(no title)

June 12, 2013

{artist interview-ashlie blake}

sweet souls, it’s that time again! my favorite time. when i get to introduce you to a crazy inspiring artist. meet ashlie, my saucy new york soul sister who openly feels it all. her work is swoon worthy.

Name age location Ashlie Blake 30 Hudson Valley NY

Who are you & how do you describe your art? I am a mixed media word loving artist and writer… I wear many hats My work is whimsical, color driven, and (I hope) speaks to your heart.

What inspires you? I am continuously inspired by nature, my garden, and the world around me. I am an observer, so when I am deeply moved by something beautiful or thought provoking it usually appears in my work. Why art? Because I know no other way, because it has been what I was happy with and able to produce since I could put a pencil to paper.

What kind of creative rituals or routines do you have? Headphones, music, and a paintbrush in hand. Scissors, paper, and old books nearby… microns, my favorite pencil (dear God don’t ever let me lose it), and a breeze from an open window.

Is there a specific artist you connect with? Or that immensely inspires you?

Miss Jodi – Mixed media art journaler and writer! SO inspiring! Her work is delicious, layered, and full of soul magic.

I really adore the work of Geninne (not sure of her last name). She is a bird artist and I constantly wish to be more like her! Where she is in her artistic career, the way she only paints what she truly loves, and the motivation she has is a continuous inspiration!http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/

What might people be surprised to learn about you? That I am just as much a photographer as I am a painter and writer. Also, that my art is evolving along with my own journey of self discovery… I just haven’t shared it yet!

How do you stay motivated? I stay motivated because creating my work and writing my words keeps me mentally healthy. A long time survivor of depression and anxiety, I know that I am happiest and most complete when I am creating and being successful.

What are your goals? My goals are to be known in the art community, published as many times as possible, inspire others to be the best they can be and observe the world around them on a more spiritual level.

What does your art do for you? Art makes my heart swell and causes me to feel this world we have at a deeper more meaningful level. It connects me with my inner self and the universe as a whole. Art is magic, the best alcoholic drink, and the biggest slice of cheesecake. I need it and it needs me. Art fulfills my soul and is something I feel completely sure about.

Top 5 quirks?

1. I only drink milk with desserts, otherwise milk is not invited to my party. 2. Paper in front of me, paint palette to the right, water above to the right, napkin pile above to the left… and coffee to the left of all. 3. That I’m a bit like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory… everything I do has a reason for why I do it and the way I do it. 4. I can’t take a compliment without averting my eyes and blushing with humbleness. 5. I won’t draw in public.

Favorite color movie book blog band

Color – Depends on the week, day, or season! Right now… aqua! Movie – Legends of the Fall Book – Anything by Ray Bradbury or Neil Gaiman although my fav book of all time is What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson Blog – My time is limited with raising 3 young boys and making time for my art… I only read a handful of blogs and they include… Jacquie Wheeler Primitive Fiber Artist - www.handofbelapeck.blogspot.com - Jodi Whispered Truths – Suki www.theowlclub.com Band – Oh my that is a toughie as it changes as often as I change my favorite color… right now I am currently drunk on The Staves and The Civil Wars

Describe yourself in 5 words

Kind – Observant – Electric – Charming – Happy

will you leave us with a quote that inspires you?

” I’m still worthy of love and belonging – It’s non negotiable ” – Brene Brown

How can we purchase your art? Why in my Etsy shop of course! Painting Bliss I am also always happy to do a commission! I love bringing ones ideas to life! My work has been published in multiple issues of Somerset Studio, Somerset Gallery, and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines (eeek hee hee yay!)

there you have it beauties, hop on over to ashlie’s blog Painting Bliss & tell her how rad she is!

p.s. that beauty with the flowers in her arms, i feel like she’s a piece of my very being. Read the rest of this entry »

June 11, 2013

{journey}

could it be that my current purpose is just to be a girl on a journey? a silly girl with camera in hand & words in her pocket, bursting at the seams with color & collecting glass jars to catch light. a girl with bright red lipstick hammering on the keys of her typewriter bits of nonsense. a girl who could easily spend her day lost in a field of wildflowers with a good book in hand & sunshine on her skin. a girl who will take the ache & still seek beauty. one who will declare that she is made for more & acknowledge that great stories take time to be written.

jeremiah 28:11-13
for i know the plans i have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare & not for evil, to give you a future & a hope. then you will call upon me & come & pray to me & i will hear you. you’ll seek me & find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

2 comments

June 7, 2013

{for him}

2 comments

May 30, 2013

{loneliness}

i’m learning things about loneliness. possibly for the first time in my life. my dearest friend is my husband & i am so thankful that i can find that in him, but i miss being part of a sisterhood. i miss feeling tethered to another soul in a joyful friendship. for a while i ached in my solitude. i pitied myself. but now i am entering a place of understanding. my life has simply changed…i can’t undo that. & it need not be undone. i’m here for a specific reason, i’m just unsure of what that reason is. all i can do now is continue moving forward in hopes that i’ll find a soul sister who’s treasured thoughts are among mine. it’s a joyful occasion to proclaim my loneliness so boldly. i’m content in my transition from sad & lonely girl to bold & honest warrioress. & i honor the paths that have brought me here.

how to be alone, tanya davis

If you are, at first, lonely – be patient
If you’ve not been alone much or if, when you were, you weren’t okay with it
then just wait
you’ll find it’s fine to be alone..
once you’re embracing it

4 comments

May 29, 2013

•questions•

i feel like there is so much i want to say, but when i put my pen to paper the words can’t seem to find me. they scatter, leaving my creative mouth wide open & unable to produce sound. i’ve an ongoing case of butterflies & i just don’t know why. where will this road lead me? these questions seeking answers are relentless to this heart that is so unsure.

2 comments

May 22, 2013

.words that are holding me together.

“i want to give it up. fall out of line. allow the way it goes.” {sabrina ward harrison}

“I see the awkwardly gaping, helpless mouth. I see me trying to yell, but hear no sound coming out, save a weak screech. I hear the repetitive words whispered rhythmically as if in so doing, they might soothe. “I need help. I need help. I need help,” they say. “Help like medication? Help like counseling? Help like a confessional booth?” another voice asks. And the voice replies “I don’t know, I’m just saying I need help because there is some other voice screaming at me saying, “”This isn’t normal. This isn’t normal. This isn’t normal” and “You’re not as strong as you tell yourself you are” and “You can’t let anyone know it gets this bad.”

But there is another voice that’s muffled, it’s far away, like the way you hear a voice when you are asleep and dreaming and someone is calling, trying to wake you. This voice says, “Everything about this is normal. Everything about this is okay. Everything about this will pass and return and pass again. Nothing about this determines how strong you are or aren’t. It just is what is. It’s just part of being you.” {Mandy Steward of Messy Canvas}

photo below was taken by me, the glorious words belong to Chelsea Kessie of Messy Harbor.

7 comments

May 7, 2013

{artist interview}

loves, i am back with another artist interview to share. & i am so excited. please meet my wildly inspiring + quirky friend Chelsea. there are so many bits of me that might not exist if she hadn’t encouraged me so fully. read on & you will see why she is such a gem.

My given name is Chelsea, but I always imagined I was more suited as an Ella Mae, my great grandmother’s name; or a Lauren, my middle name. But Chelsea works just lovely too. I’m 25 & recently moved to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee.

•I’m a writer, a lover of color, & a creator of collages. At my core, I suppose I’m a designer. When I think about my existence & what my legacy will be, it is one of words, for sure; but also one of an arranged mess of random wall art. I’ll leave behind an array of scrapbook materials & dozens of spools of washi tape –already claimed by my little sister.

I once read that if you write, you’re a writer. So often I felt that title was only earned with published words, but that was before I truly knew myself.

My art is the product of 26 exquisite letters. I keep my journalist ramblings pretty much to myself, I’ve always been cautious to never write for the sake of the ‘wows’ & ‘whoas’. I always thought if I reached that place, a place of writing for the praise of others, I would be abusing my gift.

I write to heal. I write to make sense. Sometimes I share, but I love the feeling of being a quiet Tennesseean journaling for the handfuls. If millions never read my blog, it doesn’t mean I didn’t exist.

& the color & design thing found me after a terrible roommate experience with a very boring person. Jodi was there, she knows. I conformed for a long time, then on a whim put pink streaks in my hair to my daddy’s dismay & never looked back. Colors explode from nearly every wall of my quirky townhouse. My art is the simple act of breathing out the heartache that’s so heavy in our world & breathing in joyful rhythmic colors.

•what inspires me?

Undiscovered people inspire me. Talent that is talent regardless of fame & fortune. Indie films, sad songs, a bushel of baby’s breath, whenever my dog sleeps upside down, typewriters, overrun bookshelves, anthropologie, other people’s love stories, fresh tiny humans, Target’s baby clothes selection, all my sisters in the same room, amazon orders awaiting me at home, books waiting to be read, books reread so many times the pages are crinkled, scrapbook stores, my nephew’s toothy grin, receiving mail the old fashioned way, & the way my parents still look at one another.

•why art?

Everyone creates their own kind, mine is a product of my Dad’s ability to explain with words & my Mom’s ability to create with her hands. I tried for a long time to be what one particular people desired & when the creation he molded wasn’t something he wanted, I ditched all of it. Everything that tied me to other people & other ideas, & asked myself who I was; & that girl is someone who always has a pen nearby.

•what kind of rituals/routines do I have?

As of lately, it’s the poetic lyrics of Rosie Thomas.

I’m not sure if this is a ritual or more of a tip, but if a hear a sentence pull together in my head, or an idea for some artsy piece flash before my eyes, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing or where I’m at, I will jot it down in a notepad on my phone. Consistence is rare with writers, being ‘blocked’ is real, & time is the only true thing I know to end it. The sun will rise again & shine light on a dusty journal & ask me kindly to pick up the pen. That I know for sure.

•specific artist I connect with or admire?

I’ve been a fan of Sabrina Ward Harrison for years now, even before I knew who I was, I knew I loved her style. She is honest, raw, real & brave. She writes & draws what’s on her mind. The strokes of her paintbrush somehow convey the inaudible words in my heart.

•surprised to learn about me?

I’m over six feet tall & have never been kissed. & I do not believe the 2nd is because of the 1st, ha.

•how do I stay motivated?

By reading. If I don’t read, I don’t write. & if I don’t write, it’s rare that I’ll be creating anything that I don’t want to throw in the trash. Some of my favorite nugget filled reads are: Rumors Of Water by L.L. Barkat, Cold Tangerines & Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist, Jenny Read by Jenny Read & any journal by the beautiful May Sarton.

•what are my goals?

I lived for too long being afraid of being me, of being independent. I finally leapt nearly 2 years ago & it’s a ‘goal’ I didn’t know I had, but also always wanted. I never imagined I’d be where I am today, so I can’t begin to label where I’d like to be in 5 or 10 years. I’ll just say I hope I’m as happily independent as I am today. Perhaps I’ll be married, but if I’m not, I don’t want to be disappointed because it didn’t happen. Our plan isn’t always God’s plan for us, & we will always get His best when we let Him choose.

•what does my art do for me?

Goodness, it gives me a reason to get up each morning. I just recently decorated my half bathroom & I’ll go downstairs just to stare at it. My art inspires me. If for no other reason, no other eyes, no other purpose but to inspire me, it’s a lovely enough reason to keep on creating.

•quirks:

1.) I refer to washi tape as wasabi tape, even though I know there’s no ‘b’ in the word.

2.) the sound of ticking clocks soothe me.

3.) my hair magically turned curly around my 18th birthday.

4.) I give the best awkward hugs.

5.) I quote tv shows like its my job.

•color: coral pink.

•movie: I cannot have one favorite. I am a weirdo for loving Castaway & I know it. A Lot Like Love & Pitch Perfect also hold firm in my all time favorites.

•book: Messy thrilling life by Sabrina Ward Harrison.

•blog: theandersoncrewblog.com -seriously, I want the same beautiful craziness of 6 sets of toes running across my floors someday.

•band: The Weepies

•describe yourself in 5 words:

Constant, fortitude, artistic, affectionate, & bashful.

•quote: “There’s power in looking silly & not caring that you do.” -Amy Poehler

See more of Chelsea’s writing + photos here:

http://messyharbor.tumblr.com/

on instagram @apinkmess

1 comment

April 16, 2013

back to me

it feels as though it’s been years since i last clutched a pen & wrote my heart out. a few dry months will bring back the ache for pen to paper at any glimmer of desire to scribble out some thoughts. & so here we are. i can feel it shifting. the me that comes when the nights are warm & i can breathe again without feeling like i’m suffocating. caught in the cold air that swirls around & inside me. i catch the fondness for myself in my eyes. the softness. the look of self love. i’m easing back into me. it’s hard work. there’s so much to me. so many aches & growing pains. so many tears to shed. so many sunrises to inhale. i’m wobbly. riding my bike for the first time in fifteen years. my brakes don’t work quite as well as they use to, & i’m scared to go down that stupid hill. but i’m trying. & i’m learning that a slow pace is ok. better than ok. good. & scenic. & people who rush through life don’t have good stories to tell. & let it be known.. i love a good story.

June 12, 2013

{artist interview-ashlie blake}

June 11, 2013

{journey}

June 7, 2013

{for him}

May 30, 2013

{loneliness}

May 29, 2013

•questions•

May 22, 2013

.words that are holding me together.

May 7, 2013

{artist interview}

April 16, 2013

back to me

March 26, 2013

my feet.

Follow “”