simply me

i'm the Artist of the week!

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happy mother's day...

no rules!

slinging paint...

i have 11 (8x8 & 8x10) canvases all lined up on my table. these are all canvases that had something on them in various stages of the next great artistic idea. they were thick with layers of color and mediums, so i lathered on layers gesso & fiber paste in attempts to disguise what once was.

i have big plans, but they stopped at neutralizing what they once were, lol! i think i will spend some time this weekend transforming them into an abstract collection of happiness!!

yesterday i just wanted to create...i didnt care about what i was making or colors i chose, i just wanted to play. i think in opposition to the detailed work of the faces (which i am still in love with doing) i needed a play day to get all "liberal-like" with my paints.

i made these 2 paintings and boy i felt good after! they are totally different in style and sometimes i think, i am one multiple personalitied chick. one all straight lines and clean and the other just down and dirty and pure.

i think this is my most favorite part of what i do...THE FREEDOM!

each day i step to the canvas as a totally new me artistically.

PURE JOY!

ART transcends...

brace yourself, this is going to be deep...

recently i have been been gifted by so many beautiful and brave woman their stories of how my blog, inspiration wednesdays, art and workshops have had such a positive impact in their life. each sharing with me that watching my imperfect process of creating makes them feel whole and full...inspires them to create or make a change in how they see themselves.

i am humbled.

i am grateful.

i am a better person for this exchange.

ART is a journey. we all walk our own path and along the way we evolve, learning more from our failures than we do from our successes and knowing we have so much to learn from the experiences that enter our lives. the fact that my art, that every time i turn on that camera to record my process makes a difference, matters so much to me.

in life, i have made mistakes, struggled too long with the scars of childhood, battled the hurtles of adulthood, lost myself in the process and allowed the negative views of others to rent space in my head while the positive ones just slipped away. i think we all bring some of this to the table when we create and learning to free myself from these negative feelings is something i have been working on for the past 4 years. the fact that this personal & creative freedom is slowly making its way into my work and touching others so positively...

illuminates me, yes, that's the word that best describes it... i feel illuminated!

i dont believe in coincidence and know each person along the way on this journey means something and has something to teach me.

as i have come into my 40's i have learned to take ownership of who i am personally, creatively and emotionally. i can now look myself in the mirror and say i truly like who i am. i love sharing my passions for color and art because that is the joy i never allowed myself before holding on to so many of the "issues" of the past not allowing myself the freedom and the purity to live in the moment.

creativity takes courage. that is what inspiration wednesday it all about, having the courage to play. the courage to give yourself permission to fail, the freedom to make mistakes and change your direction and the courage to GROW. its about leaving all the other shit behind and giving yourself an hour or 2 to just be.

the messages i take with me from these woman who have taken the time and had to courage to share their stories with me is that despite how different we might be, our personal struggles, creative hurdles or personal journeys, we are genuinely connected by ART. we may travel down different roads and get lost along the way, but the connections makes a difference, can make us whole again...healing wounds, building confidence, freeing our spirits.

i am grateful everyday for the blessings this journey has given me, for the personal growth and changes i have made along the way and for this platform that extends beyond the reach of just a computer screen and reaches out to touch the human spirit.

every wednesday i practice being strong, stong enough to fail in front of an audience, strong enough to share what i love about creating and strong enough to know i learn more from giving myself wholly on the pages in my journal every wednesday than i would ever gain by taking.

todays post may seem hokey and a bit wordy (ok really wordy for me), but i wanted to share a deep gratitude to all of you that have been a part of shaping who i am today. many of you have travelled this journey with me and some of you are just joining me on this path. if you walk away with anything i hope it is the message that Art transcends.

the message to be open and receptive to life, to see opportunity in the wake of challenge and to live in search of beauty in the human spirit.

P.S. i received this link this morning just after i had written this blog post...AGAIN reminded how powerful and transcendent art is.

fun video scrapbook...

i so very much enjoyed my time in Barcelona, Spain.

the travel, the tours the majesty of this country and the people are such beautiful memories. i felt like i was welcomed into family the moment monica & luisa opened their soors to bill and i. the students were so generous and warm it was like spending the weekend with good friends. they even let me speak spanish and not laugh, lol! they posted this video the other day and i thought it would be fun to share.

natural scrap website

C/Barcelona 18 A 08211 Castellar del Vallès
Tel.707 38 63

interview with ScrapFriends...

 

read the interview here

yoga & painting...

for the past 6 weeks i have looked forward to my tuesday mornings with my friends susan & laura

we have painted, talked about life, sex, coconut oil (don't ask), relationships...we have learned a lot about ourselves, breaking down the walls and painting intuitively.

they embraced the process and created these beautiful pieces.

we decided we did not want the fun to end

susan is a Yogi (teaches Yoga) and we all thought it might be interesting to see how these two processes merged. after talking with susan we both felt that art and yoga build off of the same core principles.

so we now meet early every tuesday morning at the studio for yoga & painting.

i love it!

i am learning a lot from susan about balance and finding that inner voice. then the 3 of us with open hearts paint intuitively and the bonus is i truly enjoy this time with friends...being real and sharing.

this is where we left off this week.

(for more photos of our 1st session progression click here & our current session here)

the whole idea of stretching your body and your creative boundaries is exciting to me. i am a student of life and i love letting the universe take me down paths uncharted and putting amazing people in my path along the way!

a little HARLEM SHAKE (downey style)

if you havent heard of the Harlem shake, they are calling it "the new Gangnam style" dance. its really silly really, but kids being kids, mine love being silly.

heres a little "Harlem Shake" from the downey 3

happy st. patricks day!

a new year for big dreams...

hi everyone, i'm back!

i hope your holidays and new year celebrations brought you every bit of joy!

my family and i had an amazing week together in the mountains, i feel rested and quite frankly 7 days without art supplies i am itching with ideas and motivation to create!

i have always loved the symbolic notion of a new year being a fresh clean slate...an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments and failures of the past year and the excitement of setting new goals and aspirations for the new one.

as many of you know, especially if you have ever taken one of my inspired event weekends at the studio, i carry a moleskine journal with my ideas, dreams, lists, etc on my person at all times. in this journal i compile and collect my "truth" or what i like to call the "what i'd like to be when i grow up ideas." i have been using these journals for the past 7 years and have a collection of these beautiful dogeared journals that are truly the story of my journey in an intimate creative way.

sometimes you need to listen to that inner voice (especially when it is screaming at you, lol)

so today i am going to assemble my visual goals/aspirations board for 2013 on the cabinet door above my computer...taking the leap and work towards some of these "moleskine" dreams.

the BIG one first...

• "the next step"
  

for the past 2 years the idea of a doing this really cool, craft show concept has plagued my thoughts, but its a scary idea so i have been back burnering the idea as a pipe dream. this year i think is the year i am going to persue this idea and with the help of some professional videographer friends i am going to attemp to record a pilot. who knows may just end up being really good blog fodder or the next big thing! i wont know if i dont try...SO MANY DETAILS to plan and figure out but at some point i may need to reach out to my blog readers for potential guests.

{via pinterest}

• "do what you love"

i love to create and share what i learn. i am product motivated and the thrill of figuring out a new technique or implementation of a product is just short of orgasmic to me.  but coupled with that is the joy of sharing that knowledge, call it the teacher in me or the fact that i am an only child and didnt get to share as much as a child, but quite frankly it multiplies the joy of creating when i can share it with others. so this year i am going to put more effort into creating more product and technique driven online workshops. by far the most rewarding workshop i do thus far is the "Canvas Create" series. the feedback and the stories of empowerment and families sharing in the creative times together have been not only inspiring to me, but life altering. this is what i love!

• "build my fan base"

last year i was able to double my fan base on facebook, so this year i am thinking go big or go home right? i would like to see if i could double it again! crazy right! why not...so this year i would like to reach 50,000 fans. feel free (please, please) to tell all your friends i think i am really going to to need all the support i can get on this one. for every 10,000 reached (30,000, 40,000 & 50,000) i am going to do a free workshop on my blog for everyone!

 

• "achieve"

my word for 2013 is achieve. i plan on working that word into a new series of art this year. motivation and encouragement for all to reach for their dreams!

• "continue"

i plan on continuing inspiration wednesday and collage mondays throughout 2013 because they have been the catalyst to most all of these dreams, but more importantly it has been the support of my blog readers and fans that have given me the confidence and the courage to take creative risks. i cant thank you enough for your continued support and i look forward to a year of sharing this continuing journey with you.

talk to me today!

comment and share what your dreams are...say them out loud and make them real!