art + photography

all posts related to artwork I’ve created, or photography

On a Winter’s Day

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winters-day-pinecone, the artyologist

Since moving to town last fall, I don’t get to enjoy the winter frost as much anymore. We don’t get the ice fog, and resulting frost, in town the same way that my family’s house in the country does. And when we do, there are a bunch of obnoxious houses in the way blocking the view 😉 So, a few weeks ago, when visiting my family on a frosty day, I took the opportunity to run outside and take some photos of the landscape, as it was so incredibly beautiful.

Have I already taken many photos of the frost in winters past? Yes! Does that stop me from taking more? Nope! Sorry there are so many photos- everywhere I looked was another interesting detail or view I wanted to capture! Also, even though these photos were taken a few weeks ago, and we almost into March now, (and with that: spring!) it still looks every bit of winter out there, so I thought these photos wouldn’t be too out of place.

winters-day-red-shed, the artyologist

On another note, I’ve been quite busy this past week, as I was preparing for, and then showing my artwork at an art show this weekend. (The same one I went to last year, and talked about here) (Also- hi and welcome to anyone who has found my blog through the show!) The show went well, but even though it is now over, I think things are going to keep getting busier, because. . . I start a new job tomorrow! I am very excited about it! With that change in my schedule, though, I am going to have to make some changes to the blog.

I’ve been keeping to a fairly regular schedule for the past year or so, posting on Tuesdays and Fridays, but lately that hasn’t seemed to be working very well for me. Since the fall time, my schedule has changed a lot, and I’ve had things keeping me from blogging. I think it is time to let the pressure off, so I have decided that it is OK to post less frequently. That was a self imposed rule anyways 🙂 I still want to post once a week- and as I have time, maybe some weeks I will be able to post more than that! Anyways, I just wanted to let you know why it might get a bit quieter around here. Oh, and because this blog wouldn’t be much without you, thank-you to all of you Dear Readers who follow along! I hope you all have a wonderful last week of February and first of March! (Spring is just around the corner, I can feel it!)

winters-day-3, the artyologist

winters-day-gas-tank, the artyologist

winters-day-seedheads, the artyologist

winters-day-2, the artyologist

winters-day-chicken-shed, the artyologist

winters-day-pine-branch, the artyologist

wood stack, horizontal, the artyologist

winters-day-gas-tank-2, the artyologist

winters-day-1, the artyologist

winters-day-tire, the artyologist

winters-day-4, the artyologist

Valentine’s Day Cards and Cake

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Valentine's Day Cards and Cake, the artyologist

I can finally share the cards I made this year, now that Valentine’s Day is over! (I didn’t want to share these pictures before, as I didn’t want people to see the cards here before they received them.)

This year I decided to really simplify my cards, as I didn’t have a lot of time to dedicate to making them, so I decided to do some Valentine themed drawings, and then colour them with watercolour. I used heavy cardstock, rather than watercolour paper, so the ink would come out smooth and crisp. After letting the ink dry, I went over with the watercolour, then trimmed them and that was that. I made sure to take some scans of them as I might turn them into some card designs in the future. I think that some of them would work OK for “just because” cards, not just for Valentine’s Day, what do you think?

valentines cards-and-cake, the artyologist

And of course, I had to share this delicious coconut and chocolate tart that I made in honour of the day. I decided to do some food photography, because it turned out so pretty! Of course that cocoa powder made a huge mess all over the place, but it was worth it for some photos 😉

Anyways, I have nothing else to really say, so I wish you all a great weekend! Here in Alberta it is a long weekend, so I am looking forward to that extra day off. See you all next week!

Valentine's Day Cards and Cake, all cards, the artyologist

valentines cards, the artyologist

valentines day cake, the artyologist

scattered valentines cards, the artyologist

valentines cards, the artyologist

valentine's day cards, the artyologist

valentine's day cake, the artyologist

Valentine’s Day is Coming (And a Free Printable)

Valentine's Day is Coming (And a Free Printable), the artyologist

Raise your hand if you love Valentine’s Day as much as I do! I don’t know why I love Valentine’s Day so much. . . but I really do! I think it is the sentiment behind the event- and also the fact that it is such a Victorian holiday. Whatever the reason, every year I send out Valentine’s cards (this year I was a bit late… oops!), wear pink, and bake something in the shape of a heart, just because.

And, because I love Valentine’s so much, I thought that I would share another free printable this year, especially since I had so much fun doing that last year, and because I can’t send all of you dear readers a Valentine of your own (I wish I could!). If you haven’t gotten a card yet for someone special, but would like to give them one this year, click on the download below. I hope you enjoy it and I’d love to know if you decide to use it!

Click on the download below and print it out on a standard 8.5×11 page. For personal use only, please! 

2018 Valentine Printable, The Artyologist

Valentines-2018, the artyologist

The Lost Art of Christmas Cards & a Free Christmas Card Printable

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lost-art-of-christmas-cards-the-artyologist

Every year, at the beginning of December I start thinking about Christmas cards. Actually that’s not quite true, I start thinking about Christmas cards right after Christmas the year before, when all the Christmas stationery goes on sale! Every year, I go through the cards after the holidays, and pick out my favourite one for the next year. (That might be a bad habit to have. . . I’m a stationery hoarder. . . ) And then, fast forward to the first week (or second if I’m late) of December of the next year, I go through my address book and write greetings, and put a Christmas postage stamp on the envelopes and off they go, winging their way across the country!

In this era of texting and technology, sending Christmas greetings has become somewhat of a “lost art”, as has all mail, and it’s really too bad, because there is nothing quite like receiving a handwritten note in the mail, is there? One of my favourite parts of my day is stopping at the mailbox to see if there is anything in it. More often than not, I am like Charlie Brown, calling “hello in there” with no response, but nevertheless, I do still love it! I guess I’m a Victorian girl at heart. This might be because I read Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions at an impressionable age and ever since then, I’ve adored all of the old fashioned holiday traditions.

But, this year I started thinking, when did Christmas cards come into popularity? The Victorians “invented” Christmas as we know it today. Many of the traditions that surround Christmas came into popularity in the 1800’s, such as Christmas trees, which had before then been found mainly in Germany. And Christmas cards are another one of those traditions that became popularized in the Victorian era.

gift wrapped, the-artyologist, free christmas card download

So, after a bit of reading, I discovered that what started the tradition of Christmas cards was actually one man’s laziness, and ingenuity. Traditionally, at Christmas, people used to send Christmas and New Year’s letters. In the 1840’s with the advent of an economical postal system (the “Penny Post”) people started taking advantage of the mail system, and sending out their Christmas and New Years letters with abandon. This was great, but in Victorian England it was rude to not reply to a letter you had received. In 1843, Sir Henry Cole started receiving tons of letters- he was apparently very popular and was in the position of having too many friends. Feeling overwhelmed by the pile of letters stacking up, he devised a way to reply to the senders, with the first ever “Christmas Card”. He commissioned an artist to create a card for him, with the message “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you” written on it, and then, he simply wrote each person’s name on it and sent it out. It took a while for Christmas Cards to catch on, but once they did, they skyrocketed in popularity and today we can’t imagine Christmas without cards. Although the popularity is waning these days, I do still see plenty of stationery and cards this time of year, so many people must still enjoy this tradition. If you want to see the first card and history, you can read more here.

free christmas card download, the-artyologist

So, all that to say; I love Christmas cards, and any kinds of cards really, so I decided that it would be fun to do a free Christmas card printable! This is an illustration I did last year, which I have made into Christmas cards and present tags, since I know that many of you don’t need cards. Print these out on some nice cardstock, and voila!

Download the Christmas Cards Here

Download The Christmas Tags Here

And, while I’ve got you here, I’ve not found Christmas cards to do very well at sales in the past, but is that something you would be interested in me adding to my shop for next year? If so, let me know!

Do you enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards?

Life Lately and an Everlasting Bouquet of Flowers

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Life Lately and An Everlasting Bouquet of Flowers, on a chair

Well it’s been a busy month. October, I mean, not November. We’re only 5 days into November. Well, it’s been busy too, actually now that I think about it. . .  Anyways, I am finding myself sitting in front of this computer screen, again, trying to write this blog post that has taken me far too long to write. And I have been reflecting on how the changing circumstances in my life have changed my presence here on the internet, and how I have been neglecting this little blog. (Being a responsible adult is cutting into my creative time. Seriously, why so many dishes?!?) So, just some point form thoughts, bits of updates on things, and some links to blog posts, or articles that I found interesting.

  • These flowers were given to me as a housewarming gift from my sister at the end of September. I just threw the last of them out last week- I couldn’t believe that the cut flowers lasted 4 weeks!
  • Part of my busyness in October was because I was preparing for an exhibit that I have up for the month of November, at a local library. It’s not really an “exhibit” as it doesn’t have a single theme or inspiration, as it is comprised of anything I had ready to show, which was a mixture of photography and watercolour. I have a few pictures of that display, here on my studio instagram. It was a bit difficult to take the photos, because of the poor lighting, but at least I got a few!
  • I haven’t been very good at keeping up with my studio and shop lately, but I was able to set aside some time this weekend to plan and prep some things for that, and I’m going to (hopefully) be better at keeping up! I have some new pieces in the works, and if you’d like to stay updated on what I am doing art-wise, I would love it if you follow me over at my instagram @theartyologist_studio!

Life Lately and An Everlasting Bouquet of Flowers, bouquet on chair and details

  • This little quiz that Mariam of the Petite Bijou shared in her instagram story the other day is fun. It’s only three questions, but I took the quiz and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I have been trying to create a more defined and cohesive wardrobe, as I’ve talked about before, so finding out which colours look best on me, was rather helpful. I got: “Rich, earthy shades of red, orange, yellow, green, and brown, peach, coral, and red violet, warm grays (mushroom, taupe) and off-whites, periwinkle and teal”. Well, most of those just happen to be colours that I am drawn to anyways! Did you take the quiz? What colours did you get?
  • This post by Bianca of The Closet Historian is a great one, about blogging and how she grew and then shrank her blog. This is something I have struggled with along the way too, with my own blog. Trying to stay true to what I want to share, but also trying to juggle what people want to read. And not getting too obsessed with the numbers. If you have a blog, do you struggle with “the numbers” too?
  • I have been feeling a bit discombobulated lately, and I haven’t been doing many outfit photos lately or even any blogging. Since moving, I have had a hard time coordinating with my sister to do photos. That and it’s basically winter now, and so it gets dark so early. But, I am trying to get back in the swing of things, and post regularly again! I have some ideas for posts, so now I just have to do them.

Life Lately and An Everlasting Bouquet of Flowers, sculptural bouquet

  • This article about smartphones was completely eye opening. If you have 10 minutes, read this article. Seriously, do it. While I would not consider myself to be as addicted to my smartphone, as they talk about in the article, I do notice myself sometimes getting a little too attached to it, and am taking steps to reduce my screen time. (Hard to do when your job and your hobbies all involve computers!) Anyways, it is a great article, so I would definitely recommend it! Do you struggle with smartphone addiction- what do you do to reduce your time spent on your phone?
  • Fashion Revolution recently released a podcast about “Who Made My Clothes”. I actually have not found the time to listen to it yet, and I am planning to this week. If you’d also like to listen to it, you can find it here. UPDATE: I just listened to the podcast today, and it was a really great investigation into the garment industry. It kind of does a whole overview, then focusing on specific issues, and also gives some great examples of how we can enact change in the industry. I would definitely recommend listening to it! There are 3 episodes of about 25 minutes each.
  • Is it seriously only 50 days left until Christmas?!?! Not that I’m trying to jump things, but I am getting ready to do a couple of Christmas craft shows this month and next, and the Christmas season is just rushing at me! It’s a lot of work involved, doing Christmas sales, but it’s a lot of fun too, as I do them with my sister.

So, that’s a bit of what I have been up to, and I think that’s all I have to share for now. I hope you have had a lovely and relaxing weekend, and that this next week is a good one for you too!

Life Lately and An Everlasting Bouquet of Flowers, flower details

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