Strokes of Serendipity ♥: June 2008

Sunday, June 29

The Sunday Challenge

The day of rest has left us. Sunday was once seen as the day of rest and yet it ended up that it is now just another day for chores, work and grocery shopping. So I was thinking, if everyone is already up and moving on Sunday, why not give everyone a challenge to have fun and forget about responsibility for maybe an hour. Give up the need to constantly progress, to be an adult. I am going to give everyone an excuse. An excuse to be childlike, to enjoy life a little bit more and I will be participating as well and posting my challenges but I want to hear from you too. I want to know what you did and how fun it was to just forget about the outside world for one second and just be in your own world. And if you are a parent and don’t think that you will ever have time for this “nonsense” (I know you are only using that word because you know how fun it will be) don’t shrug me off quite yet. You can do the Sunday Challenge. This will be an opportunity to spend some quality time with your kids and really have fun with them while also pulling some of those creative genes out of them and possibly getting some inspiration yourself. Now I have already given you the first Sunday Challenge, which was in my first post of the three I have done today. (I am in such a blogging mood) So get to it! Or do it when you have time this week or when you want to escape. Heck! Do it three times a week!

My reasoning for starting the Sunday Challenge is because I feel like people are losing their creative little kid gene that everyone starts out with. I went to a Preschool art class the other day and they didn’t care what the final product was or what anyone else’s looked like or if they used the paintbrush or if they were doing it right. They just painted with their whole heart and loved every minute of it. As we get older, people get more self-conscious especially with art where people think you need that certain talent gene or you don't have it. “Am I doing this right?” “How do I do it?” “What will it look like?” I know I did this a lot when I was younger. But by being in that art class, I realized that we seem to lose our imagination and creative power that we had as a kid. In that class, everyone was an artist. Not just one little boy or girl that had that creative skill. Everyone. And I think everyone still is and can be. I want to awaken that again in everyone. By having these challenges, I hope to accomplish this. And remember, you don’t have to show these challenges to anyone or tell anyone that you are doing these challenges. This is the beauty. I just hope to bring a little kid back and to keep those creative juices flowing. ☺

Enjoy your day of rest!

xoxo
Kenzie

Ok!! So I know this is the second post in about... an hour and I also realize that I have not gotten ANYTHING done that I said I would but I just found this great new artist and I just had to share.

Beauty Zealot is awesome. She has these wonderful crayon drawings that just make you want to be a kid again. I will be checking out her blog daily now to explore her past posts and what other things she has on her blog. They are beautiful illustrations. So go pick up some crayons!

xoxo
Kenzie

I love maps

I've been up to a lot lately and I haven't had much time to work on my new paintings. :( But I will get back to them after this week because it is so full with exciting things.
It is graduation party season so I have been hopping around to friend's houses. Also, I am going to New York City on Tuesday to surprise a friend (and luckily she doesn't know my blog yet so she won't find out.. hehe). She is one of my very good friends from college and I am so excited to see her and to be in NYC again! I love that city! I know that one day after college I will be moving there for a bit at least. I have already mastered the subway and can navigate through Manhattan quite well which I think is one of the hardest things about the city.
Then from NYC, I will be heading North on the train to my dad's house in Lake Placid to see some beautiful scenery, go fishing and hang out with family. It's going to be a lot of fun and of course I will have many pictures to share from my trips. So lots of traveling in a short time which I don't mind. I love the train. I feel like I am in the old days traveling across the country. It's so fun!
So this means laundry and packing (which I love) (packing not laundry). I love picking out outfits and dressing up. Don't you just feel so wonderful when you play around with your clothes? I act like I am a little girl again, dressing up in her mother's clothes or when I had my big box of dress up clothes. Every once in a while when I am bored or have nothing to do I will decide to make new combinations of jewelry and clothes. If you haven't done it in a while or even years, I place this challenge in your hands. Be a kid again and play dress up. Relieve your spirit of all adultness and be playful.

Well, I am off to do some more laundry and then to another party!
I will post some new things tomorrow and find some new inspiration for you all.

xoxo
Kenzie

Wednesday, June 25

With Lots of Paint...

So as a job this summer, I have been working on a mural. I actually started it last summer in August and am finishing it this summer. It is in a little boy's bedroom. I like how it's coming out so far.

Unfortunately, this is not the complete updated photo but I think you all can fill in where everything goes with the others photos.

Sorry about the massive glare in this one! Oops!

Over the last month, this is what I have been up to. Along with doing a couple things of my own. Not too much yet but I am getting back into painting for myself and trying new things. I have a long long list of pieces that I want to do, it's just having the time to do them all! :)

Here's a sneak at a new mixed media piece I started the other day.. still figuring out where I am going with it.