06Jan 2020 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

Happy New Year! Looking Back and Forward:

100 Rejections, Introduction, The Sunflower Project, Working Artist
I have been setting up my shiny new bullet journal for the new year. Taking time to reflect on the last year and what one would like to do more of in the new year is something everyone should do, regardless of their stance on resolutions. So before setting up calendars and collections pages for the new journal I flipped through the pages of last year's journal looking at what worked and didn't, what I would like to do more of or do differently. Below is a summary of my progress and my art goals for 2020. Transitioning journals for the new year is a perfect time to revisit my art goals. 100 rejections: 2018 was such a busy year that I just needed a bit of a slowdown in…
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30Dec 2019 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

The Sunflower Project: New Tools!

The Sunflower Project
It's been nearly three years since I started the Sunflower Project. In that time some of you have asked me how you can begin to share your 1000 gifts with the world, and how you can keep your efforts fresh. While that depends on your life and what gifts you have that you can freely share, I have come up with a couple tools to help you along your journey. Click on the images below to download and print these tools. May you share your 1000 gifts with the world, and may those gifts return 1000 fold to you one day! Sunflower Project Tracker For those of you that would like to keep track of your efforts to make the world a better place, here is a handy tracker with…
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25Dec 2019 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

The Sunflower Project: 12 Days of Christmas

The Sunflower Project
Tis the season for thinking of others and giving gifts designed to light the darkness, bringing hope for the morrow's dawn. Here are 12 suggestions that can help you fulfill your promise to share your 1000 gifts with the world. Feel free to start them on December 25th as per tradition, or to start today! A partridge in a pear tree: Make a donation to your local food bank.Two Turtle Doves: A little money left on your gift card? Hand it to the person in line behind you.Three French Hens: Make a batch of chicken bone broth (or vegetable) soup for a sick friend or relative.Four Calling Birds: Call (not text or email) an elderly relative (or four).Five Gold Rings: Empty your change pocket into a Salvation Army Bell Ringer's…
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15May 2019 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

Sunflower Project: Community Collaborations

The Story Behind the Painting, The Sunflower Project, Uncategorized, What's the Big Idea?
So last week I told you about the new painted utility box I contributed to the Marlborough community. I also mentioned the references to the sunflower project that I included in the design. Here would now be a good place to include some images of a couple of the other boxes from the project. These artists agreed to let me contribute a sunflower seed to the designs of their boxes, symbolically taking part in the project and growing it further to take root in the Marlborough community. Thanks Sharon Fortowsky and Ashley Oshiro for hosting the Sunflower Project in your projects. Hopefully we can collaborate again soon! [caption id="attachment_361" align="aligncenter" width="225"] City of Calgary Painted Utility BoxAshley Oshiro(Detail with Sunflower seed by Debbie.lee Miszaniec)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_362" align="aligncenter" width="142"] City of…
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08May 2019 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

Did I Mention? New Painted City Utility Box.

Commissions, The Story Behind the Painting, The Sunflower Project, What's the Big Idea?
Hi, It appears I am so behind on keeping the blog up to date! SO last spring I was given the opportunity to participate in a program bringing a suite of new painted utility boxes to the Marlborough Community in Calgary. I jumped at the chance, having spent nearly a decade of my formative years in the neighbourhood. Each artist created a design concept responding to the overall theme of home,  and to information gathered during an extensive phase of community engagement. Here was my contribution to the Curb appeal in the Marlborough Community: [caption id="attachment_355" align="aligncenter" width="161"] HomePainted Utility BoxCity of CalgaryMarlborough CommunityDebbie.lee Miszaniec[/caption] [caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="127"] HomePainted Utility BoxCity of CalgaryMarlborough CommunityDebbie.lee Miszaniec[/caption] [caption id="attachment_357" align="aligncenter" width="169"] HomePainted Utility BoxCity of CalgaryMarlborough CommunityDebbie.lee Miszaniec[/caption] [caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter"…
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21Apr 2018 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

Building Bridges: The Sunflower Project & the 2019 Multifaith Calendar

Events & Announcements, The Sunflower Project
[caption id="attachment_269" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wish150 Alberta MosaicDetailAcrylic on Panel[/caption] I am pleased to say that the Sunflower Project is growing yet again! The wish 150 Alberta Mosaic Sunflower has been selected by the Multifaith Action Society for inclusion in their 2019 Multifaith Calendar. The 2019 theme is Coming Together: Exploring New Connections. As the  aim of the sunflower project is to create bridges of good will and the growth of positive action, I felt that the Sunflower Project would be a great fit for the Multifaith Calendar. I am also honoured to be recognized and included as an artist of no faith (by choice), by the inclusion of my work in the calendar. " Founded in 1972, the Multifaith Action Society (MAS) is a Canadian registered charity dedicated to the…
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23Mar 2018 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

The Sunflower Project: Inspired Actions – Kelly Small

The Sunflower Project, What's the Big Idea?
[caption id="attachment_269" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wish150 Alberta MosaicDetailAcrylic on Panel[/caption] A letter from a member of the Sunflower Project: I happened to sit beside Debbie.lee and her friend as we made art at Rumble House one evening over a year ago. Towards the end of the evening, she mentioned she was an artist and told be about her website and sunflower project. I was intrigued and inspired! At the time, I had been doing some soul searching after being a stay-at-home mom for 5 years and having done a fair amount of artistic journaling that year as a way of expressing my grief after my Mom passed away in February 2016. I would look at the sunflower seed painting she sent me, pinned to the bulletin board above the sewing area…
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26Jan 2018 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

Sunflower Seed Paintings 31 – 36

The Sunflower Project, What's the Big Idea?
These six sunflower seed paintings are the first for 2018, and the first of thirty I was able to purchase materials for, thanks to the honorarium from Taking It Global's Wish 150 Mosaic project. Thanks Taking It Global! In honour of the new year, I decided to take these six back to basics with black and white, and to explore active words which might give us thought about how we want to be in the new year. Root has already gone to a good home. I am sure the rest would also like to find their homes! Go here to learn about the project and sign up to receive one free, or donate to ensure we keep this project going!
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19Jan 2018 by DebbieleeMiszaniec

Sunflower Project 2017 Review

The Sunflower Project, What's the Big Idea?
[caption id="attachment_269" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wish150 Alberta MosaicDetailAcrylic on Panel[/caption] One year since I started the Sunflower Project, to encourage lovers of art and of life to share their gifts with the world. This has resulted in 30 paintings completed for the project, 18 of them with the assistance of donated funds from supporters.  25 paintings have been mailed, my gift, to people who have signed up on the web site to participate in the Sunflower Project. And then, the project grew: Taking It Global and Wish 150 invited me to contribute a piece to the Alberta Mosaic. The detail above is from the panel I contributed to the mosaic, and is based on the Sunflower Project. The Mosaic was unveiled in Edmonton at the end of October, and there are…
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