Tag Archives: #WUVIP

Art Every Day Month~Day 16 ~ Adaptability

November 17, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015#artforarachnoiditis, #nervember, #ostrichChair, #spinalcordinjury, #WellsvilleNY, #WUVIP, Adaptability, aedm2015, Arachnoiditis, Life With Arachnoiditissheilalynnkart

bench4cot11.16.15D — Studio space was getting crowded. Repurposed the old twin bed frame into this All New Bench for my Ostrich Cot!

For those who haven’t seen it before, it used to be on the floor, then on a twin bed frame if I wasn’t using it outside. The twin bed frame had some broken places so can’t ever be used for a bed again. This week I decided to chop it up and save some floor space. Now the cot is actually at the perfect height for me to get up and down with ease. I also bolted it to the top of the bench so it can’t tip if I lose my balance on the way. Woohoo!

This project brought to you by ~ Mid-November and temps in the 60s!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Art Every Day Month ~ Day 15 ~Still Painting

November 16, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015#arachnoiditisSurvivors, #artTherapy, #gratitude, #nervember, #WellsvilleNY, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

digital collage of painting project in progress — “Coq Au Vin” ~ Making Progress

Today was a busy day in the studio. Took some time to work on the “Coq Au Vin” table top that I am making for my kitchen. Glad to see it a little bit closer to “ready”.

Sometimes, it seems as if these projects take me so much longer than they should. It is nice to be documenting the progress this way so that I can see how far I have come since I began the drawing in September.

A couple of discoveries: Gator Board does not receive water color (or any other media) in the same way that paper does. After all this time, I STILL get frustrated during the learning curve. I miss painting every day.

Now a word from our sponsor….You can buy the “The Cog Au Vin” Rooster pattern here. And the full Table Top Design pattern here.

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

Art Every Day Month ~ Day 14 ~A Work In Progress

November 15, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015#arachnoiditisSurvivor, #artforarachnoiditis, #gratitude, #healingArtactivities, #WellsvilleNY, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

Still Working to post a little bit of Art Every Day this Month for the Arachnoiditis Survivors.

More Color to Table Top Coq Au Vin — Table Top Design ~ Adding More Color to “Coq Au Vin”

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

Art Every Day Month ~ Day 12

November 13, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015#gratitude, #nervember, #ostrichChair, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

Survivors Exhibit Art book In progress — Survivors’ Exhibit Art Book

Worked on this Art Publication on Day 12. This book is the FIRST Release on the YEAR 2 list of Independent Publications from the Art For Arachnoiditis Project.

FUNDING PERMITTING, This Work In Progress Will Be Available to the Arachnoiditis Survivors and the Public During Year 2 of the project.

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

Art Every Day Month ~ Day 11

November 11, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015, Coping Tools#artforarachnoiditis, #gratitude, #healingArtactivities, #nervember, #ostrichChair, #veterans, #WellnessDirectory, #WellsvilleNY, #WUVIP, Adaptability, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

water color U.S. Flag — “Flag For the Survivors” (Digital text over water color on paper)

“For better or worse, The Choice To Serve comes with a seemingly infinite list of consequences. Among the many important life lessons there, that choice taught Me the true value and strength to be found in the ability to adapt.” ~slk

Art Every Day Month ~ Day 10

November 11, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015, Works in Progress#30dayjournal, #artforarachnoiditis, #gratitude, #healingArtactivities, #nervember, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

Water Color Home Decor Design — #AEDM2015 Day 10 “Coq Au Vin” Table Top Design from sheilalynnkart.com

Finally adding color to this table top that I created for an old round patio table that I use in my kitchen at the studio. I completed the pattern for it during 30.30.30 in September. This cold, drippy, dreary day needed a little bit of color. So, I thought, maybe YOU could use a little bit of color, too. ~slk

One of the things I have noticed lately is that having multiple work stations means that I have multiple projects going all at the same time. My ‘normal’ personality cringes at this. Once upon a long time ago…I would pull all-nighters…just to stay in the flow when A project was going really well. After eight years, I am STILL learning to condition myself to believe that it is okay to complete a project in stages and to STEP AWAY FROM THE PAINT! when my body needs something else.

Slowly, I am developing an acceptance for the “unfinished” work sitting around my house and studio. The work still gets done. …Just NOT in the linear productivity way to which I was accustomed. Admittedly, there are times when my muses resent the intrusion of meeting my bodily needs (TMI, but they’ve even felt this way about when I need to pee. So, I guess they better just put on their big girl panties and deal with it, lol.)

ONE thing I HAVE found that helps with the intrusion is to keep a sketch book and/or a couple of notepads by the bed or by my cot. If I really MUST step away from a project that is going very well, I hesitate to jump into a different one. So, I switch positions and keep thinking about the same project. I express these thoughts in words and sketches to stay focused and pick up where I left off as soon as the timer beeps. [Just a quick note…this doesn’t always mean going from vertical to horizontal…I have to change positions often. This means that even if I am drawing on my cot, I STILL have to get up when time is up and go to a different position. It takes some time (and self-discipline) to get used to working this way. Sometimes I do better at it than others. Truth is though, I have my BEST days, especially during winter months, if I follow this process.]

Portable projects work well because they can switch positions with me. However, other ones just turn out best when they stay in one spot. Planning for it is an important part of staying creative.

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

Art Every Day Month ~Days 6, 7, and 8

November 8, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015#arachnoiditisSurvivor, #nervember, #ostrichChair, #WellsvilleNY, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

Medicine Balls Sketches — Doodles from Days 6, 7, and 8

Living and Working with Arachnoiditis brings new meaning to the phrase “under the weather”. Not since the Texas drought of the Summer of 1993 have I been so tuned in to the weather as I have since the onset of arachnoiditis (2007). I have mostly-accepted that my body now resides, in perpetuity, under the pronounced, powerful influence and control of the Weather. No telling when a “Flare” like the one I have been having since the day after Halloween will occur but, chances are; the Weather IS and WILL BE a factor.

The WEATHER-FUL ones are the days it is most important to “Go Slowly, Rest, Be Gentle, Forgive, and Hope”. Now, more than ever, I am aware that “Nature Knows” and can help me if I am willing to listen. ART is a frequently fulfilling distraction. The Survivors know it takes a lot of heart to get up and face the day with Chronic Pain…especially, when it is frequently severe chronic nerve pain accompanied by its numerous consequential companions.

Tiny (a.k.a. manageable) projects like these doodles (especially when done daily) remind me that “The Groove Is In the Heart“. [Don’t ask …I have NO IDEA why this song has been stuck in my head for two days.]

No other person, place, or thing can FIX my life. I couldn’t ask for another…. person to take this on For Me. It is my job to find satisfaction in my life. For me, the arts and nature pave the path to satisfaction.

My heart sings when I remember to care for it no matter what arachnoiditis has to say about it. So, I adapt to give it what it needs.

On the really tough days I practically LIVE here. Although I have worked out a grid system for drawing 16″ x 20″ portraits this way; small projects like the Medicine Ball Series, Spirograph Projects, and Mandalas are so easy to do this way.

I work in 30 minute intervals to move around and restore my circulation but, without this cot; I would be non-productive and stuck on horizontal in my bed. I also have standing and sitting work stations in the studio which allow me to change positions often. This is not to say that I don’t EVER have days in which BED is my only friend. I do. Working this way seems to reduce the number of those days and give me back some control and choice over the manner in which I will be Under The Weather.

Art Every Day is a Way of Life For Me. Art + Adaptability = Healing.

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

Art Every Day Month ~ Day 4

November 5, 2015Art Every Day Month 2015#artforarachnoiditis, #nervember, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

Warm Autumn Day digital photo collage — Getting Warmer on November 4th (digital collage)

Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a girl. Her sister called her Ms. Granola. She was a camping, hiking, nature loving, roller skating, chocolate eating, always busy, never say “die”, stubborn- force- to -be- reckoned -with -sometimes-oddly -quiet kind of girl. She was 15. Her legs were too long for her pants and her shoes wore out before she did. She was an artist, daughter, sister, friend who became a soldier, wife, mother, lover, student, teacher, patient, grandmother, healer, and an Artist.

When life was loud, she made art. When life was changing, she made art. When life was hard, she made art. When life was quiet, she made art. When life was Great, she made art.

When the world went dark and her body gave out, she dreamed about making Art. Then, somebody gave her a camera. She opened her eyes and Faced the Phases of the Healing Process. In 2009, the pictures she took became the Sherman Street Garden Project. Slowly she began to bloom. She is Still Standing, Sometimes.

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

I have decided to participate in Leah Piken Kolidas’ Art Every Day Month Challenge at Creative Every Day during the Month of November. For the first time, as I do this 30 day challenge, I will be posting my progress HERE for arachnoiditis survivors and advocates.

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

November is Art Every Day Month ~ Day 3

November 4, 2015Activities for Healing With Art, Art Every Day Month 2015#arachnoiditisSurvivor, #artforarachnoiditis, #nervember, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

Colored Pencil drawing Medicine Ball — Allow 4 the Pain, Live for the Beauty, Love Every Day ~ from the Medicine Ball Series

I have come to count on the Arts as a key component in my coping tool kit.

I started this series of small colored pencils drawing during some of the colder days in late spring and early summer. These are a great diversion for me. They are also guilt-free because I can get horizontal on my Ostrich Cot to make them. At only 4″x 4″ to 6″ x 6″ these little projects are easy to transport and make me look a little less like a lazy person when I am remembering NOT to be vertical too long.

I am planning to eventually include the Medicine Ball series in the Print Your Own Collection available for sale in my studio shop. These are small pieces of my original art that patrons can print and use for their own DIY home projects. For now, YOU can get a FREE easy to embellish version of this little doodle in the attachment on my Patreon page here.

The colors and message seemed appropriate to acknowledge that not only is November Art Every Day Month at Creative Every Day but, it is also Nervember at the Power of Pain Foundation. “#NERVEmber is International Nerve Pain Awareness Month (including RSD, CRPS, Diabetes, and more). Each day during the month of NERVEmber the @PowerofPain Foundation will present an awareness task that we can all perform!”

The Rest of the Art Every Day Month Series of Posts are Here

NOTES FROM AEDM 2015 DAY 1

I have decided to participate in Leah Piken Kolidas’ Art Every Day Month Challenge during the Month of November. For the first time, as I do this 30 day challenge, I will be posting my progress HERE for arachnoiditis survivors and advocates.

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project startsHERE

The Show is HERE

FALLING INTO WINTER

November 1, 2015Activities for Healing With Art#30dayjournal, #arachnoiditisSurvivors, #artforarachnoiditis, #nervember, #WUVIP, aedm2015sheilalynnkart

October Snow; First Snow 2015 [Watch Video]

Although this first week of November is predicted to be somewhat warmer than the midweeks of October, even supposed to reach 70 on Tuesday; I KNOW that winter is fast approaching. Like other arachnoiditis survivors, my hibernal descent is likely to occur sooner rather than later.

I have learned from experience that making art can expand the confines of the interior space.

SO…drum roll please…..

SUBSCRIBE to get the quarterly Art For Arachnoiditis Project Newsletter

WATCH VIDEO FROM OUR 2015 SURVIVORS’ ART EXHIBIT HERE

April 2014 I alternated between painting and drawing HERE andHERE

January 2014 ~ 30 Day Art Journal Project HERE

September 2013 was a daily Mandala Project (which grew and ended up in my 2013 Show, “A Round Now In A Square Time” with artist & friend, Allison Midgley) That project starts HERE

The Show is HERE