Collage by Katie the Queen

I have this thing for words in art.  Love them  Haven’t managed to do anything in that vein myself that I’m particularly taken with, but look at this wonderful piece:  Unexplainable.  Weird.  Magnificent!

Katie the Queen is a multi-talented young woman, the daughter of a multi-talented Mom, Karen:  raiser of kid goats, collagist extraordinairre and all around cool Mom and generous collagist (who I met on-line last fall during Art Everyday Month and who sent me some great collage materials just because).

Katie follows in her Mom’s footsteps.  She even has a blog of her own, Katie the Queen.  Can you think of a better title for a blog by such a talented young lady? Lately she has been participating with the rest of us in the Finding Water group working through the book of that name by Julia Cameron. 

Here is Katie’s interview:

What is your favorite thing to make a picture of?

I usually just draw a little bit of whatever I’m thinking of.  For example, when I’m thinking of shopping I draw fashion-related pictures.  Last night I found a stray dog so I drew a picture of the dog. (to the right is Katie’s Clown).

How often do you make art and what do you use?

I make art whenever an idea strikes me.  I do some type of doodling or art every day.  I use all kinds of stuff.  Whatever’s in my Mom’s studio is what I use.  I tend to be creative and use just about everything.

How do you learn to make new pictures?

I teach myself, but just looking at something could spark a whole line of ideas.  If I hear a good word, I sometimes make a painting around it.  Kind of like on Illustration Friday.  I don’t usually make pictures with my friends, but I do lots of creating with my little sister.

Do you have any suggestions you’d like to make to other children who want to make pictures like you?

Be creative and make use of things around you.  For instance, I rolled a basketball textured/shaped candy holder around on a canvas to give it a polka dot pattern.  It’s really easy to make something look really cool.

Do you have anything you’d like to tell the people who are reading about your work?

I’m not very skilled, but by adding little touches I can take something from looking good to looking fantastic.

Do you have a website where people can see your work?

Yes, I have a blog at http://katiethequeen.blogspot.com

How old are you and what do you want to be when you grow up?

I am twelve years old and I want to be a journalist, author or architect when I grow up.  I really haven’t finally decided what I want to be.

Well, Katie, whatever it is you decide on (and I believe you can decide on all of them if you want!), I know you’re going to do it creatively, enthusiastically and well!  And, by the way, I’d take back that comment about "not being very skilled."

Here are a picture of Katie singing (yes, ladies and gentlemen, she sings too!) and another of her art works.

Thanks, Katie, for sharing yourself and your work with us!  I know it will be smiles to many faces today!

Here’s another fun thing for Saturday vegging: Flower Garden.  Much like the Pollock drawing pad I put up in a blog last fall, this blank screen blooms with flowers wherever you click on it.  Be careful.  I lot of time can pass while you’re happily clicking flowers into existence.

Mary Novack, a new visitor to this blog, let me know that she is currently featuring one of my heron’s on her blog.  Thanks, Mary!  And you should go visit – here’s another place you could get lost for an hour or two. (Hey, it’s the weekend.  What better way to relax than all these great play and blog spots?)

Fun with ArtOMatic2007:  Apparently there’s a delicious rumor going around reported here and here:  to fight back against the trashing of ArtOMatic artists (browse my "ArtOMatic" category here to see some of the very non-trashable exhibitors this year), a famous artist has been entered and hung under an alias.  Hooray for rumors – whether or not it’s true (and I SO hope it is!), it’s a great idea and if we don’t do it this time, then surely we will do it next.  Shades of uber-famous violinist Joshua Bell playing on a Stradivarius in a D.C. Washington Metro station almost completely unnoticed. 

On another note, thanks to all of you who sent support and well wishes after yesterday’s post (including at least one of you who is new to me).  I knew you would.  I needed it.  You delivered.  You underline that we all are connected in lots of different ways.  I am blessed with your generosity and abundance. 

thought for the day:    Space consciousness means that in addition to being conscious of tings – which always comes down to sense perceptions, thoughts, and emotions – there is an under current of awareness.  Awareness implies that you are not only conscious of things (objects) but you are also conscious of being conscious…Whenever you are upset about an event, a person, or a situation, the real cause is not the event, person, or situation but a loss of true perspective that only space can provide.  You are trapped in object consciousness, unaware of the timeless innerspace of consciousness itself.  The words, This, too, will pass, when used as a pointer can restore awareness of that dimension to you…another way of finding inner space:  Become conscious of being conscious.  Say or think "I Am: and add nothing to it.  Be aware of the stillness that follows the I Am.  Sense your presence, the naked, unveiled, unclothed beingness.  It is untouched by young or old, rich or poor, good or bad, or any other attributes.  It is the spacious womb of all creation, all form.    Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth:  Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose