Your Own Worst Critic

I read this today from my friend Sass's FB page, and I swear she was in my head. I think I've told you, if not I will about my Sock Monsters. They are amazing little creatures, I make them out of... socks. And odds and ends. Like ribbons, or buttons, and bells, bells are fun inside tails.

They are something I can create, and have made about 7 so far, and I like them. I'm getting better at them, and even the one that I TOTALLY messed up (he has not tummy, I cut his legs up to his neck. But it was my 4 year old daughter at the time who said "Finish it Mommy. I'll love it"  See when your an artist of ANY kind. From paint and drawing, to journalist, gardening or a baker, it's all an art and as my teacher told me, and I think every teacher should tell their art students.

"You will ALWAYS be your own worst critic"

So true. It reminds me to ask others, to walk away from my project. Come back later, maybe a day, week, or a month later. You might just look at it from an outside point of view. And the quote above, from Sass, is what I need to read over and over and over again. I quite when it gets to hard for me. I won't lie. I know I try to take the easy way out. And when it's your own project you can quite. Easy. But for me those projects are still remembered as things I wish to finish. Try harder.

See there is scrapbooking. And I do it well, very well, I can rubber stamp and create with paper easily. Cards, stationary, boxes, I can do it. BUT it's the other things I love, sewing, painting, paper mache and clay. THOSE are things I haven't done in years, but wish to get better at them again. I just need to keep tinkering with them!

I was once at a seminar for Stampin' Up! a wonderful rubber stamp company. I did demonstrations at people's homes, I mostly focused on classes in my home. So at this seminar, I was sitting in a business class, and we were told, if you look on our business side of the website we could see on a map how many demonstrators were out there. And scary enough how many were in our area!

I live in a small village but there was at least 10 of us in just a 10 mile radius! Imagine if you lived in a bigger city! I mean it's selling rubber stamps, it's NOT exactly a home staple, and NOT that many people do paper crafts in my little town! But they said the percentage of those that are demonstrators, so few actually PUSHED their business like they should. YOU could be THAT person that is the stand out demonstrator. THAT is what stuck with me. With my life, with art. That I could be the stand out artist.

I do need to keep sewing, painting, gardening, and creating. All to better my craft, to be amazing at what I do. Sure I rock at paper crafts I've been up to my eyeballs in paper and rubber stamps for the last 8 years straight! I need to balance my arts, so I get to enjoy them all.

On this not I will leave you with a great quote I heard on Glee last night. I mean talk about loving art! Theater and music have always been a favorite of mine, so what better show to quote from?

The scene is with Mike Chang, who has just received what they call an Asian F, an A-. His father wants him to quit the Glee club to study harder, and Mike is torn about it, being that Glee is what he loves more then anything. After fighting with himself, over to keep doing what he loves or make his father happy he says this...

"It's what I love to do. It's NOT a waste of my time" 

JCat 

Green with Inspiration.

Creating Spaces? Where Women Create? Creating Keepsakes? ALL too much inspiration for me!

I LOVE the new Creating Spaces magazine. It’s an annual issue by Creating Keepsakes that covers 146 Inspiring Rooms, Ideas and Projects. From people who craft in a closet, to a studio size space. LOVE it. It was $14.99 but SO worth it.

Always an issue of Creating Keepsakes nearby, love scrapbook layouts and tons of inspiration there too.

Where Women Create… OMG. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE it. It’s not so much a magazine, it’s like an artist book, it’s a $14.99 a copy. It’s published 4 times a year. I JUST picked up the Aug/Sept/Oct 2011 issue. A girl named Heather Bailey is on the cover and she just SCREAMS creative! Susan Branch is in there, LOVE it. AND they started a Man page, and who else besides the talented Tim Holtz to have in it? The whole thing is PACKED with great artist, you just have to go get your own to read them all.

I have to say sure the fact that it’s $15 a book is a lot of money. BUT if you want to be inspired. And NOT just for how to set up a space, but there are quotes, and ideas, and how they started, and what inspires them to keep creating. How they had regular jobs and just did what they loved. Then I say it’s SO worth the money to just stir up some creativity in you.

I try to use their inspiring stories, pictures, quotes and ideas and use them in my art room, designs, and everyday use.

Amazing how one grows as an artist. From cutting and pasting my Sesame Street magazine at the age of 4, to paint by numbers. 4 years of art classes in High School. And 6 years of independent demonstrating for Stampin’ Up! (stampinup.com it wouldn’t let me link?!)

I’ve grown to love sewing, even though I often stab myself with the needles. I’m a rubber stamp hoarder. Scrapbook almost daily. And JUST reminding myself that painting, sketching, clay, and paper Mache’ need to be part of my routine too.

I have to say, I once was jealous of all these people in the magazines, some my age or younger who have LINES of their own, IN stores, or have their OWN stores like I want. So instead of being jealous, I’ve turned to them to help me create my own. My own every day art. My own thing. Do me.

So today I’m just playing in my room. May sound pointless to some. Why not create something you ask? Well I may, or not. I did cover a notebook for my best friend. Just for fun.

Thinking about moving my ribbon out of the drawer its in and hang it over my ceiling… we shall see! Until next time I leave you with this quote from Tim Holtz’s teacher…

“Class- Art is everywhere. Remember you can always create something from what at first you may see as nothing…”

JCat McGack

Where do you find inspiration? Leave me a comment and tell me!

Dreams of art.

How ironic is it that this was a Mary Englebright calendar tear off page, for the weekend of my Mom’s birthday a few years ago.

The one person who taught me since I was big enough to hold a crayon, that art is fun. She would sew, and I would sit next to her with my Sesame Street magazines, cutting out pictures of my favorite characters with my safety scissors.

I spent my life so far creating. Anything I can try I do.

My youth was crafts, popsicle sticks, glue, markers, paper, and fabric.

I took drawing classes when ever I could. And once in High School my first priority was to schedule art classes. All 4 years, with Mrs. Henize. Not always liking the lessons, still life drawing was horrible (I still have those duck drawings though) but I took the lessons, and worked with them.

I have collages, from magazines. The watercolors, metal embossing, painting, cartooning, clay, paper mache, and our weekly drawing assignments.

After high school, not sure why I didn’t take art at the Junior College I attended… but art still lived on. My mom and I had found rubber stamping when I was about 12. When I was 23 we found a company called Stampin’ Up! and for 6 years I was a independent demonstrator for them. (hosting classes on how to stamp and create cards, and scrapbook pages)

I just left Stampin’ Up! 6 months ago. And it was a great thing in my life, but now I’m enjoying the freedom of creating more for myself. Ugly Sock Monsters are a new thing. Sewing is becoming a good habit and I know my mother is elated (that it only took 32 years to get me really into sewing. Now if only my bobbin agreed with me, I would do it more often!)

Our little ‘Gack and Gigi’s’ booth, is a dabble in the fact that we have space. To first off clean out our houses, but create and possible sell a few things.

I would like to create, and have an Etsy store filled with all the fun things I make.

The big dream?

To have a store. “JCat McGack’s” where I sell scrapbook supplies, fabric, tools and supplies for all art kinds. That is the first floor. THEN the second loft floor, is for tables. BIG tables. That people can ‘rent’ by the hour, to create right there.

I would have sewing machines, die cut machines, a kiln. ALL for them to create with.  The second floor would also have a back porch for sitting. To just read, drink coffee, or visit with friends.

I would have a kids area. (I’ve learned I am good with kids and art work, I have patience there with them)

Well it’s a dream. One I hope to see come true, but that magical thing called money that doesn’t exist, is what stops me… a girl can dream right?

JCat.

A new adventure is ours!

So we have officially opened a booth…

Now it’s NOT a craft booth, or an art booth. It’s a start.

A start on my Mom and I working together. To see how we do. How dedicated we are, and just how we work together.

(and yes I tried to picture fuse them together on Windows 7 ‘The cloud’ but it just wasn’t working)

So you ask what DO we sell?

Stuff.

Stuff from our house, stuff we buy cheap and can resell a bit higher

I consider it a permanent garage sale, a way to move the items in our house, be old or newer, toys or knick knacks.

I would LIKE to start making my UgLy SoCk MoNsTeRs, and putting a few in here. But for now this is what we’ve got.

Here we have what we like to call the ‘featured rack’ which is right now our Spring/Easter/Gardening display.

After one week we had to bring in more we were selling like crazy! (mostly the little Easter chachkey stuff)

It’s fun. My mom and I are really getting into rearranging the displays every week to keep it fresh, and updated.

Staging stuff is SO up our alley! So far in 6 days I made 18 dollars! Hooray!

Oh and the best part is, it’s at an old Mill house, where there are 60 booths for rent. We are on the second floor, second booth on the left.

So if your in Wilmington, IL be sure to check us out…

Milltown Market • 508 N.Kankakee • (815)476-0386 • Wilmington, Ill.

or check out their site at http://www.milltownmall.com/ (be warned they have music on their site!)

JCat McGack

What do we see here?

What do we see here? Dirty stained too small clothes? I can't sell them, can't consign them to a shop, and love to hoard all things  hate throwing things away... SO what do you see now...

Exactly... no? Still don't see it? If your a scrapbooker, crafter or a sewer you should see some pretty cool tags to add to any project!! So now that Alex has seriously worn out his welcome in his clothes.

I can use them for a cute reindeer, a best friends tag, "Mommy's Little KING" tag, and a "lil sport" tag. So start chopping up those old clothes... don't forget to check the tags on outfits, kids have some WAY cute tags, buttons too...

Hope this inspired you to look beyond the expensive 3D items in the store, and look around your closet for some great items! OUTSIDE the box people!

Happy Creating!

JCat McGack