New Art - Sharing my Story

Welcome to the art that I will be sharing today, a mixed media art piece combining collage and acrylics on watercolor, called 'Sharing my Story', as part of a series of art pieces that I will be sharing this week here on the blog.

We all have different stories to tell, when you look into our eyes there are many things that they have seen.  You often can't tell what someones story is by just looking at them, and this is something that takes time and a building of trust in the relationship.

Do the eyes tell of a far off journey, or how far they have already gone.  Is there a longing for a means of escape or dreams of what is to come.  I have found myself including a hot air balloon in some of my paintings, and I guess for me it is about places to travel to.

We hold our stories close, sometimes only letting a few in and sometimes not at all, but they are stories that want to be told.  We learnt the practice, sharing and not being confined to just one way..  I journal on a regular basis and with the art journaling combine art and the written word.  But then again sometimes the image says it all and there is no need for words.

Thinking about home I have tried to make it the one place that after experiencing the cares of the world you can be yourself, find rest, be nurtured and restored.

You can dream dreams of adventures, stepping out of your comfort zone as you share your story....

What stories could you share that you have been sitting on for too long?

Sharing - Mixed media art

New Art - The Seeker - Mixed media art

This week I am sharing a series of paintings that I have been working on over the past few weeks, check back tomorrow to see what else I will be sharing.  

This painting is called The Seeker

It makes me think about the journey that many of us make as creatives, one that doesn't have a single destination, but many stops along the way.  

We have to be confident in our travelling learning as we go, making sense of things that often are not what they seem.

We share our vulnerabilities, our fears, hopes and dreams through our creativity, looking for a connection.  We open our hearts.  Stepping beyond ourselves we wait to exhale, continuing to be inspiring, trusting, finding ways to share our passions, and our love.  

We let go, and make room for the beauty to soar....

The Seeker - Mixed Media art 

New Work - Art Share - Embracing his light

From seemingly not having enough time to sit down and do some art I have found ways over the years to grab snippets of time.  I no longer wait for those big chunks of time because they never happen, and if they do very rarely but found as I kept working especially on the smaller stuff there were more little chunks of time that soon added up.  I also had to get over not being able to finish a piece of work in one sitting, and this painting is a great example.  You can see what it looked like before HERE

It started out as most of my paintings do now a days as a background and then I sketched loosely, I wasn't sure where I was going to go with it, and allowed myself the time to let it develop.

This painting reminds me of my brother Robert who passed away, last year. Once I had completed the painting I realized that it was the very thing I had experienced with him the day before he said goodbye.

One of my last conversations with Robert was about his faith, and he chose to give his life.  Moments later a burst of sunshine filled the hospital room, it was a magical moment that I will never forget.

I am enjoying my time creating and will be sharing a different piece every day this week for you to enjoy, some will be made available as prints at my Society 6 store if you would like to buy

Embracing his light - Mixed Media

Word for the Week - Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 

Isaiah 26:3

To be in perfect peace, that place of stillness where you know everything is where it should be, it is all working together, and you just have to be who you were called to be without any fanfare or pretense as you focus on his love.....

Have a blessed week and know that you can be in his perfect peace

Kew, and Following your heART - some new work

I had a great day out with my sister and cousin yesterday and we spent the day at Kew Gardens. 

We had been blessed with tickets by Cooltan Arts - A mental health and arts charity, who were able to bring a number of people together to enjoy the day as well.  They do really great work and I recommend that you check out their website.

I love going to Kew Gardens, there is such a peace about the place and the displays are great, and you could definitely spend the whole day there!.  I always bring my camera and end up with some beautiful images of some of the flowers on display.  

Yesterday was no exception we strolled around and there was much sharing, laughter, reflection as it had been a while since we had spent time together in a relaxing environment, the sun was warm and there was a gentle breeze so walking around was a pleasant experience.

We all agreed that spending time in a relaxing environment was an important part of impacting on mental health and well-being.  I have also been busy in the studio, which is a necessary part of my day, experimenting with techniques which I will share over time.
  

From time to time I share work here and on my Mixed media art site, so you have a choice of places to go.  Going to Kew gardens and spending time in a natural environment reminds me to pay attention, not only to my surroundings but to my choices. It is important to spend time reflecting each day.

I feel that immersing myself in my work and continuing to develop and hone my style is important, I love being creative, and trying new things, seeing how different materials work together, and seeing the fruits of my effort. Find out what sparks your creative juices and do more of it.

So, I will continue to follow my heART and paint, draw, sew, craft and keep on doing work that makes my heart sing, what will you be getting up to? 

Gratitude's and Celebration - Week 53 - Complacency

Gratitude and Celebrations Journal - week 53

I think that it can be easy to become complacent at times, and indeed I can say that no matter where you think you've come in your journey, you have to be vigilant, cause the very smallest thing can cause you to slip up and before you know it your back where you promised yourself you would never get.  

I have found this with my health and fitness, I had started the year really well and each month brought another excuse why I couldn't get out and train, and they were all valid reasons, but in the cold light of day were really a bunch of excuses.

Live...Gratitude and celebration Journal

I forced myself to go out early yesterday and kick start my training, I came back and was mashed for the whole day.  I hadn't realized how unfit I had got in such a short space of time.  You have to work at not becoming complacent and continue to remind yourself how far you have actually come and keep on making that effort.

Staying on track requires effort...

This is the first day of the second year that I have kept a gratitude's and celebration journal, and I have found that it helps me keep things in perspective, writing about different things helps me to reflect on my experiences while the art journal page that I do alongside helps to jump straight into the creativity and make the most of what has been presented using a range of different supplies.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to express myself in this way.

Prepare for the ups and downs of the journey

I look forward to the 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!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Why August is one of the best months!

I think that August is one of the best months there is, I know those born in the 11 other months might have an alternative view, but when you really sit down and think about it you will have to agree that August beats the rest hands down.

Ok I guess I am going to have to clarify my comments, but think about it - with August your in the height of the summer, all the flowers are blooming, it is associated with holidays, the schools are off, you get to spend some quality time with friends and loved ones, the bbq's come out and the air is filled with laughter, Pimms and dogs barking playfully!

What if it were all possible?

I don't really drink Pimms and we don't have a dog, but it is a restful month, one for reflection before you get back into the back end of the year with September.  Another reason, and you probably guessed from the start is that I was born in August, and therefore have a birthday coming up.

It is going to be a big one and I have been reflecting on where I am in my journey, how far I have to go, what twists and turns are coming up, sometimes I feel as if I am one of those people with spinning plates and I have to keep them all going, and you are constantly looking to see if there are anymore plates that will be added.  I don't think I will have anything big, but celebrate with family and friends, something small...thought the 'Kensington Roof Gardens' would have been a lovely venue and is on my wish list!!!  I have restarted my exercise routine, and have promised myself that I will treat me as if I were my best friend rather than taking myself for granted, let alone let anyone else.

There are a few more weeks to go and I will be doing something special online during that week here on my blog, so do come back.  I have been playing with supplies and have made this journal, quite a playful journal will see me write my dreams and visions and hopes for the future within its pages..

Celebration playful Journal

It has a piece cut out of the front cover and I drew and pasted a picture there. It is a ring bound journal and the flowers and butterflies are made from fimo clay and it has fluffy wool and wooden beads decorating it!

Inside is a mixture of watercolour paper and decorated paper to use as the mood takes me.

The bird at the back is a reminder to let go of those things that you have no control over and focus on shining that light, and asking that question...'What if it were all possible'!....yes August is one of the best months cause I was born..Blessings to all, and what ever month you were born in you are pretty special as well!

Material Mondays - Fabric Postcards

I have been playing around with some scrap fabric that was in my stash, and it is quite surprising what you get when you put different pieces together.  I had intended on making some fabric postcards, and got quite carried away with making them.  I didn't know how much I would enjoy using my sewing machine alongside painting fabric, but it has been quite a therapeutic activity, and some of the pieces can be as detailed or as simple as you like.

I started out painting plain pieces of white cotton (it was a pillow case that I was going to tie dye).  I used inks, paint, pen, glitter pens and applying them to the fabric with brushes, and stencils, and along with some batting quilted the panel.

I then added beads, sequins to the fabric

and added stitching using my sewing machine.

I found among my supplies some old strips of ribbon and used them to decorate the top and bottom of the panels

And voila!  It has given me the bug to make some more and I will create a few with some images on them

These were very easy to make and as well as being used as postcards they could also be used as part of a wall hanging, or they might form the cover of a journal.

The choices are endless as to what you could do with them, you could even use them as part of a mini art quilt.  I am still in the process of learning how to make a quilt, so it looks like I will be making a few more.

If you don't have a sewing machine you can do this by hand and use fabric glue for some of the areas.

I hope you are inspired to try and share your results and links when you do.  Blessings!

Friday Feeling....Out and about

Well hello, It has been a lovely day weather wise,  and I am really enjoying my time both in the studio, hot though it is at times, the sunny weather always seems to bring out an increase in ideas and techniques to try I will show you a few images later.  Equally I have been spending time enjoying the garden without having to dig up anything or weeding.

Honeysuckle plant

The colours are coming together in the garden, I went for pinks, purples, lilacs, 

Lavender

The lavender not only gave a lovely scent when you touched them, but the colour was very pretty as well

Lavatera

My lavatera has grown into a tree, it has a tendency of growing a bit wild, but I made sure that after the last winter I cut it back a third, this helped it and the flowers are out in abundance, attracting bees and butterflies,  it is a shame that it doesn't have a scent as well

Sweetpea

 The sweetpea come out year after year, and I haven't yet trained this plant to grow along the fence so they tumble down around the other plants.

Daisy

 The giant daisy is another one that comes up each year and is spreading, I might have to dig some of the clumps up and plant in other parts of the garden to break up the purples and pinks

Bindweed - flowers are lovely

 Another plant that while is a nuisance, has some very pretty flowers, and this is the bindweed, it wraps it self around other plants and can be difficult to separate, but I like the trumpet shaped flowers that it produces

 ......and so I allow them to grow and then remove in places where I want to keep it free from the bindweed.

Plums are also something we get to enjoy from the garden, and the fruit are beginning to turn purple, so over the next few weeks they should be ripe to pick.  I will have to think about some recipes to make with the plums as well as hand some out to the neighbours.

I appreciate having the outdoor space that enables me to get away from it all and stop and think about the life that continues to happen without my input.  Things grow and die down, they change and adapt, and I allow myself to reflect on my life, my relationships that are so important.

We want like the blooms and the plums to be fruitful in our own lives, to be a blessing, and encouragement and support to someone else and we need to make sure that we invest in ourselves.  This could take the form of exercise, eating the right food and spending time being creative.  That said, I did a couple of new pieces, and will have more to share over the next few weeks.

I made a decision to get more work complete before I go onto the next idea.  It is always a joy to see the ideas grow, and what was a splodge on the paper, grows into something totally different.

 In this painting, I was imagining myself on a boat, and the feeling you get as you know you are going forward, but you have your eyes closed and you can feel the sea breeze on your skin, and the feeling of freedom as you imagine yourself flying or spreading out your arms like Kate Winslet on the film Titanic

The hat was the first thing that was formed in this painting, and I was thinking about someone is a rice field, - then the staff appeared in the painting and it brought back memories of the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and there is a particular scene where they are chasing each other through the trees, it is beautifully shot, and I recommend it if you get a chance to see it.

Next Friday will see the return of Gratitude's and Celebration, and I will continue to use it as a reminder of all the things we should be thankful for, as I spend time creating a journal page.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Tomorrow I will be sharing a recycled project, so remember to pass on back this way.

Blessings!