Embrace Your Art - 2016 Your Favorite Book and Non Dominant Hand

It is great to be one of the guest artists for the Embrace Your Art 2016 - Journal About Me .  My challenge was to think about my favorite book and use my non dominant hand to create my page.

One of my favorite books is called Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo by Ntozake Shange, about 3 sisters, all 3 creative in their own way.  

The book is a lovely read, and captures so well the creative gifts of the sisters, which is what I felt I wanted to capture on my page, and Ntozake Shange is a very talented writer.

The other challenge I had was to use my non dominant hand which for me is my left.  I love challenging myself especially using my left hand to create, and need to do it more as it enables you to see your work in a different way.

I used Inktense blocks and Art bars for the background, just getting some color down and then blended it with gesso, which muted some of the colors.

I then sketched a loose image, not being left handed the emphasis was on loose and focused on the impression of a figure standing rather than having to be an accurate representation of a figure

I then started to add some color using the inktense blocks and refine the image a bit more.

As I painted the background just came on its own, she was standing with her back to the ocean, and it was as if she was in that place where she refueled and got her creative perspective.

When drawing with your non dominant hand, don't try and be exact, continue to play, and focus on just having fun with the piece.

I imagined myself by the waters, just feeling the breeze blow about me and shutting my eyes to sensations and the sounds

I then added the finishing touches that nurture me in that creative space, the sun, the birds

Check out the full process in the video below and see the full art journal page done in the round.  Thanks for watching and remember to have fun!

Embrace Your Art 2016 runs every Friday for a whole year. Check out some of the challenges, and see some of the other guest artists and it is totally free to join!

Mixed Media Art Painting - Transformation - Dala

Transformation Series  

Welcome to the series, it is great to have you back again this week to see what else I have in store for you.  This week we meet another character, with her own story and we meet her in what looks like a snapshot of her life..

'Dala sat in her garden surrounded by red flowers and blue skies, and at that moment she felt at peace gazing at the flowers she breathed deeply trying to soak in everything that her senses could pick up.  The delicate aromas, the breeze that made the hairs on her skin dance, and the warmth of the sun that made her feel part of something so much bigger'

A week doesn't go by where I create a painting on what looks like a scrap of paint spattered paper, card or fabric.  I guess it is part of the challenge for myself to be flexible and work with what I have.

It is important to spend how ever long you have creating, whether you pick up a paint brush, or just sort through some supplies, it is a good idea to make a regular practice that feeds the creative soul.

Finding that quiet space that you can get lost in the creative process, and not worry about what something will look like, or as you are creating what unfolding before you.

I play with textures, colors, and when it feels right I stop, or I take the painting in a different direction.  If you check out some of the videos on my youtube, you will see that some start out one way and then totally change.  Feeling comfortable and not getting too precious over the painting helps the flow.  There have been times that I looked back at a video and thought I loved the painting before I totally changed it, but that is all part of the growing process.

She sat in her garden surrounded by red flowers and blue skies

I hope you enjoyed watching the video, check out my others when you get a chance.  Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Mixed Media Art Video Process - Transformation

I am still doing the video transformation series, but have started calling it Transformation Thursdays, had a better ring to it!  

Essentially I start off with a background card that I embellished with scraps of paper then after drawing a loose image and applying paint the card transforms on as you will see in the video below and then you are a participant in the transformation.

The main thing to remember to do is to have fun while you are painting, and I see these mini paintings as a way to keep me creating, especially when time is limited.

I have been doing the paintings in the morning, and is a way to set the creative tone.  I usually allow 30 minutes to creatively unwind, but sometimes end up giving myself a bit longer.

 You have to do what and where suits you.  I'm an early riser so, usually this part of my creative practice is done between 6.30am and 8.30am, and its also really lovely to hear the first morning sounds, the birds and other noisy critters:)

As you can see there is lots of lovely texture going on and then I have added color as suits.

I hope you enjoyed the video, if you decide to give it a try, do let me know how you get on with the process.  I shall at some point be sharing a start to finish painting in this style with you.  For now stay blessed and be a blessing!

Book Festival, 1000 year old tree and Dementia Talk - What a week!

It has been a very busy week for me and I am quite amazed at how quickly the time has gone

Had a friend stay from Jamaica, A-dZiko Simba Gegele the author of All Over Again. She was running a few workshops as part of Bim Literary Festival and Book Fair 

Here she is talking about her book and inspiration:

There were also some great authors over the course of the week for the festival.  One person on the lineup was one of my favorites Paula Marshall and I have practically everyone of her books (I guess I am a big fan!)

We went to see one of the oldest trees in Barbados, the Baobab Tree 90 feet high and 81 feet  around its circumference - it is amazing!

It is know as the Tree of Life and has so many healthy benefits and is being called a superfood as it is a good source of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, thiamin, fibre and vitamin B6.

The fruit is thought to also to have more than double the antioxidants per gram of goji berries and more than blueberries and pomegranates combined.

New shoots

Flower of the Baobab tree

On top of that,  I was also asked to do be on a panel doing a talk about dementia to Theology students at Codrington College  I spoke on how we can change our perspective when thinking about dementia.  I looked at ways in which individuals could find similar emotional experiences to better relate to the emotional expressions of someone living with dementia.

It was a beautiful venue

and so peaceful....

I am so thankful for so many things.  I want to also encourage those of you  who are at the point of stepping out into unknown territory to make that step.  We are not promised tomorrow and just have to have courage to do those things that can bless others and ultimately bless us as well.

Taking a stroll