MY MOJO MONTHLY JULY-FAIR & SQUARE

PLEASE VISIT THE NEW MY MOJO MONTHLY HERE!!!

Hello...
And a very big welcome to the first My Mojo Monthly!
Thank you for calling by, I really hope you will enjoy your visit and look forward to our time together. There's lots to read, see and maybe win, but I'm here all month so take your time. I have a huge passion for the creative arts and a desire to motivate and encourage others. There’s so much loveliness out there yet sometimes we run out of steam, need some fresh air or just want to share more of our creative musings. I truly hope that My Mojo Monthly can be a place for YOU and your art...because they both go hand in hand. Through interviews, ideas and  imagery - in many styles and forms, whatever your passion may be, I want to get you thinking, discovering, sharing and enjoying!  So without further ado, let’s get going!

FIVE QUESTIONS TO MY FEATURED ARTIST...
I always love to hear what other artists I admire have to say, and I’m very excited to introduce My Featured Artist Kelly Kilmer. A year ago I stumbled across Kelly’s work and was captivated by her truly amazing art journals that abound with beautiful imagery and honesty.

Each page a true expression of life...all straight from the heart.

So I’m just thrilled that Kelly is willing to share a little of herself and story with us.

Who is Kelly Kilmer in five words?
Curious. Sensitive. Imperfect. Silly. Passionate.

Where are you right now as an artist?
I still feel like that odd little twelve year old girl who liked to draw, paste and stick stickers onto the pages of notebooks and little diaries. I'm becoming more comfortable in my skin and those feelings are reflected upon the pages of my journals. I've been keeping a journal since I was in 4th grade. I'm now 36 years old. The journal keeping process has evolved and changed along with me as I've grown up. I'm still learning and will continue to learn and my hopes are that those changes will be documented on the pages of my journals. I'm not one of those artists who feels that she knows everything. No one knows everything, though some pretend that they do. I love the simple, daily act of experimenting, documenting, pondering, playing and reflecting upon the world events around me on the pages of my little books. I love letting the real me unravel upon the pages of my books.

Which of your creations is closest to your heart?

My art journals are my treasures. There's something to be said about pouring your heart and soul onto the pages of a book. I am always happiest when I can look at a page and honestly say that I've said everything that I've wanted to say on the page. 

I don't worry about pretty or perfect pages, but I do worry about honestly expressing myself and getting what I want to "say" (whatever that may be) out onto the page.

I love looking back (I don't do it often) and seeing how both my work and my own self have changed with time. I love finding little treasures that I'd forgotten about, journal musings about a certain day, photos of my family or a drawing by my son had glued in the books.

 Where do you find inspiration when feeling Mojoless?
I'm a firm believer in finding at least 10-15 minutes of time daily to work in my art journal so I rarely suffer any form of artist's block. I find that taking time (however short it may be) to sit down and work in my journal automatically inspires me and keeps me on my toes. I've always said that you don't need to spend hours in the studio (though that is nice) to be an artist. If you take the time you have and use it in small chunks it really does add up. My students also push me on a regular basis, especially the ones that keep coming back month after month to take new classes. They inspire me to keep pushing the mediums we work with and see how far we can take it. 

I love finding inspiration in any and everything from the simplest thing of looking out my window to taking a walk down the street and finding graffiti that inspires and amazes me to opening up one of my many art books and being visually inspired to watching an old black and white film to talking to my son or husband. I really believe that inspiration IS everywhere, you just have to open your eyes and be receptive to it!

You are going back-packing in the Himalayas for a year and may only take 3 crafting items. Which, and why?
I would definitely take my journal, a dozen (or more) Coccoina Glue sticks (40 gr.) and my refillable Koh-i-noor Rapidosketch pen (size .35) with my refillable black india ink. These are my basic necessities when it comes to making art. If I have my journal, a glue stick and a pen, I can make art anywhere!
Kelly's blog and on-line courses can be found here and details of her classes here! Check them out!

BACK AT HQ...
Wasn't that just a great read? Wise words to all of us. Thank you so much Kelly! Do visit her blog and better still sign up for a class and let your fingers do the talking. Well, how do I follow that? Keeping things on a personal theme and drawing inspiration from my own surroundings I want to share three simple ideas with you. Yummy products abound, our computers are bursting with photographs and still we feel stumped by a blank space. Yet inspiration is on your very doorstep. I love paper and ink. Story told. I have a box full of "didn't make its", off-cuts and orphan trimmings that I just cannot throw away. Something about the texture, colour or imagery still speaks to me so I decided to pull them out of the dust and let them talk.

I used my upturned square punch as a frame to choose and then cut my favourite part. My squares are all 3.5cms but you can go with any mixtures of size and shape. I just fancied squares! I have chosen earthy tones, combining both soft and strong images for variation in detail. You want to be able to admire them all, without any of them fighting for your attention! I suggest making a "frame-finder" to help you select your image. Just cut the desired shape out of paper and slide that around (like making a movie!) You'll soon see the part that says "Choose me!" I've distressed and inked the edges and mounted them onto a French book page and then a piece of scrap cardboard swooshed with white paint. Just a touch of string and metal were enough for me. JUST THINKING... the last snippets of your favourite papers, a vintage magazine, wallpaper, books and photos...fabrics would look just fab with buttons!

Talking of photos... I used the same idea to create this piece using shots taken on my country walk in Shropshire. I'm no expert but these days even a simple digital camera takes a fine shot. By changing all the pics to B&W with a simple editing programme (see links below) and printing them out small, you end up with a concentrated image that hides a lot of imperfections. Many of these pics would not look so good blown up, but look great in a small format. If you're already thinking it's too technical I'm attaching a free download of these images for you to play with right here! I printed onto photo paper and punch cut the images as before. I used the punch upside down to cut the exact piece which gave a raw edge which I really like! But you can also cut by hand. Slightly inked the edges and then layered them onto paper and a canvas both painted in Snowflake by Paper Artsy for a chalky finish.
JUST THINKING...how many wonderful photos do you have but don't use because of "that bit". You know... a finger in a nose on the left, blimey, she looks miserable...who parked there??? Create an original scrapbook LO or keepsake. Hey Stampers! How about digging out all those stamps you've stopped using and rediscovering your favourite part. There's always a best bit on a flourish...

I know many of you adore cards, so here's one for you. I changed the colour of the flower photo to Sepia and printed onto ordinary paper this time. Trimmed, glued to paper and edged with ink. Layered up with a simple ribbon and stamped sentiment. Photo download here! But this could be your flower, your tree or loved one. It's great to be able to create personal gifts and designs that have more resonance, individuality or even commercial appeal if that's your line. But what I'm trying to say is...MAKE IT YOURS AGAIN!

NICE STUFF AND INFO...
So there you go, food for thought and your Mojo I hope. I would love to hear back from you and I invite you to share your musings and creations.
Where are you at, what moved you this week, what's your take on these ideas...? I'll be checking in regularly to take a look at your work and at the end of the month this wonderful book by Sharon Soneff will be winging it's way to an inspirational someone which could be you! In August we'll be talking to Kim Dellow! 
So now it's over to you...

  
A few guidelines on submitting your work:

- In the spirit of MMM please write a few lines in your post about your creativity and why you want to share your work.
- You are very welcome to share challenge pieces if you can tell me a bit about your inspiration and art!
- Please link directly to your post and not your blog so I can find you.
- Please add a link in your post to My Mojo Monthly - thanks!
- Feel free to take the MMM button for your blog - please do!
- Multiple challenge photos without description will be removed.

Now that's definitely a rap as they say...thanks for being here, the door is always open. Drop me a line if you have any questions and off you go now to play, ponder or just be. It's all good.

Sarah.

Useful Links:
Picasa free photo editor
Photoshop free photo editor