke to them and then brought it to life. I'm so moved by the vision each artist shared here; each inspired me to think about the tropics, color and the creation of art in a new way. Thank you to each person for this amazing gift.

Now, please join me on a tour of the tropics.......




Amanda, creator of Persistent Green, created this mixed media artwork (tissue paper, acrylics, gloss gel, watercolor, oil pastel)titled, "Wild Flower."

"My husband and I went on a soul-stirring trip to Mexico with his parents in 2007. One of my absolute favorite parts was the lush, wild growth everywhere--including pink and green flowers so perfect and colorful they just had to be fake (nope). This week, I remembered those flowers and thought about how you and I are just like them--brilliant, blooming, and full of life."

http://persistentgreen.blogspot.com/
http://persistentgreen.etsy.com/

Maureen, a talented artist, created this striking piece.

"AnnieMae often likes to fly through a tropical forest, tucked deep and safe within the wings of her favorite ginormous butterfly . . . look close, up by the eyes . . I think those luscious lashes are AnnieMae's," said Maureen.

http://aquamaureens.blogspot.com/














Althea, creator of Salvaged Expression, created this gorgeous piece.

"Thanks to some coral that Bird so generously provided I bring you "Back to the Sea". I put glitter on the coral to give it a wet frothy look and then added the large turquoise wire," said Althea. "I'm really happy with this piece if not the photos in the near dark of a western Pennsylvania February!"

http://salvagedexpression.etsy.com/













Felicia Kramer, creator of Another Bright Idea, created these sensational pieces titled, “Pretty in paradise” and “Lazy lizard”.

"I’m not sure what led me to tropical critters for this theme, except that I was thinking about how different tropical islands are from everywhere else," said Felicia. "Even their birds, animals, insects and vegetation are unique to them, and certainly nothing like that is ever found in my backyard! Right now in my backyard there’s nothing but a lot of snow!"

www.etsy.com/shop/anotherbrightidea
http://www.feliciakramer.blogspot.com/













Teri, creator of Giraffelabel, created this phenomenal ROSE shoulder bag.

"I've been wanting to try working with this type of waterproof fabric for a long time, so this theme and my visions of going to the beach gave me the freedom to do it," said Teri. "The outer fabric is heavyweight cotton and the lining is waterproof. Perfect for the summertime!"

http://www.giraffelabel.etsy.com/














Kris, creator of Lisianblue, created this fantastic piece.

"Pink and green is one of my favorite color combinations, and I knew just what I wanted to work on," said Kris. "Meet "Flower", she isn't for sale, she's for my granddaughter. Needs a little touch up and eyes finished still. Working out a Yoda bunny for my grandson!"

shop: http://lisianblue.artfire.com/

















Trina, creator of Woven Chains Jewelry, created this fabulous piece.

"These are really tough colors for me, and this week has just been one of those strange weeks," said Trina. "In fact, there is only one earring here because I ran out of rings halfway through the second! I guess you'll have to imagine that I lost the other one somewhere in the Tropical Paradise!!! I sure hope all of you had a better week than I did, and I'm making sure that next week will be a great one for me."

http://wovenchains.etsy.com/












Natasha, creator of DoodleStar, created these two pieces.

When I started out, I thought my focus would be more tropical but what soon became apparent was my need to play with the colors. The Princess piece was created for my little one who wanted my character to do something "Princess-y". The second is another version of poem I created for my husband. I dedicate this one to him as well.

Should the princess be a card, print, journal, all three? The poem - the cover of a journal? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for taking a look :)

http://www.doodlestar.etsy.com





Here are the words in "Believe In..."
Believe In…

The world that lies hidden upon the petals of a flower,
That the princess will always be saved from the locked tower.
That each soul that leaves this Earth makes the night sky brighter;
We can make people feel more loved just by hugging a little tighter.
The magic you have within that makes you truly unique,
Gives life to the beauty in your thoughts and the truth you speak.
So believe in yourself and make your dreams come true,
Because this world needs to believe in the beauty that’s YOU.
© 2010 Natasha Reilly












Bird, creator of CrowTarotTours, created these beautiful pieces.

"Well, you fine TST folk have been saying you want to see my pics - this week your wish is granted! All of these piccys were taken by yours truly, and are hot off the digital presses, being taken on this very Wednesday," said Bird.

"And by the way, you will note in at least several of these pics, the complete replacement of pink by red. Well, red is just pink with no white in. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! :-D"

www.crowtarottours.com - In Progress
Talismans by CrowTarot - www.crowtarot.etsy.com
Twitter: @CrowTarotTours


"Tropics Meet Snow, Snow Meet Tropics" - Normally, you think of Umbrellas under sunny skies (at least the patio kind). It was a bit of a delightful disconnect to see these residents of the back deck in their winter gear, so I took the pic."




"Birds in a Row" - We had a flock of robins descend upon the skylight this afternoon, something that to our knowledge hasn't happened before in the time we've been here. It was so kyool. I took pictures. I also remembered days in Florida with the local robins getting absolutely punch-drunk on fermented berries. I bet these birds would have loved to have been there instead of on a snowy Michigan roof.




"Tropical Dreams" - Bailey, our Bassette (aka female Bassett Hound), dreaming of being in warmer climes where we could Go Take a Walk. Green pillows, red-brown dog, close enough. :-D




"Century in Sunglasses" - Looking out the side door earlier today, it seemed as if our car were wearing sunglasses. Another nice reminder of warmer, hazy, lazy, dayz. No red, pink, or green, but it makes me think of Florida, which makes me think of greenery everywhere, and pink flamingos, so it will have to do. :-D




"Angelic Bird" - The reality - trying to land on/sliding down a snowy glass skylight. The mystical - a bird in flight is an angel in wings & feathers.




"Bird Butt" - "I say THIS for your Winter!" -'nuff said, really. :-D




"Bird w/&w/o Poem" - After playing, drinking, and sliding down the skylight, the robins flew to various trees in front & back yards. These are compilations of a particularly nice one of those, set against visions from our snowy front yard.





After viewing this one-of-a-kind TST are you warmed up and ready to challenge yourself to create something new??

Well, the next theme is theme is.........."Orange Blossoms". In this theme we will use orange and a circular shape. The orange can be simply the color and then a circle used in some special way or it can be an orange button, bead, paint ball, fabric, sticker, or something else entirely. Let's create some delicious, original orange blossoms!

Imagine Being In the Olympics....

would you rather be an Olympic figure skater...

Yuri Kadobnov-AFP/Getty Images

OR

Snowboarder

Lindsey Jacobellis
By Getty Images


OR some other type of Olympian?

Theme 46: Those Tropical Colors Just Made Me...

How you choose to interpret the theme is completely up to you. It simply needs to be tasteful – no pornography or messages of hate here. When you sit down to create, you cannot think about how people will or will not receive your work. You are required to simply enjoy the act of creating.

Inspired by Felicia Kramer's "I'd Rather Be in Hawaii" week and all the stellar artists she is featuring, I want to celebrate that feeling, that thought, the beauty that takes place when we think of places like Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, etc. The only requirement is that you use two colors - green and pink. You can use tons of others and any material your heart desires but those two colors need to make an appearance.



Important Guidelines


The work submitted must be something you have created and/or worked on between the time the theme was revealed and the Thursday unveiling. Please submit your response to Natasha@creativenachos.com no later than end of day Wednesday, February 24th if you would like it to be posted on Thursday, February 25th. OR send me a link to your response to include in the comments section of the post.




With your response please include:

1. Your name - either first name, shop name or both.

2. The name of your piece (if you choose to give it one)

3. Something you'd like to share (process of creation, idea behind piece) if you'd like to share anything. Please limit this to 2-3 sentences

4. The shop and/or blog links you'd like to include

5. Two photos of your piece or of each of the pieces (3x5 or 4x6 and 72dpi or a max of 96dpi - if you need any help with that please don't worry I'd be happy to help!)


Most importantly, enjoy some tropical dreams!

Sensationl Artists Harness a Little Bit of Sunshine and Brighten the World

Many of these artists began this theme thinking that yellow would present a fairly serious challenge. What happened was that yellow somehow allowed them to open up and play in unexpected ways. The feeling that comes through in each and every work is celebration - celebration for the way yellow caused a new work to flourish, an old work to find that missing piece and all works to hum with life. These talented, inspiring artists will inspire you to take a challenge, stare it down and ultimately make something more beautiful than you ever imagined.

But don't take my word for it, please sit back, relax and bask in a little bit of sunshine that's guaranteed to brighten your entire day!



Jodi, creator of Jodi Horgan - Beaded Art to Wear, created this stunning piece.

“I purchased this beautiful cabochon from Lisa Peters (LisaPetersArt.etsy.com) awhile ago,” said Jodi. “I loved it because it reminds me of sunflowers which are my favorite. However, I find the color yellow a real challenge to incorporate into my work. However, I love purple and it complemented the yellow perfectly. The cuff is covered in purple leather and lined in lavender ultrasuede.”

http://www.jodihorgan.etsy.com/

Erica Voges, creator of Acrylic and Steel, created this unforgettable piece titled, "Remembering Spring".

“I am not sure what was so appealing about this challenge, maybe it was just a longing to paint since I have spent so much time doing other things lately,” said Erica. “I don't use bright warm colors often so it was fun to use yellow, and I love contrast so I thought using a complimentary color scheme would be a fun way to bring in the "other" and give the painting a little oomph.”

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AcrylicAndSteel
http://www.acrylicandsteel.blogspot.com/

Maureen, a talented artist, created this beautiful piece.

"AnnieMae made her first TST appearance in a Halloween costume a couple weeks ago,” said Maureen. “She's back today, with arms wide open to the light, her sturdy body warmed by the sun's embrace."

http://aquamaureens.blogspot.com/















Althea, creator of Salvaged Expression, created this gorgeous piece.

“The yellow in this hat decided to be its own piece of flair,” said Althea. “I'm almost disappointed since this weeks piece doesn't reflect the many permutations the idea went through before it became a lightning struck hat. The hat did give me a little gift though, while making it I ended up having tons of other ideas that I hope I'll get to work up soon!”

http://www.salvagedexpression.etsy.com/
















Amanda, created this stellar 8x10 mixed media painting titled, "The Storm," soon to be offered as a print.

“Something that really helps me when I'm feeling low is to remember that even when a storm is crashing around me, the sun still shines--above the turmoil,” said Amanda. “Hang in there, and look for that light!”

http://persistentgreen.etsy.com/
http://persistentgreen.blogspot.com/

Teri, creator of Giraffelabel, created this awesome LINNIE diaper clutch.

“Well, I went with something comfortable this week,” said Teri. “But, I couldn't resist this fabric for this theme...it is perfect - greys and black with that pop of yellow! I've used it before on items in my shop, but never in this shape...and I couldn't resist adding the buttons. I love it!”

http://www.giraffelabel.etsy.com/

Kris, creator of Lisianblue, created these fabulous pieces.

http://lisianblue.artfire.com/

"Nichole's Lily"
This was one of my 1st soft pastel drawings, 1996, my daughter Nichole was 12, it is her poem. This is the 1st time they have been made into 1 image. The (of) is my addition.




"Yellow" a short story about yellow.
"YELLOW"
　
Yellow?
I don’t have yellow.
I don’t wear yellow (it makes me look rather ghoulish)
Yellow??? Agh I don’t have much of yellow anything.
A few beads.
I love sunny lemony yellow kitchens ,
and yes,
I will fight you over that last piece of succulent Lemon Meringue pie.
Yellow?
Yellow?
Y e l l o w?
The color of my brilliant New Mexico sun that I eagerly drink in sitting at the bus stop on a cold winter day.
Yellow, the color of buttercups that grew beside of the house, where the bright fluttering wings of amazing Monarch butterflies danced in the fragrant nectar, my dad protected the flowers as my daughter learned a little about the grandmother she would never meet. My little one always came in with a handful of the sunny lemon cups bobbling on thin green stems. He wasn’t protecting them from her.
I loved them too.
The fairies and I played among them for so many years.
Yellow?
The color of Peace roses surrounded by pink.
Offered in a gesture of peace, an apology after a loud fight in my teens placed lovingly in her small bud vase given to her by her mother.
Yellow?
My mother’s collection of myriads of beautiful flowers that made our yard, and life a little brighter.
Oh Yeah, I have little lemony yellow squiggles.
Giggle.




"Sunbear"
Was created after frustration led to buying a new Dremel (Tues afternoon) to replace the cheaper rotary tool that made the tiny drill bits make bigger holes. Playing, drilling holes in bunches of glass, I remember the squiggles I bought months ago! NOW, I can do the squiggles. The sun, the sky, it's all about my beautiful New Mexico sky, among other ideas. Need to finish up a few butterflies, but I'm pleased with all the creations. :-)



















Felicia Kramer, creator of Another Bright Idea, created this digital collage print, “Paint your own Sunshine”.

“With the dreary, crazy weather most of us have been having for weeks we might as well paint our own sunshine!” said Felicia.

www.etsy.com/shop/anotherbrightidea
http://www.feliciakramer.blogspot.com/












Trina, creator of Woven Chains Jewelry and Special Guest Rose, created this simply phenomenal pieces.

http://wovenchains.etsy.com/

“When I started this challenge, I thought yellow was going to be hard, but everything just flowed... However, I want to let my super, wonderful, talented Rose go first this week, because her sculpture of a giraffe snacking on a tree at a watering hole is so much more amazing than anything I made this week,” said Trina. “She did this entirely on her own -- I don't sculpt, and I don't work with clay!”




“My major goal for 2010 is to get more organized, One of the smaller challenges is to finish projects that I started (some of them years ago). So, for this theme, I found a yellow needle case that I had started, finished up the stitching and put it all together with some fantastic buttons and ribbon. A practical piece of sunshine to use everyday.”



“Brandie-new, I made a pendant using some sun-shiny rings with ruby beads and fresh water pearls. I'm still trying to decide if it needs beads hanging from each of the teardrop shapes. I'd love to hear what you think!”














Bird, creator of CrowTarot Tours, created these radiant pieces.

“A couple of entries saluting our Sun,” said Bird.

http://www.crowtarottours.com/ - In Progress!
Talismans by CrowTarot - http://www.crowtarot.etsy.com/
Twitter: @CrowTarotTours

Natasha, creator of Doodlestar, created these three pieces.

"I was surprised at how much fun I had with yellow," Natasha said.

This is going to be a print and a journal cover which will be in my shop today.

http://www.doodlestar.etsy.com/

I fell in love with this material and created a journal filled with fun prompts for little girls.

This is a crayon that I loved making. I think I'm going to sell this with one of my journals...doesn't it look like such fun to color with?




After viewing this bright, creative TST are you feeling the urge to challenge yourself to create something new and different??

Well, the next theme is theme is.........."Those Tropical Colors Just Made Me...". Inspired by Felicia Kramer's "I'd Rather Be in Hawaii" week and all the stellar artists she is featuring, I want to celebrate that feeling, that thought, the beauty that takes place when we think of places like Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, etc. The only requirement is that you use two colors - green and pink. You can use tons of others and any material your heart desires but those two colors need to make an appearance.