Nursery – Part 2: Picture Frames

June 18, 2014 by Kate

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Hi again!

This time we are going to work on home made picture frames which will perfectly match all the other baby pieces in the room.

This wall decor is a necessary part of our nursery. Can you even imagine a nursery without family pictures in beautiful frames?

It will not be an expensive creative project. It will cost as much as any other wall frame you would spend money on. The biggest investment will be your time and patience 🙂

Fabric on the wooden frame.

Let’s cut a suitable-size piece of fabric which will fit the shape of the frame to go all over it.

I have used professional tools but you can use regular scissors, just make sure to take proper measurements.

Make small cuts on the corners of the inner part and glue them on the frame. Best is to use fabric glue – look for it in arts and crafts stores.

Then glue down all of the sides.

Leave it for half an our to dry and then you can put back the glass and the back cover back.

I made a couple of those and then I made one that’s a bit different to match a flower pot which I made earlier.

It looks lovely on the wall.

You can come up with any design! Be creative and have fun!

Neilson Park – BLACK & WHITE Exhibition

June 13, 2014 by Kate

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I’m glad you are back to see what new is going on here.

I have entered into the Black & White Art exhibition which is hosted by Neilson Park.

As the title suggest the art work has to be black & white only. this is first exhibition out of 3 prepared for this summer and hopefully I will participate in all of them.

I have decided to compose something different than I used to.

On this painting (reading from the top) you can see an average, cloudy sky, well blend with realistic shapes. This is representing the ever changing part of our lives but at the same time is a very clear aspiration of Heaven.

On the left side we can see irregular lines, ugly, overlapping, some of them flat, some with texture – this is where we live and how unimportant it is, unclear and messy. Also it represents the passing of time and how little of it we actually have.

On the right side you can see the perfected shape of a place of worship. it is ideally white and clean, and formed, and stable against the rest of the painting. It is like an anchor of our life and stepping in it will let us see this cloudy sky.

On the bottom of the painting towards the building you can see the shapes of people. since we have only black and white colors to use I have used different shades of grey to illustrate the different characters of people. Some shapes are dark or black – thses are bad people among us who are hypocrites and the are still blending in and going to pray. Then you can notice shapes of people in the crowd with printed words on them. Words represent all the values I’m identifying my religion with and which I’m trying to communicate to the world.

The painting is full of meaning and I’m planning to show it at the Muslim Fest 2014 which is coming up in the first weekend of August.

Let me know what you think about it.

Take Care! 🙂

First guest – Parya, my daughter

December 31, 2013 by Kate

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I have decided to share my space with some friends and family or any of you who would like to show your art work or creative projects.

There is no other way like starting this section with the presentation of my daughter Parya and her fantastic art. She is only six now but started to show her love for art at the age of one.

My house is always full of markers, crayons, paints and paper. She doesn’t stop making more and more of drawings and I’m more and more impressed by her skills. Her patience is still limited, so some guidance by mom is always very helpful, but once she gets the idea she will turn it into magic!

We do spend quite a lot of time on learning and Parya is always involved in most of the stuff I do.

This was one of the memorable days when I discovered how much she enjoys painting. She loved all the colors and how they mix with each other, and also holding a brush was so good. The result was amazing! I will keep it forever!

Just a few months later my daughter was involved in painting a big acrylic canvas with cartoon characters. She was so happy! We were putting together all of her “best friends”.

The next great adventure with art was when we moved to Canada. We both took part in the Muslim Fest art show in 2011. Parya presented two of her artworks (age of 4). She was one of the few child artists that year and definitely the most professional.

We repeated our success in 2012 and this time it was even more special as she was the only young artist. I was so proud of her!

It is a wonderful pleasure doing art together and I’m sure our little joint venture will grow with time, and if Parya decides to carry on with art and develop her talent further I will be right there helping and supporting her all the time.

Look out for future pieces made by Parya! 🙂

Fine Art Fall Project

September 30, 2013 by Kate

Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)

What do you do on long fall weekends?

Some people like to sit in front of the TV, some like to put a puzzle together or read a book. They are not bad ideas but I highly recommend to try your hands on something special which you could be proud of and even hang in your living room – or at least your kitchen. 🙂

Fall colors are bringing so much inspiration and ideas. My imagination goes wild with all those yellows, reds and brown shades. I have not prepared a step by step presentation yet but I would like to show a few of my pieces which you may like to copy (for your private use only) and I will provide support with some theory on composition and step by step tutorials for something simple and yet striking. 🙂One of my favorites oil paintings. I have called her Aphrodite but this may not be a very fortunate choice. Nevertheless , the idea came to me kind of in a dream, and the next day I went for a walk, took a pictures of nature around me and picked some leaves and roses which were on their “last legs” anyway. Then I drew it all on the canvas, filling gaps with different kind of shapes imitating all of the fall life I have managed to collect. Then I studied the colors and lines. It took me a year to finish it off but I have to admit I’m not very fast with my painting and sometimes it takes a while to just took at it and find those small details or shapes of shadows which should be added or painted more deeply. This may be the beginning of your imagination about fall colors and shapes 🙂This one was inspired by an old postcard which I don’t have anymore but I remember it from my childhood. The composition is simple, maybe too simple, but there is something hidden in the painting which makes it very funny to me because it reminds me how we, as a kids, used to dream about little fairies from the forest. If you look carefully there is one sitting on the edge of the vase.Hehehe and this is an old one! Painted about 10 years ago. I had this annoying empty space of wall in my kitchen. I really had to do something with it. The painting took not more than 40 minutes. I was surprised how many of my friends really like it and were even trying to nick it 🙂 I guess it could fit on many small empty walls. I have decided to put it on this post to show how something so simple and not really demanding in time, supplies and special preparations can make an impression on viewers and give you pleasure while you’re creating it.