New Course - One Badass Art Journal, Discounts and competition!!

Ok, I have some great news to tell you!  I am teaching in another course, and this one is being hosted by Tiare Smith and is called ONE BADASS ART JOURNAL!

REGISTER TODAY

There is a wonderful group of yet more talented artists taking part in this 12 week workshop.  There is so much being offered, you will be able to make your own BADASS Art Journal and view 24 lessons/classes.  Check out the video below!

INTERESTED?  Why not treat yourself for and explore your own Badass Art Journal and link up with the facebook group there is so much more check out the rest of the course HERE

As a special offer you can get a 15% discount on the price of the course.  You have to enter the code IMBAD15 at the checkout BEFORE Sun 27th Dec to receive the discount.

And as a special bonus, SIGN UP HERE BEFORE DECEMBER 31 and you will be entered to win 1 of 2 spots in the other course that I am teaching in called The Journey Within: A Year of Handmade Journals.

Sign up for one for both courses and make your 2016 a year to remember!

Win a spot on The Journey Within 2016 - GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY - GIVEAWAY - GIVEAWAY

I have 2 spots to giveaway on the course

1st place: One full year registration

2nd place: single quarter registration (Jan-Mar 16)

You will be aware by now that I am teaching in a course called The Journey Within A Year of Handmade Art Journals, and we are in the middle of a blog hop challenge.

You can check out HERE the challenge I set for Kiala on my blog hop day, and also see the blog hop schedule.

The course officially starts on 1st January 2016 and will last for the whole year but you also get a December mini course so you can test the waters, see how you can pace yourself.

Each month, Kiala will teach you how to make your own handmade art journal, give you prompts, tips, and techniques for filling the pages, and there are 17 other guest artists to share their art journaling process.

I will be teaching 4 lessons created just for this course for the year and I am looking forward to sharing with you!

Why not Join us for this amazing adventure and have your most creative year yet.

For a chance to WIN a place in the course, complete some of the tasks below - each one gives you two chances, or Sign Up anyway and if you win a spot you can bless a friend!

The Journey Within E-course 2016: a Year of Handmade Art Journals

The Journey Within: A Year of Handmade Art Journals

I am extremely excited to be a guest teacher in The Journey Within: A Year of Handmade Art Journals with book maker, Kiala Givehand and 17 other artists.  The class starts on January 1st 2016 and goes on for the entire year

Each month, Kiala will teach you how to make your own handmade art journal, give you prompts, tips and techniques for filling the pages and bring in guest artists to share their take on the themes and prompts and to share their art journaling process.

To kick off this amazing course, Kiala has created a book for December and asked each guest artist to give her a challenge to complete during the month  Today is my challenge. Here is what I asked Kiala to do:

Create a Journal page using your non dominant hand, so any mark making, imagery, shapes etc will be done with your least used hand

I recommend you try the challenge I gave Kiala, - I will be, If you decide to play along, let me know by checking me out on Instagram (@realityarts) and tag me. Use the hashtag #journeywithin2016 so we can all see your lovely work.

Here is the Blog Hop list - make sure you check out each artist on the blog hop.

December 1 — Mimi Bondi — MimiBondi.com
December 2 — Cindy Gilstrap — Junque Art Studios 
December 4 — Tiare Smith — TiareSmith.com
December 7 — Julie Baker — Creatively Onward
 December 8 — Amanda Trought — Reality Arts  - This is me 
December 9 — Andrea Gomoll — Cre8tive Cre8tions
December 10 — Nicole Piar — GhostKitten.com
December 11 — Lisa DeYoung — Mountain Mermaid Studios
December 15 — Kelly Johnson — Wings, Worms, and Wonder
December 17 — Sadelle Wiltshire — Tangle Vermont
December 18 — Barb Owen — HowToGetCreative.com
December 21 — Hali Karla — HaliKarla.com
December 22 — Yuko Miki — Honeyberry Studios
December 28 — Virginia Simpson-Magruder — Kentucky Girl Designs
December 30 — iHanna — iHanna.nu

What about you?  Are you ready to take the challenge?  Join us for this amazing adventure and have your most creative year yet. 

 REGISTER HERE to learn more and sign up for the class.

Gratitude's and Celebration - Week 83 - Transitions

It has been a weird week as we get ourselves settled here in Barbados and find a routine as individuals and as a family. Without family or close friends here I have found myself experiencing a feeling of displacement.  

My week largely focused around looking after my mother who has dementia and then everything else came after, now being so far away I try to create routines in an environment that had previously only been a holiday destination and it feels weird.  

I retreat to my studio, but even that felt unfamiliar, a larger space that holds so much promise, but I didn't know where to start.  But you need to start somewhere, and so I regroup.

At the moment I am reliant on others to do their part as I try and sort out my official papers for my time here and I guess that is the biggest thing that is contributing to to my feeling of displacement - I am not use to having to rely on others and on top of that I miss my family.

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

I think about what I am grateful for and what I celebrate and I am truly grateful for the experience to be in a warmer climate and appreciate our environment.  I am also grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the experience  and hopefully be a blessing to many far and wide as I share my creativity.

I am on a creative journey in my journal and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Word for the Week - Psalm 86:17

Give me a sign of your goodness that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.  Psalm 86:17

I posted this image and scripture before, but felt someone needed a reminder, even me..... Our Lord is with us even when we sleep and slumber.

We are all going through changes of some sort and very often the changes can be difficult, we want to return to the ways that we knew.  Press on, keep going for just around the corner you will see the benefits of making the changes, of being uncomfortable for a season, and you will realize that all the difficulties are actually lessons along the way to be embraced.

As you meditate on the scripture and enjoy the image ask and think about the many gifts you have been given, the many challenges you face, and the fruit that will come from the work of your hands. 

Words and images for the week, to bless, encourage and inspire you to be all that you have been called to be. 

What will you do with what you have been given today?

New Art - Finishing what you started!

I have been taking my time to see what art that I have that has not been finished and found that there was quite a bit of work.  I love trying new things and with this comes a tendency to make a start on something as I learn a new technique or find another use for something that I am familiar with.

Having made the decision that I wanted to get some of the pieces complete, and below is just a few, I started to make my way though them, along side trying new things, taking a couple of course - there is so much to learn and so little time!

I thought I would give you a sneak peek - If you would like to see the full painting, click on the image and it will take you to my art blog, let me know what you think, leave a comment!

Bird on my shoulder

I use bead embellishments for this painting

What if

Each one has mixed media elements within

My Family

And makes the most of the colours that I love to work with

My Family

I do hope you take a visit to my Art blog to see the full sized paintings.

Gratitude's and Celebration - Week 76 - Vision

I took another break from the routine, not really knowing why I couldn't write about the things that I was grateful for, but I guess not feeling quite on top of things.  I told myself that some time out would enable me to look at things from a different perspective.  

Life goes on in its own merry way, people come and go and at the end you have to decide what to engage with and what to leave.  Life has at times, a way of putting things in to perspective.  We cannot run from those things we are not quite comfortable with, neither can we run from ourselves, but facing the uncomfortable and facing ourselves can be really difficult, especially if your not quite sure what you really want.

My plan at the moment is writing down all the things I want in my life, from the very small and controllable -  like ' I want to get fitter' to the big dreams of wanting to travel round the world and bless people with my art and creativity.

As I work through my lists of 'wants' I am looking at how I can make them SMART and attainable, and I am grateful for the ability to dream and dream big, to take those steps one at a time, each and every day to not only see my dreams come to pass, but to effect the lives of millions of people in a positive way.

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal

I am grateful that it can start with the seed of an idea and really take root in the hearts and minds of others.

Take a moment to thinks about what you are grateful for today, leave a comment if you dare!:)

I am on a creative journey in my journal and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Dancing to the beat of your own drum - Painting

This painting was inspired by the idea of change as well as experimenting with a limited pallet.  When you are asked to consider what you really want in your life, it can take a while to actually articulate it and the more more you think about it the easier it is to identify those things.  

Laying down the foundation

Some people go through their life never knowing what it is they want, or even like and it isn't until you start to explore you begin to understand what you need to put in place so that you can let go of old stereotypes and patterns of behavior, and really live your life to the full.

I really enjoyed painting this picture, and feel a lot of energy coming from it.  As we dance to the beat of our own drum our lives are no longer governed by what other people think about us, or the box they want to confine us to.  We dance to the beat of who we truly are at our core, expressing our true nature, and shining.

Dancing to the Beat of your own Drum - Mixed Media

Clay Dolls - Grace

I wanted to share with you something that I started last year, but only just got around to finishing. I have been busy in my studio and also just reassessing a lot of things and so posting kind of got put to the side.  Anyway there are a lot of things I want to share over the next few weeks.

Having taken Soul Food 2014 it was in one of Mysteles classes where we made a clay doll.  Working with clay was newish to me, I had made a bowl and a few other things, but never really considered making a doll in anything other than fabric.

Grace - Clay doll

Well, I have grown realize as I have been making her how much I enjoyed working with clay, and this only came as I pressed in with trying to finish her.  When I got over half way to completing her, I saw that like my paintings she had a story.  I feel that each character has a story to tell, and a message meant for someone somewhere in the world and I am so pleased to have been able to let her bring her message of hope, love, peace and joy.

Her name is Grace, and she has been dressed in ribbed tights, a pinkish lace rimmed top and goldish/black shawl, head dress and a flower brooch, the head dress, shawl and top are made of fabric.  She has a clutch bag with her for the most important things she might need to carry
.

Accessorized with jewelry with beads and a mini key which unlocks hopes and dreams.  She and a chain at the back which allows you to hang her in a most prominent place.  I am hoping to find Grace a good home and will be putting her up in my Etsy store over the next few days.  

Grace has a story to tell!

She will be joined by some more clay art dolls that I will be making, as I explore this lovely way of expressing creativity. Watch this space!

Change can come - Painting Process

Have you ever started a painting and not liked where it was going, and felt dissatisfied that you wanted to take it into a new direction?  I have been practicing by working on old paintings that have not been completed for one reason or another, persevered and then tried to take them in a different direction.

It is not always easy, but if you persevere you'll get the look that you want.  That is also true for life, and any changes that you might want to make.  As you step out and continue to do so on a regular basis you'll see the difference that is made in the circumstances, it might not always be easy, but will be worth the effort.

Hope you enjoy this video, I really enjoyed making it.

Collage Experiments

Earlier last year I took Randal Plowman's course 'Experiments in collage' and learnt different techniques for creating collages and I shared some of the work that I did HERE.  It was a great class and had very supportive fellow artists.  There was about 24 of us which made it a lot easier to see and comment on each others work.  There were some beautiful collages coming from the members on the course, and next week I will share some of the ones that I was sent.

One of my main reasons for taking the class is to explore the work that I want to do in Art and Health - using art and creativity as a therapeutic tool, I want to explore ways in which we can use creativity to share our stories, memories and wisdom and allow them in different ways to surface.  For me these stories are important, the ones that we were told when we were little to the ones that we in turn tell our children and with art we can capture some of them.

These are the stories that tell of love, joy, peace, loss, sorrow and pain.  We lived through these and in moments of reflection when we are gathered we ask the question.... "do you remember when?"  Sometimes we cannot find the words to express how we feel and as a carer I find creativity acts as that bridge that allows the thoughts, feelings and emotions to be expressed freely and for healing to take place.

In the class I allowed myself to play with a wide range of materials and also incorporated such as the supplies I would normally use in my work like modelling paste, paint, as well as paper from a variety of sources. This is very much a part of my mixed media journey that allows you to be expressive using whatever tools and materials you have.  A small group of us in the class agreed to make a series of collages and do an exchange.  Here are some of the ones that I created.

Set your voice free - collage on card

Composure

Explore the Dream 

Time to believe the Journey

There is no place like home - collage, mixed media

I will share the rest on my mixed media art blog HERE

I am hoping to make this a regular activity and perhaps start collage series here on the blog using my new found skills, perhaps something weekly - why not join me.  I will be using a range of materials including paper, gesso, paints, embellishments, vintage paper, found objects, general household objects, fabric etc.  You can use whatever you have around you and also dig out those rarely used materials and supplies.  The  main aim is to spend a minimum of 20 minutes playing with your supplies and adding them to the page as you create your collage.  Watch this space for details.

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Week 74 - The Ideal

There is no situation or circumstance that is ever going to be perfect, and often we wait until we perceive it is the right time, when things fall into place, when the planets align or someone says those words that we were longing to hear.

We can prevent ourselves from using our gifts and talents, and as an artist there has been many a time when I didn't want to share a piece of work, because I was worried about what people might think, how they would see me or who they would compare me to, but whether or not they want to compare me it doesn't matter. 

At the end of the day, you can't stop yourself from doing things purely because of what others might think or stay in the neat little box that they try and confine you to.  You are a unique individual and you have to value yourself where you are, stop playing small and appreciate yourself a bit more.

There is a world out there with your name on it waiting to be explored, ideas that are waiting to be birthed by you that others are praying to see, and experience.  You have to step out of that shell you have been hiding in and show all your colours - you are extremely beautiful, I hope you know that!

There will never be an ideal moment, so start now, there will never be the right time, so take that step,  You are beautifully and marvelously made - have faith that if you fall, you will get up, and take another step, embrace those difficult times as an essential part of your training that will allow you to look back and celebrate how far you really have come.   

I celebrate and am grateful for this moment that is right here, when I can tell someone somewhere in the world reading this post that you matter.  Don't wait for the ideal moment or time, step out of your comfort zone now and live life to the full!

I am on a journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Art Journal ....Loved

The background for this page started out very simply with writing out encouraging words on the page, which was then covered with gesso and a selection of paints.

I used an old credit card to spread the paint and began to add some shapes using the edge of the card.  The good thing about working in an art journal is that you can work to any size that suits, and you can be so expressive either with lots of images and words or keep it simple.

I had made silhouettes from painted card and applied to the surface of the journal page.

Take a look at the video of the process, I hope it inspires you to work in your own journal, I would love to see your results.

Video process - Art Journal

Saturday's Pen and Ink

I thought I would share an image today.  Hope you are having a blessed Saturday!

I have been working on this 20in x 20in Canvas board creating this piece using a variety of shapes and patterns to create the image, which is then varnished.  I enjoy creating them and will be doing some more as part of a series.  

Material Mondays - The Conversation - Mixed Media Fabric Wall Hanging

Welcome to Material Mondays, it is great to have you come and visit and see what I have been up to in the studio.  I have found over the past year as I am sure that I have said in previous posts, that I have really enjoyed working with fabric.  From painting, sewing, embellishing and seeing not only what you can come up with creatively but where you can take the fabric that you are working on using different mediums and tools to enhance your project.

These fabric pieces have been real projects for me as they take time to complete due to the more intricate work that goes into adding the beads to the pieces.

But the joy is not only in adding the beads but selecting, and sorting.  I have been making many trips to my charity store to see what jewelry and embellishments they have, and have come across some unusual and very pretty finds.

This latest piece is called The Conversation.

 Do let me know what you think, leave a comment and share what you have been working on, does it inspire you to give this a go?  Or even add an element to your creative projects.

Stay blessed and be a blessing!