Art Journals, Faeries, Sacred Marks and....Happy Christmas!

I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that the last month has just raced by, but it feels good because it is that time of year where you can begin to sit back and take a breath - AH!

So what have I been up to anyway? 

I've actually been spending a lot of time working playing in my art journal - I've totally formed a new 'friendship' with my journal, so to speak! Way back in May when I was in Bali I set myself the goal of finding a new love for drawing - or at least stopping the voice in my head that says "you can't draw". So when I stumbled across Jane Davenport's sweet little e-course called "Draw Happy" I signed up straight away...and this really opened me up to just play with the idea of drawing and made me realise the necessity of my art journal. It has been incredible how much this art journal has influenced my painting as well - I'm not sure why I was so surprised, art journaling as part of the creative process is something I've always 'known' about...but I think my reluctance to simply draw was really keeping me stuck. I've realised it is totally NOT about drawing perfectly or even creating something beautiful (although it is awesome when that does happen!), but just returning to the place of simple JOY and playfulness. It is amazing how many accidental discoveries you can make! Here is one example:

Faeries have been popping up everywhere in my journal and so maybe it was inevitable that they would find their way onto canvas as well? 

{Years ago most of my art was mixed-media so it has been so fun to start incorporating some of those things into my work again - this little canvas looks so different to all my other more recent paintings, but reminds me of where I started too... I kind of love that about it. }

And then came sacred marks with Tracy Verdugo in November, down on the south coast. It is always so lovely to meet with other artists and in a space that is dedicated to being open and to learning. Tracy opened her heart and shared her knowledge of art and her art process with such generosity and spirit. She created such a beautiful space for us to open up and create something of our own. 

It was so great to be given a fresh way to approach the painting process. Using mixed media to create a collage grid  gave me a new way to create possibilities on the canvas, finding a colour palette from the papers I'd randomly picked up stretched me (even though my favs kinda worked their way back onto the painting by the last few layers!!).

Tracy also encouraged us to draw as many personal symbols as possible over the weekend that we could use as a basis for one of the paintings...these then created a story and a direction for the painting very early on, which is very different from the way I usually paint (which was a bit of a challenge for me!).

Probably one of my favourite things from the whole weekend was painting a poem - or more accurately, painting how the poem 'felt' as it was read by Tracy. We were asked to paint, without thinking, as Tracy read a poem aloud. This took a whole lot of LETTING GO....and afterward the canvas did look a bit of a mess, but I really love how that opens you up to something that just could never happen otherwise - beautiful accidents that turn into intuitive paintings!

A good reminder to stay open to the new, embrace the mess and let your intuition lead the way!

And can you believe that it is only days until Christmas? After a few days of beating myself up over the fact that I wasn't 'organised' enough for this Christmas time (I really had meant to update my shop long ago to be all ready, oops), I've just decided that it doesn't really matter and sometimes you just have to be content and happy with what you have been able to achieve, knowing that you did what you could at that time. I've had so many conversations with different people about this, and the thoughts are echoed everywhere it seems as people rush around making sure they are all 'ready'....So! It is my hope, wherever you are, that amongst all this rushing around and preparing that you remember to take some time just for YOU. Take a breath and acknowledge everything you have been able to accomplish this year - even the seemingly 'small' things.  Remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be! (and yes, this might be different to what you had hoped but that is perfectly ok too!).

Have a fabulous Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

**Peace, Love, Joy and Gratitude**

xxx