Category: Creative Living Activity

Keeping a Gardening Journal

Now that spring is truly here, I find that my studio extends right out into the garden. I still can’t quite believe how gardening has crept up on me as an interest.

The seeds were planting when I was young and my mom would walk me in the stroller and as we’d pass things say, “Oh, there are some hyacinths.” “Look at that forsythia. Isn’t it pretty?” Now I find myself insisting my husband walk around our little patch so that I can do the same with him. “Oh, honey, did you see this? That’s a hydrangea.” “Look, the tulips came up!”

Now, as I tend to my own garden, perhaps the most significant thing I’ve learned is to stay with and believe in larger projects, to trust that little by little with care and effort, things will develop and grow. This gives me a sense of peace, hope and patience – which is particularly great because the latter is not one of my best qualities!

As I admit to myself that gardening has simply and surprisingly become a part of my creative life, I was delighted to find a way to combine it with another favourite creative practice: journaling.

Right, Wrong & The Workshop in My Heart

Every weekday morning I invite you Behind the Scenes at my studio.

Today: As I prepare for the journal workshop this weekend, I notice gifts for us grownups in our advice to the girls! Plus, as I consider a new idea for the studio, I get a major sign from the Universe.

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Art Day: Love & A Trip to the Garden

Art Day Begins

Every Sunday is Art Day at our house. My sister Shannon and I are both taking The Year of the Spark with Carla Sonheim & Lynn Whipple. This week we continued working on a lesson from Carla that we started last week. Using gesso, we had painted a simple, textured piece on wood board. This week, we added colour!

Ever Present Gliter Animals

Of course, the glitter bombed animals looked on, some wondering when they would get a second coat.

Garden Signs of Spring

With this project, we had layers of paint that needed drying and so we took a break out in the garden and discovered: green!!!

Garden Protection Worked

The netting I put down to protect the spring bulbs seems to have worked.

Garden Protector

Or maybe it was the garden guardian that did the trick.

Feeling the LOve

Either way, when I returned to my piece, I was definitely feeling the love!

Art Day: Painting on Wood, Textured Gesso & Practicing Faces

Shannon at Art Day

Every Sunday is Art Day at our house. This week we dove into another wonderful lesson from Carla Sonheim & Lynn Whipple’s Year of Spark. We’re making a simple gesso and watercolour painting on a wood. It didn’t take long before we were totally immersed and having a wonderful time.

Love on Wood

Keeping it really simple was a part of the exercise. I might have gone too far with the word love – but hey, what painting isn’t enhanced by a little love?

Texture Love

It was a lot of fun adding and exploring different textures. The next step will be to add some colour and we’ll likely get to that next week.

Face Journal

The wood block exercise has several stages so in between we practiced drawing faces, something I find wildly intimidating to do! I so love people’s faces and would like to find my way of adding people to my creative work and so I’m trying to gently show up and give it a try. I even made a dedicated journal for the practice. I’m gathering faces – photographs, magazine images, masks, illustrations, and then letting my hand follow the lines and shapes.

Drawing Faces

Very quickly I discovered that I am most interested in simple shapes, illustrations, sculptures and masks. I love the simplicity and elegance. Now I’m imagining what it would be like to create faces with cut-out shapes instead of with drawing and that’s intriguing to me.

You never know where art day may take you! Once you begin the creative journey, if you’re open to the adventure, the wild road will lead you where it will.

Art Day: Stumped by Flowers, Fun with Wire and an Art Journal Background Begins

Art Day Set Up

Every Sunday is Art Day at our house. This week we decided to be unstructured and grab whatever project or idea called our name. Shannon explored drawing a Christmas cactus and I bopped around from project to project, starting with taking the next step with my found flowers.

Stumped by Painting Flowers

One of the things I am thrilled to be noticing is that as I create more and more work I find that I need less and less to like each piece. Last week I liked what I made. This week,  I found myself trying to figure out what I didn’t like and why. It wasn’t heartbreaking. Instead it was (and is) a conundrum I’m working on and that feels like good ground to grow on.

5 Animals Ready for Art DAy (2)

Even so, after a while I was ready to take shift gears and play with animals and wire! I had such a fun and fascinating experience creating Zeb that I was excited to go on another adventure. Which creature-in-waiting wanted to play?

Playing with Wire

I have no idea what this little beauty will turn into. I just know that she wanted to stand and have a big fin/wing that I’m imagining wrapping with string in some way. One thing I’ve learned with these creatures is to stand back and let them emerge!

Art Journal Background

I wrapped up with the simple pleasure of starting another art journal page background. This is how I started all of my found flower pieces. I wonder what I will find in here!

Art Day: Dreaming of Home

Prepping for Art Day

Every Sunday is Art Day at our house. This week we got back to painting. This week I was really aware of the impact of a year’s worth of regular painting has had. I feel so much more grounded and ready to play!

Art Day Energy

And, as you can see – we really play! I never get tired of seeing Shannon’s palette and mine side-by-side. You can always tell whose is whose!

3 Art Day Elements

This week I worked on Violette Clark‘s bonus lesson for Life Book. I loved making a magical little home.

Art Day Faces

We also made a face to be an element of the picture. Though I didn’t end up including it, I really enjoyed making it. I had a lot of fun experimenting with using a toothbrush to paint eyelashes!

Art Day Results

I’m so happy with my magical home in the woods.