In a Fog

Ever get that feeling?  Well, I have to say, I’ve been trying to take my own advice, about getting out of that “funky place”, but it’s been hard lately.

 

Yesterday, after feeling blue for most of the day, I decided to pick up my art journal and just “play”!  It’s been too long, and it was so much fun!  Honestly, it was hard to do it, to pick up that pencil/paintbrush…but I did it, and I’m grateful that I did.

Please give art a chance, it doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be great, heck it doesn’t even have to be good!!!  It’s a way to get whatever’s inside you, out!  Just start, just try… it’s okay, and it can turn out to be that best mood changer I’ve seen 🙂

 

Clear that fog…get to arting!  Oh, not into art?  Sing a song at the top of your lungs, dance around to your fav song, cook something yummy, write something down…it’s all good.  It’s all arting to me.

Here are the pages that got me fog free:

Sending hugs to those that need it, and just remember to breathe.

Jen

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Wow, life can sure be a rollercoaster sometimes!  Some days are just amazingly great….And then there are those OTHER days.  Hopefully our good ones will greatly out number the bad.

I try to stay positive in those challenging days, and for me, playing with colors, with lines, with papers and glue…Well these things make me happy!  They can take away some of life’s UGH and help heal the soul!

What are some of your favorite ways to shoo those UGH moments away?

Here are some things that are popping up in my art!

An art journal page for a paint and pass club!

A 16×20 canvas work in progress!

And some fun with Easter eggs, color,and kids!!

Wishing you all more happy days to come!

Xo Jen

Art in Life

Ever get that uninspired feeling?  Ever wonder where you can turn to get that inspiration back?  Well I may have some ideas for you!  Now this may sound simple and trite…But believe it or not, inspiration can actually be found all around you!!

This fun and funky world offers us limitless forms of inspiration!  From a budding tree in spring, to the clothes on your back…Looked at in just the right way, can inspire!  Here…Check this out:

This is a pattern on a blouse I have…Which has inspired this shape

Which can be used in many different forms of artwork, it can even be colored, or ripped up and used as collage in different things!

Colors can also be so super inspiring too!  Just look at the sky, wherever you are…Those sunrise or sunset colors are just MAGICAL!!  So next time, grab your phone, snap up a picture of that sky and use those colors in your next piece!  Or if the colors aren’t there, maybe check out the clouds!

Need more inspiration?  Look at the shapes around you!  Here, check this out:

Just some colored pencils…But looked at in a different way, these can be a super inspiration!

So, next time you get that “feeling”…Take a look around you!  Snap some pics, share with others! (You never know, your pic of budding spring flowers may just inspire countless others!!)

Happy Friday ❤️

Creative Funk??

One of the things that bugs me most (on the creative level that is) is getting into a creative rutt.  And it seems to have a mind of its own, as to when and why it happens.  “Why was yesterday so easy and fun to create in, and today I’m stuck in this creative funk?  I can’t seem to create anything I like!”

If only I could answer that one!!  While I can’t answer the why, maybe instead we can think of  the HOW.  In other words, how can we get out of these creative rutts or funks?

Here are some things that have helped me in the past!

1. Watch YouTube!  Do a search for mixed media, there will be tons of free colorful, informative, and fun videos to see!  Here are some of my favorite channels : Carolyn Dube, Willowing, Effy Wild, MixedMedia Jenn, and Diana Trout (to name a few)

2. Take online classes!  Like what you see on their YouTube channels?  Most artists offer some classes as well!  Some of my favorites are offered here: JaneDavenport.com    DonnaDowney.com        FloraBowley.com    aColorfuljourney.com

3. Join some art communities!  These can be found on Facebook or through individual websites, these are great free resources to get creative ideas.  Here are a couple of my favorites:                         Willowing.ning journalworkshops.ning.com

Here are a few examples of some creative- releasing activities I’ve recently gotten to try!

This is from The Creative Revolution e-course from Flora Bowley!

From the Over the Rainbow online class by Jane Davenport!

From the Life Book 2017 class by Tamara Laporte (Willowing)

So take a moment, be kind to yourself, try something new, and check out some of these amazing resources!

Make A Mess!

Remember as a child being told to:

“Clean up your mess…”

Or

“Don’t make a mess…”

Or

“Careful, it could spill…”

Well, something I’ve learned is that making a mess can actually be okay!  It can even be fun!  Getting something, anything on paper can be a wonderful way to express your thoughts and feelings.

Today, it started with a relatively blank piece of mixed media paper (just some clean up from another project).

Then…grabbing any color that called to me, I began making marks…

This is teal and white craft paints spread on the paper with an old credit card.  I also dabbed it here and there.

Next, some red…just cuz!  Playing with paint makes me happy!  I even used a spongy brush to make marks!

Well…then I got crazy and added some black, some brown ink…some yellow from my fingers.  Added some pink and sprayed with water…letting the drips slide down the page!  Then orange!  And scratching into the wet paint with the back of a paintbrush too!

And here it is now…is it messy?  YES!  Is it beautiful?  No…but it doesn’t need to be!!!  It was fast and FUN getting to play and be messy!

So I say, go ahead…make a mess, (I won’t tell!)  play and just have fun 🙂

 

Fear of the Blank Page

Oh no…is this image daunting to you?  It’s a plain white page…an empty vast blank page…calling you out!!

 

Don’t let your fear take over, don’t let this empty space get in your head.  I know that feeling…that dreaded empty white page feeling…and I’ve learned to over come it, and so can you!

Step #1  BREATHE…it is only a empty page.  Really, we put so much pressure on ourselves that sometimes we may forget that it is only a page.

Step #2  GET MESSY…lol, that’s one of the fun things about art (for me at least)!  Grab some random paints…a pencil, a pen…some cute papers or tapes!  Just slap something on that page!

Step #3  PLAY!!!   There should be NO pressures at all…just create, spray paints, grab some colored pencils…and just put something out there.  Does it have to be perfect?  NO!  Does it have to be pretty?  NO!  It will be a layer in something you create…

 

Now…Get out there and play!!  Have fun!  Art doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to make you SMILE!  🙂

 

Self Love

Earlier this year, as I was checking out the willowing.ning.com site (if you haven’t seen or heard of Willowing, she is Britian based, Tamara Laporte.  An amazing mixed media artist, self love advocate, and overall, an amazing person…check her out on YouTube here https://youtu.be/gCZBTsnpASM where she has tons of art videos, and here for her website http://www.willowing.org) which is an amazing and free art community.  I saw an old thread about Paint and Pass journals…this is an amazing idea where everyone starts with their own art journal, and it gets passed from person to person across country, and filled up with awesome art!  I decided to start up the Paint and Pass group for this year…and while it was a bit more work than I thought at first, it has been simply an amazing journey!  Here are a few journals I am working in!

While it is just so inspiring seeing other artists amazingness, there are days I feel I’m not good enough.  That my art isn’t good enough…and well, sometimes I even feel like I’m not good enough.

Some days I look in the mirror and only see my own flaws…see a new wrinkle, or gray hair, see how much bigger my backside is,  a double chin…or feel inadequate in some way.  Ugh…then I start to get super down on myself, thinking nasty thoughts.  Would you ever think these thoughts about others?  Pointing out your child’s flaws?  Your spouse’s, siblings, or your friends?  No…of course not.

Now we can’t always stop these thoughts…but we can remember that we need love too!!  We are beautiful creatures, deserving of kindness.  This is one of my favorite quotes:

“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
-Excerpt from Desiderata by Max Erhman

So instead of hating…give yourself a well deserved hug.  I don’t care how silly it sounds, go on.  Give that beautiful person staring back at you in the mirror a big bear hug, they (and you) deserve it!  Another favorite quote of comes to mind:

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
-Christopher Robin by A.A. Milne

So with that, I’m sending out big bear hugs to all of you (don’t forget to hug yourself today!) and a pic of some projects I’ve been work on!

 

What is Art?

In my summertime musings I am surrounded by children, sunlight, and  thoughts of creating. This summer has proven difficult for me to actually create…but it’s never far from my thoughts.

A question popped into my brain the other day, and I asked myself…”What is art, what does it mean?” I hadn’t really thought about that too much and it occurred to me that what one person thinks of as art, my not be the same as what others believe.

To me, art is a variety of things…anything that can be created!  From a song, a building, acting, writing, paintings, drawings, to a beautiful plate of food…holy cow the list goes on and on!!  

It’s these things that are created and admired that define art (for me).  What is art to you?

If it touches someone, somewhere…if there’s that connection, or feeling, THAT is what art is.  For all the negatives that life offers…. remember too that art is all around us.

“…With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.” – Desiderata by Max Ephman

Paint In The SUN!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s May already!  Where has the time gone?  Pretty soon we’ll be knee deep in summer time…kids playing, going swimming, maybe a family trip somewhere?  Even with all the busy-ness finding time for you, finding time to create is still super important.

As the weather warms, maybe make a plan for yourself!  Take your canvas or favorite art journal outside WITH you!  Play in the sun, paint, maybe collaborate with your kids!  Bring on the summer and bring on the warmth, create and become one with the nature around you!  Heck, you might even find some outdoor inspiration that sparks some new fun creations!

While we wait for summer, please enjoy this recent work in progress on my own canvas…

xo

Jen

Just Breathe

We all go through ups and downs in our lives, and lately I’ve been doing just that.  Sometimes things can get so overwhelming we need to be able to stop and…just breathe.

Whatever we are going through will pass.  I remember a quote from someone saying, “…and this too shall pass.” Know that you are not alone, and you will be okay.

While there hasn’t been a ton of time for me to create, I pulled this out the other day.

She is titled  “Hold On” and was done in an altered book.

Sometimes we all need to be reminded to just breathe and know that tomorrow is a new day.

xo