I find that I get quiet and calm when I watch a sunset. There is something rather meditative about the end of the day and the prospect of a new day rising soon. Sunsets are a good reminder to seek moments of pause in our days-days many of us spend rushing around moving from one activity to another. So, this week, I wish for us to notice sunsets and to enjoy them fully. 

What a week! Hot sunny days mixed with dreary rainy days ... Tons of activity and new experiences. I took a moment to paint, to calm down, to pause. The most vivid abstract watercolor came out of this moment and here we go with several textile patterns created using elements of my painting. I am enjoying the sharpness of colors going from deep reds to the loveliest of lime greens. 

Kooning's work and this process appeal to me on a variety of levels. As an artist, I seek to use different techniques in my own work. I love spontaneity, the element of surprise, the magic of turning a blank surface into a world of colorful imagination. And I also am drawn to the potential of what art, textiles, and fashion accessories, such as scarves, can do for us on a practical levels. I believe that if you put something on your body, it should work for you. It should keep you comfortable as you go through your day. And it should act as a reminder of your inner beauty and the importance of bringing this beauty out and sharing it with the world. And that's exactly the purpose of this scarf, appropriately called "Express Yourself". 

There are just so many lovely colors in this textile pattern. It pretty much goes with anything and everything in your existing closet. As as research shows, it's mostly like to improve your mood as colors have that power. And I really hope it will inspire you to share what you find lovely about yourself with those around you. I promise it is worth it. 

In this week's Monday Dose of RADOST, I invite you to explore your creative juices at a unique class I will be teaching next week. Take a look below and join me! 

With Spring coming and all of these wonderful blooms popping out of the warming ground, I am inspired to enjoy the colors and shapes of the beauty around me. I tend to photograph pretty much everything that moves my heart so I have plenty of Spring blooms on my phone. And then I paint. Sometimes I capture the shape of the flowers; sometimes I just enjoy the color. Here is an example; a quick study in organic lines and lively colors. And of course, I created a few textile patterns out of my painting ... There is so much variety in these. A never ending adventure in pattern design indeed. Which one do you like best? 

To create my textile designs, I paint and I take photos. I use the original art work to tell stories in my patterns: stories of life experiences and creative adventures. Most of my patterns start as watercolors, my favorite artistic medium. Let's take a look at why. 

Joy of creativity to me to this possibility to let my brush glide over the paper and to control it just a bit, but mostly to just let it do what it needs to do. Dipping my brush in a vivid color and then applying it tenderly to the blank surface is so incredibly exciting to me. Lately, I have made it a point to paint daily to keep pushing myself when it comes to color, texture, and shape. Below you can see examples of my abstract paintings that are available at OAK in Kensington, MD. All of my paintings, like my textile designs, have names to deepen our understanding of the power of color in our lives. 

I love abstract art for the potential it gives to its viewers: the complete freedom to interpret it as one wishes. As I let my hand work on the paper, I let myself step back and just feel and enjoy the moment. Watercolors are lovely. They are fluid and kind of stubborn about how they behave on the paper. I like this stubbornness and its commitment to just appear on paper and then dry in its natural beauty. 

Hence, abstract watercolor marries in itself everything I crave in art: enjoyable process and the potential to bring the viewer into a new (mental and experiential) territory. I am so excited about my daily practice; it's been meditative and exciting and exploratory and I am so happy to be able to bring my work to the public at OAK. Stop there and check my art pieces out! 

Let's start this week of by being open to opportunities, points of view, the world out there ... Recently I painted long strips of paper in watercolor and then played around with weaving the strips together. I was all set on a pattern and then when I photographed the piece, the image got turned around in my phone and I thought, "Look, a new point of view!" One just never knows what the day will bring ...  

Look at the beauty a stone thrown into a creek can create! I grew up by water and I was always spending time flipping rocks into the pond and watching the rings and waves on the surface. So, here are textile patterns created out of just such a splash. I am enjoying the intensity of the white areas in the first option; doesn't is look like delicate lace? And I am also liking the reverse on the right, with its symmetry. Which one do you like?

As an immigrant and somebody who has moved a bunch of times, I appreciate discussions and artistic explorations of the concept of 'home'. I recently stopped by "Almost Home" - an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, and enjoyed installations created by Do Ho Suh. Why? 

Do Ho Suh explores 'home' through "fabric architecture". The exhibition hall is filled with life-sized walkable homes that Do Ho Suh has lived in Asia, United States, and Europe. These structures are made of delicate fabrics. I walked through the installations and was surprised by how welcoming and 'home' they felt. I was also aware of the delicacy of the structures, thus meditating of the fragility of 'home' no matter what it may mean to us. Take a look below. 

Attention to detail in this project is fascinating. Do Ho Suh sews all of the pieces and they are incredibly real-looking. As you walk through the homes, you notice details typical of a European house (such as the door handle below) or those of a South Korean home. This show also explores color, moods, and feelings. 

So, home ... Stop by this art exhibition and see how you react to the installation and what home may mean to you specifically. I was definitely transported to my hometown of Prague, to places I have traveled, to my home in the United States, and was able to recall a variety of life experiences in these 'homes' that have shaped who I am today. 

Old barns. Rust. Fallen apart buildings. And wood finishes. I just adore using all of these elements in my photography and in my textile designs. Passing of time is a fascinating concept - we clearly see it in the material world that surrounds us. In this Friday's Textile of the Week, I bring to you the beauty of patterns created out of photograph of an old wooden door. Aren't these patterns mesmerizing? 

Are you an aficionado of abstract art? Me too! I love color and enjoy learning how artists use it to express ideas around the world we live in. I also love black-and-white photography. So ... I created an art workshop where we can enjoy both. 

I am an instructor at VisArts. This non-profit organization in Rockville, MD, brings a wide variety of art classes to the public and am excited to introduce my new class "From Photograph to Modern Art". Join me for an evening of cool art where we will have fun with a variety of art mediums. 

We will start be studying a variety of black-and-white photographs for their composition and the use of lines and shapes to create interest. And, then we will go wild with watercolors! Why go small if you can go big? We will work on a 16" x 20" canvas to mimic the lines and shapes in our favorite photo while exploring ideas behind abstract art. 

Here is an example. I snapped a photo of a vase and its shadows on a white table. Look at the complexity of this piece! Much variance in color: we go from lightest of white to the darkest of black. There is texture and there is depth. I transferred the lines seen in my photo onto a large canvas and then let me creativity go free. As a lover of anything pink, I explored different hues in my painting. Et voila: bright pink painting that started as a black-and-white photograph snapped at a museum. 

I invite you to this class if you have an interest in exploring your own creativity. No experience is necessary and all supplies are included. You just need to come along with an open mind and heart and enjoy an evening of creative adventures. ​