Scenes From an Art Studio

15 May By

I have been crazy busy in my art studio lately working on many projects. Ever since I reorganized this space and made it more functional, it’s as if the creative floodgates have just swung open. There’s something about the energy in here that has shifted and it makes me so happy.

I don’t have much time to write today so I thought I’d just give you a glimpse into my workday and some of the things that I’m working on. I am knee deep in the illustration of a really wonderful children’s book. Can’t really talk about it yet but I’ll give you the tiniest glimpse of it. It’s been so fun to work on so far.

I also have a lot of new paintings in the works. I’m venturing into new directions and it is so exciting to see where this goes. I’m trying very hard not to lead my thoughts but rather to follow them. The process of creation is very magical sometimes.

It’s been a busy but wonderful day filled with much art, music blaring and coffee, coffee, coffee. My favorite things. What are you working on today?

In work mode.

 

A detailed look at a new painting in progress.

 

Might need some new brushes.

 

I've been dreaming in cobalt turquoise.

 

Wonderful reflections.

 

A teeny tiny glimpse of the children's book. It's gonna be great.

 

It's a beautiful day and this is my view. Ah.

 

Filed Under: Beautiful Things, Everyday Musings, New Work 5 Comments

Eight is More Than Enough

8 May By

Some of you may not know this about me but I’m the youngest of 8 kids. I get all kinds of reactions when I tell people that but the most common reaction is fascination. What’s that like? 8 kids? No way. Wow.

The Olguin Family in 1972: Top Row: Gary, Dad, Elaine, Lori. Bottom Row: Ruben, Michael, Mom, Me, John, Natalie

 

Well, okay, I’ll tell you what it’s like. It’s chaos. It’s noisy. It’s crowded. But mostly it can be a whole lot of fun. There are 4 brothers and 4 sisters. So it’s a little like The Brady Bunch (if the Brady Bunch were Hispanic and Catholic and lived in a teeny tiny house). And now that we’re older I think our entire family including grandkids and now great grandkids is somewhere around 45 people. Whew!

There are some definite drawbacks to growing up in a house of 8 kids:

  • You pretty much NEVER get your own brand new clothes. (this is why we all love to shop now)
  • There are a whole lot of talkers and not a lot of listeners. (this still holds true)
  • You never get to eat more than one Oreo, Twinkie, or popsicle because you need to make sure there’s enough for everyone.
  • There are very few secrets.
  • And you can never have Thanksgiving dinner without putting rented tables in the garage just so that everyone can sit down.

All that being said, I have to admit that the upsides are pretty cool. I think the best part about being one of 8 kids is that it’s like being a member of a very exclusive club. Or maybe a wolf pack. Because you do have to develop a thick skin. I always say that the unofficial family mantra is “Get your sh*t together and quit feeling sorry for yourself”. In other words, if one of the 8 of us is making a mistake, chances are that one (if not more than one) sibling is gonna let you know. There are lots of checks and balances with this many people. But, believe it or not, all of that comes from the best place.

When times are going good for you, it’s like having your own built-in fan club. And when times are going bad for you, it’s like having your own built-in support group. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that even in the worst of times, there are definitely at least 7 other people in this great big world who have your back.

So when one of us gets some bad news or is facing a challenge, then all of us are ready to rally. What can we do? How can we help? What do you need?

And what I want everyone to remember is that when bad things happen, it’s only to remind us of the beauty and love in our lives. It’s to remind us to appreciate the people that matter. The people who are ALWAYS there for you no matter what the circumstances. And for me, those people are my 7 siblings. They are sisters and brothers but they are friends and supporters too. They are the people I admire and the people whose opinion matters most to me. I feel like I was born under a lucky star when I got this family. This post is dedicated to them.

I love you guys! You can be pains in the rear ends sometimes but Lord, what would we do without each other?

 

Filed Under: Beautiful Things, Everyday Musings 6 Comments

By George, I Think I’ve Got It

1 May By

I am a devoted fan of Danielle LaPorte. I saw her speak last year at the World Domination Summit in Portland and I was hooked. She is a life coach of sorts or maybe she is a career guru or maybe she is just a rock-star-fire-starter but her ideas always hit so genuinely home for me.

Anyway, I subscribe to her White Hot Truth emails and last night, right before I went to bed, I got an email from her and the subject line read: “What do you want… that you already have?”

Hmmm, that thought stuck with me as I tossed and turned in my sheets. What do I want that I already have? Maybe quite a lot of things, when I really think about it. The point is that sometimes we get caught up in the wishing and the wanting and we fail to notice how far we’ve already come.

I realized that I am always striving and working on building a successful art career. Keep moving ahead. Going to the next level. Making it happen. Reaching success. But what defines success? Selling artwork? Showing in galleries? Touching people with my work? Getting commissions? Always improving the work?

I realized as I was lying there unable to sleep that I have all those things. I have an art career. It’s here. This is it. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals and wanting to move ahead but sometimes it’s good to stop and take a look at how far you’ve come.

So I took a moment to really reflect on what I have accomplished so far. Wow, how nice to stop for a second and just feel a little bit of satisfaction. To sit with your accomplishments. How great it feels to feel gratitude for what you’ve been able to achieve. How come I NEVER do that?

There’s something very soothing about that process. It sort of takes the anxiety out of the toil and the strife of a passionate pursuit. Being present and smelling the roses in this very moment is so empowering. I just finished a new series of work, I have a commission project coming up, I’m working on children’s book illustrations and I write every week about art, passion and possibility here on this little blog. I suppose that, my friends, is an art career.

Well what do you know?

Danielle was right, what an amazing little exercise I went through in my head. I woke up feeling grateful, empowered, and a lot more calm and clear about what I want in my life. I finally decided to give myself a little credit for how far I’ve come and it felt great.

So…. what do you want in YOUR life… that you already have?

Filed Under: Authentically Yourself, Beautiful Things, Finding Your Passion, Self Care 1 Comment

Spreading My Artistic Wings

24 Apr By

The really wonderful thing about being an artist is that the possibilities of art are endless. I will admit however, sometimes those endless possibilities can be a little overwhelming. Where to start? What to do? How to bring a vision to life? It can be crippling to the point where no art is being created at all. Plus, I sometimes find that since I have developed a distinct style of art I can feel a bit boxed in by it.

Last month I took an amazing workshop with Sandra Duran Wilson in Santa Fe. I learned some really cool new techniques that I was excited about trying. I wasn’t sure how I was going to incorporate them into my style but I knew I wanted to find a way to use them.

I was discussing all these “what ifs” and challenges with my husband one morning and he had a simple answer for me: “That’s the thing about being an artist, YOU get to decide what you want to do next.” Simple and true.

So it was by coincidence that that same day I was asked if I would be willing to donate some work to a fundraiser for the New Mexico Academy of Rock & Blues. I have been designing the promotional materials for NMARB for my cousin Keith Sanchez who is the director and founder as well as a fantastically talented musician/singer/songwriter. This was the light bulb moment that I needed. It was a low pressure chance to explore some new techniques, some new mediums and some new themes.

So here they are, the new pieces that I’ve come up with for the NMARB silent auction.

Bob Marley 11"x 14" mixed media on wood ©DeAnne Olguin Williamson

 

Bono 11"x 14" mixed media on wood ©DeAnne Olguin Williamson

 

Jim Morrison 11"x 14" mixed media on wood ©DeAnne Olguin Williamson

 

Bob Dylan 11"x 14" mixed media on wood ©DeAnne Olguin Williamson

 

John Lee Hooker 11"x 14" mixed media on wood ©DeAnne Olguin Williamson

 

They are all mixed media on wood. It is the first time that I have really tried to get a little more abstract with my work and transfer found images and text rather than paint the human form and use collage. I used molding paste and gel mediums on these pieces to create texture and stencils and stamps to create patterns. It was fun and I hope the NMARB will benefit from the donation. I can’t even express how satisfying and inspiring it was to go in a new direction and spread my artistic wings. I will definitely do it more often.

If you are in New Mexico, you should check out this event. It’s on May 6 at 6 pm and it promises to be an amazing night of music, poetry and art. You can get more information here.

Filed Under: Authentically Yourself, Finding Inspiration, New Work, News/Updates 19 Comments

Cruisin’ Along

17 Apr By

Well I am back from my whirlwind vacation cruise to Mexico with my family. I cannot even say enough about what a wonderful time we had.

Before I tell you about the trip I must preface it by admitting that my husband and I were very skeptical about going on a cruise. For the longest time we thought that we were not really “cruise people”. We went on a cruise years ago and we found that we were more interested in the ports than the cruise itself so, for us, the cruise schedule was very limiting. Of course, we were young and we were living in Europe at the time for his job. The cruise we took went from Italy to Greece to Turkey. And we were way more interested in spending time at the bazaar in Istanbul than learning to salsa dance on the cruise ship in Italian (which we did by the way… and until the end of time, whenever I hear salsa music I will think “Uno, due, tre… quattro, cinque, sei”).

But you know how it goes, time has a way of changing your perspective and oh yeah, those little changes called kids change your perspective too. We kept hearing how wonderful cruises are for kids so we thought we would give it another whirl.

When we lived in Europe our method of travel was a car and a map and a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants kinda attitude. Somehow, once we had kids, that just didn’t sound very appealing anymore. The schedule and the organization of the cruise ship sounded very, very comforting to me. And I will tell you, it WAS comforting.

My kids are 3 and 6 and they were just giddy about the whole trip. They loved the bunk beds they slept on in our stateroom, they loved the kid’s club they could go to on the ship, they loved the excursion into “Messico” where they got to pet dolphins and play in the ocean, they loved the Spanish cartoons on the TV in our room, they loved the “always open” ice cream buffet… it was LITERALLY  the perfect vacation for them. And I will admit, sipping cocktails by the adult pool while they were in the kid’s club was pretty awesome for Mom and Dad too.

So there you have it! That’s my review of taking kids on a cruise ship. If you haven’t done it, I would highly recommend it for the fun factor. Next time we’ll have to try A DISNEY CRUISE! I can only imagine the new levels of sheer delight that would send them into! I shall keep you posted. I guess we are now officially “cruise people”.

Have you been on any vacations with kids you would recommend? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Filed Under: Balancing Motherhood and Self, Beautiful Things 4 Comments

Spring Fever!

7 Apr By

Things have been so crazy around here lately with how busy we’ve all been coupled with how sick we’ve been too. Happy to report that everyone has recovered and we are off to celebrate Spring Break with a change of scenery! Hola Mexico, here we come! So excited! Since I will be trading my laptop for margaritas in the sun and much needed family time, I wanted to wish you all a Happy Spring! Hope the Easter Bunny is good to you and yours! Be back next week. XOXO

Filed Under: Beautiful Things, News/Updates Leave a Comment

Sacred Space

3 Apr By

“Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house a world, and beyond its world a heaven. Know then that world exists for you.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

For the longest time, I have been working on my art in a corner of our guest room. I would keep all my supplies in the closet and then pull them all out when I wanted to work. Ugh. Talk about uninspiring. IT WAS NOT WORKING FOR ME AT ALL.

A few weeks ago, I finally came to the ridiculously obvious conclusion: Guest room, schmest shmoom! I need an art studio! And when I make a decision like that, I want it done NOW. So with a giant dose of determination and impatience, I set about the task. I put down rubber flooring, I bought new shelving, I rearranged supplies… all in between tending to a sick 3-year-old (and did I mention that now I’m sick too?). But none of that was gonna hold me back. Suddenly I realized that an inspiring workspace was of the utmost importance.

And guess what? It is so amazingly inspiring now. It is wonderful. I’ve been working non-stop in there. And everyone in the family wants to be in my space now. It’s amazing to me how my shift in thinking about the space and configuring the space has somehow changed the energy of the room. It is no longer a guest room. It’s an ART STUDIO.

I think sometimes we underestimate the value of the right kind of space for the right kind of activity. If you love to cook, having the right kitchen equipment and configuration can make a world of difference. If you love to write, having a comfortable desk with good lighting and a cup of tea just might be the best way to get the words to flow.  I think sometimes we think that taking that space for our creative passion is selfish but I’ve come to realize just the opposite. We need to nurture the creative. We need to respect it. Creativity is very spiritual after all. It is all about space and ritual.

And if there’s one thing that is imperative to all acts of spirituality it is a sacred space. And I’m so happy I finally created one.

Filed Under: Authentically Yourself, Beautiful Things, Finding Inspiration, Finding Your Passion 8 Comments

Give Me Patience

27 Mar By

I have had a rough week.

And so has my 3-year-old daughter. She has been under the weather since last Thursday night. Mild pneumonia, mild ear infection and wheezing cough. Poor sweet little thing, it has been a rocky road but she’s in great spirits. She’s on antibiotics now and on the road to recovery but it will probably take a week or so to hopefully get her back to her cheerful bubbly healthy self.

I know that she is the one who has been sick but I have come to realize this week that when a child is sick, it completely and totally wreaks havoc on Mom.

I can’t begin to calculate the amount of worry that mothers (and fathers) expend on fevers and vomiting and coughs and runny noses and watery eyes. It’s brutal. And that doesn’t even count the time spent on cleaning up carpets and sheets and clothes when the vomit doesn’t quite make it into the bathroom. Or the time spent awake at night with a coughing, sleep-deprived 3-year-old. And let’s not even get into the time spent in the waiting room at the doctor’s office or even the time spent waiting in line at the pharmacy. And be grateful I’m not going to go into the story about how after waiting 45 minutes at the pharmacy, I was sent to a second pharmacy to get something the first pharmacy didn’t have (did I mention all this waiting involved a sick 3-year-old who seriously lacks patience?) And I think I’ve come to realize that I seriously lack patience sometimes too. I can’t even begin to imagine what it is like for parents who face much more serious illnesses in their children. That’s a whole other story.

When I was a kid, my Mom used to frequently look to the heavens and say “Dame paciencia.” Which is Spanish for “Give me patience.” Now I totally understand that.

I had so many plans this week for things that needed to get done or even just my usual schedule of painting and blogging and working out and grocery shopping while the kids are at school. I am usually a go-go-go kind of person and my days are very scheduled. But when your baby gets sick, it all doesn’t matter. It all takes a back seat. I suppose sometimes the Universe has other plans for you. Sometimes that schedule just has to be interrupted and slowing down is the only option. I’ve had to call friends and ask for help picking up my son at school and I’ve had to ask my husband to come home early and bring home takeout for dinner. I’ve never been very good at admitting I can’t handle it all myself. I’ve learned a valuable lesson this week about perspective.

I had intended to write about something different today but since I have found myself all week looking to the heavens and saying “Give me patience” I figured that maybe this is something significant. As the saying goes, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

So our schedule will eventually get back to normal and all those projects that are lined up will just have to wait. I’m going to take a deep breath and just slow down and snuggle my little love bug back to health. But please give me patience.

Filed Under: Balancing Motherhood and Self 6 Comments

7 Things I Learned on My Trip To Santa Fe

20 Mar By

On Sunday I returned from my 5 day visit to New Mexico. I attended a wonderful art workshop in Santa Fe and I also visited with my relatives who live there. It was such a great trip and the best way for me to tell you about it is to break it down into the 7 things I learned while I was there.

1. Red and green chile does not taste as good anywhere in the world as it does in New Mexico.

Let me just say if you don’t know about New Mexico’s chile then you should. The official state question is “Red or green?” and there is no wrong answer to that question. They are both amazing in my opinion. But if you can’t decide you can always answer with “Christmas” and get a little of both. That’s really the best way to go.

A warning to out of town guests at Tomasita's in Santa Fe.

 

2. When you are delayed in the airport time drips by like molasses but if you have someone fun keeping you company then it flies by.

I experienced a lot of airport time on this trip. On my way out of LAX I was delayed two and a half hours. And then on my return flight out of Albuquerque (after already being delayed an hour) I found out my delay was going to be another three hours. Lots of bad weather. My cousin generously offered to come and have a beer with me while I waited and it lifted my mood tremendously as well as felt like a fun little bonus visit. I am completely grateful for that because I have to admit, I was on the verge of some sort of pathetic crying/kicking breakdown before he got there.

Thanks Keith!

 

3. Don’t ever discard art supplies.

The workshop I took with Sandra Duran Wilson was amazing. She is a wealth of information and knowledge when it comes to all things artistic. I think the best little lesson I took away was never to discard any art supplies you might be using. She taught us to keep a throwaway piece of art next to us as we worked and to put any leftover paint, paste or collage onto the throwaway piece. Eventually that piece morphs into it’s own work of art. Brilliant.

At the workshop.

 

4. The desert is in my blood.

I grew up in the Mojave desert in California. I have since lived in big cities, I’ve lived in the mountains and by the beach. I love them all but somehow while I was in the New Mexico desert, I felt really at home and a kind of magical peace. There’s such beauty there.

New Mexico sunset.

 

5. 5 days might be too long to be away from my kids right now.

Before I left, I admitted to having a little anxiety about leaving my kids. But I have to also admit, that once I got on that plane I felt great and I really enjoyed my much needed “me” time. However, by the fourth day, it hit me hard. I got the Mommy blues and was ready to see my munchkins again. A break is good but I think now I’ve figured out the right equation: 3 days would probably be perfect.

6. Buying turquoise jewelry in Santa Fe makes me very very happy.

I got this fantastic ring. Enough said.

Love.

 

7. Man, I have a cool family.

Spending time with people you love but don’t get to see very often is amazingly good for your soul. I spent so much time with my cousins on this trip and even though I thought I already knew them, I learned new things about every single one of them. They are the most fun and salt-of-the-earth group of people on the planet. I will be forever grateful for such wonderful relatives and vow to make more time for visits with them.

My crazy cousins.

Overall it was such a great trip and I came home refreshed and with a new appreciation for my little life. I read this quote by Saint Augustine the other day and it has stuck with me: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Here’s to many more pages.

Filed Under: Balancing Motherhood and Self, Beautiful Things, Everyday Musings 10 Comments

Adventure is the Word

13 Mar By

There is an Oprah quote that has been making the rounds a lot lately which is “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”

I couldn’t agree with that quote more and I do try to make it a special point to be around people whose energy lifts me up. Whether they are friends, family or just people you admire, you know when someone gives you that bright energy that lights a fire inside of you. Those are the people who make you feel good, who inspire you, who make you feel like anything is possible. Or maybe they just make you laugh which is inspiration in itself.

So it is with that intention that I have planned several adventures in the coming months. (And speaking of adventure, at the beginning of the year, I was setting my intentions for 2012 and the word adventure kept coming up as my word for the year. Be careful what you wish for because I have found myself with a dizzying amount of adventure in the near future.)

My first adventure will be taking me to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

It’s on my life list to take an art workshop in Italy or Mexico but that is not totally on my radar at the moment. So I decided to start with something a little closer geographically. Tomorrow I’m flying to New Mexico to attend a two day workshop with Sandra Duran Wilson in Santa Fe. Sandra creates beautiful mixed media artwork that I really admire and I am always excited to learn new techniques. Plus, New Mexico is home to my family so I will get a chance to spend time with my cousins who are some of my favorite people on the planet. And getting to eat red and green chile while I’m there? Come on, it’s a win/win/win.

My second adventure happens in May where I will be attending a very cool event in Berkeley, California at the Teahouse Studio. Two women who I admire greatly, Andrea Scher and Kelly Rae Roberts, are holding a round table event where 20 women will be getting together to have delicious food and delicious conversation. Both Andrea and Kelly Rae are very creative souls whose work I really respect. I am so excited to soak up their energy and just be surrounded by a table of strong women discussing their creative endeavors. Plus, my best friends live in San Francisco so again, surrounding myself with amazing people is all that weekend will be about.

Okay, (are you tired yet?) my third adventure will be taking me to Portland, Oregon in July. Last year I attended the World Domination Summit organized by Chris Guillebeau author of The Art of Noncomformity. It’s impossible to describe the World Domination Summit except to use a phrase that was overheard there a lot “It was a heart attack of awesome!” 500 people got together to celebrate living their lives outside of the box. Living an extraordinary, nonconformist life is pretty much what it’s all about. Talk about good energy. There were entrepreneurs, artists, writers, bloggers, life coaches, etc. all in attendance. That place was buzzing with an energy that could have lit up a small country. I am super excited to be in attendance for it’s second incarnation.

And if all that adventure is not enough, I have three other family trips that coincidentally fall in between all these other adventures. Whew. My suitcase is gonna get a workout in the next few months. But I love it.

As a side note, I have to admit that I’m having a little anxiety about leaving my kids on these solo weekends. My hubby is amazing and takes personal pride in his ability to take over Mommy duty. But my kids’ schedules are more hectic than ever plus,  I have been quizzed by my 6 year old about where I’m going, what I’ll be doing and WHY I’m going which is always difficult to explain. I will miss them terribly but I know it’s so good for them to have a little time independent of me and also it helps them to be more open and flexible to life’s changes. They are troopers and I am so proud of the little people they are becoming.

Okay, let the adventure begin.

Filed Under: Dreaming Big, Finding Inspiration, News/Updates 9 Comments
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