Make Someone’s Day BEAUTIFUL

Surely, now, more than ever, we need beauty in the world.  Beauty in appearances.  Beauty in how we communicate with each other.  Beauty in solutions that help others.  Beauty in our inner and outer actions.

I have been so inspired by the examples I’ve personally experienced of people making things beautiful.  This weekend, I received a beautiful package from my Mum.  A beautiful Laura Ashley shirt, delicately wrapped in pretty tissue paper.  So much thought and care had been put into making every detail BEAUTIFUL in that package.  I was very moved.  It is a creative act of Grace and Love to make things beautiful for others, isn’t it.

Another example, a handmade greeting card from a caring friend.  Such a delicate and detailed design wrapped in a ribbon.  So much thought and care in the physical action of making something beautiful for another person.  Precious, tangible expressions of love and kindness.

Amidst the challenges that we may face, it can be transformative when a bit of beauty graces our day.  There are countless ways we can each make the day a little more beautiful for ourself and others.  How and where you see beauty is entirely unique to you and others.  That’s part of what makes it magical.

In addition to spontaneous experience, we can choose to see beauty.  Every choice to notice and appreciate beauty creates more of it in the world.  Every little act and creation of beauty is worth it.  It matters.

Beauty is far from frivolous, it is vital.  Beauty is a doorway into peaceful, inspired, joy.  Beauty reminds us of our values.  Beauty reconnects us with the magic that made our childhood experience of life vibrant and full of possibility, and brings this magic into the present moment.  Beauty is a portal into the most blessed places in our lives, heart and mind.

Tonight, I’m giving thanks for all the precious gifts of beauty in life.  And, wishing you joy in making your world, and that of those around you, truly beautiful.

Things designers don’t expect to have in their portfolios (but, really DO)

When people ask me what it’s like to be a graphic design and communications professional, the phrase, “The work is very varied,” often comes to mind. The other thing I LOVE about this job is that designers and communications specialists can make anything beautiful!  Yes, anything.  You might want to set aside your breakfast bagel before reading further…

A recent project that required design, illustration and some copy editing was titled, “Proper Procedures for Pooping in the Woods.”

The objective was to create a public information tool to assist people in taking care of this essential function in ways that protect the environment and the experience of other visitors to an outdoors location.

For the section titled, “Tools You May Need:” I decided to apply an appealing illustration style to create a fun and interesting read. Here is some of the work that was done. I created the illustrations by-hand, scanned them then digitally added color and shading.

These kinds of projects come up more often than expected.  I have a designer friend who was asked to create a booklet showing stool samples.  Yes, really. And, she made it beautiful! An excellent creative communications tool.  As designers, that’s what we do!  Here’s to celebrating those unexpected projects in our portfolios. They may not be as ‘sexy’ as the corporate branding projects, but they are a real and rewarding part of a designer’s life.

© Michele Carbery, 2011

Happy Summer Whitefish

Happy Summer Whitefish 2011. Poster/T-shirt concept. Design & illustration by Michele Carbery, © 2011.

Art Connections: The miracles of life and nature

Something wonderful happens when you intimately connect with nature though quiet observation and art.  The experience of recording the details using your senses, pen and a brush, or a camera, creates an intimate awareness and appreciation in the context of a creative process.

Even if you feel you are not an artist (I personally feel everyone is!) I recommend the experience of creating even just one nature journal page, while observing something simple, such as a leaf or flower.  Simply spend time sketching and writing about the things you perceive about the natural work of art you see in front of you.  (Please don’t pick wildflowers though, nor move materials and beings from their natural habitat.)

There is an incredible opportunty for relaxation, wonderment, peace and inspiration within the observation of every petal or twig.  And, while engaged in this creative process you may notice your other senses will also awaken too and you’ll be appreciating scents and sounds that you might not have previously noticed.  Really, it’s a form of meditation.  A joyful meditation on the miracle of nature, life, peace and beauty.

You may be thinking you don’t have time for this… The thing is, we are all so busy with the demands and concerns of life that countless miracles pass by our awareness unnoticed during our lifetime never to be experienced again.  Through observation and art we can bring these life-enriching wonderments into our life as the living magic that they are, and share this gentle joy with others, too.

A few days ago, I came across some childhood drawings in a book given to me by my Mum during a recent visit to England.  Although these crayon drawings were made decades ago when I was very small, as I gazed at them I recalled gentle happy wafts of the feelings I experienced when making these images. I will forever be grateful to my Mum for the countless ways in which she nurtured (and continues to nurture) my interest in literature and art.

This is the other aspect of creating words and pictures, it is more than creating something for others to look at, it is about creating beautiful and peaceful experiences within ourselves, which in turn ripple out into our relationships and into the world.

Personally, I find water colours to be rewarding way to render the delicate subtleties of flowers and leaves, but use any media that feels right at the time which helps the practice to always be fun and enjoyable.

During my art and design studies in England, one of the recommended books was The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden, which I find very inspiring and enjoyable to this day.  I recommend this famous book if you are looking for a fine example of a beautifully illustrated nature journal to inspire you.

With warm wishes for your own inspiring journey of peacefully connecting with nature (and more) through your pen, brush and paper.  ~Michele

© Michele Carbery, 2011

Poppy Joy 1

Poppies are flowering.  SO HUGE and beautiful!  It is interesting to view them close-up.  So many different textures!  Purple velvet ridges on a smooth green base in the center, soft indigo frills, and a delicate insect wing-like feel to the floppy petals.

Vintage Style Photo Art

Digital photo retouching in Adobe Photoshop is a personal passion.  I have been using this program since it was very first launched on the market and have come to intimately know it’s strengths and capacities.  I LOVE helping clients get the very best out of their digital images, and also digitally retouch and restore photos for families and individuals.  To accomplish this work, I use a graphics tablet which provides a natural ‘pen on paper’ interface for working with the digital images.

Projects have included; digitally creating an artist’s impression of an architect’s building design, digital retouching of high-end advertising photography and digital illustration.

For my personal enjoyment, I have recently been exploring the application of vintage-style digital treatments to my photos, and creating large format art prints of the finished images.  Here are some examples for your vintage-style enjoyment.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Art & Illustration by Michele Carbery

This slideshow requires JavaScript.