Moments to Ponder - Just Start - You have everything you need!!

You have everything you need to start!!!

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You have everything that you need to start, so what are you waiting for?  Do you need some special permission, letter from your parents, critic or some other person that you have been seeking approval from?

What you haven't always realized and I talk to myself as well as you, I hope you know that!! But you have everything you need to make a start.  You might not have all the pieces to complete the job, but you don't have to wait until everything all lines up.  You take a step, each and every day, break things down and before you know it you have moved on!.

Think back over your life the many things that you have done, and realized they were not as bad as you thought it was going to be.  The fear was in the unknown, but once you knew it was alright.  Well, there are many other things that you are holding back on, some things are to do with health, that pain or twinge you felt but have been ignoring, that quiet 'me time' you should be taking on a regular basis to find balance in your life, or that creative space you are suppose to be giving yourself.

Don't hold out or back on yourself anymore, it doesn't have to be perfect, improvements come over time, you just got to work hard at it.  Start something today, take 5 minutes and just go for it, if you still 'feel' you need permission to get started, see the slip below - all access pass, no waiting

There you have it, it might feel scary to start, but you have loads us creatives in your corner as your cheerleaders, and family and friends.  Let me know how you get on, leave a comment, check out some of my other platforms and share what you are doing.  It is never too late to start - I believe in your dreams!

Stay blessed and Be a blessing, as you are blessed pass it on.

Moments to Ponder - Feeling Grateful

What are you grateful for?

It has been a while I know and I miss posting for those of you who have been visiting my blog.  I think we have all been there where so many things come at us at the same time that you feel that something has to give.  You make choices, and changes and often the very things that you put a pause on you miss the most.

I have really missed blogging and intend to change things up and start my regular schedule again, and will be sharing in another post some of the things that you can expect each week.

For this weeks Moments to ponder which should have been posted on Monday the question is What are you grateful for?

In the past I have done a Gratitude's and Celebration Journal in which each week I posted a journal page and something that I felt grateful for, along with a word for that week.  It was a great way to remind yourself of what you have at your disposal, but what you can do to be a blessing for others.

I am grateful that I have a platform, many that I can share my writing, art and more and be a blessing to someone who may see my work.  I am also grateful to be able to work in beautiful surroundings and feel the sunshine and sea breeze.

Take some time each day to think about what you are grateful for whether you do it first thing in the morning or last thing at night, take 10 minutes out of your day and write something down, do a journal page, record your own video and post it so that others can share their heart as well. 

Let me know how you get on, if you start an art journal or depict your gratitude's in a creative way that is great!  

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Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Working with Fabrics - Wall Hangings

Fabric Wall Hangings

In the video I share with you a series of wall hangings I created called Forgotten Stories.  Here is how they progressed.

At this point I had painted the fabric pieces and started to add the jewelry and the beading.

I taught myself some simple quilting techniques and ran with it.  I knew I didn't want to make a large quilt, just used some of tips that I needed as I learnt.

Very often we stop ourselves from doing things because we don't have the resources, or skills, but you can learn the techniques as you go along, don't wait until you are an expert as you might find that you get some great results from the process as you go along.  In my research I learnt about the quilts of the Underground Railroad, the messages and symbols contained in them and will share more in another post.

There were several things that I loved doing with these wall hangings, 

•  the process of painting the pieces of fabric, 
• using the range of colors and also 
• creating the marks and designs that seem to come together when they were taken to the next stage and stitched

I called the series of wall hangings the Forgotten Stories.

Forgotten Stories Series

I started creating the series quite a while back and spent a lot of time selecting fabric and hand painting the fabric using a variety of acrylics, fabric paints and later on embellishments.  I never used to have so much patience to create the amount of detail that you see in these pieces, but learnt that the messages come out over time, and in different ways. 

The idea behind the series for me is the forgotten stories that  are told in communities and would traditionally be handed down as you sit around a fire, or people would gather round the village stories tellers.  I also wanted them to capture the essence of a short story that I had written where a young girl accompanies her mother to a fabric store and the owner begins to share how far the fabric has traveled and what all the signs and symbols mean.

With each pattern having a meaning. These stories tells of the kings and queens, the daily lives of a village who did what their accomplishments, the travelers of the land, the trade between the villages and the things they produced.  The carrying of spices, and precious jewels across sand dunes, forests and seas.

The symbols that tells of the strength the technology and skills that were the cornerstone of populations

Charting the journey of the different tribes, showing the gifts the abilities that resides unto this day.

Once each panel was complete I began to add the beading and embellishments to decorate.  You can see a bit of the process in the video above.

Forgotten Stories - Blue

I love the way the pieces turned out and the color mixes.

As my fabric pieces tell their story I hope they will inspire you to share yours.  Art for me is about how we use it to express our ideas, thoughts - our truth and is a tool that can bring a voice to every situation.

Let me know how you use fabric in your work and to express ideas.  If you are looking for additional ideas for using fabric then check out some of the links below for ideas, supplies and more!

Adorn it 

Dollar Tree 

Blick 

Stampington 

C& T Publishing

Craftsy Kits

Central Bank Visual Arts Festival Awards 2018

Celebrations are in order

Here is the video to check out

Well, it doesn't happen every day, and when it does, it is a cause for celebration.  I was blessed to have won a 'Best in Show Award and an 'Incentive Award' at the Central Bank Crop Over Visual Arts Festival.

The Visual Arts Exhibition is on every year as part of the Crop Over Celebrations in Barbados.  It show cases talent around the islands and the exhibition takes place across 2 venues - The Queens Park Gallery and 

the Courney Blackman Grand Salle

Here I am with some of the award winners and the Minister of Culture John King (5th from the left).

Here are some of the Artists that won an award for their work

I was very proud to stand up with the artists who won an award

Check out Barbados Visual Arts Events for the latest in What's happening on the Art Scene.  A new issue comes out each month listing all the galleries and events around the island and profiling the many talented artist.  It is published by artist Corrie Scott a talented artist herself, and she does a great job in pulling together all the information.  

This mixed media piece on show at the Courtney Blackman Grand Salle is called Hunters Journey/Tale, made of clay and fabric.  This piece tells the story of life, truths, challenges, emotions, change and love that we find on our journey.  There is no final destination but the work in progress, and how we choose to tell our stories.

Best In Show Award - Hunters Journey/Tale - Amanda Trought/Springer

Art work the Queens Park Gallery include my Forgotten Stories Series

Incentive Award - Forgotten Stories Collection - Amanda Trought/Springer

Forgotten Stories Series

I started creating the series a while back and spent a lot of time selecting fabric and hand painting the fabric using a variety of acrylics, fabric paints and later on embellishments. 

The idea behind the series is the forgotten stories that would traditionally be handed down as you sit around a fire, or people would gather round the village stories tellers.  I also wanted them to capture the essence of a short story that I had written where a young girl accompanies her mother to a fabric store and the owner begins to share how far the fabric has travelled.

With each pattern having a meaning. These stories tells of the kings and queens, the travelers of the land, carrying spices, and precious jewels across sand dunes, forests and seas.

The symbols tells of the strength the technology and skills that were the cornerstone of populations

Charting the journey of the different tribes, showing the gifts the abilities that resides unto this day.

Once each panel was complete I began to add the beading and embellishments to decorate.  I will be sharing a video of the making and a bit more information in the next few days.

Forgotten Stories - Blue

I love the way the pieces turned out and the color mixes.

My pieces tell their story and will inspire you to share yours.  Art for me is about how we use it to express our ideas, thoughts - our truth and is a tool that can bring a voice to every situation.

I hope that you are able to see all the Art work at the Central Bank Crop Over Visual Arts Exhibition at the Courtney Blackman Grand Salle and the Queens Park Gallery, and the work inspires you to own a piece of art and do something creative yourself.