Gifting More Than Art Supplies

Blog 48

 

On this Black Friday, which is this year exactly one month before Christmas Eve, I want to give you some tips for buying art materials for the artists in your family.


In times when everything gets more and more expensive, it seems a not-to-be-missed opportunity to save on gifts for yourself or loved ones. However, the number of sales in stores and online are overwhelming.


While I encourage gifting art supplies to encourage everyone to play and experiment for fun and to discover new techniques, materials or ways to express yourself creatively, shopping without a list can fill your or the recipient's cabinets with stuff nobody will ever have the time to use.


Going to an art store or browsing online stores is like being in a candy store, the eyes getting wider and wider with the range of products available. The possibilities are unlimited.


When you buy art materials for a loved one, start by looking around their work area, talking to them about materials they use, looking at flyers together, or visiting an art store with them before the holiday season. It helps to pay attention to the materials they admire.


If the artistic person in your life is taking a class or painting with friends, you could also ask the instructor or one of their artist buddies for advice. Once in the store, choose the best quality you can afford, especially for adolescent and adult artists. You get what you pay for when you buy large sets of cheap art equipment, a frustrating experience. Instead, get a small number of high-quality items.


If you buy for yourself, ask yourself if you need it now, desire something or only want to buy it because it looks like a great deal. If you have thought about trying a new medium for a while, get a small set or a couple of colours to try it out. If you know you want to buy specific items, now might be the time. However, there will always be sales. Sometimes, patience pays off. Last year, I wanted a portfolio folder for my childhood artwork. A couple of weeks ago, it was finally on sale.

2024 Felting Workshops

By gifting art materials, you will provide the opportunity for hours of entertainment and increased creativity. However, registering for a course together will be even more fun to bond and create new memories. If you always wanted to try needle felting, contact me for my winter/spring schedule. I offer gift certificates for workshops and artworks.

Speeding Through Life

Chickadee, wool, 6" x 8"

Blog 33


Is it already the end of the week again? I am always surprised that another week has passed, just like my friends. Do you feel the same?


There are many attempts to prove why people feel that time passes quicker when they get older. I have thought about this a lot since my accident, which forced me to learn to walk again. My progress seemed frustratingly slow during my rehabilitation, even though others were surprised at my fast improvement.


The perception of time passing quickly or slowly is very subjective. I am more aware now that my time is limited, and I want to make the most of it. I have attempted to become more present at the moment, sometimes successfully. Other times, I fall back into the routine of rushing around.


I attempt to engage in various activities to form new memories to make life more exciting. After years of spending most of my time only with my husband and dog, Shadow, I make an effort to engage with more people and try new activities to get out of my comfort zone.


What could be better than to participate together in a hobby you enjoy? Your attention becomes fully absorbed in the activity, and you focus on the present moment. Engaging in enjoyable activities provides stimulation and novelty to make time feel more vivid.


I intend to enjoy every day with a pinch of creative fun. I want to share this joy with you. Therefore, I invite you to my August events:

1) August 19, 2023: Art Café at 2:30 PM in Cumberland, ON
The event is family-friendly. We will enjoy some refreshments and create a flower doodle. I will provide all the art materials. To join me, please send me an email to info@KerstinPeters.ca by August 16 for a personalized invitation.

2) August 21 and 28 at 6:30 PM: hybrid needle felting workshop, Bird Watching, for bird lovers who want to learn how to create a needle-felted painting. Is that you?

3) Summer of Creativity Project
I enjoy creating art for the weekly themes picked from the book 642 Things to Draw I have shared with you on my Facebook page. Whether you get inspired by my posts and images or find other inspiration to incorporate creative activities into your days, I encourage you to try it. Most of the time, you will feel energized afterwards.


Even on a day when what you did imagine looks very different on paper or a canvas, it can still be fun and make you laugh if you don’t take making art too seriously.

The Stages of my Felting Process

Three Poppies, wool, 8.75" x 12", custom-matted to 12” x 16”, CAN $450

Blog 12


Since the beginning of the year, I have posted my daily art to inspire you to increase creativity in your life. I wanted to show that it doesn’t have to take hours to create art. Some of my sketches were more detailed because I often forget everything around me and keep drawing or painting.


I have also continued to work on my needle-felted paintings. I usually work on several at the same time, each of them at a different stage of completion.


I cannot sit still and usually work on a piece while watching television or chatting with friends.

 

I start the blocking-in phase of the painting while watching TV because I don’t have to worry about details and fill the background with colours that match the basic shapes of my composition.


Once I get to the second step and start working on blending colours, I continue when I chat with friends because I need better lighting and have to pay more attention to the transitions of colours.


Most of the work on my needle-felted paintings happens when I add more details. I need to concentrate on the artwork, keeping my eyes on the artwork. The participants of the virFriday Crafters Afternoons are all in the same boat. We chat, we laugh, but we also have times when we spend the time silently working. To find out how to join us, send me an email to info@KerstinPeters.ca.


The final stage of my process usually takes the longest. Sometimes, when I consider a painting almost finished, I realize something feels off. Outsiders might not even see something wrong with the artwork. I take a photo to view the artwork from a different angle. Sometimes, it is only a quick adjustment. Other times, I require additional hours until I am satisfied.

When I created my calendar of needle-felted paintings last November, I realized I had to change the following tulip painting. When you look at the second image, can you guess what caught my eye?


 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to learn needle felting in a small group, I invite you to the Easter Egg workshop on Sunday, April 2, 2023, from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Zoom. You will learn the basics of needle felting and might find a fun and relaxing hobby.


I will offer the next needle-felted painting workshop on June 4 and 11, 2023. What would you like to felt?

• Landscape
• Still life
• Flowers
• Birds
• Butterflies
• Other animals

Please send me an email with your suggestion to info@KerstinPeters.ca.

Be Creative 2023

 

Three Poppies, wool, 8.75" x 12", CAN $450

Blog 1

Many of us have plans and good intentions at the beginning of the new year. Do you want to be more creative? What does it mean for YOU to be more creative? How much time do you want to spend creating?


Do you want to learn a new skill and need to take a course to reach your goal, or join a community to get you inspired?


You need to block time in your calendar until it has become routine, or you might make excuses that other tasks are more urgent. To succeed, set yourself a realistic goal. Can you set aside fifteen minutes daily?

I start the year again with my Creativity Challenge to get back into a creative routine after the holidays. I plan to create for 15 – 30 minutes daily, especially when I don’t have time for my paintings. Some will be sketches or experiments to try new materials or techniques. Usually, I would not post all of them, but I want to share that not everything I do looks as accomplished as my needle-felted or acrylic paintings (see at top).


Is one of your goals to make more time for creativity? If you are curious about needle felting, I invite you to my upcoming virtual workshops:

Felting Experience – Snowman

Sunday, January 29, 2023, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Felting Experience – Winter Landscape

Saturday, February 5 and 12, 2023, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Needle felting is so much fun and very relaxing. You will be amazed at what you can create with wool.

Blog-free Week

I can hardly believe how fast it gets dark these days. While this is disappointing on the one hand, it also gives you more time for indoor activities. Are you picking up unfinished projects or planning to engage in a new hobby? If you have been intrigued by my felting projects, I invite you to join me for one (or all) of the following workshops:


Felting Experience – Poppy Pin

Saturday, November 5, 2022, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Zoom

CAN $35


Felting Experience – Winter Landscape

Saturday, November 26 and December 3, 2022, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Zoom

CAN $150.00

CAN $135 Early Bird Price until November 1, 2022



Felting Experience – Santa Figure

Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Zoom

$70.00

$65 Early Bird Price until November 11, 2022



Material Kits are available for all three workshops for Canadian destinations.


For more information and to register, please click on the workshop title.

Candace's first needle-felted painting

Here is what Candace S. had to say about her experience during the fall workshop:


"This was my first needle felting experience. I wanted to do a ‘picture’ as opposed to a felted object, so the workshop Kerstin was offering was both a good fit and good timing.


Kerstin’s calm, relaxed, patient manner in leading the workshop, as well as her encouragement to follow my own artistic instincts, was most appreciated.


I am happy with my first needle felting work, but moreover, I am excited about continuing this new artistic outlet.


For a wonderful experience, don’t hesitate to sign up for one of Kerstin’s workshops!"

Playing With Wool

Green Waters, wool, SOLD

Blog 6


Many of my blogs refer to needle felting. While I have written about materials and the process of needle felting, I never told the story of how I started needle felting.

After I had moved to Ottawa, I joined the Grizzly Gang Bear Club in Nepean. From time to time, the club organized workshops. One of the workshops was a needle felting workshop. We learned to create a cute needle felted bear. I loved what I could achieve with the wool. For a couple of years, I made small three-dimensional animals.

However, when going through the boxes in my studio one day, I came across samples of different wool rovings from my six-month internship in the yarn producing company Schachenmayr. When I wanted to study fashion design after school, I needed the required practical experience to apply to university. I loved being around wool all the time, designing patterns for the new collection of colours and products before they hit the market.

I wondered what I could do with these small quantities of wool rovings. Without ever having heard of needle felted paintings, I got inspired to use the wool for a re-creation of my acrylic painting Green Waters. From that moment on, my excitement for needle felting led me to create more and more two-dimensional artworks. When I looked for resources for materials that I could not find in the local craft, art or wool stores, I also found information about other artists and finally learned the expression needle felted painting.

Alex, wool, 12.5" x 10.25"

Fast forward to 2020, when our dog, Alex, needed my care and attention after a stroke. I did not want to leave him alone anymore, and he was too old to follow me to my downstairs studio. Instead, I concentrated on needle felting which I could do anywhere with Alex at my side.

When our puppy, Shadow, joined us less than three months after Alex died, I had another reason to stay upstairs, preventing the mischief a little dog can cause. For him, I even erected a gate to make sure that he did not get into my projects – a lesson I learned from my experiences with our first puppy.

Last year, I felted during many of the Zoom calls. I always need to occupy my hands. After my accident in December, felting and drawing helped me get through the pain and frustration.

I like the ease of felting. The materials are light. Therefore, I can carry them easily. During my time in bed, I could even felt in bed. I can pick up my projects for a couple of minutes or hours because the cleanup is fast and easy. I don’t have to worry about spilling paints, covering leftover ones and washing brushes.

The repetitive motion of pushing the felting needle through the wool is relaxing and meditative. I have so many ideas for new projects that I will keep felting for a long time, and I hope that I can share this passion with you.

Flowers from Students

 If you are intrigued, I invite you to my next virtual workshop. On April 23 and 30, 2022, we will create beautiful flowers. You can copy my example, but I will also show you how to felt your unique flowers. Material kits are available for Canadian destinations. For more information, please click here.

Happy New Year

 

Winter Bouquet, watercolour, 9" x 12"

I hope you had a great start to the year 2022 and that you have gotten back to your creative activities. This year is the first time I have not started a Creativity Challenge in January. However, I started a daily drawing journal. I already miss some days, but that is OK. The healing of my fractures and the regaining of mobility is my priority at the moment. Four weeks after my terrible fall, I can finally move with a walker. I still have problems lifting my left leg, but focus on the steady progress. It is a big step to more independence. It was extremely challenging to be bound to the bed or wheelchair. At least I always have a great view of our yard and my wonderful nurses, Ingo and Shadow, around me. Aside from my daily physio exercises, I have discovered many exercise videos for people in wheelchairs which I do at least every other day.



Next week, I will start with blogs about how art has helped me in the previous weeks after the accident. I had hoped to have the blog ready for this week, but the pain medication, exercise and restless nights make me still quite tired. Next week, I will start with a blog about how art has helped me in the previous weeks after the accident.

 

I feel well enough to start my Felting Experience Winter Workshops at the end of January. If you register before today, January 14, 2022, at 10 pm, you can register for the early bird prices. While I want to invite you for the whole series, the Winter Combo, I also offer registration for the workshops separately. I am still working on the abstract piece. It should be finished by the end of the weekend. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/product-category/registration/.