I believe in your creative power. I believe it can help you tune into who you truly are... Who you're meant to be. And I believe this will change the world.
In a recent post titled Redefining beauty I shared a first draft of my #sketchbookproject piece with Drew Barrymore's quote "Happy People Are Beautiful." I wanted to take this piece further though, since it's initial incarnation felt too shallow, creatively speaking. Put simply, I wanted to take it further and go deeper into the exploration of my own feelings about beauty in our society. So I just wanted to share some of the process with you here..
First, I decided to add a bit more writing to the piece. I went on a bit of a rant about how beauty, and the pursuit thereof, is used in our economy to keep us ever ready to buy, buy, and buy some more. Here's how that came out.
Although I liked what the piece said, I still didn't love it visually. The purple sharpie marker just felt too strong for the overall design.. and something about all that writing took away the simple beauty of the original. So, I kept on going... that's my mantra these days...
"Just keep going."
I find that continuing on is the only way through being stuck, or not liking what you've created. So I kept on exploring. I decided to gesso over the parts I didn't like and just add more color. I was recently inspired by a book called "Brave Intuitive Painting-Let Go, Be Bold, Unfold!"
By Flora S. Bowley and decided to bring in some acrylic action to cover up some of the unsightly areas. I didn't want to cover them up all together though, since I still wanted some of my message to peek through. But I think as I processed that message a bit more, a more important one came up: the simple reminder that YOU ARE PERFECT. It's true. You are. Just as you are at this moment. If you are the type of person that has a hard time believing that on a regular basis, then me saying this is probably still not sinking in. But that's ok.. let it serve as a gentle reminder.. and perhaps a little nudge for your subconscious to take you in that direction.
Greetings. It's me, I'm still in NYC. I'm glad I've been able to keep up with my artsy tendencies here, despite the fast pace of each day. It's helping me stay inspired and connected to that deepness within.
So far I've had a chance to go to several art stores including The Ink Pad NYC (which has been on my art bucket list), plus I got to go see my friend Patrick Fleischman's photos on exhibit @ SVA. I've got a few more ideas of things to do and people to see, plus stealing away free moments to get arty. Check out my latest journal entry celebrating my nephew's 6th birthday, or as he called it, "the BIG 6!" below.
But before I get to that, a small art supply update. I've finally purchased that Cavalini alphabet stamp set I've been pining for ever since I watched my first Journal Girl viddy about mixed media art journaling supplies. Oh joy and gladness. I can't wait to use them. Also I finally found the Ranger Inkssentials white gel pens I read about long ago in my Diana Trout Journal Spilling Book. I don't know if this just happened to be an old pack or what, but I really don't like them! My Uni-Ball Signo white pen is so much better. It writes smoother and much more opaque. Well, lesson learned. And finally, I'm so thrilled i was able to get these new Letraset Aqua Markers. I saw this one art piece on Pinterest and couldn't resist getting them on the spot. They're basically water colors in marker form. YUM!!!
Anyway, so it's been fun getting new goodies and exploring new places. I'm hoping that I'll get to meet some great new people too.
Recently I had a pretty bad scare with my doggie Sniffle's health. She woke up one morning and couldn't walk. Quite a contrast from her regularly rambunctious nature. It was a shock for both of us. But I put one foot in front of the other (even though she couldn't) and just did what had to be done (vet, tests, meds, massage, prayer, etc.). Luckily, the treatment worked and we're seeing progress (breathing resumes).
Situations like this serve as a reminder for me to just be thankful. No matter what a day brings, I want to be able to take a moment to acknowledge how much gratitude I feel in my heart for all that I have in that very moment. It just so happens that the day before the above-mentioned morning, I sat with Sniffle outside on an unlikely warm and beautiful Catskill day and snapped a picture of her and the sun to just take it all in. I was so appreciative of her beautiful energy and presence. The next day as I was rushing her to the vet and looking in my rear view mirror to check if she was still breathing, I had a clear memory of the moment I documented with that photo and thought to myself that "if this is it, I know I savored our love, and I'm ready for whatever the Universe leads us to next." It was a comforting thought to know that I did the best I could, and appreciated every moment of it, which gave me a sense of peace to just do what I needed to next to help her through this. It was a learning indeed.
