Learning to Fly

God is doing new and exciting things in our hearts these days and we're experiencing more and more freedom from nasty things like fear and worry. It's crazy how accustomed we can become to fear and worry, even to the point of accepting them as part of our personalities. Nonsense.

Hence the slight lag in blog posting these past few weeks. Fear and worry have definitely been motivating factors for blogging in the past--worry that if I didn't blog often enough or wasn't interesting, funny, or inspiring enough, readers wouldn't stick around.

But I'm making choices out of freedom, not fear, these days. Which sometimes means actually going to bed at a decent hour instead of staying up a little later to blog. Or sometimes it means spending more time at the gym, more time at the coffee shop (alone and with others), more time talking to friends, more time with family, more time just listening.

I'm sure thing will pick back up here at good ole ariansstudio.blogspot.com as freedom leads to more art, new adventures, and the urge to share more with you guys!

Thanks for everything : )
Arian

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL!!!

Daniel is the big 3-o today!!! Welcome to the club, Daniel! After his birthday dinner last night (Nada gets 5 stars from the Armstrongs!) I surprised him with a night at one of the hotels downtown. So fun!! (Thanks, mom, for pulling the all-night babysitting duty!)
I'm looking forward to the chain of Daniel birthday celebrations-- family fun tonight, the weekend in his hometown, party next weekend. There's much to celebrate!
I'll sing his praises more soon but right now I've got to take advantage of the boys' nap time and wrap up the next rounds of two design projects (show ya later). Have a good one!! And leave a b-day message on Daniel's blog here.

Arian : )

Blog Buttons!

Hey! Finally added some little blog buttons to the sidebar over there ----> So if wanna share the love and put a cute little button on your blog, just grab the code and paste it in! Have a good one!!

Arian : )

"Free" Shirts

Friday night's concert/live painting/t-shirt launch/social justice extravaganza was sooo great! Sorry I haven't had a chance to post pics yet. We've been going to all kinds of shows and staying out super late this past week and it's been awesome!

This is what I painted during the 2-hour show (better photos and print version coming soon) and you can see what Daniel painted here.

At the event, the Stop Traffick Fashion folks launched the shirts I designed. Check out this little blurb about the shirts from their website:

This 100% Fair Trade, organic cotton T-shirt is made by the women of Freeset in Kolkata, India who were once marginalized and trapped by poverty and prostitution.

Pretty sweet!!


(based on this print)

And since I don't get a cut of the sales, I can shamelessly promote them : ) So go buy some shirts, I did!
(Note: t-shirt not backwards in real life ; )

ps--extra, random photos from the week for your viewing pleasure

NeedToBreathe show....t'was awesome.
Mother/daughter tea...t'was also awesome. Mom's laughing at the recordings Andrea made of her stomach growling...you know, tea party things.

Have a good one!!
Arian : )

Art That Helps

Happy Wednesday!

I just finished my contribution to the uber-talented Promise Tangeman's collaborative art project. I'm super excited to see what the other 19 artists contribute and how Promise puts them all together into one piece!
I decided to go with the "Love Wins" theme. It's too easy to loose heart in the face of pain and suffering, to become so inwardly-focused that we get lost in discouraging thoughts. So I wanted to encourage people to TAKE heart, not loose hope, to be freedom-fighters, to switch focus and start looking out for other people when your own troubles seem like a loosing battle. Love does win. I'll let you know when the finished collaborative poster is available in my shop.

Also, if you're a local (or if you feel like a road trip!), Daniel and I will be doing live paintings this Friday night while Artists and Authors and Flaregun perform. The show proceeds are going to Stop Traffick Fashion. And they'll be launching the t-shirts I designed.

THIS Friday night, 8pm, $5, Rohs Street Cafe! Good music, good art, good coffee, good cause...what's NOT to love?!

Hope to see some of you there!!!!

Black Apple BOGO Sale!!

I just found out today is the last day of The Black Apple's Buy One Get One sale. The Black Apple is Etsy's biggest seller (so I've heard) and I've never seen her have such a sale so JUMP ON IT if you're a fan.
This print has been in my "What's Inspiring Me Right Now" side bar for months. (I need to add some more inspiring links!)

I've had my eyes on this cute little sleepy print for years!

And I just love the colors in these prints. They'll look great hanging in our bedroom/my studio in some ornate, antique-type frames!! Or maybe the living room. We'll see.
So excited to get these! Emily Martin (the girl behind the shop) is so cute and super inspiring. She was one of the first Etsy sellers I started following when I first opened my store. Her blog = crazy cute. Her style = crazy cute. And she's 1/2 of a crazy cute couple. Crazy cute OVERLOAD!!

Alright, back to work for me!

Arian

Finishing Up!!

Just finishing up an illustration and logo design job with the lovely folks at Aeolidia Design (check out their new website!)

Aaaand we're wrapping up the book---WOOHOO!! It's been nearly a year-long project--- fun, challenging, loooots of work!!



As I was putting together the "About The Authors" page and the "Dedication" page it hit me again just how special this project has been. It's truly been a family endeavor-- mom and I writing it, me taking photos and laying out the design, Daniel doing illustrations, my sister modeling and helping with all the thrift store shopping we had to do, my brother-in-law contributing to the chapter on sound design, my cousin helping me with revisions, and my aunt doing all the editing. AND, most of the old papers, fabric swatches, textures, and old photos I used on all the pages came from Granny who passed away half-way through the process.

What a fitting tribute to her, her creativity, her work ethic, her thriftiness, her love for family, and her love for the arts!!!

Still have several unfinished projects on my plate and new ones coming in. They are all fun and good so I'm excited!

You know what else is exciting??--- WAAAAARM WEATHER!! Yay for being able to wear short sleeves today! We're gonna celebrate by WALKING to dinner. And this video makes me want to wear flip flops, flowy skirts, tank tops, and drink something made with ice and coconut milk.

Hope you're getting to enjoy the weather in your neck of the woods!

Arian : )