By guest contributor Diahn Ott
I peeked around the corner of my calendar today, and do you know what I saw? Thanksgiving! Yep. Almost here. Where has the month gone?Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday, but I’m often discouraged by how it is completely overlooked in our society today. It seemed that the stores in which I shop went from Back-to-School to Christmas, with a slight stoop to acknowledge Halloween. I swear I saw Christmas trees in September this year.
But humble Thanksgiving, with its lack of gift-giving and adornment-purchasing gets lost in the rumble of the season, doesn’t it? Such a simple idea – look around at what you have, give thanks for it, hug your family and eat a turkey. Too boring for the modern American, I suppose, but it remains the holiday with the most memories for me.
I looked over at Etsy for signs that I’m not alone in my adoration of the modest harvest table, and I wasn’t surprised to see plenty of Thanksgiving goodies on display. Indie folk really are the best, you know…
left to right…
- JenSanCandle
- FerntreeStudio
- CosmicFirefly
- ThreeSheepStudio
- Fairyfolk
- jewelofthelion
About the contributor: Diahn Ott is an eclectic, self-taught artist, working primarily in water-based media such as gouache, watercolor and acrylics. She loves combining paints with ink, images with words, and natural with industrial elements. What separates Diahn from other artists is her ability to locate, and accentuate, the beauty in the ordinary by manipulating layered elements with the purity of line work. Her work can be viewed on her blog, Ottwork and purchased at her recently opened Etsy shop, Ottwork Studios.
By guest contributor Diahn Ott
- Leather Journal by julieboyles
- Antique Pen Nib Pendants by aminyitray
- Coffee mug by TwistedRiverClay
- Author Portrait Buttons by letterarypress
- UNBLOCKED print by CitrusTree
- Books upon Books, by squidart
November 1 signaled the start of another crazed frenzy of novel writing for millions of National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo) participants. The goal is to reach 50,000 words in 30 days – the length of a short novel. It’s the ultimate test of stamina and creativity – a marathon of literary abandon.
For those of us who participate, inspiration, procrastination and caffeination are the keys to survival, so I went on a hunt for items worthy of adding to our mission of novel writing victory. (The hunt did, of course, help in the procrastination part of the process…)
Whether you are writing a novel for NaNoWriMo, penning a thesis for graduate school, or just finishing up the grocery list before you head out the door, take a look at these lovely and inspirational items. Who knows – your grocery list could be considered literature some day, right?
About the contributor: Diahn Ott is an eclectic, self-taught artist, working primarily in water-based media such as gouache, watercolor and acrylics. She loves combining paints with ink, images with words, and natural with industrial elements. What separates Diahn from other artists is her ability to locate, and accentuate, the beauty in the ordinary by manipulating layered elements with the purity of line work. Her work can be viewed on her blog, Ottwork and purchased at her recently opened Etsy shop, Ottwork Studios.
On Thursdays, I share one reader’s inspirations with you. Today’s inspirations are from Jamie Ribisi-Braley. Jamie is an artist living in Manchester, Maine with her husband Brian and sister Joy, along with whom she is opening up Sweetland Artist Retreat and Bed & Breakfast. She likes to get her hands into anything possible and you can see the results on her website, in her Etsy shop and in the joint Etsy shop she runs with her sister.
Jamie has just recently gotten back into painting with encaustic, which is a mixture of hot beeswax, resin, and pigment. As a result of her new found passion, she have come across some fantastic artists and wanted to share them with you!
If you want to share your inspirations for “I’m inspired by…”, click here!
“the autumn of my departure” by Bridgette Guerzon Mills
Bridgette Guerzon Mills- I’ve been in love with her work for years and she’s a major reason I’ve gotten into the medium. Her images have a haunting tranquility to them that just makes me melt. I love her mixed media approach to encaustic painting.
“Cloud Study 2″ by Tangled Sky Studio
Tangled Sky Studio- I have just been introduced to her paintings and have fallen in love with the layers and the soft colors. These paintings somehow take you back to childhood with their innocence.
“no. 37″ by Michele Bosak
Mimidoodles- I love to keep an eye on Michele’s shop to see what she adds next! The best part of her paintings is what she’s not saying…those beautiful and thoughtful blank spaces. Her melding of drawing and painting is inspirational! I learn tons just by staring at her paintings.
On Thursdays, I share one reader’s inspirations with you. Today’s inspirations are from Lauren Johnson. In addition to being Venus’ DIY & Arts Web Editor, Lauren has her own indie shop, which she runs with her sister, called Cutie Cooties! Check it out it if you are looking for cute handmade goodies…and if you are reading this blog, of course, you are looking for cute handmade goodies!
If you want to share your inspirations for “I’m inspired by…”, click here!
dulcis in fundo from www.claudiacastaldi.com via TasteSpotting
1. TasteSpotting – My husband is a chef, so I have a soft spot for food porn. The photos and recipes on TasteSpotting are so yumtastic that I frequently find myself wanting to gnaw on my laptop screen.
2. Heather Bailey – Heather’s amazing pattern designs and superb color palettes offer me unlimited visual fodder. Her work is incredible, and I love using fabric from her collections in my own DIY projects.
3. BookMooch – Reading is one of my favorite forms of escapism when I am feeling overwhelmed by the day-to-day, and a book is the perfect way to reenergize my creativity. BookMooch helps me keep my addiction in check by swapping out my old reads for fresh ones (usually on a weekly basis).
On Thursdays, I share a reader’s inspirations with you and today’s inspirations were sent in from Jill Brown from Out of the Pink Sky (and her blog).
Do you want to share you inspirations? Click here to share your 3 inspirations for “I’m inspired by…”
1. Music! On several occasions, a song has inspired an interesting jewelry design. Music moves me more than any other art medium.
2. Customer sales! I love that someone out there in the world is wearing something I created. That always pushes me to create more.
3. Autumn! Autumn is such a beautiful season. The colors, smells, sounds, traditional foods, and holidays (Halloween!) are particularly inspiring to me.
On Thursdays, I share a reader’s inspirations with you and today’s inspirations were sent in by Kristina of Crafted Wonder.
Do you want to share you inspirations? Click here to share your 3 inspirations for “I’m inspired by…”
1. I get a lot of my inspiration from children’s books. I look at the colors and textures that author and illustrator use to make my own art.
2. I also go to different blogs. Craftpad is one of my new favorites. She has a lot of fun and inexpensive ideas.
3. I also like Claudine Hellmuth’s blog. Her collages are so much fun.
Inspiration really comes from anything I see. A normal picture might be a project that turns out to be completely different then when I first started looking at it. Inspiration is all around us!
