A Matter of Perspective

     It's been a hot minute since I have written a blog post. I still want to share the last of my fan art project from last year at some point, but I have found something very inspiring that I want to share right now as a dear friend of mine is off on a new adventure.

    Midlife can be magical. It can be a time of exploring new options, making new friends, and reconnecting with pals from the past. 

It can also be stressful due to health changes that occur during that time frame -hello midlife crisis and menopause. We often times find ourselves having to help our older loved ones as they face their own age related health issues, some severe. There can also be the challenges of having settled into a career and then finding it pulled out from under you due to downsizing, changing sales landscapes, and the lingering aftereffects of a worldwide pandemic.

Whatever the reasons, it can be a time of reflection, change, and upheaval. Sometimes it helps to look outside of our usual viewpoint, to make changes-such as one of the hardest changes of all-a change of our perspective.

I have recently had the privilege of reconnecting with a dear friend from my high school days, Valerie--owner of Valerie Sue Creations. She has found herself in interesting territory as she starts her creative journey, exploring her talents for poured painting art, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

I think one of Valerie’s own paintings best illustrates the point of how changing our viewpoint or perspective can bring about positive growth and change. When she first created the painting it didn't seem too special to her and then she turned it around look at it from a different perspective. It was then she saw the emergence of a butterfly and that changed how she felt about this art piece. It is such a great truth for us to hold onto, a change of perspective can be just what we need.

    Please enjoy a brief interview with Valerie as she explains her new journey-how it emerges from her past and is leading to a fulfilling present and future. Please also enjoy the two perspectives on her artwork at the end of this essay. Please also make note of events Valerie will be at this year-where you can meet and speak with her and buy original artwork. A link to Valerie's website is at the end of this post.

Valerie--in her own words:

I am a fluid artist who does original art work, wearable artwork and functional artwork.

 

How did you learn about fluid art?

I was immediately intrigued when I happened upon a video of paint pouring/fluid art. In 2020 I started watching paint pouring YouTube videos. I found it very soothing to watch – and addictive! I loved watching the movement and energy of the colors. It seemed almost magical how lines of paint or puddles of paint quickly transformed into something beautiful!

Gradually I started purchasing some of the supplies, but I didn’t make the time to try it for myself. Honestly, I suspect I was reluctant to try because I was afraid of finding out I couldn't achieve the same stunning outcomes as others.

At the beginning of 2023 I found out that my position at the company I had been at for 24 years would be done at the end of the year. The company decided to no longer provide the service that I supported. I was asked stay on with the company until the end of the year. That year was quite unique as I transitioned from a hectic workload to a more relaxed workload since we were no longer pursuing and onboarding new clients.

During this time, I had the privilege of meeting several people who absolutely loved whatever it was they were doing. I even met an 80-year-old gentleman who was getting cancer treatment and couldn’t wait to get back to work. He said that when you love what you’re doing, it isn’t a job. My jealousy kicked in and made me want the same thing. I chose to break out of my comfort zone and aim for a job that I love. Rather intimidating goal when I had no clue what it was that I loved to do!

My mind was spinning with all of the looming unknowns and endless possibilities.  I finally started exploring paint pouring to quiet my mind. Once I tried it, I was hooked! It also proved to be a clue to what it was that I loved to do.

 

How does this expression of your artistic endeavors fit in with other art forms you practice?

Honestly, I'm amazed that I enjoy fluid art now, considering I used to not be a fan of abstract art and couldn't really grasp it. I liked things clearly defined and easily understood. In life, I used to be very black or white, no in between. But now I’m just thrilled we live in a colorful world! Things aren’t nearly as easily defined as I once thought they were. I think my taste in art reflects this transition.

In the past, I’ve dabbled in oil painting and acrylic art painting. The first painting class I went to was with you (Terri). It wasn’t something I would have pursued on my own, but I was up for going with someone else. Terri’s excitement for trying it was enough to get me to try it.

I’ve never been good with “simple” so the first picture I choose to paint was a ridiculously complex one to start with. It took forever to finish. Partly because it was a lot for someone new to painting to do. And partly because I was shocked that I could do it (with LOTS of help from the instructor) and I was concerned about messing it up. So, I stalled working on it. I finally finished it on the last day of the year 2004 because I didn’t want it to extend into another year!

I can be a very analytical thinker, so I never really thought of myself as artistic. I’ve explored different types of creative activities throughout the years such as pottery classes, stained glass, painting parties, etc. In my role as a data analyst, I enjoy tapping into my creative side by building new spreadsheets to tackle issues, designing fresh charts and graphics to present customer data in a user-friendly manner, and creating ways to enhance our processes. When the data analyst position ended and I took time to explore, the creative side of me blossomed! I suspect it will be an ongoing balancing act between the two for me.

I enjoyed oil painting, but there was always the pressure for it to match the expectation, which wasn’t enjoyable to me. But with fluid art, my approach is totally different. Rather than the goal of painting a picture of an apple, it’s now an exploration of colors and techniques with general ideas of what the results will be rather than a specific expectation to achieve. For one painting, an abstract butterfly emerged quite unexpectedly!

There’s also the element that paint pouring results are much faster for than the realistic type of oil painting. It takes a lot of time and patience to paint the layers and details in oil painting. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll try a more abstract oil painting and find out that I enjoy that as well.

 

What are your hopes for your art as well as for your business?

Valerie Sue Creations allows me to combine my passions: fluid art painting, designing, fashion, and shopping all in one place. I am having so much fun designing products with some of my paintings on them! I'm really enjoying the process of seeing my artwork come to life in a new way.

My goal is to create artwork and products that brings me joy during the creative process and I hope my they bring joy to those who view or use them.

I'm constantly developing my creative style, aiming to establish a distinctive and recognizable signature that resonates with people.

I plan to start a YouTube channel featuring amazing fluid art videos. I hope it will become even more captivating as I develop my own distinctive style.

 

Have you ever thought about teaching classes?

YES! I love to teach so the idea of combining that with fluid art excites me. I recently gathered some friends to demonstrate how to create fluid art, and we had an amazing time together!

Right now, I'm working on uploading my original artwork onto my website. The project that’s next after that is to start offering classes or paint pouring parties.

 

What is your current schedule for in person sales events?

I’m currently working on wearable and functional art for upcoming events. I’ll have original artwork, coasters, wine glasses, jewelry, wine totes, and phone cases available for purchase. The upcoming events are:

Summer Art Market at the Rotary Club Pavilion in Rockford, Saturday 8/3/2024

Holiday Market 11/9/2024 at Bella vista Church, 5100 Belding Rd NE, Rockford MI

Valerie Sue Creations

 

My Cookie Fan Art Projects for July, August, and September

     I am still currently caught up on my cookie fan art projects as I did complete the ones for July, August, and September. 

    I made one change of books for the July project as I felt it was important to include a book that really impacted my whole outlook on life, from around second grade on  up. July's book was One Kitten Is Not Too Many written by Dorothy Levenson, and illustrated by Carl and Mary Hauge. It is a comic tale about a mama cat that has several babies. The dad of the human family thinks they have too many cats and brings the kittens to a pet store. Then each member of the family secretly goes to get just one kitten to keep mama cat company. This has always been my philosophy with our cats, the more the merrier.

    My August book was The Monster at the End of the Book: Starring Lovable, Furry, Old, Grover. This is written by Jon Stone and illustrated by Mike Smollin. This was another favorite book of mine that my dad used to read to me. He did a great job with Grover's voice as he desperately pleads with you to not turn the page.

    My September book was I Am a Bunny written by Ole Risom and illustrated by Richard Scarry. This was a favorite book of mine to read to my younger siblings. This was also one of the books featured at The Little Golden Book Museum Display that I got to see at the Muskegon Museum this past February. The seasonal pictures with the bunny, Nicholas, are enchanting. The fall leaves spread was perfect for September.

Edit As You Go

     I started off the year with so many ideas, so many goals for my baking and creative arts journey. I had big visions of monthly projects, of learning new skills, and preparing myself for my next steps as a writer and maybe illustrator. The idea was for me to make cookie art as tributes to my favorite books and take a trip down memory lane as I reviewed books from my childhood as well and then created cookie artwork to honor those books. I outlined ideas for each month.

    I stared off great with my own book, Green Goo, as I so love the new illustrations that Trey Chavez created for me as they gave new life to my story book when it was finally made available in print.

    Then I moved onto a book I checked out almost weekly while I was in kindergarten, The Snowy Day. Ezra Jack Keats work in collage seemed to be perfect for cookie art. I was enchanted by his book and pleased with my cookie collage.

    From there, it was The Color Kittens, another favorite from my preschool days. The book is written by Margaret Wise Brown-maybe best known for Goodnight, Moon. The illustrations are by a husband and wife team, Alice and Martin Provensen. They illustrated dozens of books together, and The Color Kittens is lush and dreamy. I was fortunate to see The Little Golden Book museum display when it stopped off in Muskegon , Michigan. I saw original illustrations from this book, a dream come true.

    My next set of cookie art for April was Walt Disney's Grandpa Bunny, since it was near Easter. I remember the illustrations in this book were so beautiful, they dazzled four year old me. The shadows on the snow, the fall leaves, and the vibrant sunset illustrations were all so lovely they made me feel all soft inside, with that nervous night before the first day of school feeling, so pretty you could almost cry.

    The next book I wanted to use for my project was The Shy Little Kitten. This Little Golden book was first published in 1946, the year my mom was born, and was a favorite of hers. Since May has Mother's Day, that seemed a fitting honor. The author is Cathleen Schurr, my own mother is Kathleen, and the illustrator is Gustaf Tenggren.

    I knew all along that June, with Father's Day in it, was going to be The Bunny Book, as it was one of the books my dad always read to me, and I have loved it so. This one is illustrated by Richard Scarry, story by Patsy Scarry. It is a sweet little story where a family of bunnies tries to figure out what their baby bunny will grow up to be. Spoiler alert, he wants to be a daddy bunny. Such an appropriate book for June and to honor my dad.

    I wasn't able to follow the timeline I wanted for these projects. I wasn't able to go as in depth with learning new decorating skills as I hoped to do. I still learned new techniques, and improved on my skill, had some fun, and got to eat cookies-all big wins. Life happened, so I had to keep editing my time lines, changing my plans, and sometimes doing only one cookie per book project instead of whole sets.

    It was hard to admit I needed to make changes, either due to time constrictions, schedule changes, stressful life events for family members, or just plain fatigue. It felt like defeat at first. Then I worked on not just editing my actions and projects, but also editing my reactions to needing to make these changes, and accepting the new way the projects looked, and finding pleasure in the new outcomes, in what I have been able to complete so far.

    I also meant to write in depth about each project, and exactly what the books, stories, and pictures meant to me as a child, and now as an adult. For now, these abbreviated writings will have to do. Is it what I planned? Nope. It is more than I thought I would be able to do, and the journey has still brought me satisfaction and happiness. 

Permission to Thrive

     What do you need to give yourself permission to do in order to thrive? What changes do you need to make so that you can feel affirmed and capable and move ahead?

    This sweet hibiscus had a few blooms when I brought it home from the store, then nothing for weeks and weeks and weeks. Finally, I said to myself and her, that it was okay with me if she never bloomed again. Her leaves were a lovely shade of green and that in itself was enough beauty. 

    This allowed me to enjoy her as she is and to focus on her care right where she is at. I kept watering her and used the plant food I bought. 

    And then one day, when she was able, she bloomed. She has the biggest blossoms I have ever seen on one of my hibiscus plants. Ever. Once I gave her permission to just be, it freed both her and me.

    Then I realized, I need to give that same grace to myself. I need to accept that it is okay to change as I go, that some goals need to be altered, as life and circumstances are so changeable. Changing your plan or changing your mind does not mean you have failed. It means you realize you need to make changes in order to continue to learn and grow, to truly thrive.

Cookie Fan Art, Project #3

     I started my 3rd cookie fan art project back in March, and then life got silly so it took me until the last weekend of April to complete it. Then life got even sillier, and now it has taken me until the middle of May to write up my blog post on it.

    This project is based off of one of my favorite Little Golden Books-The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown. She is probably best known as the author of Goodnight, Moon. Illustrations are by Alice and Martin Provensen. I always found the pictures quite enchanting when I was younger. 

    Life can be hard on little children. Christmas comes just once a year, your birthday lasts but a moment, and then it’s gone. In the long stretch between those important holidays I would get mopey and lament that I sure wished someone would give me a present. 

    For those occasions, my mother had a stash of Little Golden Books wrapped in tissue paper that she stored in the hall cupboard. When I would wish for a present, she would grab one of the books for me. The books were maybe fifty cents a piece at that time. This helped bridge the gap between holidays. This also solidified my love of books and reading at an early age. 

    All good things come to an end, of course. There is the infamous story of the time I pined for a gift, my mom headed for her book cupboard, and I loudly added to my lament, “I sure wish someone would give me a present, and NOT just a book.” Children can be so hard to please! 

    Gouache was the medium used for The Color Kittens per a museum display I saw earlier this year that explored original works of art from The Golden Book Series. My cookie art decorating style still ended up being more watercolor than anything else, but I gave it a try. I created frosting washes and used edible painting markers as well. I also did a little fondant work and poured and painted painted with candy melts. I am quite happy with how these turned out.

Is There a Point?

     Is there a point? There might not be. We so often strive to find purpose and meaning in every little thing. Sometimes there is no deeper meaning than what is happening at the surface level, and that is okay.

    I think with my cookie fanart projects I am trying to capture an aspect of my childhood where you get totally lost or submersed in your play or creativity. I have faint memories of what that was like, to have time melt away, to have all worries and stresses fade out, and just be fully immersed in what I am doing in that moment.

    This is the sensation I am hoping to recapture, to help add to the arsenal of activities and processes that will continue to heal and strengthen my soul.

    Every aspect of these projects brings me so much happiness-from the planning, the reminiscing about favorite books, the creating of elements of the projects, and then the fun of putting all the pieces together. I hope you are able to find ways to engage your whole being in creativity as well.

Cookie Fan Art Project, #2

     I had so much fun working on this second project of mine. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats was one of my FAVORITE books when I was in kindergarten. I would have checked it out every week when our class got to go the library but there was a policy-you could not check out the same book two weeks in a row, you had to give other people a chance to enjoy the book the same as you. Sharing was hard concept for me.

    The story was super relatable for me at that age, snow was magical, it was fun to walk about the neighborhood making tracks in the snow, sliding on ice, and trying to be included with the big kids in their play.

    I thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations, as did so many others, from the bright colors, to the shadows. I had never seen collage used for illustration in a picture book before, and I loved it. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 1963, and deservedly so. This book was special in so many ways. It takes place in an urban setting, which had not really been featured before, and has as the main character a child of color. As one of my favorite librarians said, "It may be the best picture book every created." (Full disclosure-my favorite librarian is my sister.)

    I tried to mimic collage in my cookie art fan piece. I used different layers of frosting, transfers, candy melts, chocolate melts, and fondant to layer my piece, give it texture, and depth. I also tried using food safe brushes and food color gels to "paint" with on the cookie surface as well. Helpful tip for this week is that candy melt chocolates, once cooled, are NOT as easily carved as modeling chocolate, two very different things!

    Please also see the links below to learn more about what inspired Ezra Jack Keats and more about his work.

https://www.ejkf.org/

https://www.npr.org/2012/01/28/145052896/the-snowy-day-breaking-color-barriers-quietly