My CJS Video

Thanks to all of you who signed up for my friend Nathalie Kalmbach’s wonderful program Creative JumpStart 2012, which ends today. My turn for giving advice on getting my mojo going when it stalls was Jan 17th. Not everyone wanted to do the sign up thing, so I decided to add the video to my blog here as a direct link.

I wonder how many of you are thinking to yourselves, “Why the heck is Jen wearing those big sunglasses?” I’ll let you in on a little secret. The deadline for getting Nat the video was Dec.17th, the day after I did my LASIK surgery. I wasn’t able to wear eye makeup for a month (!) so I had do that old saying…fake it until you make it and go all movie star.

Last CHA, I took a wonderful workshop by Julie Fei Fan-Balzer and Julie McGuffe about being on camera. One of the things they both said is to be sure to go a bit heavy on the makeup when you’re in front of camera because it tends to wash you out. We know this to be true because with all the reality TV shows now, someone is always “in makeup” getting themselves prettied up. Without those sunglasses, I would have looked anemic! LOL.

I hope you enjoy the video. Here’s wishing you a truly Artful day!

 

I {heart} Saturdays

Photographer Chris Ranier has the most amazing photos of body art in other cultures on the Smithsonian's website.

I love the look of tattoos. Flesh full of beautiful imagery with colorful ink on bare skin to declare one’s body a work of art in and of itself.

It took me a long time to muster up the courage to get a tattoo. I did it for my 40th birthday present to myself at a beautiful (clean and professional too) tattoo shop in Jerome, Arizona when I was writing a feature on one of my favorite art colonies. I was shy about my tattoo and, at the time, wanted to get something where very few people would ever see it. It’s a small red asymmetrical heart with swirly vines and I wear it every day on my heart to remind me to remain open to life’s fullest gifts and potential.

As I’ve become accustomed to my intimate tattoo, I’m ready to get another one in a place where it’s visible to the world. Either my ankle or wrist or foot, not sure yet. I thought about the back of the neck, but even that one would be hidden by my hair. I’ve been thinking about the imagery, and especially, of the words. It’s not something I will jump into lightly, so I’m taking my time.

Now this is cute. Double foot word tattoos in the fun black-and-white peekaboo shoes.

So this I {heart} Saturdays blog post is all about the inspiration I get from ink, and from the people who wear their art so boldly and beautifully.

Angel wings tattoo from http://mawortattoo.blogspot.com/

Full arm tattoos. I find it brave to forever alter oneself in this manner.

I hope you are having a fabulous Saturday and a truly Artful day!

I {heart} Saturdays – Typography

I’m such a sucker for typography. I began collecting letters when I was working as an editor of a community newspaper and volunteering on the board of my local SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) chapter wayyyyy back when. Each year, the organization held a national conference and Phoenix was chosen as the host city. Like most conventions, Saturday evening was the big fundraising dinner with a keynote speaker and a silent auction filled with all kinds of great newspaper memorabilia.

That year I bid on, and won, a giant brass letter T that was hanging outside the Chicago Sun Time’s building. After the newspaper was sold in the mid-90s, the new owners did some sprucing up and donated the beautiful old letters to the national SPJ organization for fundraising. My journalist friends at the time wondered why I bought the T when there was no one in our family with that intial, but I had my reason. It was the capital letter of the Times and the font is a gorgeous Old English script.

I still have the heavy T tucked away in a vintage steamer trunk of mine. I think it might be time to pull it out and find the perfect place to display it once again.

For now, here are some images of Topography that inspire me as an artist and writer. I hope they do the same for you. I found these images under the inspiration header on Fab.com

Here’s wishing you a truly Artful Saturday!