Dream in full colour

I've been loving my last few journal pages because they've evolved from my #arteveryday practice of doing a little and often, listening to my instincts of what I feel like I want to add next rather than following a particular lesson plan. There will always be a place for online art classes, but I'm loving what's been happening this month in my original art. This time I started with a base of paper collage

Day 1

Love these inspiring found words in the background which I have highlighted with Stabilo pencil to be the start of the story

My first roses are starting to bloom at my house. This is the climber "Compassion" - taken on a wet day when I really needed reminding that Summer is going to come

They provided the inspiration for my first layer of colour this week, as well as the use of my next serviette layer

Day 2

Have you used serviettes in your work? I began with this floral one that was gifted recently. Most are 3 layers and you need to remove the back plain layers

Then use a small brush dipped in plain water to outline your chosen piece and lift it out before gluing to your background. 

Add your gel medium to your base page, then put the serviette on top and smooth out with your glue brush

Day 3

Next day I saw where to add my face - I am loving using inky Stabilo pencil for my first lines

Day 4

And I thought I would like a hand to hold something - again in Stabilo which can be erased with a wet wipe...This is in fact what happened next day as you will see - but this sketch was enough to tell me I was on the right track

Day 5

Face now complete with paint and pen detailing

I don't often use birds in my work, but this cardboard collage element was perfect. I smudged the white edges with purple pitt pen to make her blend more and I'm happy with this effect. 

Then I just needed to add some gold around the page

And here is the spread finished (Day 6)

I will definitely be trying to #arteveryday in my journal again this coming week. See all of my art in my altered art journal from this year in my Flickr album or by clicking on the label below.

#arteveryday OR Finding time to create

Many people comment on how much I create. Sometimes I am surprised by that because I don't feel like I spend enough time and I don't have as many completed things to share as I would like! Keeping the blog going helps to motivate so I have something to post about and my monthly reviews remind me that I do more than I realise. Really my art practice is a combination of being able to leave things out in my studio (so blessed to have this space), of doing a little often...and I'm not much concerned with housework ;-) I work 25-30 hours a week and have school holidays off so that all helps, but I really believe that if you want to be creative you have to make that a priority. Read my original blog post about finding time to create HERE. I talk in quite a bit of detail about micro-movements = doing 15 minutes a day soon adds up. In this post in March, I shared how I went from background

to completed spread

in 7 days. Must try that again! 
The other thing that helps my art practice is taking a photo as a record to make sure I  #arteveryday. This gives me an incentive to have something to photograph and sometimes I pop some paint down on a background in the evening just to have done something - and that's a start for a new project. I began this practice back in November last year  and I am now Week 42! If you go to that November link you'll see micro-movements in action. My practice has evolved as I've got busier taking on more work hours and I recognise there are many different ways to be creative - Creating blogposts count, as does shopping for supplies, watching lessons, preparing for school quilt club, and sometimes it just doesn't happen....I thought I'd share a few examples of weeks here to hopefully inspire you. Not sharing holidays cos they're not a reflection of my usual busy. And if you want to see all my posts on this topic click on the label below this post. Click on any photo to see it larger.
Week 17 :

Week 35 :

Week 40 :

How can you fit more creativity into your week or into this weekend? Happy FriYAY

August to September in New Zealand

Spring is coming. It felt like it suddenly arrived yesterday (the 1st) with a stunning day of sunshine but the official date for Equinox is 23 September so it may continue to be a bit unsettled with some wintery reminders until then... My magnolia tree is in full bloom ready for the winds that always come to spread the petals around! I love the colours and the abundance. I am grateful for this sign of warmer seasonal change as I navigate the challenges of change in my own life cycle whilst also doing my best to support others my family love in their own times of change and personal need. I'm still present over here, doing something creative most days, although scarce on the blog these past couple of weeks cos of *reasons*. 

The photo above is of the art I completed in August. I am feeling happy that I am creating pieces I love at a pace that fits with my other priorities. I haven't shared the cards yet on the blog, but you can see the process photos of the art journal spreads HERE and HERE. I still take #arteveryday photos - the desire to keep up that ritual reminds me to try to create a little every day....sometimes the photos are ''every couple of days" and when I look at what else I do in my week, that's perfectly okay. I did quite well last week : Monday - Sunday

I continue to take a neonatal quilt making elective at school - as you can see above that takes up quite a bit of time at home helping them by preparing their next steps. 
I also taught a 2-hour class on Art Journal construction at the beginning of the month. I am really proud of that class. I did lots of preparation and I've shared a very detailed blog post with a ton of links from that class HERE. It's a wonderful resource of all sorts of ways to create different book forms. 

New supplies this month : I was very blessed that a friend from my quilt group was having a clean out and gifted me these! 

I have owned and loved lumiere paints for a while now, but have never owned soft pastels. I need to do some research about how to use them - they are chalky. Apart from knowing they will need to be sealed with workable fixative, I need some time to play and experiment so any tips you can give and links to tutorials would be great. Do you think I could find info on pan pastels and use them similarly? Look forward to reading your comments.
As suspected, I have finished my Inner Work Journal to coincide with the end of the month.

August was much more focused on intentions of being present and thinking about "what really matters?" instead of having a check list of things to achieve. I think I will continue that focus for September. I'll be preparing a new journal for my writing practice for the new month ahead. I purchased a plain blue book this time and picked up a lovely mandala stencil at the same time...I'll share how they combine

I was VERY disappointed that Tam's new book didn't arrive for me in August - preordered so something's gone wrong. Hopefully can share with you in September. 
In other news for September, I am starting with a VERY social week (2 x dinners and 2 x afternoon coffee with close friends) and this will culminate in traveling away on Friday to our annual "Girls' Weekend" - 8 women at Raumati beach - we shop, eat, drink, laugh, share and relax. Most of us had our first babies together 19 years ago!

I ♥ stencils and I'll be sharing techniques next week in a 2-hour class - of course I'll share useful links with you again after the event as I always do when I teach

Really happy that I was able to complete a piece of art yesterday 

- great start to the month and I am looking forward to finishing this work in progress very soon : 

I also made these card bases during the last month so hope can make something of them 

I love Spring and am looking forward to hopefully warmer temperatures and some switching out in my wardrobe from merino and jerseys to lighter pretty tops and sneakers. Also looking forward to sharing art and other inspirations with you this month. Talk again soon. 

May review, welcome June, and FREE art lessons

The photo above is of the art I completed in May. Although I don't feel like I've been as creative as I would like, that's more than one piece a week so I'm happy with that. 
I also taught an intro to Gelli printing class

and took our first school electives session with 15 students beginning to make neo natal quilts - selecting fabric is such fun, and I've got some great extra adult support. 

I was creatively inspired by a couple of wonderful quilt exhibitions

and made a couple of small purchases which I am enjoying

I continued to write most days and my Inner Work journal now looks like this (each tab is the beginning of a new month) 

I also continue to take photos for my #arteveryday practice - although I've not been arting as much as I'd like, I would like to encourage you to keep a record of being creative every day. Last week was Week 26 of #arteveryday. That's a whole 6 months since I began! 

This is my record of what I was reading and watching - with darker evenings there's definitely been more watching..."Welcome to Marwen" was just okay and "Outside" is a teen read and not as good as "Room" which is similar subject, but I really enjoyed everything else here :  

And now it's June : Birthday month....and I don't just mean the Queen! ♥ Both my younger son and I celebrate birthdays in June and it's a good month to look at what else needs celebrating and what needs to be released as we approach the end of the first half of the year. I know there are challenges ahead - longer nights and more unsettled weather as we approach Winter Solstice and my gym has just closed so I'm looking for an alternative, but I know there are also joyful outings coming, and I begin this new month with hope for better energy and more creativity. I'm going to try and focus a bit more on my word SHINE : this month I'm back to concentrating on S for Self-care and I'll make sure Ease is in there too. A long weekend is a great way to begin a new month. And I'm setting intentions this month instead of a long to-do list to tick off. 

If you're looking for new art challenges, quite a lot comes up as the northern hemisphere heads into Summer. I always like to share FREE options. 
Marit's Quirky Dutch Summer 2019 Starts on June 10th - all the information including previous posts are HERE.

There's Daisy Yellow's ICAD challenge HERE : June 1-July 31, 2019

Also looking ahead to July is this free online weekend event. 

It's part of a larger year-long workshop and while I am at my limit with my online class inspiration, this coincides with the first weekend of our next school holidays... so even if I only manage to watch one or two things it's worth me signing up. Also a great way to discover artists that may be new inspiration to you. 
Happy June - hope you are blessed with sunshine and creativity this month. 

From April to May

The photo above is of the art I completed last month (top right is a pompom monster for craft club). April included 2 weeks of school holidays which means I didn't have to go into work but I did have quite the list of things to do - some work related, some housework related, some creativity related. 

In April I found myself grappling with overwhelm, despite school holidays, or perhaps because of them! I am not very good about keeping limits on my to do lists and I tend to dwell on what I am not getting done. Keeping up blog posts like this helps to remind me that I continue to art regularly. I dearly wish that I had more completed art to share, but I must remember that I also prepared for my Gelli printing class (sharing that on the blog tomorrow)

and began a quilt (to be shared when complete)

I also cleaned my oven, tidied my studio

swapped over my closet to winter clothes, continued to write in my Inner Work journal almost every day and took photos of my #arteveryday practice when I arted. 

With the chillier weather starting and being dark by 6pm, I have been been staying inside more at night instead of arting out in my studio. I need to make more of an effort to take my art inside in May. This is what I read and watched, and listened to the new P!nk album ♥

I especially loved reading "The Weight of Ink" and "After Life" was funny, sad and thought-provoking. A great watch.

In April, my focus for the month came from the N letter of my word Shine : Notice. I concentrated on trying to have balance, and to recognise when I needed rest and self-care. I wasn't always successful but I did increase my social events this month and re-connected with friends and wider family which was awesome ♥ 

I've mentioned in a couple of recent posts that I struggle with leaving Summer behind - Juliet Batten's writing HERE is a lovely reminder of the importance of the cycle of seasons and the blessings of Autumn and entering inner quiet. I think part of my struggle is that I know that I don't create as much in the cooler months - although there is always some fear around a "creative slump", in reality I need to remember that I am percolating/ absorbing/ processing and there will be a new season of creativity ahead for me ♥ Keeping this blog is invaluable for looking back and recognising these cycles and seasonal changes. 

In May, my focus from my word Shine is E : EASE. 

I will be sharing my creative energy with students at school for Electives (neonatal quilts again with a new group of students) and will be continuing to teach art journaling one evening a month. Preparing for those classes and getting creative energy back from the students' enthusiasm helps my motivation so I look forward to that. Part of ease is about doing things that call you and so I've been thinking about what I want to do next that excites me creatively. I am inspired by Rae Missigman's 100 Day Project - her focus is on stitched marks worked over canvas fabric 2 x 2 inch squares. 

Roben-Marie Smith is doing 100 days of working small and including stitch elements too. Click on the photo or follow that link to see larger.

Last year I attempted #100daysofstitch and it did get me stitching again. I especially loved the work I did inspired by the Stitch*bookery class with Mary Ann Moss. I have been enjoying my Klimt in the garden with Rumi project because I continue to include a stitching element.

I can feel excitement as I write about these projects so need to think more about these ideas going forward. I know this month is going to be busy, but I feel happy and ready for the challenges ahead. 
And finally, I had an email from someone who said they couldn't leave comments on my blog. I have changed a setting - please let me know if that makes a difference. Leave me a comment ;-)