Happy Cinco de Mayo! Hard to believe that it’s May already. Spring is definitely past us now in southwest Florida as our weather is getting hotter by the day. It’s still not too bad at night though, which makes dog walking much nicer. The dog days of summer are coming, which means blasting heat from about late May to September. It’s just joyous! Not!

I need to work on some art projects and get two swaps mailed out, but I’m waiting on some art from Karen and I also have to buy more stamps. Somehow I ended up short this month with postage. I’m going to start an organizing chart as they come in now, showing who sent postage and how much, etc. so that when I mail everything I see where it’s going short. Next week (May 12) postage goes up AGAIN, thanks to our lovely government who raises postage on a whim I think!

Clearly the NAFTA and CAFTA programs have only succeeded in causing worldwide hunger, poverty and chaos for farmers and third world countries around the globe as well as economic distress right here in the United States. Today I found out about the GLOBAL EXCHANGE, who is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. My eyes have been opened now to the serious effects of the WTO and their hideous policies. Stop what you’re doing and go to GLOBAL EXCHANGE to learn more about what we can do to prevent globalization from ruining our world.

While you’re at it, check out the official site for The Battle in Seattle, a soon to be released movie about the five days in 1999 in Seattle that human rights protesters battled to prevent WTO members from getting to their meeting while clashing with the police and National Guard. This is based on the actual events which began on November 30, 1999 and turned Seattle upside down for several days. Starring in the movie is Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Joshua Jackson, Jennifer Carpenter and Michelle Rodriguez.

These corporations were guilty of being the 2008 Sweatshop Hall of Shame inductees due to their total disregard for fair labor practices, working conditions and abuse of workers:

For 2008, the official inductees of the Sweatshop Hall of Shame are: American Eagle, Carrefour, Cintas, Dickies, Disney, Guess, Hanes, New Era, Speedo, Tommy Hilfiger, Toys “R” Us, and Wal-Mart.

Please DO NOT buy any products from these companies until they prove that they are working to correct these problems actively and publicly, so that consumers can be confident in their purchases and are not going to support the ongoing abuse of adult and child labor laws.

Mike Krzyzewski - “The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions.”

What a great quote. Can you identify with it?

Click this link: http://www.winknews.com/news/weird/17762419.html and see part of the problem we’re having here in the mighty ol’ US of A. I don’t understand why if we escaped from England all those years ago to be able to practice whatever religion we choose, we are now regressing to “politcal correctness” and saying that no one should publicly utter a word about their religion, pray in public or make any sort of motions or actions which might (God forbid) let anyone know what we believe in…hmm? Anyone else see why this is so wrong? Please feel free to leave your comments!

JOHN 3:16

When you can’t think of something obscure, and it’s running around in your head like a fire ant on a hill…you check Google! Darned if I couldn’t think of the second part of the lyrics to the classic French lullaby “Children’s Song” and neither could my daughter in law. In case you forgot them too, here it is:

Frère Jacques,
Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous?
Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines.
Sonnez les matines.
Din, don, din.
Din, don, din.

(English)

Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Brother John,
Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing.
Morning bells are ringing.
Ding, dong, ding.
Ding, dong, ding.

Quality in art is hard to define for some people, and easy to define for art critics, curators and professional artists. Since most ATC creators are NOT professional artists, I will be speaking to those people. While all of us (even non-crafters) have a certain style of art that appeals to us and are able to communicate those that repel us, most cannot explain what makes it “quality” art.

Any person, whether they call themselves an artist or not can make quality art. There are a few ingredients to making art of a good quality and they are not complex. Like anything else in life, it takes time to develop good habits in your art studio (if it’s your dining room table, that’s fine too!) and they will take you far.

Let’s talk about the ingredients that make up art of a pleasing quality. First and foremost, knowing your art materials and how they work are of utmost importance in getting the most out of them and avoiding frustration and blockage while you’re trying to create. You can learn anything you need to know about your art materials from reading their label, contacting the manufacturer, visiting their website, surfing the web for art materials info and learning from others who already have experience with these products. Help is abundant in how to books which are available in libraries, bookstores and online groups.

Second, practice makes perfect…right? Well, almost! Some folks who have been creating for years may still feel their work is “not quite there yet” but they continue to create. That’s the key! Keep at it. Getting good at making any kind of art is all about spending time at it. Do you think Olympic athletes could just practice once a week and hope to win any medals? Of course not. That same theory applies to any craft or hobby. Spending as little as 20 minutes a day creating will help to polish your skills as an artist. There are many books available that will use lessons to help you build upon your art repertoire.

Third, slowing down and enjoying the art process is what creating is all about. If you try to “crank out” 20 ATC’s in two hours, they will look like you “cranked them out” in two hours. No one can expect to deliver something nice looking in a rushed environment. Take the time to doodle, turn your radio to something you like, have good lighting at your desk so you’re able to see all of your canvas/paper/etc and get rid of any distractions such as kids/pets/noise as much as possible. Take your time and repeat your strokes on scrap paper, use an old envelope from today’s mail and paint on it. You will not feel pressured to make the next great work of art and will relax your hands and comfortably create what comes from within.

Last, don’t let anyone see your art that is liable to criticize you in a less than supportive way when you are a fledgling artist. Many people who are not creative do not have the “right” words to say when faced with a family or friend’s art and the wrong thing will make you feel like you’ve failed. There is no “right” or “wrong” in creating, just jump in and start. That is the hardest part. Work at your art, step away from it and look at it in a day, a week or a month later and you will see something different. Don’t put pressure to look like any certain artist you admire, they have their style and you will develop your style. Copying is part of learning art, but not when we are past the learning stage. Then we must make it our own using our own significant symbolism and style. Read books on design at the library. Lark Books makes a wonderful book on design written by Steven Aimone.

Learn the elements and principles of design and practice them one by one using different warm up exercises during your free time. Sketch items that are right around you, flowers, shoes, pets, fruits, furniture, etc. All you need is a pencil and some copy paper. Everyone who says they can’t draw just hasn’t spent the time necessary to teach themselves how to “see” the lines, shadows and highlights of an ordinary object. You can do it! I know you can. Spend the time making your best work and you will be proud of yourself knowing you really did your best. Hopefully you will be more aware of someone else’s hard work when you receive their art in return!

Happy creating!
Sharon Zimmer

I know everyone is busy this time of year, but this is driving me nuts and I hope you’ll help! I have this photo from someone’s blog who is crafty and linked to one of your blogs…somehow. It might be 3 links deep and have tried using search engines, nothing! So, if you happen to know where this photo came from and/or who made these cute little houses…. All I remember is it was for a birthday party for someone and the people attending were crafters/artists including the gal who made them for her guests! That was the gist of the blog post. If you can help, I sure would LOVE it!