Art with Friends

Even though 2014 had some horrible moments, there was one thing that saved me... Art with Friends.  

There were new friends, who I shared fun moments brainstorming Mizzle ideas.  Some were "adult" Mizzle ideas, which were fun to draw because they pushed me past my comfort zone. 

These were a few sketches that I played with for the Lucky Seven art show I participated in.

These small watercolor paintings came about from a fun conversation that began with stripes.  Somehow stripes turned into a neon Mizzle safari, where Larry rode a neon blue zebra.  After I created the first painting, my friend came up with idea that the Mizzles needed to hang out with elephants.

But my favorite thing has been my monthly paint and wine nights.  Last August, I turned my garage into my art studio.  Each month I come up with a theme and find paintings by a variety of artists that fit that them.  Then, we create our own versions of them.  Sometimes we create a nice replica.  And sometimes... well... we don't.  The fun thing is that my friend, Jenn, and I are the only trained artists that are there.  The remainder of the group is made up of friends who just love art... and at the very best, trust that I will help fix their painting if things go wrong.  We all look forward to this night.  Here are some photos provided by friends of some of these nights:

Definitely my favorite night each month! I think this has been the most healing time of my life... sharing my love of painting with a great group of people, who have been supportive in every aspect of my life... new friends and old friends sharing art, food, wine... and tons of laughs!

Commission Portrait

2014 was a horrible year for me.  It ended just as it had begun.  I found myself not really in a giving or "holiday" mood.  I'm told it is understandable considering the year I've had, but it felt wrong.

I tried to get into the spirit a little with a few sketches, but they didn't really help.

One thing that was a good distraction was the commission I obtained.  My workout partner had seen my Frida Self portrait in the members art show at the Huntington Beach Art Center.  He originally wanted me to do a Mizzle painting for his office, but then he decided he wanted me to do a painting as a Christmas present for his wife.  I absolutely adore his wife, and was thrilled to do this for him.  It was one of my favorite projects to work on. 

I used this as an opportunity to try out watercolor ground.  I had read about it, but never used it before.  I painted on a thick layer of watercolor ground onto a 16x20 canvas and allowed it to dry for 72 hours.  I used my Derwent Inktense Watercolor pencils to create this painting.  I was surprised how the watercolor ground felt like watercolor paper when it was dry.  It was very easy to work with.  It's a little expensive for my taste.  I think for this size I'd prefer to work with watercolor board, but I felt for this gift it needed to be on a canvas.  

I also created a painting for my mom, which was a difficult decision.  I almost didn't do it because I wasn't sure if I should.  I create a drawing or painting of a family member every year for my mom.  After talking it out with my little sister, we decided I should go for it.  It was a painful, yet rewarding experience.  I decided to do a painting of my mom and dad about to kiss.  I won't lie.  I cried every time I worked on it.  But, it was something worth going through.  

I think the look on my mom's face when she saw it was the best.  And my little sister loved it too.

I'm hoping 2015 turns out to better year all around.  So far it hasn't disappointed.  There is a possibility of more portrait commissions in the works.  *Fingers crossed*

Recreations

At the beginning of the school year, I was inspired to put Mizzles in famous paintings.  I am calling this series "recreations."  It all began with Frida Self portrait I did last year.

I thought it would be fun to create more using colored pencil.  Of course, I don't want to derail my original goals or projects, but sometimes you need another project to alternate between.  It helps prevent boredom.

So, I decided I would begin with sketches.  This way I could see if it would be a successful piece for the Mizzles to recreate.

Can you identify these famous paintings?

Not all of these will make the final cut into a colorized version, but they have been fun to sketch out.

Here are a few that I turned into color versions: 

 I'm hoping to get about 10 color versions done by the end of the year, but we'll see how that goes.  :)


What paintings would you like to see the Mizzles recreate?

Rise

Like every person who saw the movie Tangled probably loved the lantern scene.  And if they didn't, they really should!  :)  It is beautiful. I have seen photos of lantern festivals and have always wanted to participate in one.  So, when I received an email telling me about the Rise Festival, I was elated.  I immediately thought this would be a perfect thing for my mom, younger sister, and myself to do together as a family; to help us heal after losing dad.

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.

Hubert H. Humphrey

I don't think any of us knew what to expect.  Or had any idea of the emotional impact this event would have.  We were given 2 lanterns each and a marker to decorate them with.  The point of this event was to reflect on one's hopes, dreams, goals, or to send thoughts and messages to loved ones who have passed.

Part of the healing process is sharing with other people who care.

Jerry Cantrell

The atmosphere was relaxing, serene, and unbelievably beautiful.  We sat on the dry lake bed watching rainbows appear in the distance, and the sun setting over the mountains.  We sat on yoga mats (provided for us) and we decorated our lanterns.   Then we waited.  We eagerly waited to light our torches and begin releasing the lamps.  And the wait was definitely worth it!

It took a while for the lanterns to fill with hot air, which made everyone anxious.  But releasing the lantern and watch it rise into the sky with all of the other lanterns was amazing.  It felt like whatever was weighing you down left with the lantern.  And I felt overwhelmed by the beauty of it all as the lanterns became fireflies in the night sky.  I'll be honest.  It made me cry.  It made my mom cry.

Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy.

Sai Baba

The very last lantern my mom said "Let's all write a message to dad."
And each of us wrote our "hello's", "love you", and "we miss you."  Then my sister and my mom lit the lantern and released it.  The looks on their faces as it rose into the air was magical and made the night so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined it.

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.

Hippocrates

Leaving the event was an unfortunate disaster, but I would rather focus on the event itself.  I do have to say, I was thoroughly surprised to hear my mom say that despite how the end of the night ended, she would definitely go back.  I'm pretty sure I would, too!

Upcoming Shows

To help get me back on track, I created this triptych for an upcoming show with the Downey Arts Coalition.  This piece is called  Mizzles Creating the Seed of Life.  The seed of life is a symbol created with 7 circles.

Event: Lucky Number Seven - Opening Art Show for the “Seven and Counting” A Night at the Opera
When: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014
Where: Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 Firestone Blvd., Downey, CA 90241
Art Exhibit: 6:30 p.m.
Concert : 8:00 p.m.

The exhibit can be viewed by patrons of The Downey Civic Theatre during business hours through
October 28, 2014.


And if you missed a chance to see Mizzle Self Portrait at the OC fair, then here is your second chance!  It will be part of The Artist Council Inaugural Exhibition running from October 10th- November 8th at the Huntington Beach Art Center,

The Art Center is located at 538 Main St, Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Opening reception is on October 10th 7-9PM

Finding Strength

I love it when conversations happen with different people at different times and a theme emerges.  I think these themes become apparent during times when we need them most.  This week the theme of strength has become a popular topic.

The obvious strength conversation has been with my best friend Lydia, who has been working out with me at the gym.  I've been doing the weightlifting program since May... I think. And it has been amazing to find out what I am capable of doing.  Lydia has begun doing the dumb bell classes with me, where she, too, has discovered her own strength.  We have both enjoyed watching our bodies transform and become stronger.  We get so excited when we see muscle developing and we talk about our favorite trainer, Anthony, all of the time.  We love the other trainers, too.  We just seem to spend more time with Anthony, and he always pushes us.  Some mornings, when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the amount of weight or the amount of reps per set, he will tell me "I believe in you, Nadia, even if you don't believe in you."  I like hearing that because it reminds me that a lot of the time we are stronger than we think.  And he is always right about how much weight I can handle during the workout!  I have had to learn to trust my trainers, but they have also had to learn to trust me in knowing how my body feels.









To think that this was me a year ago! (I'm on the far left)

             
And now I do this! And it completely blows my mind that I do these things!

But I love it because I feel so badass when I lift the heavy weights... especially doing the hip-thrusts.  A few days ago, I hip-thrusted my heaviest weight, which was 295lbs!!!  Craziness I tell you!
It is a great feeling to feel physically strong.

I've been thinking about some of the other exercise adventures I've had and one that I loved the most was yoga.  I miss it, but don't really have the time for it. Two years ago, Lydia and I went to a yoga retreat where we did some really cool partner yoga.

I wonder how much easier would it be for us now that we are stronger???  We might have to try to recreate this photo!

The other strength conversation I found myself having this week with another friend was about emotional strength.  We were talking about how frustrated I am with life... more like how impatient I've been.  I feel like I've had some pretty big challenges or obstacles in life that were not or have not been easy to deal with.  Losing my dad continues to be this surreal experience.  There are good days, but mostly there are *huge sigh* alright days.  I don't quite feel like myself and just feel very blah. And it is frustrating to feel sensitive and vulnerable constantly.  The impatient part of me wants the grieving to be done with already, but I know it isn't that easy.  Most people have told me that I most likely won't feel normal for about a year, and even after that, when I'm feeling good, they said I'll randomly be hit with sadness.  I'm not looking forward to it.  I just want to be happy. It just makes me wonder what exactly do the higher powers to be have in store for me where I need to be emotionally strong?  But in my conversation of emotional strength I did point out that perhaps this whole experience was to teach me how to allow others take care of me and to allow my vulnerability to be seen while holding on to my independence... or it's to re-teach me patience.

Strength is an interesting concept to think about.  Everyone is strong in some way or another.  I've always hated when people tell me that I'll be fine because I'm a strong person.  The worst time was a year ago when a person who knew me from high school told me that it was ridiculous that I was depressed when we received news about my dad's tumors. He told me that I have always been such a strong person that I shouldn't allow this to bother me.  I think that is when I began to realize that true strength isn't necessarily dealing with problems by yourself, but true strength was allowing yourself to open up to being vulnerable.   It takes more strength to reveal the truth than it does to shield yourself.