DID I STEAL THAT IDEA?

DID I STEAL THAT IDEA?  BORROW IT?  OR ALTER IT TO MAKE IT MINE?

Happiness can be such an evasive thing.  I chase it and chase it and sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can even catch it.  That is how I felt when I came across each of the art journaling pictures which inspired this post.

When I started my Grief Journal I didn't think anyone but me, and maybe my children, would see it.  It was, after all, created as a healing aide for all the emotions I had bottled up inside myself after Christian took his life by suicide.  A loss that left me devastated beyond what I thought I could endure or survive.  I badly needed a self-guided tour through my heart, my mind, and my soul to help me sort it all out.  Borrowing from Michelangelo, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."  It was a  a journal that I hoped would set me free.

With the above thought in mind, I saw nothing wrong in borrowing ideas from different publications I had in my magazine stash.  Ideas created by wonderfully talented artists and writers.  I wish I had their talent but I just do my own thing and then hope others will be able to figure out what I'm talking about or what my artwork is suppose to be and what it's saying. 

 "Do your thing and I shall know you."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

So today I'm sharing with you some artwork I did which was totally inspired by others.  Because I didn't know that I would be starting a blog, I didn't write down the names of the artists whose work touched and inspired me.  I will, where I can, give the real artists full credit for their work.  One of the  artists I cannot find no matter how hard I try or how many publications I look through.

I did, however,  change things up a bit so the renderings aren't exactly as I saw them in the magazines; and most of you probably don't care so I'll stop babbling.

 PICTURE NUMBER 1

Life is Made Up of Sobs, Sniffles, and Smiles

This watercolor pencil drawing was inspired by Kelly Rae Roberts.  The long necks reminded me of the works of El Greco.  A Greek artist that lived and painted in Spain.  He used elongated figures to represent spirituality.  The idea may be theirs but this picture is mine.


 Kelly wrote a book titled Taking Flight - Inspiration and Techniques to Give Your Creative Spirit Wings.  This is a great book.   I'm so glad I purchased it and I would highly recommend it.  Even though it appears as thought it was written exclusively for women, it is a useful tool for anyone wanting to do creative writing and art journaling.   

  -  www.mycraftivity.com

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PICTURE NUMBER 2

Happy Frogs

Originating artist:  Diane Duda.  Diane can be found at:  www.dudadaze.blogspot.com

I was feeling especially sad one day in October of last year when I saw these frogs in the February/March/April 2009 issue of Artful BLOGGING.   They made me so happy that I had to draw them and include them in my journal  (photocopy?  can't make myself do it)   And they still make me happy every time I look at them.  I changed her "Welcome" to "Happy" and added the journaling and the dragonfly. (There's a reason I don't usually handwrite my journaling.)

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PICTURE NUMBER 3

Kite on a String and the Cow Jumped Over the Moon

The above watercolor was inspired by an unknown artist  - at least to me.  I changed the painting around a bit and added the cow jumping over the moon.  The words are basically those of the artist.  I did alter them a little bit.

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All of these drawings/paintings were done in the month of October 2010.  I want to thank all the artists for bringing a little happiness into my world.

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"Summer is almost over.  Twilight has passed and the late evening is chilly.   Uninvited  I wander in the dark from my yard to yours.  Silently slipping through the small passage in the hedges I secretly join you and your friends in the dim light of the bonfire in your backyard.  I am as attracted to that dim light as a gypsy moth is to a brighter and more fatal one.  So caught up are they in the passionate exchange of ideas, no one questions who I am or why I'm there or even if I should be there.  I sit quietly listening to your conversations and I tuck away in my memory the wisdom of your words and the powerful but yet beautiful images they create; and then I make them my own."  taken from a short story written by Linda DuBos