T stands for Art

Today, I'm happy that I managed to get early for Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday.

 Along with my big cup of green tea I want to share this sea horse painting that I did for the sketchbook challenge. This month their challenge is to do water life. It was not that easy for me to do this sketch. Somehow after a couple of hours I managed to finish Mr. Seahorse.

I've tried the technique of cross hatching on its body. It is a line drawing technique that is used for achieving more value and texture in one's art.

Two weeks ago I shared a doodle here. I used watercolor on it . I like it better in real than on this photo. I do need more practice in painting my doodles.

Yet another page from my online class, The Walk. The class is open only till the end of August and hence I'm busy trying to finish each lesson.

This lesson was all about how we are never alone in times of our difficulties.
There is always someone to help but we need to find our Helper or Guide who can help us in coming up with the answers for our problems.

I also wanted to share with you a poem that my 1st Grader wrote for Poetry Reading in his school. He loves Nature and reads and watches all that he can on that subject.

This is a poem that he wrote on Sharks. We are so proud of this little boy who loves to draw, read and imagine so much on nature and cars, the two subjects that he love the most.
I'm enjoying this last month of his school, where  we get to go and watch their art, listen to their poems and plays. So Thankful for our children who make our world more special to us.
Thank you for being here and going  through all that I've shared here.
Susan
  

October Blessings

Why does time go this fast? It has been more than a week since I've posted here.
 Well, these are some of the things I'd been doing in the last week.

  This is another painting that I did from Priscilla Hauser's book, Little Landscapes. This is a great book on acrylic painting. I think this is my fifth painting from her book.

This is a watercolor painting that I tried after watching a very talented lady's video. Thank you Laurie for sharing your wonderful videos.

 Last week we went on a six mile trek to see the Fall colors.

 This is the beautiful view that waited for us after walking for three miles.

 Dawn, this is one of my sky photos inspired by your awesome sky pictures.

This week I got a very sweet package from a wonderful friend. She graciously gifted me with some  photos and a lot of Project Life cards. I wanted to share them here. Thank you Dawn, for the wonderful surprise.

 I love love the colors and patterns. I still have got to do the journaling on some of them.

 Thank you so much for the sketches and the photos too. They are all safely treasured here.

   That is it for now. I'm linking my post to PPF. If you click on this link you can see a lot of awesome art by other artists.
Thank you for being here
SusaN

Happy Fall

Happy Fall to all of you. This is my favorite season for I feel Nature is adorned in her best shades from late September to the end of Oct or November.
But unfortunately it is not the best time of the year at home. School starts and along with it comes a series of visitors to my house such as cold and fever. Right now my oldest is at home recovering from a fever.

Last week it was my little son who had been suffering. So there it is, my tea cup resting along with the thermometer and the kids' medicine. A sketch that I did on my daily journal.

Yesterday I had my third watercolor class and I did more cars. I'm thoroughly enjoying this 'me' time that I get once in a week. Of course I do get time to do art at home but I've to juggle it with so many other chores.

When do you set aside some 'me' time for yourself ? I never realized the importance of keeping one in the past. But once I've started getting up early to have my own time, I understood how valuable and important it is now in my life. It energizes and makes me more productive and happy for the rest of the day.

Linking to Elizabeth's T for Tuesday
Thank you
SusaN

T for being Thankful

Happy Tuesday to everyone

Here I'm, Thankful for being able to do yet another post for Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday.
I thought today I'll also stress on T for being Thankful.
I'm Thankful for all the little and big blessings that are showered upon me.

Thankful for the kids settling down in their new schools, especially my little one  who has adjusted so well to his new surroundings.

Thankful for all of you who sent their kind and encouraging words last week when I was sitting here all worried thinking about my son's first day of pre-school.

Thankful for the watercolor class that I joined last week. Yes! this is the painting that I did in yesterday's class. I'm so happy to have done this. Usually I like painting flowers and anything related to nature. Yesterday, I just moved out of my comfort zone and did this taxi cab. I knew my sons would love it and they did!

Thankful for the daily routine in which my days are passing. I prefer some order in the day to day events. Unexpected changes make me go into panic mode.  

Thankful for all the people that I've now in my life. We meet different kinds of people in our journey.And I love to take in all such experiences  thus: There is always something good to learn from each and every person who come across in life.

Thankful for my yesterdays, and especially for this moment.

Hope you all are having a wonderful week
Thank you for being here
SusaN

Tea Please

Wow! It's already September. Next week school starts for my eldest son. He's going to Grade-1 and is very excited about it. As for me, I feel both happy and sad about all this growing up business. Happy and Thankful to see them hearty and healthy and learning new things everyday. Sad to see them gradually moving away, getting that space of their own, and of course evolving 'a certain' kind of attitude, that tone of 'I know everything' kind of stuff. Hmmm! well that's life and we just have to accept and adjust to all these changes I guess.

 Another reason for my excitement is that from next week onwards my little son is starting toddler school. We are putting him for just two days a week for a couple of hours.I know he's ready, but still feels a little scared about how he's going to manage, whether he'll behave and so on.

 July and September had been so busy. I wanted to share here what I did with the kids and their friends. We made lots of art, did some writing and read a lot. My older son went for half day camp in July and he also enjoyed the various programs that our library offered. One best thing was that he read tons of book this holiday and I was/am extremely happy about it.

 Here are some of the things that we did during the vacation:

 We made a book out of craft paper. We stamped, stenciled, splashed paint, collages and thus enjoyed different techniques. Once the backgrounds were done, we did various crafts such as different seasons, fruits, the Life cycle of a Butterfly  and so on.I googled and got the ideas for most of the crafts.

My son is a big fan of Angry birds. He is an expert in drawing all those cute birds. On the top right you can see  the story book that he himself made. He created a story out of his imagination, titled it as the Dead Star  and illustrated each page. It took him many days to complete the book and we were so proud to see his creation.
Well, these are some of the things that we did in the last two months.
I''m linking my post to Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday It was through my friend, Dawn that I came to know about this challenge and since then I've been waiting to join this wonderful group and share a little bit of me and my life. Hopefully next week I'll try to make it on Tuesday itself.
Also linking this to Glue it Tuesday. You can check this link to see some fabulous washi tapes that Aimee of artsyville has designed
Thank you
SusaN

Being accountable for each day

2013 has started off  with new promises to myself, and also with new hopes and dreams. I've decided that this year, I will remain accountable for each day; how I spend my time, how much quality time I spend with my loved ones, how much time I plan to give for art and so on. Life is so unpredictable that I have decided not to waste whatever precious time that has been  gifted to me.
    
I made a list about how to utilize time well and have chosen to tackle the first and foremost issue: the time I spend in front of my Computer.

In order to limit my time in front of it the first thing I've done is that I've moved my computer from my table [it's our dining table only, where I sit and do art or help my son with his writing or craft] and have kept it on a smaller table. Now it's very uncomfortable to sit in front of it :)

I've also started keeping a time limit for checking blogs, facebook and so on [15 minutes in the morning, only 5 minutes for FB...]

Previously the first thing I used to do after making my morning coffee was to sit in front of this machine. Now I've made a conscious  effort to go near it only after I finish my journal writing and sketching.

So far I can see that I'm getting more time to finish my 'to do lists' and am happy with it.

Do you have any other suggestions in limiting computer time and making more time for yourself and your loved ones?

The whimsical tree above and the Indian elephant here were painted using Koi watercolors.

Thank you for reading
SusaN

Snippets from our vacation

Hi there
I wanted to show you all a little bit of my hometown. Sadly, I never got around to take many pictures. I missed so may things. Travelling with a little one can be very tiring especially when it was his first visit and hence he never wanted to leave my side:(
By the time he got adjusted to all the people around him it was time for us to come back:(   

I live in Kerala which is in the southern tip of India. This little state is well known for its lush greenery.Can you believe that this view is part of the city and if you go into the villages you can experience nature's beauty at its best.

My son was so excited to see how bananas grew on banana trees. These plants are so common in all the houses there and we found this one at our neighbour's place.
  

The St. Joseph's Cathedral is one among the many churches in the city. In fact there is a mosque, a temple and this church that are all situated close to each other.

 

 In the little space that she has,my mother-in-law has managed to create a beautiful garden. She also has a wonderful vegetable garden at the back of the house.

This is my son with my brother. Two-wheelers are so common in India and wherever we went,  my son managed to get as many rides as possible. By the way on the first week of our arrival itself we'd to travel to two other states in the south.Yes,it was pretty hectic.    

This proud rooster resides in my aunt's place (my Mom's sister). He was quite friendly and while we visited them the kids enjoyed having him around. And they also got to play with some ducks, a pug,a cat, and some more pets in other houses that we visited. Now they are pestering us to get one here:)

 The above two pictures were done by me a long time ago. The first one is a glass painting and she is hanging on my parents' dining room wall. The second lady was done using just two shades, silver and black. I will be posting here more of such paintings in the coming weeks:)Yes!!! I've started painting these lovely ladies again.

Hope you enjoyed the little snippets of our vacation here. I missed taking tons of pictures. My close friend had given us a grand dinner[missed taking her and her family's picture:(], we went to two other states, travelled by train, autos, bikes but sadly it was so hectic and with my second son clinging on to either of us all the time, taking pictures was the the last thing in my mind. And of course, now I regret it. Hmmm,maybe next time... 
 

Being Thankful

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
                                                  George Eliot

Today is my Birthday and I am thankful to get one more year to celebrate the greatest gift I have ever received - My Life. I am not wishing for anything special this year, just praying for peaceful, normal and quiet days with my family and of course tons of art to keep myself super busy-:) 

In my experience if I keep myself busy with stuff that I love then I remain  happy.Isn't it like that for everyone???

 Creating art has changed me for the better. When I started giving time to myself, to do the things that I love, I've found more inner calm and peace.

In January I read Gretchen Rubin's book, " The Happiness Project" and it certainly was an eye opener. This book helped me so much to gain a better perspective about myself and my relationship with others.

And of course this wonderful blogland, filled with colors and artistic creations have inspired me so much that it has helped me to create again from last year, [I think, I never got to even think of art for 4 years in my life] gave me the courage to post my creations here and above all to realize a sense of 'self worth'.

Thank you so much to all my friends here who take the time to go through my posts, to encourage and inspire me and to let me know how much you appreciate what you see here through your lovely comments and emails. I deeply value them.

SusaN

Creativity Queue Challenge Day-6

Today's challenge is one that I had to update. This year, I made a book for my 5 year old to keep all his art work and writings together.I'd tons of his drawings from last year, all lying here and there. So I made a book with notepapers and cardstock. Every week or so I'd planned to update this book but of course most of the time I was not able to keep up with it.
Once again Thank you so much for this challenge Tammy, that I made it a point to update last month's pictures to the book.

I love to see him painting. Sometimes we sit together and do art and this book is where I want to keep all those memories and drawings together.

Thank you for reading
SusaN

Creativity Queue Challenge Day-5

Hello everyone, Ok I just coudn't be here for Day-4. Weekends tend to be really hectic with the family.

But for today, the change that you see on my header is the challenge that I took up. This is something that I always wanted to do. I'm not proficient  with the computer. To give birth to my blog, and to update it has been a great challenge for me earlier. But I love to see this as a record of my creativity and also to interact with like-minded people. 

Yesterday night, I finally got to sit around and google a way to make my own header. I still would like to make some changes to it but at the moment my computer is acting a little unfriendly to me-:( 

I labelled each posts (on the right side of the page) too. But still am unable to connect each Tabs to the relevant posts. Can anyone help me with that, please?  When you click on the tab no posts will come under it but my Label links work.

Anyways, I'm so happy about my header, filled with the different art mediums that I've done and am currently doing.

 

Thank you for visiting

SusaN

Creativity Queue Challenge Day -3

For today's challenge I did an Art Journal page.

I wanted to try a page in gold. I'd bought Tulips fabric paint a couple of months ago but never got around to paint on fabric. Another unfinished project was to make paper flowers. Yesterday night,I managed to do three different ones.

The flower on my Art Journal page is done using cupcake liners and the middle portion is done using a piece of ribbon.
The quote on the branch states: "If only you try, you can realize how much potential is there in your self."

On the lower branch is written, 'Try, try, try again.' This is a mantra that I introduced to my oldest son a couple of years ago(guess, when he was 3). He used to whine whenever things went wrong while he played. I repeated these words again and again and also personally tried to practice it in front of him. They say we're the best models for our kids.

Last week, he was trying a new puzzle and couldn't complete it. He was frustrated and upset but what made me so happy was when he told me, "It's ok Mama, try, try and try again right, and that's what I'm going to do" (Boy! I wish he had this kind of attitude for everything) After 2 days of sitting with it he managed to complete it -:)

Here is my page:

These are the other two flowers that I made: The first one out of cardstock and the second one using crepe paper. Aren't they pretty? I should make more and do something creative with them. There, that's my next 'to do' project.

Thank you
SusaN

                   2012

Let this Year be Filled with

Joy, Happiness, and a Creative Spirit

Love Always
Susan

Wrapping up 2011

Some Memorable, Joyful and Creative events  of 2011

March 12 - The arrival of our second precious little bundle, Siddharth (Sid) Panicker, little brother to Ashish. Then I had my parents here to help us. They were here for almost six months and we were so happy to have them with us.

I had neglected my blog during pregnancy In the month of April I started blogging again. Another important thing that I started and am still continuing is keeping a journal where I record my daily activities, thoughts and ideas. In fact I started 3 journals - A Gratitude Journal,My Daily Diary and My Dream and Idea Journal.

 In July I accidentally stumbled on 'Art Journaling' and I just fell in love with it. I found some amazing blogs and visiting these blogs became a part of my daily routine.

In August I started homeschooling my 4year old son using the Sonlight Curriculum.

By September I started doodling on Index Cards, following Tammy's  inspiring ideas and posts here,

http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/

 Through thehttp://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/ I met an incredible blogger, Dion Dior,  and has ever since been a fan of her work. Her posts are so very inspiring and her paintings, bright and vivacious. She was kind enough to give me valuable suggestions on beginning watercolor lessons.
http://diondior.blogspot.com/

 Currently I'm taking an online watercolor class by Alisa Burke, another amazing blogger and artist. http://www.alisaburke.blogspot.com/

In November I took Julie Balzer's online workshop, '30 Days in your Journal' and I loved it. If you want to try out Art Journaling I do recommend her class. She is a great teacher who explains things so well and takes time to go through each student's work.http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/

This Christmas season was so special  for us. We got a tree for the first time and had so much fun decorating it. I and my son created tons of craft and we hung some of them on the tree. This year I was able to make handmade cards and sent them to dear and near ones.

I tried my hand at scrapbooking too. I did some layouts for my friend and really enjoyed doing them.


In the coming year I'm looking forward to take my love for art more seriously.

I'm asked how I get time to do all ths with my two little ones and the household chores.My answer to them is that : Life is too short. It's OKAY even if things aren't perfect. But what matters is that YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE and thus making your day worthwhile. I also try to break up what I want to do into small sessions so that without feeling pressurized I can do what I enjoy and at the same time I can even spend time with my family, So I always try to TAKE BABY STEPS.

In 2012 I plan to continue with
* Art Journaling
* Water Color Practice
* Reading- Read at least one book a week.
* Scrapbooking - to keep a record of the important events in my life.
Along with this I'll be teaching my son and hopefully we'll be doing tons of crafts.   

Art work by my son.

Love Always
Susan