Creative Souls

A Fond Farewell - My Last Sakura Design Team Project

2011-08-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! How fast 6 months can pass. I have been very honored to be a part of the Sakura Design Team. Sakura Craft is creating quality products that can really help every type of crafter.

I really loved working with the 3D Crystal Lacquer and know it will remain a staple in my crafting kit along with all of the jewelry findings and glass tiles.

My favorite projects were:

Clowning Around, Part Duex

Film Noir Magnet Box

For this week I have created two pendants.

The first, is a piece I'd started almost at the beginning. I had stamped a round silver finding with a butterfly. This week I covered it with Glitter Pink Crystal Lacquer - adding an extra dimension and shine.

Below, I used an "deep dish" Zinc Oval Pendant. I cut out the background from a sheet of Steampunk images and covered it with a thick layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer. Once it had dried, I placed a metal cog centered around the clock face in the image. Another thin layer of crystal lacquer was applied. You can still feel the texture of the cog.

Thank you for all the fabulous feedback you all have provided in this creative journey.

Keep on feeding your Creative Soul!

~Heather Morrow

P.S. Check out our fun-filled Creative Souls Retreat happening this September in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains.

Paper Necklace (Design Team Submission)

2011-08-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

For this project, I used a tag from the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante Collection. To protect the back of the paper, I used Sakura Craft 3D Crystal Lacquer to glue the image to a piece of plastic from a clam shell packaging. I cut around the plastic once the glue was dry and repunched the hole.

I then covered the front of the image in a thick layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer. The cool thing about this product is how well it stays in place. Again, it had to dry - I recommend overnight.

I looped black cord through the tag and created slip knots, so that it can be easily adjusted.

Of course, I wouldn't recommend taking this piece in the shower - actually, I don't recommend it for any jewelry; however, it will hold up to normal wear and tear of being used as a unique accessory.

For more fun, creative projects using the 3D Crystal Lacquer, check out the Crystal Lacquer Blog.

Keep on creating!

Heather Morrow

Creative Souls

How to Create Quick and Easy Wall Art

2011-08-07T21:00:00.001-07:00

Supplies needed:

4x4 piece of glass or plexi-glass

Gold Flower Stickers from Sparkraft Enterprises

3D Color Crystal Lacquer

2 Tim Holtz Clips

Matching Chain

This piece of glass was out of a picture frame that was used for another project. The glass had been floating around my desk for several weeks and I didn't want to just toss it, so I decided to use it to create a quick piece of wall art.

Clean your glass or plexi-glass before placing the flower stickers. I used Gold Metallic 3D Crystal Lacquer for the center of each flowers. The large flower petals are Lilac Pearl 3D Crystal Lacquer and the smaller flowers are Glitter Red (which looks pink to me).

I let the Crystal Lacquer dry overnight, attached the chain to the clips and then the clips to the glass. Hang it on the wall or in a window.

Have fun creating!

Heather Morrow

Creative Souls

Thanks for the Bottle Caps

2011-07-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

I love when inspiration arrives via USPS. My sister, Noel, follows my posts on the Crystal Lacquer Blog and thought I might be able to use 7 Fitz's Premium Root Beer bottle caps.

Yummy, this project was bit like eating good candy. I couldn't stop at just one bottle cap.

What is nice about the Fitz's bottle caps is that they are a twist off, so the shape is not distorted.

Several pieces of inspiration were found at Zinnia in South Pasadena, including this old broach. I used an Exact-O knife to remove the remaining faux diamonds. Be VERY careful doing this as I nicked my finger and don't recommend the experience.

You begin to see where I am going, when the bottle cap fits perfectly within the broach setting.

The picture below is not in focus; however, I wanted to show what the Pearl Color 3D Crystal Lacquer looked like dropped into each individual slot.

In the bottle cap itself, I used an image left over from my last "Film Noir" project. I covered the image with Yellow 3D Crystal Color Lacquer - Glitter Primary to give it a little sparkle. Once everything was dry (give it time to dry!), I glued the pieces together and applied a pin back.

As I mentioned above, I could not stop at 1 bottle cap. I had all sorts of "found" objects and 3D Color Crystal Lacquer to play with.

A cool looking bead set into Glitter Violet 3D Crystal Color Lacquer.

Blue 3D Crystal Lacquer with Metallic Blue swirled in. Dolphin pieces were applied after the blue swirl layer dried.

The small fancy glass piece was left over from a prior project and had been stamped with the butterfly image. Not that you can tell from the image, but a layer of Pearl 3D Crystal Lacquer was applied underneath. Then the glass piece, followed by the small square frame on top.

Glitter Yellow 3D Crystal Color Lacquer and small plastic flower placed after first layer dried.

Ready for Halloween? Orange Glitter Primary & black spider. Creepy!

Below is my absolute favorite piece . . . of all the bottle caps.

The image inside the cap is from Bottle Cap Images - Vintage Edition. Covered with a layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer. I attached the crown using glue and used a bail at the bottom to add the pearl drop. All of the bails used for this project were from Sakura Craft.

Keep on feeding your Creative Soul!

~Heather Morrow

P.S. Check out our fun-filled Creative Souls Retreat happening this September in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains.

Film Noir Magnet Box

2011-07-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

I was very excited when these thin metal boxes arrived from Sakura Craft. Approximately 5" x 6" by 1/2" deep. I really wasn't sure what I was going to do. In the back of my mind, I'd had thoughts of a puzzle - where you move the pieces around to create a picture.

I started playing with the Graphic 45 Curtain Call Borders and some found objects . . .

An idea was slowly starting to take hold . . . the paper reminded me of Film Noir, the name given to Black & White films created from the early 40s with big stars and melodramatic stories.

And, yet, I still had the idea of a puzzle to form a picture . . . inside the box. 24 Scrabble Tiles

I had picked the tiles randomly out of a bin at Zinnia's in South Pasadena. Maybe I had a word . . . .

I obviously needed to do a little research on Film Noir, as I was spelling it incorrectly. No Spell Check on Scrabble tiles. The box cover was starting to come together . . .

Now for the tiles, rather than one big image, I decided to combine a bunch of small images from the Curtain Call border paper. I adhered the images to the Scrabble tiles using the 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Although not pictured here, I trimmed off the edges on each tile and then applied 3D Crystal Lacquer on top of each.

I painted the inside of the box black, to really make the images on the tiles pop!

I then was trying to figure how to secure the tiles into the box in a neat and orderly fashion. I also wanted to be able to move the images around, finally something clicked and I pulled out these small button magnets.

Now I could rearrange the images to my heart's content, kind of like the puzzle I was after.

On the inside of the lid, I applied another image and covered it with 3D Crystal Lacquer. Once again, I was too impatient with giving the lacquer time to dry and I closed the lid too soon and there was a glue mishap. Give your 3D Crystal Lacquer plenty of time to dry, especially if it is a thick layer.

Once the inside was complete, I moved back to the outside to add the elements decided on, earlier in the process.

I realized that I would also have to paint the lid black, to get the same effect as on the inside of the metal box.

And, now Noir is spelled correctly. These Scrabble tiles were also glued to magnets.

This project took a lot of time (waiting for paint and glue to dry); however, I was very pleased with my results. I loved the Curtain Call paper from Graphic 45 and it was a fun way to put it to use.

Keep on feeding your Creative Soul!

~Heather Morrow

P.S. Check out our fun-filled Creative Souls Retreat happening this September in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains.

Sakura Blog Hop - A Tell-Tale Heart (Altered Book)

2011-06-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome, I thought I would share an Edgar Allen Poe's A Tell-Tale Heart story with you. Here's the abridged version:

A man with a glass eye is murdered by someone claiming to be completely sane. The body parts are stored under the floor boards of his room. When the police come to investigate, they are invited to check the entire house and then entertained in the same room. The murder finally confesses to the crime because he/she is sure that the beating heart beneath the floor boards is heard by all.

I was selected to participate in the Art on Millionaire's Row Salon Art show at the Atladena Library earlier this month and given the opportunity to create an art book that would be sold to raise funds.

The best part of being selected was going to find the book to alter from the donated stacks beneath the building. A book from Poe collection practically jumped off the shelf at me. I knew at that moment that A Tell-Tale Heart was going to be my theme.

Once I got over my fear of the book police coming to get me for destroying something published over 100 years ago (I know, they still might show up at my door), I used crystal lacquer to glue all of the pages in the center of the book together. The story was at the end, leaving me plenty of space to hide a beating heart!

I started to use the crystal lacquer on each page, but quickly realized this would be A LOT of work. I then took binder clips to hold the pages together and generously applied the crystal lacquer to the edges. It dried overnight.

Although the book was not in the best of condition, I used the Zutter to rough up the binding even more. The chipboard Cogs from ScrapFx were painted with gold Luminere by Jacquard and then distressed. I used a gold leafing pen to go over the original wording on the cover - it was a weathered gray like in the design around the raven. Also the gold leafing was applied over the crystal lacquer holding the pages together. The buttons and ribbon worked great to secure the book when closed.

The red glimmer mist was applied towards the end, to give the illusion of blood.

Inside cover, a picture of Poe printed on photo paper and then painted with Metalic Acrylic paint from Jacquard and then sanded down.

I wanted an audio portion to the piece, so I purchased one of those cards you can record a message onto and then recorded a heart-beat. I hid the mechanism between several pages at the front of the book, so when it is opened to the title page, you hear the heart beat - escalating in volume and pace.

Another picture of Poe, splattered with blood. The Table of Contents was distressed.

Turning to the story, you discover that there is a heart on every other page and beneath the story is . . . the beating heart.

It took a while to cut out the, literal, heart of the book. I used an exact-o knife, taking out several pages at a time. I then applied a variety of colors of distressing ink to not only the cut-out portion, but also to the pages of the story. It created that cool heart pattern on every other page.

The heart was created using Soft Clay from ClayCraft. It is a soft, light weight durable air-dry clay. The cogs were applied before the clay dried. The computer hard-drive reader was a found object that seemed to fit perfectly with the illusion of the beating heart.

I had a lot of fun with this project. Please click on the link below to view my video showing the completed project.

A Tell-Tale Heart Video

Thanks for visiting!
Heather Morrow

P.S. Don't forget that you are blog hopping . . . next is Carole Lassake. If you missed anyone, or are completely lost - the entire blog hop list is below.

1) Sakura's Blog

2) Terri Sproul's Blog
3) Jennifer Van Pelt's Blog
4) Karen Myers' Blog
5) Chelsea Povall's Blog
6) Heather Morrow's Blog -- You are here
7) Carole Lasske's Blog -- Your next stop
8) Carol Burn's Blog

P.P.S. Check out our fun-filled Creative Souls Retreat happening this September in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains.

Colorful Glass Pendants

2011-06-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy working with the glass tiles from Sakura Craft. For this project, I recycled some painted photo paper and applied flower stickers from Sparkraft Enterprise.

It is a little hard to tell, but I did fill the middle of each flower and petals with the colored 3D Crystal Color Lacquer from the Glitter primary line.

The photo paper was painted with Lumiere by Jacquard. The word "soul" in the third pendant had been printed on the photo paper using my Photosmart printer.

I was not very patient when I glued the paper to the glass with the 3D Crystal Lacquer and you can see that some air bubbles did form at the top. You want to make sure you apply even pressure to the glass as it is drying, to avoid air pockets.

The paper was initially larger than the glass piece. I glued the piece down and once it was dried, trimmed very close the the glass.

I used wasabi paper on the back of the glass pendant with a coat of 3D Crystal Lacquer. The bails and chain are also from Sakura Craft. The bail attached with 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Keep on creating!

Heather Morrow
Creative Souls

P.S. Check out the Creative Souls Retreat happening this fall in the San Bernardino Mountains. Join us for this fun-filled weekend. Spend more than 40 hours unleashing your own Creative Soul! www.creativesoulsretreat.com

Mary Queen of Scots (Pendant)

2011-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

This month from Sakura Craft, we got to play with these cool deep dish pendants. It's about 1/4" deep. I couldn't wait to layer "found objects" in . . .

This image, that reminded me of Mary Queen of Scots in her younger years - standing on the cliffs of Scotland, is from the ART-C Vintage Ladies collection. My mom had sent me these random charms. So, I played around with crowning my queen.

Cutting to fit the image in the pendant was a bit of a challenge, I ended up taking a bit too much off the top; however, you really cannot tell in the final result After using Crystal Lacquer to glue the image down, I covered it with a layer of additional lacquer.

After drying 24 hours, I put in the fleur de lis and the crown and poured in more crystal lacquer to cover the fleur de lis and leave the crown exposed.

When I was removing the crown charm from the original chain, the piece on top broke off, so it felt a bit incomplete. The star on the top is actually a bail, upside down. Again, I used more crystal lacquer to keep it in place.

The funky legs in the original plan didn't get included; I felt they really weren't necessary to complete the piece. It was then put onto a ball-and-chain necklace.

Have fun creating!

Heather Morrow

P.S. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the live you've imagined." -Thoreau

Creative Souls Retreat

2011-06-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

Karen Myers from Kat Scrap Studio and I are hosting a Creative Souls Retreat at the Pali Mountain Camp Site in the San Bernardino Mountains the weekend of September 9. This civilized camping includes cabins that are a higher caliber than Motel 6, so I think I will survive.

In putting together this retreat, Karen and I wanted to create an environment where our guests could explore their own creativity in a safe setting far away from the interruptions of daily life. We know how it is when you get a great idea for a project (scrapbook, painting, etc.) and then you get interrupted before you can put it all together. We've been there and have plenty of UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) to show for it.

To learn more about the retreat, click here. There is a fun video, so even if you are not interested in the retreat, I recommend checking out the video.

We've got a lot of cool workshops and demo-nars planned, so even if you are feeling a bit disconnected from your own Creative Soul, we promise you won't feel the same way when you return from the Retreat.

The early bird pricing on the Creative Souls Retreat is only being offered until June 17, and also if you are one of the first 35 registered, you will be entered in a special drawing. See the www.creativesoulsretreat.com website for more details.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Keeping It Simple

2011-05-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I kept things very simple; however, I have included a bonus project.

I had very few pieces of the Sakura Glass Tiles left; however, I wanted to try stamping on the back of one. I used this small butterfly stamp and StazOn Ink. It was a bit of a challenge to photograph.
I liked how the piece looked against this light pink background (almost translucent), so I glued it down using the 3D Crystal Lacquer. I glued it first and then cut around the edges after it had dried.

To turn it into a pendant, I used the Crystal Lacquer to attach this darling Heart Bail. I also covered the back with a thick layer of the Crystal Lacquer - to protect the paper from future damage. The ball chain is also from Sakura Craft.

And that's it! Pretty simple. And here is your bonus item.

Several weeks ago when we were playing with the round jewelry findings, I filled one with the Red Crystal Lacquer. Once it dried, I stamped on top of it and then filled the finding with a thick layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer.

I was trying to fit this round piece in something else and it wouldn't fit. When I was sorting through stuff for my garage sale, I found this key and knew it would be the perfect match.

I have strung it on a waxed cord and added a small decorative bead at the top.

Keep on exploring your own Creative Soul.

Heather Morrow

Clowning Around, Part Duex

2011-05-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit that I am a bit enamored with the Graphic 45 Le Cirque Collection; however, when I started the project - I intended for it to be more of a sliding puzzle - where you move the boxes around to create or jumble up an image. I had been sent these glass tiles along with jewelry findings to create my latest Design Team project from Sakura Craft.

I was on the hunt for a small box and found this in my basket of scraps. It was packaging from some sort of device - I don't remember, but now I had a box and the tiles puzzle idea was evolving as I started thinking outside the box in order to create "Controlled Mayhem to Dazzle & Delight."

I started by covering the box in the LeCirque Collection paper. I tried to match up images where I could, as I turned the corners. To glue the pieces down to the box, I used Clear 3D Crystal Lacquer.

I then used the 3D Crystal Lacquer to glue the different sizes of glass tiles to the tag images.

After the Crystal Lacquer had dried, I used trimming scissors to cut closely around the edges of the tiles.

Then the fun part -- creating a layout in the box that told a story. I placed everything in position before I began gluing the pieces or using pop-dots to secure them to the box.

The final product hanging on my dining room wall. The tag hanging on the ring was a last minute whimsical addition.

I really enjoyed putting this project together --as it continued to evolve from what I had originally envisioned. The glass tiles are very easy to work with; however, if you get too much 3D Crystal Lacquer on the tile, it can slide off your image. Less is definitely more in this case.

Have fun creating!

Transformations

2011-04-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

I found this 16" x 20" print for free at the farewell party of Gallery at the End of the World in Altadena. I was not really attracted to the print other than I through the blues and greens would match the Metallic & Pearl Color 3D Crystal Lacquer I had waiting at home -- ready for a project to manifest.

Below are some close up details of the print - before I applied the Crystal Lacquer.

Here is the 3D Crystal Lacquer package with the print. The green is a dead on match and I had a dark pearl blue 3D Crystal Lacquer from another set.

I failed to take a picture of the print with the lacquer applied; however, I quickly realized it could not stay on the flat background. It was just blah, so I cut out the pieces and looked for a small canvas. I found an 8" x 10" canvas in my garage which I then spray painted black and coated with a glitter glaze.

I decided that the blue flourish would represent the sky and the green, the earth. I placed the sunflower between. The composition still needed something, so I added a ScrapFX Chipboard Flutterby which I coated with Bronze Crystal Lacquer.

After applying the lacquer and letting it dry, I glued the butterfly to the canvas.

After the glue was set, I filled in the butterfly wings with the 3D Crystal Lacquer. I did have to use a toothpick to move the lacquer into the smaller wing areas.

The green glitter button in the center of the flower was a last minute addition. I was cleaning out something and found the button. I started to toss it into the scrappy pile (yes, I have one) and then realized it was the same size as the center of the flower.

A final tip - on the petals of the flower, I squeezed the lacquer from the base and pulled it towards the edge releasing the pressure on the tube. This is what created the nice even look on the petals.

Have fun creating!

Clowning Around

2011-04-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

I had a few sheets of Graphic 45 scrapbooking paper that I was wanting to play with. It was from their Le Cirque Collection.

I used the rectangular jewelry finding to figure out which image worked best out of the sheet of Circus themed tags. The running clown caught my fancy, so I carefully cut the front part of his body out of the tag and glued it into the finding.

Tip: You want to make sure that you put a little Crystal Lacquer under the image, to hold it in place. If you do not, the moisture in the Crystal Lacquer applied on top will float the edges of the paper up.

I covered the image with Crystal Lacquer and set it aside to dry. As I was cleaning up, I realized that the second half of the image would also fit in the rectangular jewelry finding (and it was pretty), so I repeated the same steps and also used another image from the same sheet in a round jewelry finding.

I did not really intend for their to be two halves of the clown; however, once they dried, I realized that I had a match and I knew they had to be put together as one jewelry piece.

I used Crystal Lacquer to glue the pieces together and then filled the findings to almost overflowing with additional Crystal Lacquer.

Once it was completly dried, I tied knots on the ends of two black waxed cord and then tied them together with an adjustable slip knot at the top.

Very easy to create a unique piece of jewelry that people will notice.

Coloring Within the Lines

2011-03-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

At the Borders in Pasadena, which is closing, I found a book called "The Great Big Book of Designs -- an Inspirational Source Book" It is filled with pages upon pages of line art - perfect for coloring. I looked for the image that most inspired me to color and photocopied it on my HP Photosmart Printer.

I truly love coloring in images -- I think it reconnects me to my inner child that would be perfectly content to color all day, every day. And, I've recently discovered Copic markers. So, I colored in my image and then because this was a Sakura Design Team project, I went back over the Copic colors with complimentary 3D Crystal Lacquer from the Country Color Set.

I quickly realized I needed a color chart, so I put one in the corner of the page. Copic color, copic color with color crystal lacquer and then the color crystal lacquer by itself. It's hard to see in these pictures, but the color crystal lacquer really makes the Copic colors pop.

Here are the colors I used . . . from the top right

Blue Berry (BV04) Copic/Country Blue 3D Crystal Lacquer

Amethyst (V17) Copic/Berry 3D Crystal Lacquer

Buttercup Yellow (Y21) Copic/Ivory 3D Crystal Lacquer

Mignonette (YG11) Copic/Jade Green 3D Crystal Lacquer

top left

Pea Green (YG63) Copic/Moss Green 3D Crystal Lacquer

Cardinal (R59) Copic/Country Red 3D Crystal Lacquer

I didn't run a test on the Black Copic, but I used regular 3D Crystal Lacquer on the centers of the yellow flowers.

My favorite combined color was the Cardinal Red Copic and Country Red Crystal Lacquer. The photo doesn't do it justice. It really pops off the page.

I did okay coloring within the lines with the Copics and the Crystal Lacquers do sit where you place them; however, my hand was a little less steady, as I was not able to rest my wrist on the page because it was wet.

So, what to do when the Crystal Lacquer goes outside the lines? Use your fingernail to scrape it off the page, right after the mistake happens. It will not even leave a color residue.

Get out your color pens, pencils, etc and start coloring within the lines and accenting your piece with 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Seeing Green

2011-03-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is my first Design Team project with the Sakura Crafts. I have a certain fondness for St. Patrick's Day, so I pulled together a bunch of green materials to start playing.

I was inspired by the small 2" green frame and metal flower insert that seemed to fit together perfect. I'd found both in the findings bar at Zinnia in South Pasadena.

I had to find a backing that would compliment both and look good with the different Crystal Color Lacquer. The pastel orange piece was the beginning of an ATC which I had painted several years ago using left over oil paints from my pallet. I liked how nicely it contrasted with with the greens and brought out the color from the Country Color set of Crystal Lacquer.

I found the Celtic flower with the lacquer appealing, so I cut out a bunch to try all the different colors in the set.

As those pieces dried overnight, I assembled my little frame and charm. I used the red and yellow color lacquer to fill the in between spaces which gives it a bit of a stained glass window effect.

For the Celtic flowers, I decided I liked the green, best. In the 3/4" round jewelry finding, I put a dark green piece of paper and covered it with the green lacquer. After it dried, I placed the green Celtic image and then covered it with 3D Crystal Lacquer.

For more great ideas, please visit the Crystal Lacquer blog. Have fun creating!

Sakura Design Team Member

2011-02-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Today it was announced that I will be a part of the Sakura Design Team. The last post on my blog featured the work I submitted for consideration.

Being on a Design Team is of this caliber will be truly challenging and inspirational. I am joined by a few friends from the KatScrap Studio Design team (Karen Myers & Chelsea Povall) and my fearless leader is Terri Sproul. Other members of the design team (who I have not met yet) are featured on the Sakura blog. I can't wait to see what we'll all create as we certainly bring a lot of creative diversity to the table.

You can, of course, continue to follow my blog or go to see all of the design team updates at http://www.crystallacquer.blogspot.com/. There will be a creative post every couple of days.

It's been a while . . .

2011-02-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

It's not that I haven't been creating - I have just not sharing my creations.

Here are a few I thought I would share. These are ATC (Artist Trading Cards). I started the backgrounds of both several years ago when I was still playing with my oil paints. I would take the excess paint from the palette and smear them over the cards. The paint would take months to dry and I eventually put them away . . . .until last week when I was playing with some new products I'd received at the Craft & Hobby Show.

On the first card, the butterflies and text were stamped onto the background. I then used Sakura's 3D Crystal Lacquer to highlight the butterflies in the image. The lacquer is great - it really stays in place without too much coaxing. Made drawing within the wings, easy.

On the second card, I played with Sakura's colored 3D Crystal Lacquer. I had a bright peacock blue color which I pulled with a toothpick into a light pink color - creating the movement on the card. The butterfly, cut on the Revolution, was also "painted" with the two colors of lacquer. The blue seemed to suspend itself inside the lighter color.

Goddess Within Workshop @ Craft & Hobby Show

2010-02-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 23, 2010 was the Goddess Within Workshop at the Craft & Hobby Convention in Anaheim. We had a very intimate and creative group. The first is from a young lady (under 18) from the Los Angeles area.

This photo is a little out of focus, but Heather from Australia (who was just there with her friend) did an amazing job decoupaging her female form. She also won the gift basket of fabulous crafting goodies. Never doubt your potential to create!

Fellow friend from Australia created this lovely goddess with rich burgundy lace and other found objects.

Cheryl from Tennessee impressed her friends with her Goddess. I love how she pleated the ribbon around the form.

Below is my demo pieces which I finished and gave to our room monitor for the event.

As the class setting was intimate and not very many people to instruct, Marie (my assistant for the workshop) was able to create her own Goddess.

The event and exhibits were filled with all sorts of celebrities. I saw Kathy Ireland and Vanna White, but was unable to grab a photo with them. Here are a few celebrities Marie and I were able to pose with during the convention.

Marie with Martha Beck

Marie the Crafty Chica

Heather with Sherrill Kahn

Marie with Sherrill Kahn

Heather with Shrek & Bettlejuice

Marie with Shrek & Bettlejuice

Wyland painting (above & below)

You would recognize Wyland's sealife - whales beeching, dolphins kissing.

Had a great time at the Craft & Hobby Convention. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Creative Souls Challenge - Tin Doll

2010-01-10T20:42:00.001-08:00

I got the idea for this project from Zinnia in South Pasadena. They had these dolls made from old porcelain dolls, tin cans and a variety of other found objects. After seeing the installation I was in a antique shop near by and I picked up the Wilco Polishing Cloth tin and the old puppet with the perfect head. I had the buttons on hand.

The first challenge was got get the head removed from the puppet body. I struggled with this problem for a few weeks as the head was attached with a metal bar running through the shoulders. I started to chip away at the substance holding the metal ring into the head, but this was going to take hours. I finally undressed the puppet to discover the metal bar at the shoulders was being held in place by just a few threads. I went from needing metal working equipment to just scissors.

While detaching the head, I decided that I wanted to reuse the calves of the puppet body. They are small socks filled with small metal pellets which over time have worn through the material.

Now the fun could begin. After several trips to the garage, I had the supplies I needed. Metal wire, an awl and a hammer. I started by punching the holes for the metal loop on the head.

I then needed a way to keep the head in place once the loop was through the lid. The metal bar that had been used on the puppet was too large for the lid. I finally decided on a Safety Pin.

With the head in place, the doll was starting to take shape.

I found a heart from an old key chain. I secured it to the can using wire and a button as a washer on the inside.

Next it was time to create the arms. I planned on using buttons all the way along. From my jewelry box, I borrowed two pendants I no longer wore. One was a hand/flower and the other was a miniature book.

I had planned on using buttons for the legs, also; however, when I went to get a needle and thread from my sewing kit, I had an inspired idea to use the tape measure as the upper part of the legs.

Velcro on the back of the tape allowed me to create a flexible loop that could be threaded through the bottom of the tin.

With the appendages complete, I was ready to continue assembling the doll. Again, I used buttons on the inside as washers.

Completed doll sitting.

Completed doll hanging.

This project took me about an hour and a half to complete once I had all the parts together.

Creative Souls - A New Year, A New Vision

2010-01-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 2, 2010 was the first Creative Souls Art Workshop of the new year at the Heart & Soul Healing Arts Center in Pasadena. We used the time to look at our values and to create a vision board of what we would like our future to be like.

Envisioning is a powerful tool to help propel you to the next step(s) on your life journey, as it allows you to focus on the results rather than the day-to-day activities that tend to bog us down and cause us to lose focus on the end-game.

We spent the morning and early afternoon outside in the beautiful backyard of the center. It was a very relaxing session and each participant not only created a vision for their life, but also a work of art.

Holiday Ornaments

2009-12-12T16:56:00.001-08:00

It was a little damp today for the Creative Souls Holiday Ornament Workshop. We were warm and toasty inside Heart & Soul creating memories for our trees and lots of gift tags (using the Revolution die cut machine).

We started with plain glass balls and wrapped copper tape around it to create sections. We then colored in the sections with an alcohol based ink that can be applied to glass.

The second ornament was a black ceramic heart that was decorated by sponging on translucent glimmer paints.

The last ornament was something I created while the others worked on their gift tags. I applied translucent glimmer paints to a clear glass ball.

Goddess Within

2009-09-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos from the "Goddess Within" Creative Souls Art Workshop on Saturday, September 5 at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena.

We started by drawing Goddess cards and sharing what the card meant to us. Soon all you could hear was the relaxing music and birds chirping as everyone reconnected with their creative soul and began transforming the 11" mannequins into unique works of art.

Dale, Laura and Devinna

Joanne, Allison, Dale, Laura, Devinna and Adriana

Janice, Christyn and Joanne

Dale's Goddess

Allison's Goddess

Janice's Goddess

Christyn's Goddess

Laura's Goddess

Joanne's Goddess

Back of Joanne's Goddess

Adriana's Goddess

Devinna's Goddess

Heather's Goddess

Flower Power Painting Art Workshop

2009-08-06T17:37:00.001-07:00

Saturday, August 1 was the Flower Power Painting on Metal Art Workshop.

Simone (pictured below) had a moment of creative inspiration and changed her painting to Tree Power.

We used cut-outs from my QuicKutz Silhouette machine to help us create the shapes and scructure for the paintings.

Simone planning her tree (above), compeleted (below)

Heather's Flower Power (below)

Rit-z-Spritz Workshop

2009-07-12T18:53:00.001-07:00

Simone & Vicki attended the Rit-z-Spritz Workshop on Saturday, July 11. We used Rit fabric dye, fabric markers and paper stencils (cut out on my Silhouette SD - LOVE IT!) to fill a 6 page canvas book. The stenciled designs were then embellished with buttons and glitter glue. We were limited to two hours, but I think all of us could have spent the day embellishing these delightful books.

Despite the heat, we stayed cool under the fig tree in the backyard of Heart & Soul Healing Art Center.

Simone planning her design.

Simone #1

Simone #2 & #3

Simone #4 & #5

Simone #6

Vicki created her book with her 1 year old granddaughter in mind.

Vicki #1

Vicki #2 & #3

Vicki #4 & #5

Vicki #6

I started on page #5 before the class to show the different techniques, so it does not really match the others.

Heather #1

Heather #2 & #3

Heather #4 & #5

Heather #6

Don't miss the Saturday, August 1 class, we will be painting a flower on metal. Remember all the supplies are provided when you take a Creative Souls class.

Creative Scottie Souls

2009-07-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

Just got back from the Scottie Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio where I led a Scottie Scrapbooking class. There were 50 people in the session and they created some amazing pages.

Altered Books

2009-06-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 6 at Heart & Soul, we created Altered Books. Actually, the books had already been altered - pre-cut into a purse, dragon fly and house. We just enhanced and embellished the initial alteration.

Our newest Creative Soul - Sherri. "King of the Sea" purse.

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Donna's dragon-fly. It does look like a gun when it is closed.

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Heather's House - "Caught in a Rundown"

Heather Meets Acclaimed Photographer Ed Martin

2009-05-10T19:14:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, May 2, I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Martin. He is an AMAZING photographer and increadible artist with a lifetime of experiences to feed his creativity.

Ed Martin & Heather Morrow

The Susan Mander's Art Tour Experience began with Ed walking us through his compound filled with huge sculptures he welded together years ago.

We are blessed and cursed by the digital age and Ed has had to quickly adapt to the digital age as the film and photo paper manufacturers are no longer producing the supplies he needs in order to create his brilliant works of art.

Ed explains how he used to use an enlarger to create his photographs.

He would take found objects and arrange them in the enlarger - giving the illusion when printed that they were suspended in mid-air. He also used flowers and suspended them in oil to create a completely different effect. Using this process, he has captured the internal life of a flower.

One of his earlier works.

Ed now using a scanner to create his art.

Recently, Ed has started taking pictures of famous people in a fun-house mirror in the back of his studio. I was honored that he assisted me with photographing myself in the mirror and in the process captured both of us in quite a bizarre moment in time.

We were then led through his house by his delightful wife, Sandy. She pointed out all of Ed's work and his extensive collection of other artist's works.

Their lovely home sits on Mulholland Drive above Universal City and overlooking the San Fernando Valley.

I took a lot of photos of Ed's home, work and studio. If you'd like to see more, please click here.

My favorite sculptural piece was the two old wheel chairs overlooking the valley.

Susan Manders is planning another art tour in the late summer I encourage you to sign-up for her mailing list to find out when the next one will be. You will not be disappointed.

Creative Souls Art Workshop - Guardian Angels

2009-05-03T10:31:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, May 2 at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena, we (finger) painted our Guardian Angels. There were brushes available to those who did not want to completely reconnect with their inner child.

We walked through a visualization exercise while listening to a recording of the Benedictine Monks chanting played in the background.

Looking at these paintings, you can quickly see why angels have been depicted in many forms throughout the history of art.

Vicki's Guardian Angel

Joanne's Guardian Angel

Simone's Guardian Angel
Happy Birthday, Simone! Hope it was a splendid day.

Jeanne's Guardian Angel

Heather's Guardian Angel

The next Creative Souls Art Workshop is June 6, 2009 from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm. We will be creating Altered Books.

Creative Souls Upcoming Workshops

2009-04-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Creative Souls Writing Workshop

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Wednesday, April 29 - 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena

In this workshop we will explore creating a story from a picture. You are welcome to bring a picture that interests you or pick from the selection I will have.

Whether you have written before, or just want to start putting pen to paper, this session is for you. Just as with the art workshops, it is a safe environment to explore your creativity.

I have spent years writing and studying the craft of writing. These Creative Souls Writing Workshops will allow me to share the various techniques of getting beyond a blank sheet of paper with you.

The cost of the session is $20 and reservations are suggested.

Heart & Soul Healing Art Center
1167 North Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 798-8337

For more information on Creative Souls, visit our website (www.cr8ivesouls.com)

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May Creative Souls Art Workshop

Guardian Angels

Saturday, May 2 - 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena

In this session, we will be finger painting our guardian angels. I will guide you to create a unique work of art, inspired by your own vision. Each participant will be provided with a canvas and the supplies to paint their own guardian angel. You are welcome to bring any objects or embellishments to add to your work (or share). [$30 - includes materials.]

*Reserve your seat now, space is limited!*

Heart & Soul Healing Art Center
1167 North Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 798-8337

For more information on Creative Souls, visit our website (www.cr8ivesouls.com)

Fairy Jewelry Boxes

2009-04-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend, at the Creative Souls Workshop, we made Fairy Boxes. We had black boxes (spray painted) that were sponged with a shimmer paint. Each participate was also provided other items to incorporate into their box including fairy images and a special fairy cut-out from my new Silhouette machine. The Silhouette hooks up to the computer and can cut any image you upload into the program. The machine is absolutely fantastic.

Heather - Inside Box

Heather - Lid of Box

Teri - Lid of Box

Terri - Bottom & Top of Box

Judi - Bottom of Box

Judi - Lid of Box

Judi - Inside Box

Donna - Lid of Box

Donna - Inside Box

Mary - Inside Box

Mary - Lid of Box

Karen - Inside Box

Karen - Lid of Box

So, that was Saturday. On Sunday, I was back at Heart & Soul with my pottery and a fun Creative Souls Make-And-Take Project for their first Arts & Crafts Fair. Below is a photo of my booth.

I got the tent at Costco - it is an easy up. Love it!

Heather Meets Artist Leigh McCloskey

2009-03-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

My art mentor, Susan Manders, arranged an exclusive tour to Leigh McCloskey's home and amazing art studio. In Malibu, it overlooks the Pacific Ocean; however, the wonderful view and lush gardens are quickly dulled as you step into Leigh's art studio. His vision of the universe and life's important questions have been painted on almost every surface, including the bindings of the books on the shelves.

Leigh and Heather

Susan Manders on the steps up to the Studio.

Pictures can hardly capture how awe-inspiring his body of work is. As he talks about where he started on painting the once ugly linoleum floor, you are blown away by the depth of his knowledge of religion, science, art, philosophy and beyond.

Below is Sophia. She is painted onto the cabinet and if you open the cupboard the exploration of your soul continues. Leigh explains that it is not "self-discovery" but "shelf-discovery" and you want to get to the top shelf.

Below is a piece of Eve. She is painted on a free-standing pillar in the middle of the room. You can see the intricate detail of the form leading the the whole piece in this picture. He said that the thin lines were drawn with a quill.

Yes, even the couch is painted - on every surface.

Leigh talks about where he started working on the floor.

Leigh in front of Phoenix Arise talking to his enchanted audience.

The ceiling.

The Heron on the Chair.

Despite the early morning rain, it was the perfect day to drive to Malibu. I drove through Las Virgenes Canyon, which thanks to the rain was very green and lush. It was very blustery and the waves were crashing into the coast. Truly a breath-taking day.

Creative Souls Whimsy

2009-03-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

The theme of this month's Creative Souls Workshop was "All the World's a Stage." Each participant was given a "character" with a head, arms, legs and an odd "body" piece. They all created truly wonderfully whimsical characters.

Judi (Front)

Judi (Back)

Terri

Michelle

Laurel (Front)

Laurel (Back)

Liane (Front)

Liane (Back)

Vicki

Heather

Meeting Deborah Norville

2009-02-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

Deborah Norville gave the keynote presentation last month at the Craft & Hobby Association Convention in Anaheim, and I had the opportunity to meet her afterwards at the book signing of her new book - "Thank You Power."

Heather Morrow & Deborah Norville
January 2009

I found her keynote inspirational. She told the story of growing up in a small town in Dalton, Georgia (aka, the Carpet Capital of the World) and learning how to sew. She won several beauty competitions with her talent as sewing. As she moved into broadcasting, making your own clothes was frowned upon, so she did it in secret. She has come out of the "crafting closet" and launched her own line of yarn for knitting.

"The One You Love" Workshop

2009-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

"The One You Love" Creative Souls Workshop was Saturday, February 7. Each participant was given an unfinished wooden frame to decorate and a Valentine's box of goodies (including a sheet of Decoupatch paper) to embellish their frame.

We had a little extra time at the end, so we used the left over supplies to create a special V-Day card.

"Be Mine Or Else!" -- Vicki is serious about her love.

We used a rolling stamp to create the pattern on the paper and then blended the color into the background with an applicator.

The inside says "I only have eyes for you." Just too cute!

The inside says "Love"

Mary Engelbreit Takes My Cupcake

2009-01-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

Mary Engelbreit and Heather Morrow

I have just returned from the 2009 Craft & Hobby Show in Anaheim, California. It was a crazy four days filled with 10 art classes and a huge wholesale vendor show with a ton of "make-and-take" projects to highlight how to use their products.

I ordered quite a bit for my Creative Souls Workshops, so look out -- the projects this Spring are going to be out of this world.

One of the highlights of the show was, meeting Mary Engelbreit, artist and entrepreneur. Her magazine (ME), which is no longer going to be published, has taken crafting and scrapbooking to a whole new level. In addition, her illustrations have been published in hundreds of books and licensed for everything from Christmas decorations to cookie jars. In my world she is best known for her "Henry" Scottie design.

My friend Marie and I had heard that she was going to be at one of the booths, but we had no idea where, let alone when. About mid-afternoon, I stopped at a "make-and-take" project table at the Plaid booth. We were using their new line of glitter paints (which I ordered) to decorate ceramic cupcakes. While I painted glitter on the cupcake, Marie went to pick-up another project we had done earlier in the day.

Marie returned and we moved onto the next "make-and-take" project table in the booth; however, it was being closed down. When we asked why, we were told that Mary Engelbreit would be arriving at any moment and they were using the space for her. We couldn't believe our luck and we were not about to give up our front row space.

When I met Mary, I was holding the freshly glittered cupcake (bottom of the photo) and she asked if it was for her. I told her sure, but that it was still wet. She didn't hear the it is "still wet" part and went to grab it. Needless to say, her hands were covered in glitter paint. As they scrambled to get something to help her clean-up, I left the cupcake off to the side to dry and my business card.

It was great fun and I don't think she will ever forget me because of the glitter painted cupcake she took home.

Alphabet Soup

2009-01-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

The theme of the Creative Souls Workshop on Saturday, January 10 was Alphabet Soup. Each participant got an 8" 3-D Letter of their choice to decoupage. Each piece is as unique as the artist who created it.

Vicki's S - For her new granddaughter Serena.

Leann's L - The diamond mirrors give it a mosaic quality.

Heather's Q - Queen Bee.

Laurel's L - unLeash the Goddess within.

Michelle's M - her nickname is Micki.

It was a great Southern California day, so we were able to have the workshop outside in the backyard of Heart & Soul.

I do have extra Alphabet Soup kits available for purchase. It includes a letter of your choice and the papers and other embellishments to decorate the letter. The kits are $20, plus $10 for S&H.

The next Creative Souls Workshop is on Saturday, February 7. The theme is "The One You Love." We will be decorating a picture frame using found objects -- just in time for Valentine's Day.

Holiday Ornaments at Heart & Soul

2008-12-21T09:09:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, December 13, 2008, I held a Creative Souls class at Heart & Soul in Pasadena. We each made 2 different types of ornaments. Unfortunately, they did not photograph well, so there is only one picture of my second ornament.

For the first ornament, we took images from holiday cards and glued them to paper mache ornaments. We then applied a special double sided sticky tape to the image and covered it with tiny clear glass beads -- giving it a very reflective quality.

For the second ornament, we found a small image that was cut down to the size of a monocle. A special crystal clear glue was applied to the glass and then the image was adhered to it (see below).

As a bonus, I brought my Revolution die cut machine with the template to cut gift tags. Donna and Vicki really had a blast cutting out the tags from old Christmas card images.

Happy Holidays!

Surface Decoration Class - Decals

2008-12-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

Over the past six weeks, I took a course at Xiem on Surface decoration. The final class was to create decals to fire onto pieces of pottery glazed pottery. With a little help from Pottery Barn (hey, I've been busy), I applied my photos of my artichoke in the progression of blooming to these 4" plates.

The image is sent off to a guy who makes the tranfer "paper" and then it is applied and fired.

These are not for sale, yet. But check out my new blog. http://heatherspottery.blogspot.com.

Creative Souls Workshop - Spirit Houses

2008-11-02T08:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday in the Creative Souls Workshop at Heart & Soul, we created Spirit Houses. This idea came from a ceramic artist I met many years ago. He was selling Spirit Houses that would welcome in the souls that came for a visit.

I've been looking for a way to recreate the concept (not using clay) and I finally came up with the idea of using chip board (heavy cardboard) and decorating the house with paper and other embellishments. I used a ginger-bread house pattern to cut out each house. They were pre-assembled for the workshop, so we could spend the time on creative part of decorating the house.

Each is Spirit House is a unique work of art, inspired by the artist's own vision.

Vicki had an idea of using twigs and moss (which she brought to share), but she ended up working with the papers and embellishments provided to create a little house with siding (see below). Her sign above the door says "Dream".

Joanne used all sorts of papers to create a colorful house. Both she and I capitalized on Vicki's idea of using the moss. We used small mirrors to represent windows.

I started using the dark rose paper on the roof - completely intrigued by the rich color. My little sign says "Believe".

There are additional Spirit House kits available for $15.00. If you are interested, please contact me directly at clare1121@aol.com.

The next Creative Souls Workshop at Heart & Soul is December 13, 2008. We will be making Christmas Ornaments. It is sure to be a lot of fun.

The Stupid Hearts, Cute Boxes, etc.

2008-10-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Few things are more frustrating than being foiled in your vision of a piece of art work. "The Stupid Hearts," as they have come to be known around here, were processed similar to the butterfly and flower ornaments featured in the last posting; however, something went horribly wrong.

I applied 4 coats of a low-fire glaze called "Red Dragon". Let me just say that applying low-fire glazes takes a considerable amount of time as each coat must be painted on and then allowed to dry before the next coat is applied.

When I went to pick-up the "Red Dragon" hearts, they were completely white. The red colorant had burned away in the firing. I was devastated. So many hearts, so little time.

Junzo, the kiln master at the studio, suggested I refire the hearts using a glaze called "Hot Tamale." So, once again, I spent a huge amount of time painting 4 coats of glaze on each heart. As you can see below, most of the hearts turned out okay, but a few have broken spots within the red glaze (probably caused by dust).

Despite the drama, "The Stupid Hearts" came out looking pretty good.

Somewhere in this process, I was inspired to create small boxes, using the same cookie cutters I had used to make the ornaments. It required cutting out thicker pieces of clay and then stacking them on top of each other. The lids were made at the same time -- the knobs made from a Sprig mold.

Once the stack of clay was leather-hard, I carved out the inside. This is more time consuming than reglazing "The Stupid Hearts." They are still drying on the shelf at the studio, so I am not sure how they turn out after being glazed. After my disappointment in the hearts, I am hesitant to invest my heart into their success.

Last night, I started my six week course on Surface Decoration at Xiem Clay Studio. I think it is going to be a good class and I can take what I learn to apply to my other pieces.

Preparing for Xiem Studio Sale

2008-09-28T09:58:00.001-07:00

As ceramics (on my schedule) take about 5 weeks to complete, I have been working on pieces to sell at the Xiem studio sale in mid-November.

I used cookie cutters to cut out the shapes of the flower and butterfly ornaments and then carved out the petals and wings. They are glazed with a low-fire glaze to get the brilliant color.

Brilliant Black on the bottom and then the bottle was dipped in Rutile Pink.

Apple Green Celadon Vase

Kei-Ito Red Bowl

Matt-Black on the bottom and then bottle was dipped entirely in Korean Blue Celadon.

Matt Black with Non-Iron Blue

Update on Pottery

2008-08-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here are my latest pieces of pottery with notes on the glazes used.

Unfortunately the glaze ran on this cute little jar, so the lid is now permantely attached. Bummer! Obviously, this photo is pre-glaze.

Some new shapes are emerging.

This is Brillian Black with Korean Blue

Brillian Black with Non-Iron Blue. It has almost a greenish cast to it.

Glossy White and Kei Ito Red

Brillian Black with Rutile Pink

Matt Black with Rutile Pink

Matt Black with Korean Blue

Matt Black with Korean Blue

Creative Souls Workshop - Family Tree

2008-06-08T15:28:00.001-07:00

Saturday, June 7, 2008 - Family Tree

The goal of this workshop was to reconnect with your ancestors and to create a tree that reflected who they were using different color and patterns for the leaves.

Joanne, Laurel, Vicki and Heather participated in the workshop. It was held at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in the back yard under a GIANT Fig Tree. The weather was perfect and the session quiet as we each reflected on where we came from and how it is part of who we are.

Each tree is as unique as the individual who created it.

May Pottery

2008-06-01T11:01:00.001-07:00

I have spent most of May at the Pottery Studio working on Scottie ornaments to take to the Scottie Convention in June.

Earlier this month I purchased Hydro-Bats. They are made of plaster and have the pin holes for the potter's wheel. They are far superior to the plastic bats I had been using when throwing as they do not flex when you remove them from the wheel. They have take some time to get used to as the clay does not adhere in the same way. I have had two pieces near completion that have flown off the wheel and been lost.

My first two successes with the new bats are this small lidded bowl thrown with Black Mountain clay and glazed with Korean Blue and a hanging bowl for a plant (not pictured). The hanging bowl is thrown the reverse of a traditional bowl. Instead of pulling the walls out, the walls are pulled in to form a dome over the air pocket and it is sealed until the clay is leather hard. At that point, it is trimmed and the holes are made for the wire (to hang it) and drainage. I will photograph it once I have it strung up with wire.

Below are three pieces thrown on the hydro-bats and trimmed, yesterday. The texture is called chattering. It is done when the piece is trimmed to add interest. It is hard to understand the size in these pictures, but these are some of the largest pieces I have thrown. Also, the vase is the lightest piece, I've ever created. The secret is to trim away the excess clay without going through the piece. I get nervous about going through (which I have done), so my pieces remain heavier than they should be. These were thrown using Nara porcelain. Once they are completely dried they will be bisque fired, glazed and high-fired.

Creative Souls Workshop at Heart & Soul

2008-05-04T09:01:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena, the Creative Souls Workshop made crowns from lace and other found objects.

Everyone started with a chicken wire base and used wire cutters to create the shape of their crown. You can see how each crown reflects is as unique as the person who created it.

#1 -- Veronica
#2 -- Donna
#3 -- Marie
#4 -- Heather

Most of the lace and jewelry was found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.

Next month, Saturday, June 7, we will be putting together a family tree. Hope to see you there.

Most Recent Painting

2008-05-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

With moving this past year, painting has gotten pushed a bit to the side. However, last fall, after my friend David Cammack passed away from Liver Cancer and I knew I had to paint this landscape.

Only a year earlier, David had returned excited from a trip with his partner to Canada. He shared his pictures of his partner's family home. We talked about how the one photo would make a great painting. He was hoping to paint himself, but the chemo treatments and cancer did not allow him to do so.

I only hope I captured what David imagined "A Different Life" would be.

"A Different Life"

Oil on Canvas

30" x 24"

Recently Completed Pottery

2008-05-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned in prior posts - a piece of pottery (with my schedule), takes approximately 5 weeks from throwing on the wheel to it coming out of the final firing. These are a few pieces that have come out of the process more recently.

#1 -- Matt Black/Korean Blue Genie Bottle

#2 -- Matt Black/Rutile Pink Genie Bottle

#3 -- Pete's Celadon with Turquoise Ink in Crackle Genie Bottle

#4 -- Pete's Celadon Pitcher

#5 -- Matt Black/Turquoise Vase

#6 -- Kei Ito Red/ Blue Gloss Lidded Jar

Mask Workshop with Marlborough Theatre Class

2008-04-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

As a result of my last mask class posting, I was asked by a friend who has a daughter in the Marlborough school theatre production to come in and assist the students in making the masks needed in two scenes in their upcoming production of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings."

It was great fun and the students needed very little guidance and their masks are all unique and spectacular. Check out the pictures below.

To see more photos from the session, go to: My Photo Album.

Unmasked Workshop

2008-04-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Each participant in the workshop at Heart & Soul was given the same kit - the paper was different in several kits. It was interesting to see how the jewels, feathers and ribbons were used in different ways. Each is truly an inspired piece of artwork.

1. Michelle
2. Vicki
3. Laurel
4. Elsie
5. Heather

Creative Souls at Heart & Soul on April 5

2008-03-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Come discover your Creative Soul and awaken your artistic spirit. In this session, we will explore the use of masks. Artist Heather Morrow will guide you to create a mask that will truly be a work of art, inspired by your own vision. Each participant will be provided a mask to decorate and materials to create with. You are welcome to bring objects or embellishments to add to your work (or share). Embrace the artist inside of you! [$30 - includes materials] *Reservations required to ensure enought materials. (626) 798-8337

April 5, 2008
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.

HEART & SOUL HEALING ARTS CENTER
1167 North Lake Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91104

Trimmed Pottery

2008-03-25T19:41:00.001-07:00

This week I trimmed 9 pieces of pottery. As you can see, there are some new shapes for me. My favorite piece is a jar in the middle. The lid looks like a hat. Next weekend they will go into the bisque firing and the week after I will glaze them. Stay tuned.

On a Roll - More Pottery

2008-03-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am on a roll. It takes 5-6 weeks to create a piece. First the piece is thrown and the initial shape is formed. It is then kept under plastic for a week until it is leather hard. The piece is then flipped and the "foot" is trimmed. After drying, yet another week, the piece is put into the bisque firing. The next week it is ready to be glazed and then fired again (at a very high temperature, to melt the glaze onto the ceramic.

#1 - Matt Black/Korean Blue
#2 - Matt Black/Rutile Blue
#3 - Matt Black/Matt White
#4 - Matt Black/Orange Shino
#5 - Apple Green (Bowl)

My Latest Pottery

2008-03-16T12:32:00.001-07:00

As my website www.flickeringilluminations.com needs to be redesigned and it is much faster to post on my blog - here are my latest pieces of pottery from the kiln. I have been working with a combination of glazes and chattering (repetitive marks) to create different effects.

#1 - Matt Black with Turquoise
#2 - Matt Black with Non-Iron Blue
#3 - Peter's Celedon - new glaze - photo does not capture the delicate color and crazing.

#4 - Kei Ito Red
#5 - Matt Black with Korean Blue
#6 - Matt Black with Non-Iron Blue (better result than above)

#7 - Matt Black with Robb's Green (a very metallic look)
#8 - Matt Black with Kei Ito Red (my first "I Dream of Jeannie" bottle)
#9 - Matt Black with Turquoise - unlike the first one, both colors over the entire piece

Spring Awakening - Creative Souls at Heart & Soul

2008-03-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

On March 1, Creative Souls moved to Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena. The theme was "Spring Awakening" and the challenge was to decorate a blank journal cover.

The session started with a visualization exercise of a past winter and the transition into spring. Each participant was then asked to write out their thoughts during the visualization. Soft music played in the background as each filled the first page of their journals with ideas.

Each person was given a prepackaged kit including decoupage papers, quotes about spring and other embellishments to use in decorating the journal. In just two hours each of us created something beautiful to use for our own writings or to pass on as a special gift.

Marie's Cover (below)

Vicki's Cover (below)

Donna's Cover (below)

Laurel's Cover (below)

Heather's Cover (below)

Creative Souls will be back at Heart & Soul Healing Art Center on Saturday, April 5, 2008. We would love for others to join us in reconnecting to our creativity.

Chinese Fortune Hanging Tags

2008-03-02T12:56:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, February 23, Marie, Laurel and I got together to create Hanging Tags using Chinese Fortunes as the theme. We each decorated both the front and back of the tags and then traded them with each other when we were done.

Marie's Tags (below)

Laurel's Tags (below)

Heather's Tags (below)

Artist Trading Cards - The Great Romance

2008-03-02T12:43:00.001-08:00

On February 16, 2007 - Marie, Laurel and I got together to create ATC (Artist Trading Cards) using the theme of "The Great Romance" Each card is the size of a playing card and part of the challenge is tell a story in such a small format. We each used papers, images and sayings from magazines and other embellishments to tell our story. At the end of the session, we traded two cards and kept one of our own.

Marie's Series (above), Laurel's Series (below)

Heather's Series (below)

Mixed Medium Angels on 24" x 24" Canvases

2008-02-21T16:04:00.001-08:00

Inspired by some mixed medium portraits we'd seen on our trip to The Art Bar in Santa Ana a week earlier we decided to make portraits of our angels.

It was interesting to see all of our personal preferences of mediums shine through. Laurel is a quilter and she used a lot of fabrics to create her angel. Marie likes working with beautiful decopauge papers. And finally, I like to paint.

Creative Souls Moves to Heart & Soul

2008-01-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

When I first invited my friends over to paint with me in the back yard, I had no idea that Creative Souls would be born and that there would be so much interest in spending Saturday mornings creative works of art.

On Saturday, March 1, 2008, Creative Souls will move from my dining room table to Heart & Soul Healing Art Center in Pasadena.

The theme is "Spring Awakening." The medium has yet to be determined, but it is sure to be an extremely creative session as more can join us on this wonderful journey into the artist's soul.

Hope to see you there!

What's in Your Heart?

2008-01-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

This week Laurel and I tackled decorating these small heart boxes.

My theme was about patterns in not only fabric, but also in religion culture and ultimately people. Patterns repeat and resonate throughout our world.

Laurel wrote about her deocrated heart: "What do I hold dear, what is in my heart? I love nature, Mother Nature, my garden and the various aspects of it. I love the idea of sitting on a bench in the garden enjoying all that is there including birds, bees, fairies, and trees. Animals representsv arious things to me, the bee represents woman, scientifically unable to fly but doing it anyway, pollinating the world. The butterfly represents transformation. Lastly my dream is for a healthy green world, people planting things and caring for them, no more global warming, recycling happening in many places by creative people to make new things. People creating new, inventive homes that use green principles and materials. The convergence of intelligence, compassion, and craftsmanship. "

ATC Cards with Laurel

2008-01-28T20:42:00.001-08:00

Laurel has been coming on Saturday morning as regularly as I could schedule with my house and life under construction.

We started out with oil painting in my wonderful back yard, but with the winter upon us (even in Los Angeles), we have had to move our creative endeavors indoors.

On Saturday, January 5th we each created 3 Artist Trading Cards to trade with each other and our friend Marie. We were very ambitious and even decorated the back sides of each card.

Laurel brought fabrics and used her experience as a quilter to create her cards. Both Laurel and I were challenged by this small format, but I think we rose to the occasion.

Throwing Clay with JJ & John

2008-01-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

I have been throwing clay on a wheel for 2 years now. Recently I started selling my pieces at pottery and art shows.

Over New Year's weekend, my friends JJ & John came to town and I was very excited when they were interested in learning how to throw.

Below are their finished pieces. The first few, I helped them center their clay and create their piece. The last pieces, I did not touch their clay and they are far more creative than anything I could have guided them to create.
As they were only in town for the weekend, I had to trim (create the bottom) and glaze their pieces for them.

I think they might try this creative endeavor again as they both seemed to naturally connect to the clay and the wheel. All of the pieces are Nara Porcelain.

I thank them for providing me the teaching experience. It reinforced my skills and will ultimately make me a better potter.

Discovering Your Creative Soul

2008-01-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

Let’s start by talking about creativity and what my definition of creative is. Creativity is the act of making something new. We all, by definition are creative as our bodies are constantly creating new cells.

When I think something is creative, it is a judgment call. It usually comes out of my internal thought of . . . “I wish I’d thought of that.”

I know that when people tell me that I am so creative, what they are really saying is I wish I could do that.

And why can’t you? Keep in mind that some of the greatest artist of all time have copied each other’s works; sometimes rather blatantly. After all, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

This is the point where you tell me that you can’t draw or paint and I’m here to tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to. I’ve seen some amazing works of art that were nothing more than torn paper and glue.

So, the next time you think something is creative, steal the idea and make it your own. The act of making it your own will happen without you even trying because you are unique and your soul will shine through. As you begin to explore your “creative” soul, you will discover that you will have your own creative ideas and will attract others to you that are just as creative.

You will also discover that you can create more than something just beautiful to look at; you can create your life as you are creativity personified.