January always has me filled with energy and inspiration! On days, like this, I have so little to say, but my hands and mind are moving full speed ahead. I've decided to give you a few snap shots of what's I've been working on (some 3-D magic)in my Studio Nookery! Hope this sparks your creative energy in you or just bask in your brand of beauty. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts on your January creative energy and come back and check for my responses. See you next week! :) ... Continue Reading »
Art Journals
2012 Review and 2013 Intent
I cannot believe that today is the last day of 2012. The expression "the days are long, but the years are short" speak volumes to me! 2012 Review So many bloggers are doing their year-end reviews and posting the highlights of the year, which is great. But, I've posted my highlights during the year (if you're interested, you can look through the blog posts for 2012). I've accomplished a lot and fulfilled many of the goals I set at the beginning of 2012. I've recorded my highlights in my blog posts and in my journals. So here is a snap shot of my daily accomplishments for 2012! For 2013, I know that I want to soar, to fly beyond ... Continue Reading »
December Intentions
Every month, I set intentions, which coincide with my goals for the year. Now it may be a play on semantics, but somehow, setting intentions and not meeting them is not as bad as setting goals and not completing them (at least in my mind). Next week, I will be looking over my goals from the beginning of the year to see what I did manage to complete, but if it's anything like this month...well...I can say I tried. :) and I will be fine with that. This week will be the first week in December that I will actually be able to finally get around to my intentions for this month. One personal goal, I've set for myself is not to "beat myself" up for ... Continue Reading »
Art & Healing – Part 3 of 3
There is no right or wrong way to start an art journal, let your emotions guide you. An intuitive approach encourages you to just dive in, create and not think about what is is you're going to do. Let your unconscious mind take over the process. Some days, ripping through magazines to find images or text for your journal will be helpful, other days, writing or doodling will be all you can manage. What was helpful to me was to spend some days, just writing in a stream of consciousness, while other days, just putting down color on a page was all I could manage. As I went further along in the healing art journal process, I begin writing about ... Continue Reading »
Art & Healing – Part 2 of 3
(See Art & Healing - Part 1 of 3) Therapy was mandatory and medication was an option. Yet, the thing that got me through the daily grind of loss was art. I found that art helped me heal in ways I never thought imaginable. There is an established field of art therapy that is used as a healing practice by many therapists and medical facilities and I highly recommend it to anyone as a form of support and help, since everyone works through their own grieving and healing process differently. My approach to art healing me was entirely intuitive. I didn't have a standard; who sets one for grief?! My state of mind was not on beauty or ... Continue Reading »
Art as Healing – Part 1 of 3
In times of crisis and challenge, there are many different ways to cope. I think everyone has their own way of doing so. I wanted to blog about what I found helpful for me. First, I must state for the record, "I. AM. NOT. A. THERAPIST" I am one artist, that found a particular way to help me and I hope that it might be helpful to someone else, which is why I'm sharing it. As an artist, I'm drawn to creating art for a variety of reasons. I do it to learn new techniques, to create a visual collection of dreams, narratives or to build and share with a community. It is my form of self-reflection and self-expression. Art and art-making touches ... Continue Reading »
Time Out: Visual Therapy
Last week, I set up Mondays for marketing and focusing on the business of the day. That went amazingly well, so I'm staying with that schedule, unless a better way shows itself. I believe in going with what works and re-examining it again in a couple of months, to make sure it's still working. But I also scheduled in time-outs or much needed breaks...to do what my heart calls me to do in that moment. Which means, I stop to drink a nice hot chocolate and savor its goodness. Or to just look up from my desk and laugh at the silly pictures on my bulletin board, to make me remember that laughter is important, too! Today, during my scheduled ... Continue Reading »
