Here’s the next set of moon paintings I’ve created for March.
At the time of the full moon on March 7 (also my birthday), I felt like I had found some balance in my life, and I took a breath there for a short time. But sure enough as the new moon energy came back, I think I toppled a bit. By the new moon on March 21st, I had started to take aim…do you see the new moon in the bow of the arrow?
One target I won’t be hitting
Read MoreI’ve been in a period of Ebb lately. Some might call it creative block, but I’m really not blocked. I’m keeping with my sketchbook practice, drawing from life daily and exploring other ways I want to draw. I also have several art projects I’m working on—some I keep up with like my moon paintings, some I’ve let go (for now) like my stitch book, and some I’ve added lately—but nothing worth sharing just quite yet.
That’s the beauty of keeping up with a practice of any kind. You do it anyway because that’s what you do.
I actually think the tide is about to turn—I feel it coming—but for the last few weeks
Read MoreI’m doing a little traveling this week—first in northern Washington and.then on to L..A.. These sketches are of an abandoned “insane asylum” left to the elements in a small town outside of Bellingham. We visited it in the rain and I took lots of pictures—and then spent some downtime drawing from the photos. Super absorbing and fun to draw!
Bellow are a few of the photos - plus a few others from the trip so far. Enjoy!
Read MoreI’ve heard it said that to be inspired is to be “in spirit.” That is, fully present and humming—alive. And part of why I love making art is that I try to follow that alive-ness. That is, follow what inspires me—what makes me come alive.
I keep thinking that I’ll “figure it out”, that if I think hard enough I’ll come to know what it is that lights me up and then I can just keep doing “that.” I think what I’m wrestling with is trying to find a path—a connecting throughline, I guess, from one piece to the next. Some people might call this “style”—but I think it’s more than simply style. I’m looking for what it’s ALL about.
Anyway, these are a few pieces I made in the last month or so and clearly I haven’t found any such connection yet. And yes, this can be frustrating and confusing…but then I have to remind myself that
Read MoreCurrently, I’m not working on a project or taking a class and I’m not participating in #The100DayProject that just started again this year. And what that means is that without some direction every day I get to wake up and ask myself, ‘what will I make today?
I use the word “get to” intentionally. It’s something Jill Badonsky recommends as a way to reset inner dialogue. Because let’s face it: it is a privilege to create. A privilege for one who does not have to put all their resources into survival. And a privilege granted by our own Selves—those of us who prioritize and value our own creativity.
So I get to create. And I do make it a priority in my life to create every day. And saying so reminds me of that.
Because otherwise? Not knowing what to make next scares the bejeezus out of me. Artist or not, it’s more than a little scary
Read MoreAs I explained last week I had a shift in how I look at my sketchbook practice, and I promised to share how I’m now creating a sketchbook habit. And while I’m at it, I thought I’d share a few sketchbook pages from the last year.
I had doubts about why I was spending time in a sketchbook, but now I get it. Making a list of all the benefits made me realize…well, I feel the need to repeat this list here:
The PLEASURE of pen or brush on the page
The lovely feeling of being fully PRESENT
The surprise when DISCOVERING new line, shape, texture…
Really SEEING while drawing from life
The absolute fun of INVENTING while drawing from imagination
The satisfaction of LEARNING craft
CONNECTING with Self—responses, challenges, emotions, voice
EXPRESSING my Self
BUILDING SKILL over time
The unexpected JOY in any of the above.
These are all the reasons I need for working in my sketchbook every day.
Hah—let me count the ways
Read MoreAll creative work depends on making choices, but for me like this week, choice can be a dangerous trigger.
It goes like this: I want to create—something, but I don’t know what. And because I enjoy many kinds of art and many kinds of media, I start to feel overwhelmed with options. And then, once overwhelmed, I suddenly find myself on the witness stand of my own mind being interrogated by my internal prosecutor.
“What will you make?”
“I don’t know!
“You don’t know? Well, why not? You should know, wouldn’t you agree? Why can’t you choose? Do you have an imagination problem…?”
I could stay stuck right here, trembling in self-doubt, but that would be really unproductive—and since this is not an unfamiliar pattern, I thought I’d share what I think this trigger actually is—and how to get out of it.
Read MoreWhere I spill my heART and share my obsessions: art journaling, mixed media, and my creative life.
