small sweet steps

Ummmmmm... and some new art.

I have been having trouble blogging lately and I'm not sure why. I have been blogging for almost 6 years now and have never felt this way. I'm at a loss. So, I am just going to sit here and write. I am pretty happy these days, my health seems to be improving with some good days mixed in with the bad ones... yay! My creative life is at an all time high. I will be showing at Surtex in May and I am freaking out over it. I have so much to do! Maybe that is why I am having trouble writing? I feel like I am at a turning point in my life, I am letting go of old energies that have bound me for too long and am trying to let new lighter energy filter in. It is actually a very uncomfortable place to be. So many feelings, old and new. Uncomfortable but good, I'm really excited about life these days. I think I need to brainstorm some new ideas for the blog, I know I need to update it and I really need to revamp my website. So many things, so little time.

In an effort to redeem my sad little post, here is some new art I have been working on. I am excited about this new direction and can't wait to play with it more. Have a great weekend my friends.

Instagram and Art

Well, posting from my mobile seems to have worked. With social media on the rise blogging seems to be taking a back seat these days. Where is the line drawn for content that is posted on blogs and SM? This is something I need to think about. I love the instant gratification of posting to my social media sites and love the care I take when posting to my blog. Maybe they should remain apart? Oh, so many questions, so many choices!

I would love for you to follow me on Instagram! It is a social media app for your smartphone and tablet. It is like Twitter, you can follow people and have followers but it is photography based which I LOVE! I have had a hard time getting into Twitter, too much to read and I don't always have a lot to say. I would much rather convey my thoughts, feelings and words through photography. The app is free on your device. You can log onto your app and follow me or follow this link and follow me via followgram. My username on the app is stephanieryands.

If instagram isn't for you, like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and most of my Instagram posts are forwarded there.

Okay! Onto some fun stuff. Here is the previous painting posted with some color added to it. What do you think? Which do you prefer?

Do you prefer the color or just a white background?

Hard at Play

I actually found some time to play with my watercolors over the weekend! I have been busy with my freelance work and am happy to have found some time for myself. It felt good to paint some new art and I also spent some time playing with some graphic looks too!

New Pattern Collection

I would love to see this on fabric! It has been a while since I created any patterns, I had a lot of fun with this collection.

Sweet Punch available at my Etsy Shop.

More New Prints to my Etsy Shop!

It's been a busy day so far! I have been wanting to get these prints onto my Etsy shop for a while now. I am selling them separately and also as a set of three for a nice savings. Check them out!

Daydreaming

Sweet Love

 

My Spinning Heart

Also available as a set of three!

I Choose to be Happy

I think happiness is a choice. No matter what your situation is and how difficult or challenging your days can be, you have a choice to live your life in the rays of the sun or in the shadows. I'm not saying it is easy to do, there are days where I really have to stop and assess how I am feeling and what I am projecting. I have been ill for 12 years and every day has been full of challenges and for a long time I gave into my emotional state and let sadness rule my days. In the past couple of years I have been working on flipping that around. I have become very conscious of my emotions and if I feel myself being weighed down by despair, I try to flip it. It works! Stop your train of thought and try to breathe in some light and good thoughts. This will raise your vibration and allow happiness in. Light, healing, good feeling, happiness. We really do have the power to change our thoughts and our lives.

This is my second week of my Lyme Disease treatment, the good news is the first week flew by. This process is very scary and physically hard and it is very easy to get down and depressed over. Believe me, very easy. But, I am really trying to take a different approach. Whenever I feel the fear and sadness coming in, I take a deep breath and raise my vibration. I can physically feel my body releasing and allowing lighter energy to come in. How do you handle hard situations? What kind of emotional life do you choose to live?

Graphic Patterns

I love working with graphic patterns. I started experimenting with painting this past year and a half, before that, the majority of my work was graphic. I loved working that way but, I always felt like it wasn't right, it needed more. It was too stiff so, I started seeking an alternative and found watercolors. When I was at Surtex in May, I was so inspired by the work of these talented ladies that I started to have the urge to play with graphic patterns again. There was a difference between there work and mine, theirs had more life to them and felt so alive. I think the problem was that I worked in Illustrator and was being too much of a perfectionist, my lines all had to be perfect. I liked having control over my perfect circles. So, after talking to Jessica Swift, I started to re-examine my graphic work and saw that beauty wasn't in the perfect lines it was in the unexpected marks. This is a lesson that I keep reminding myself of when working with the watercolors too. The tighter my work gets the less beauty you find. It's funny, releasing and surrender seem to be big lessons for me these days. Thanks, Jessica for helping me to find beauty in the unexpected marks.

I seem to be loving this color palette. I posted another graphic pattern two weeks ago and it was the same colors. I just realized it. I am channeling aqua, gray and yellow.

 

 

Think Good Thoughts

Just playing around with some different mediums in an effort to loosen myself up. It's funny, I can feel myself tightening up as I work and it makes a huge difference in the finished piece. So, my lesson for today is to Loosen up!  Oh! and Think Good Thoughts.

Big Day Tomorrow.

I have been waiting for tomorrow to get here for the last two months. I have my doctor's appointment to discuss the next step in my treatment. I will find out about getting my IV antibiotics and PICC line for my Lyme disease. I am eager to get this part started but am dreading it as well. I have been doing a lot of research and it is going to be a very bumpy road ahead. Apparently, my symptoms will get worse at first because of the die off of the bacteria plus, the antibiotics will wreak havoc on my system. The first round will last almost 3 months and if that doesn't do the trick, I will have to continue.  I am however, grateful to finally be on the road to recovery and am very optimitic about my future and so glad to put this very long chapter of my life behind me. Very good things are on the horizon... I can see them coming into view.

 

Loving Pink and Green and Me

Here is a new piece I just finished, I love these colors together.

I feel like I am treading water these days just trying to stay a float. Please hang in there with me. The antibiotics seem to be kicking my butt, I'm struggling. I need to be kind to myself through this process and take care of me. I hope you understand. The good news is that I am painting again. That makes me happy.