I love the practice of turning my thoughts around. I turned them upside down and inside out really looking for my truth in them. It is my process of questioning myself. I do this in meditation, but more often than not, I explore this through my art journals. Writing, sketching, and collaging my way to new insights through this process. Working with imagery uses a different part of my brain, guiding me to use my intuitive knowledge, which coupled with words, makes a big impact on my psyche. I don't propose to be a great philosopher or great thinker, but I know the mechanics of how my brain works, so that where I get my results, through ... Continue Reading »
Self Care
Vision Board Workshop…
Over the weekend I facilitated a workshop on Creating Vision Boards. What an amazing experience! I only do workshops I believe in and that the participants will get value out of, or else, why bother? I was incredibly honored to share my creative energy with a wonderful circle of women from "Manifesting Your Heart". I started creating vision boards years ago, although, I didn't have a name for them at the time. I just wanted to create a visual that would show my dreams for my future, so that I would stay focused and create action to make them a reality. As the years went by and I looked back at old vision boards, I was amazed at how ... Continue Reading »
Shifting into Black and White…
It's been days of rain and clouds around here. I'm still feeling unsettled feeling that comes with this time of the year, and of course, Mercury in retrograde, always affect me. Are you finding that unsettling too? I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, and it persists. I know it's the shift in season, (gray skies makes the impact, greater) and the transitional feeling that comes with this time of year. As things shift, leave, expand and reflect, it all feels unsettling. As I navigated these feelings this week, I had a sense of void; everything appeared to be black, white, shades of gray. I didn't feel that color overload that I often ... Continue Reading »
Summer Loves…
I love the summer sunshine, since it shouts at me to come out and leap into life! I take lots of walks, impromptu picnics, café hopping and meeting up with wonderful friends. I am fixated on poetry lately, I’m reading Julia de Burgos and Rumi’s poetry again. This poetry greatly impacted me in my 30s and continues through my 50s. I am falling back in love with the life spirit that was my 30s, where freedom, exploring, adventures and experiencing different cultures were a top priority. I'm finding my way back to that and it feels like home. I’m so grateful for this time in my life but, then I learned to be grateful for all the times in ... Continue Reading »
Slave to a Rhythm…
I've been experimenting a lot in these last couple of months, trying to achieve my balance between incorporating abstract shapes, color compositions, figures, words and themes.I've gone through lots of paper, paints, and canvases. I think I'm beginning to get something of substance throughout this for myself. I've always been into portraiture art (very stylized of course!), so it's been challenging to say the least to explore abstractionism, which I experiment with using collage paper. I've been a slave to portraiture for my whole adult life. I don't really consider what I've been doing as a pure form of abstractionism, but rather as a ... Continue Reading »
The Benefits of Collage. . .
The sounds of paper ripping or my scissors cutting paper. Glue sticks, colorful pens/markers, piles of magazines and baggies filled with imagery surrounding me. Ahhh, therapy begins and it's the most economic form of therapy. There's something about the process of collage, that soothes me and it appeals to the child in me; and getting into my inner child helps me move forward. It allows me take little nuggets of ideas and turn them into a visual tapestry. I can then transform my paper musings into something larger and tangible. Bottom line...it is a stress reliever and the simplicity of it, gives my mind a healthy break. With ... Continue Reading »
Walking in Nature’s Inspiration
I love painting faces. I never get tired of it, and I'll never run out of faces! Yet, for inspiration I go to nature, I'm not sure why that is, but in order for me to set the mood or get out of a funk or creative block, nature is always my go-to. Seeing a feather on my path, the sweet breeze from the trees and the sensual sounds of a stream, all of it can be had in nature; it also puts us in touch with divinity. Our job is to recognize the signs as they come and honor them with an inner glow and inspired action. When we do this we meet our divinity. Our souls has magical ways of getting our attention. I've been reflecting on so many ... Continue Reading »
