Sunday 14 December 2014

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Jean of Pencil Portraits by Jean

Welcome to The Twelve Makers of Christmas. We have a smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. The third maker of Christmas is sharing a representation of the original 12 days of Christmas.

Hi Jean and welcome. First up, what is your favourite Chritmas tipple?
Ahhh to start of the Christmas season, my favorite tipple is home made hot chocolate topped with home made whipped cream and semi sweet chocolate shavings on top; it's divine. I'm a recovering alcoholic of 17 years, so this is enough pep in my life.

Would you prefer Mince pie or Christmas pud?
Well, as for the traditional Christmas desserts, I have yet to taste them; mince pie or Christmas pudding. I grew up with my grandparents and we had huge apple trees in our back yard as well as Elderberry bushes. My grandmother made Elderberry jam to top her home made bread for breakfast and in the meantime we would made apple tarts and pies.

Tell us a bit about you.
I had decided after my children (5) had grown to set my sights on me for a change. I received a bachelors degree in Marketing/business management and graduated Magna cum Lauda, thus Ive been using what Ive learned for the last four (4) years in my Art business. My mediums are "anything in pencil form", although I do dabble in water color. I have a Etsy shop as well.

What is the item you are sharing with us?
What I'm sharing with you today is "The 12 days of Christmas", my version. All are of 8x10's Strathmore paper except 3. They are the "Goose", "Dancer", "Flute"; which are 14x17 Strathmore paper. Most of them are created by using Prismacolor Premier Colored pencils, the rest are of Derwent tinted charcoals and Generals pastels. Originally a friend of mine for the UK (I'm from the USA) had decided to break up her boredom by creating the 12 days of Christmas. She's a dear friend on my Facebook by the way.

What was your inspiration for the item?
I was so inspired by the idea and since I had no commissions at the time, I decided to join her. We decided it as a challenge. It was the most fun we had in ages. she is more of a designer and I am a realistic artist, so it was great to view each others interpretation of each.

How long have you been drawing and how did you learn?
I am a self taught artist. I learn by actually looking at something; not just seeing it, but observing the colours, shapes, designs, textures, how it casts light or shadows and so on. I have observed many artist on Facebook and we all share tips to help one another. Art is my passion and other artist feel the same.

Where do you craft? Do you have a designated space or room?
It wasn't until recently that I had moved residence with my boyfriend and was lucky enough to have a room to call my studio. Until that time, I was cramped in a one bedroom apartment with him. it was very frustrating at times. Now I have all the room and quiet I need.

Where can the Crafty B’s find you online?
Crafty B's can find my Facebook art page here or to view a few hundred of my works, click on this link for my gallery > http://winstonscreator.deviantart.com/ or my Etsy shop First thing each morning at 4am, I get up and make my boyfriend breakfast and turn on my computer. I check for email messages and go visit Facebook. I post my work, sale ads, "perform customer service", in other words, I market my product, which is me. :)

What big plans do you have for 2015?
My big plans for 2015 is to be more aggressive in my marketing concepts. I havent ventured out from my home since we moved here 3 months ago. I need to post some flyers and ads (with permission of course) at business. My goal last year was to quit smoking so I would have more money for my business and live a bit longer. It has been since May 31 that I have quit. I don't think I could top that accomplishment other than maybe loosing at least 100 pounds.

What will you be doing for Christmas dinner?
This is our first year in our new home, so we will be spending dinner here. I love to cook and bake. Besides my studio, the kitchen is my favorite room in the house. There's nothing better than sitting down to a meal you have made yourself. My children have other plans or they have no choice to be working; so it will just be my dear sweet boyfriend of 8 years and me.

Do you have any personal traditions over the holidays?
We have no personal traditions. My children are scattered about doing various things and my boyfriend's work is inventory manager at CoreMark, which is a heavy responsibility at times. We take one day at a time. Nothing can be planned. Who knows what the future holds?

What is the best thing about Christmas?
Ahhh! What a splendid query. There are so many answers to that, however several things are the tops! The smells of the meal cooking, listening to old Christmas music and watching it snowing. That gives me an all over warm and fuzzy feeling.

Complete the following sentences:

I will start my Christmas shopping...
….after the obvious rush calms down at the stores, Christmas isnt about what you get, but what it means to get. Some people get nothing.

My best ever Christmas gift was…
...my last son. He was born the 20th of December, there was no more greater gift than him.

My worst (but gratefully recieved ;-) ) Christmas gift was…
...I never had them...I loved them all!

Our Christmas dinner normally consists of…
...me cooking!!!

Christmas wouldnt be christmas without…
...family,snow, tree,music,food

The best Christmas song is…
...I been dreaming of a white Christmas

My favorite Christmas decoration is…
...red bows and green garland!

My most memorable Christmas was…
...my last Christmas with my grandparents before I had gotten married and moved away. We had prepared dinner together, sang songs and decorated the tree. My grandfather didnt know most the words, so he just hummed. My grandmom was a Sunday school teacher, so she knew all the hymns and such.

That sounds like a lovely way to spend a Christmas. Thanks for chatting with us Crafty B's Jean. Have a very merry Christmas. 
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