Art Journaling: Everything in moderation...

In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis talks

about the virtue of temperance.

moderation.

A virtue which I severely lack.

MaryAnn Moss

(I would love to take this class.)

 

I 'm an all or nothing type of girl.

I dwell in superlatives...

Pam Garrison

I'm going to exercise every day for the rest of my life.

I'm not ever going to __________ again.

I'm going to ___________ every day.

For reals this time.

 Teesha Moore

In truth,

I think it's an excuse.

I don't have a full hour, so I won't...

go for a walk around the block

or have that quiet time I know I need

write that friend a letter,

or even blog, for that matter.

Michelle Allen at Michelle my belle

And it spills over into my art.

If I don't have at least an hour, forget it...

What's the point?

Mary at A Splendid Adventure

But the more I read about other artists' art making schedules and practices...

no one with small kids has huge chunks of time and energy. no one.

they all seem to say... I take my time where I can get it.

in little doses here and there and an ocassional long nap time or late night.

Right?

Kathy at Paper Pumpkin

So, that's what I'm gonna do.

I'm going to work on taking little snippets of time here and there

to do whatever it is that needs to be done.

Or that I want to do.

A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk

These are friends and their art journals that have been inspiring me lately.

I've wanted to art journal for so long.

And I've never made time.

So I'm going to try (TRY)

to do a little each day.

 even if it's only 10 minutes. 

whatever.

just something.

I will let you know how it goes...

Alisa Burke

How about you?

How do you find time to do the things you love?!?

In the Studio: Getting Unstuck

I was ready to burn these canvases.

ready to throw them out the window.

I could not get them right.

I started to play

not worrying, just having fun with
color and paper.
and this turned in to this...

which turned into this...

which turned into this...

 it is well with my soul.

my cup overflows.

after letting it sit and sit and taunt me.

it all fell together.

easily.

where did it come from?
i have no idea.

the best kind of creating.

it's just it's own thing.

It's a constant battle to suspend judgement
and just go with whatever feels right
to take risks and not just do
what is comfortable.


And I have to say,
I love working in a space that is
organized and makes sense.
It was so worth the time it took to my studio to this place.
It makes me happy just to be in here.

Play time.

I finally got a few hours in the studio to play

and I am a new woman.

It's been so long since I've really played.

really explored. really had fun.

really not cared about the outcome

just enjoyed the process of creating.

(Here are the crazy canvases I started with.)

Fall was hard.

I went back to work full time.

I got pregnant in September, which is a  blessing,

but I went into about a 3 month coma after that.

School. home. eat. asleep by 7:00
couldn't even make it to Jeopardy.

This was about all I could manage for 

October, November, December 

(I added a layer of paint.)

In January I came back to life

but spent every waking moment finishing this big commission

and other projects I had promised since way before my coma.

(Then some paper.)

I'm not complaining (I think)

because I'm so thankful for the work.

but that's what it was:

more work.

a labor of love,

but labor nonetheless.

so now that I am (almost) caught up with my promises 

(I have 5 baby gifts & a birthday gift to go)

I spent some time doing what I do best:

playing.

Never underestimate the value of play.

Mystele has so many wonderful things to say about this,

but it really takes me to this place

where there's no have tos

just pure fun.

(I wasn't sure where to go next, so I stopped. for now.)

I'm trying really hard to work quickly & intuitively.
To hold it loosely in my hands.
To let myself experiment.
To not overthink.
And it's fun.

Expectations & Surrender

My word for the year is surrender.

Honey Boo (I love this shop!)

And it's painful.

I didn't pick it.

It' picked me.

Danita

But I'm finding,

as a good friend pointed out,

that I'm having a tough time loving the life I have

because all of these expectations keep getting in the way.

thewheatfield

So even though I have really great stuff,

it's not the stuff in my head.

it's different.

David's Photography

and I'm finding that my biggest struggle

is letting go of the expectations

I've clung to for so long

so that I can

embrace

and love

and fully enjoy

reality.

corid

(Oh my. Check out this shop. Love her.)

not some made up version of life

that doesn't exist...

dhunting

and it's hitting me from all sides.

everywhere I turn I find it's a

letting go.
laying down.

surrender.

lovelysweetwilliam

and as painful as it is

there is freedom in it.

Barking Bird Art

just the way you are.

thank you billy joel

for these lovely words.

i've been away.

but i'm back. 

 i've fought with

these blogging breaks. 

but i'm starting to have

peace about it now. 

realizing that i need

to take care of my family. 

i need to take care of myself

and i need to sleep.   

so here's what i've been working on

paper and glue

and lots and lots of stamping.

hope you are well.

be kind to yourself.

love yourself.

just the way you are.

xxxooo

erin

Getting Unstuck: Inspiration for Mixed Media Collage at your Fingertips

Inspiration is everywhere.
From everyday objects,
to a few words you read in a book,
to other artists' work.

In my last post I whined about
getting stuck in my art,

and I've been thinking about
how I get unstuck

For the past couple weeks
I have been inspired by
setting my brushes aside +
painting with my fingers.

I love the way it feels on my fingertips +
I love the way the paint blends together.
it seems to create more texture.
and make it look more interesting.

Sometimes I get on a mission to
accomplish, accomplish, accomplish,
and painting with my fingers
slows me down and
reminds me to just play
and see what happens.

Try it out and
Let me know how it goes!

Mixed Media Make Over...

I haven't been blogging much because I've been busy in the studio.
Actually finishing. What is that?
Here's what I've been doing...
I had this painting from 2 years ago that I wasn't crazy about.

So I kinda messed with it
and added paper + paint

and more paper and more paint
and then I found this quote that I love to go with it.

So It's done!
For now...