Tag Archives: peace

art, craft, creativity, mixed media, mosaic, polymer clay mosaic, process

Polymer clay mosaic tutorial.

2 Comments

People have been asking me about more polymer clay mosaic tutorials.

I have posted before on how to paint the baked tiles, and there is a YouTube video on how to paint them as well.  CLICK HERE.

Here are some pictures on how to put the mosaic together with the finished tiles. Since this is a star box I had to fiddle with and cut some of the tiles, which is tricky since they break pretty easily.  It’s much easier to make a square or rectangular design.

polymer clay mosaic tiles
painted tiles ready to be assembled
star box lid
Box top painted black

I paint the lids black to hide any gaps between the tiles. If the gap is too big I place some glue and drop some seed beads to fill the gap.

layout
layout, one tile at a time
finished design
Tiles fitted and glued down

Here you can see some blue seed beads in the top two corners. The tiles were too big to cut for size.  Seed beads are great and they lend some sparkle to the project as well. Choose a color that matches the main color(s) of your design.

painting the box
Painting the box

I painted the box on the outside with acrylic paints.

gold interior
spray painted interior

I spray paint the bottom and the interior with gold paint before I paint the rest.

finished box
finished box

What do you think? Pretty colorful. I had fun making this, and so many others.

I made a mirror that promotes PEACE!  I thought that was a worthy thing to be reminded of while looking into a mirror.  Peace begins within and it’s a choice. I even had a Buddha charm I embedded in the clay and baked.

peace mirror
Peace mirror

The mirror part distracts from the frame in the bright outdoors, but there it is. Polymer clay is so versatile you can make almost any design.

I use old buttons, rubber stamps, charms, found objects, and lettering to imprint the tiles. You can use anything that makes a nice imprint.

If you enjoyed the tutorial, please leave a comment.

Please visit my new etsy shop, Earth and Faery.

Have a great creative week!

xo

Maria

art, creativity, life, nature, transformation

Appreciate peace

I was sitting down by the lake appreciating peace this morning at about 6:30am. I live with my back yard facing a big city park that borders on a pretty big lake full of gators.  Day 4 of the blog challenge.

I was sitting in a grove of trees feeling the peace coming out of the trees and the ground. It was indescribable.  More often than not I don’t notice it as I hustle by on my power walk.  But lately I have taken the time to sit down on a park bench and let myself be washed through by this sense of belonging.  I feel the park is holding the positive energy in this busy area where I live.  So I thought I’d join with nature and send out some peace and love to the area and beyond.  It’s even possible to send it around the whole earth just through the imagination.

I pondered what the art would look like if I attempted to paint the feeling I got.  I’m going to drive over to that grove with my art supplies soon and see if I can capture the feeling on paper. So elusive but still tangible.

I think we portray in art all the strands of energy that come across our path daily.  That why a basically “ugly” painting can have such a draw. The energy draws you in. So, I think it’s important for artists to  be connected to the larger picture (no pun intended) to get more depth in the art.

When we give ourselves time to slow down and ground, we open up the door for more authenticity and a deeper connection to the source of all art and life.

Slow down to hustle.

I know, it sounds ass backwards, but what do we gain by running so fast through life?  Nothing  positive.  Disconnection and stress. Have you ever taken the time to really look at a person and HEAR them, not just listening to the words?

Same with nature. Do you hustle by it mindlessly or do you stop to feel your place in the fabric of creation?

I’m learning to live more in tune and show up to really see and hear what is going on around me. That is the best support you can give to anyone, just as nature supports us daily with comfort and oxygen.

Take a breather today!

And create some lovely art?

xo

Maria

P.S.  I have some cool paintings for sale in my etsy shop HERE.

You can also check out my self-study art e-courses HERE.

inspirational, life, motivational, process, purpose

What will be on your tombstone?

2 Comments

 

tombstone

What will be on your tombstone?  Since we’re getting close to Halloween I thought it was a fitting title. It’s not all fun and games, but Halloween is sure fun.

Many self-help books actually use that question to get you thinking about your life.  My tombstone would read: Maria Greene was an inspiration. I can aspire to inspire, if not teach people. I think the only teaching that sticks is the one that people actually want, so  I won’t claim teaching as something I’m known for.

But I can inspire people to take a look and maybe stop and think for a few moments of what they stand for.  How many ever stop to take a look, though?  Those that do know there is more to life.

In a previous post I wrote about painting in the moment like children do. They make a mess and then they move on to something else, and they don’t care about the so-called quality of their work. What they did in the moment is enough. Same goes for animals. My cat lives totally in the moment all the time and all his reactions come from either love or fear. He’s a total love bug but there are many things that frighten him. However, he embraces those conditions fully.

Take a human. We very seldom really merge with the moment of now to be observant or feel what that moment has to offer. We rush from one thing to the next, but what significance does that kind of action  hold? How important are the things we are doing?  Do they matter in the long run?  Don’t you ever wish you’d had a deeper experience with someone or something in life? I often hear people voice regrets that they didn’t have more time with someone before they passed. That was a choice. Something else was more important.

So, I guess my offer of inspiration today is this: What is important to you and how much do you acknowledge that? Life is fleeting and if we don’t pursue the people and things that are important, what value does life have?  What moments did we lose because we weren’t present?

I often stand in front of that idea and realize that everything I do in this life is not that important. It’s not very satisfying. Most things leave me with the impression that this wasn’t “it.” Absorbing and fully living in the moment IS because that’s where everything happens.

To add value to life, de-clutter and remove useless habits, items, mindsets, and jobs in life so that you can say at the end that you really got something out of life. You chose from the things because you loved them, not because of some habit or some trend.  Choose love and you’ll be an all around better person for it.  Become one with the positive and blend into the real flow of life, finding magic in each moment. Spread goodness!

It’s the easiest yet the hardest thing to do, but heck it’s the only truly valuable and ultimately satisfying thing to do! (with practice.)  Forthwith, I hope to inspire you to take a look at that and live lightly like a child, moving fearlessly from one thing to another with confidence.

Love everything  you do and become one less problem in the world…

Along with you, I aspire to stay in the moment and truly experience life.  Beyond all the desires and needs lives peace!

A worthy cause for sure!

xo

Maria

P.S. I offer a few different e-courses on my other website. Free or affordable. Take a look HERE!