About Hilda Rebecca

Small town girl, that loves her huge family, reading good books, and bird watching.

Art Supplies, Color Cubes, and Inspiration to Create

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Hilda Rebecca

Through the years I have collected numerous art supplies, a little bit at a time. With a one income household there was not budget for extravagance, every purchase was purposeful and well considered. For our homeschool art supplies I tried to find a balance in quality and cost and researched where to spend more and where we could spend less. I have always purchased the “best you can afford” for art supplies used when actively learning a skill. We invested in brands like Prismacolor, Canson, and Winsor Newton for our school art.

Now, our homeschool is closed and I am the only person in our household purchasing art supplies. I work a few hours a week as a librarian in our small town library and earn just enough “fun money” to slowly invest in more and better quality art supplies. I tell my friends that I can spend an entire paycheck in a few minutes and I can’t be more thankful for the opportunity!

One paycheck was used to order the new Sarah Renee Clark Color Cubes, and that opened the door for this whole adventure of this colorblind creative bravely exploring color in ways I have never attempted. I researched and read reviews, and came to the conclusion that there is nothing else available that even compares to these color cubes. They are so well done! I knew it would be the one tool I needed for building color confidence. As a bonus, because of the hex codes, I can also use these cubes for digital designs I create for non-profit organizations in my community.

I went straight to YouTube in search of a creator using the cubes in a way that would not intimidate me and would inspire me to create instead of putting it off for “someday, sometime”. I found that inspiration from Denise Love. Her videos are fun! She encourages others to create their own art, and to not attempt recreating what she makes. That is what I needed- hints on step one, step two, and how to get started. I choose a video that inspires me and follow her suggested steps of what mediums to add when. I am learning what goes on top of what when layering in mixed media art- which is my current favorite art play.

I am a colorblind creative.

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Hilda Rebecca

My sweet daddy was severely colorblind, and he passed that gift to two of his three daughters (both sons could see all color). My sister and I are only red-green colorblind, her favorite color is red and mine is green. We can see red and green, just not all shades, and we have had many laughs at ourselves and with others about colors. Two of my sons are colorblind (one more so than the other), none of my sister’s children are. All this fascinates me!

My sister embraced colors with ease, I have aways struggled.. well not always. I think my high school art teacher started my struggle. I have always been comfortable with the way I see the world and adapted my expectations according to my color limitations. We were assigned a batik project and asked to bring a photo from home for our subject matter. I specifically chose a sepia toned antique photo of my grandmother sitting with my daddy when he was a baby. I knew I could see the tones and shades in the sepia print and not have to “worry” about color, and therefore enjoy the project more.

Everything went well until the last bit. After weeks of working on the project without any correction from the teacher, I was told that I would not pass art class if I did not put COLOR in my batik. (I think various shades brown and tan and gray are colors, don’t you?) I was so upset that I didn’t finish the project in the allotted time- I spent days begging to finish my project as I had planned before finally giving into the teacher’s demands. My teacher made me put green for the potted plants from the photo.

I have that batik hanging in my home. I never really finished the project. I brought it home and ironed off the wax. I am proud of my work, before the green, but something clicked in my mind an heart through that ordeal. It is the first time I felt limited by my colorblindness. I would rather believe the way God chose for me to see color is a gift not something that makes me less than.

It has taken me years to be ready for exploring more color in artwork. My goal is to not concern myself with what others might see in my art, but to only consider what I see and to enjoy the process of creating without worry.

Persimmon photographed to paint “one day” but my lack of color confidence has hindered my attempt.

The Art Nest

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Hilda Rebecca

We moved our family of seven into a rambling old home in a quaint small town in 2002. As a homeschooling family, we used every nook and cranny for living and learning. Most rooms have adapted through the years for our changing needs and interests. At one time the largest upstairs bedroom was a sewing room for my daughter and myself, now my sewing room is tucked into a windowed closet. Through the years I dabbled in many types of art and handicrafts, learning skills to pass on to my children or often times learning skills alongside of my children. I have always been a creative, capable with my hands and able to learn many skills. Some I learned to do very well, others just enough to meet my needs or at least to satisfy my curiosity. We always had a space for creating art but it was mostly set up for family use.

Now that I am a retired homeschool educator and an empty nester, I have been exploring even more ways to create artistically for my own enjoyment. With this big old house I have many options for where to set up my creative space. Only one space feels right.

We have a wide staircase that wraps around and up from the foyer, with large windows that welcome the bright afternoon sun. At the top of the stairs is a large hall with railing that overlooks the stairway. There is a door to a little upstairs porch, where I hang a bird feeder that can be viewed from inside through a stairway window. I brought our old school table, a vintage solid maple drop-leaf kitchen table, up to that space. Initially to use as a place to cut out sewing patterns. It is now my art table.

When I am up there nestled among the many art supplies, and the meaningful items I have collected to have around me for inspiration and happy thoughts, I get into the creative flow while occasionally being distracted by birds at the feeding through one window, and our small town landscape through the other, I feel comfortable. It is as if I am snuggled in my little nest, attending to my own interests, yet still able to be a part of and observe my little world from a very good vantage point.