Stephanie's Studio

Oh boy! It's been a while since I've been in this space. Apologies! There are so many things I have to do, want to do, need to do; sometimes blogging has to wait. Other times, like this morning, it calls to me. This morning it said: hey girlfriend, it's blogging time. I get weird about New Year's. Some years I want to deny it; power through; act like somehow, it didn't happen. This year I am welcoming 2017 by doing my creative rituals, such as writing out intentions, otherwise known as resolutions, and creating a dream board (still in-process). You've seen me write a lot about the Law of Attraction, and how the Universe is active in our every day lives, listening for our directives. I've seldom seen the Law of Attraction come to life so brilliantly as when I create and post a dream board somewhere in my home. Amazing! Have you created one? What has come from it? In some ways I think 2016 was a terrible year. I was stuck, looking, waiting, wanting, but....

2016 A through Z Blogger’s Challenge Daily Creativity Hacks "Orchid 6B" sumi-ink on printmaking paper. c. Stephanie Rose Bird, 2015 One of the toughest issues facing creative people of all strips, is creative blocks. The theme of my 2016 A through Z Blogger’s Challenge is Daily Creativity Hacks, inspirational ideas to play with, to get you through those dull spots that stand in the way between you and creative flow. These days the words hack and hacks are used in many different ways. I'm using hacks to mean a clever solution to a tricky problem. Think of hacks as quick fixes, remedies, rituals or exercises.  Are you struggling with creative blocks? During April you’ll find an A to Z blog post offering mind-expanding ideas and new ways of thinking of old ones, all designed to enhance your creative outlook.  Tune in, all during April. I will be blogging 6 days a week, taking Sunday’s off as a breather. I’ll be visiting as many blogs, by fellow bl...

Theme Reveal As a writer, I tend to avoid the exclamation point, as a matter of style and form. My theme for the Blogging from A to Z  April (2015) Challenge however, re-images and embraces it. Each day, I will blog about points of wonder, joy, excitement, celebration and yes, things that deserve an exclamation point. During the month of April, join me for uplifting, inspirational Exclamation Point blog posts. Back Story What is the A to Z April Challenge, you may be asking, if you're  new to this blog? Each year bloggers are asked to dig deep into their reservoir of ideas, challenging themselves to blog in a marathon event. The challenge is three fold. (1) We are asked to blog every day, apart from Sunday for the month of April. (2) The posts must progress alphabetically. (3) We are encouraged to visit and comment on between 5 and 10 participating blogger's blogs per day. Gratitude Many people go behind the scenes of making this project a s...

All Occasion Card by Stephanie Bird This morning I heard we had snow in 48 states. Snow on the ground - 48 states? Amazing. No need to go into it too far. It's cold. The plains states, super cold. What to do? What to do? Collage on Paper - Stephanie Bird Snow and cold are daunting. There's shoveling to do and many other practicalities to tend to. It could seem as though many activities are halted. Replaced with dull or exhausting tasks, like clearing paths. I'm not discounting the necessity of clear paths, just suggesting snow may open paths once dormant in several ways. We have the opportunity to travel to so many different places, through the arts. My way has recently been through renewing my studio activities, picking up my brushes, canvases and paints. I've also picked up my novel manuscript. Day by day I'm breathing new life into it. I knew those CPR lessons would come in handy some day! I've taken flight from what is dismal situation outdoor...

Something’s afoot in the studio and outside.  It’s still cold outside, snowy even but I can feel the quickening of conception, growth and the birth of new ideas and new life germinating beneath the frozen surface of the earth.  For many months I have worked hard on a few different series of ATCs.  Now it is time to trade those and put aside the making of the cards.  The cards have stirred many ideas for other media and formats.  I may even be teaching it in an afterschool enrichment program for children.  ATCs are a way of working I hold dear and I know I will soon return to them.  I have blogged about how they remind me of working with metals and how that similarity makes me yearn to return to cloisonné. That is one of the new mediums it has spurned—something I am eager to explore in 2012.  I also want to return to one foot square patterned mandalas. This time though I am going to use some of the ideas I learned about in a workshop on aqueous...