14 Secrets for a Happy Artist's Life

More puppet wisdom.

2012-02-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Collage by Lani, texture from Kim Klassen.

I'm working on a new puppetmaking zine, to incorporate hand puppets, sock puppets, and paper puppets. It's a lot of fun and I keep finding very awesome wisdom that I learned from all the workshops I've done. So here's more puppet wisdom:

A child noticed that the plans he had for his sock weren't really work out. But he kept on working and gradually changed his plans and guess what happened? He liked his final result even better than his hoped-for plans. He was actually really happy with what he had made!

Now isn't that just like art? Or at least how art can be when we step out of the way and let it flow?

Collage by Lani, texture from Kim Klassen.

Puppet wisdom!

2012-02-11T04:06:00.000-08:00


Collage by Lani

Want some more puppet wisdom? (This is one of the things I love most about puppets and puppet making workshops. There's always a big chunk of life lessons there to absorb.) One group of sixth grader’s puppets (who were wonderful, scary, smart, regal, artistic, and very famous) taught me about the importance of learning to make your own stuff. These puppets felt that humans get into trouble from wanting other people’s stuff too much. They felt that if humans learned to make stuff more often like their sixth grade puppet makers, they would get into trouble a lot less often. If you make your own stuff, you will always feel satisfied. If you are satisfied you won’t want other people’s stuff. These same puppets taught me that being successful at something, especially if it involves team work, will also help you feel pretty good. If you feel pretty good, you usually don’t get into much trouble. (These puppets seemed quite concerned about getting in trouble.)

Do You Know the Scribble Project?

2012-02-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

A very sweet scribble from Amanda Baeza on the Scribble Diary website.

There's a very cool idea out there, and it seems it's been around for a few years. (Call me slow.) Seven years ago, Lisa Currie started the Scribble Diary website as a small project to capture the works of some of her favorite illustrators. Curious about how others would respond to a particular artistic prompt, Currie posted the Scribble Diary which with 4,000 hits a day, continues to grow as people post their own wacky, hilarious, out-of-this world creations. Come take a look at some of the "scribbles" and then try your own hand at her template:

A very cool aspect of this website is that Lisa Currie is turning it into a book (THE SCRIBBLE DIARY: My Brain Right Now - due out this spring). She feels it would be most useful to artists, art therapists, teachers, etc. Me, I say it looks like fun.

Lisa also has a very cool facebook page where she posts new and interesting stuff from the Scribbler Diary Website and from her blog. Did I mention Lisa's blog? No? And all the awesome ideas you can find there, like a no-frills download thank you note or a doodling zine to fill up with good vibes to send to a friend and so much more! Do take a look!

Now to go do some scribbling!

Susan Tuttle's give-away.

2012-02-06T03:54:00.001-08:00


Collage by Lani with help from Photoshop of course.

There's a wonderful give away on Susan Tuttle's website. She's got a new eWorkshop coming up and it's well worth the look. Spread the news and you might win a spot in her course!

The 11th Secret and a Wonderful Inspiring Blog.

2012-01-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

Grands' Camp in the Adirondacks

In the 11th secret (the blog is the 14 Secrets for a Happy Artist's Life, right?), I suggest that people play with their grandkids as much as possible. I came across this idea while working at an Elderhostel Grandparents' camp in the Adirondacks. I had done a little research on how pop culture and the electronic environment might be harming growing minds. Some researchers were predicting the end of civilization as we know it. I was eager to see what would happen when the grandparents and their grandchildren would come together in a fairly rustic, wild, and magical environment without electronic distractions, and just their own creativity to entertain themselves. I arrived at Sagamore armed with puppet-making materials and the hope that I wasn't biting off more than I could chew.

By the middle of the week, children were racing all over the camp, proudly clutching their little puppets. It was as if they had never made their own toys before, or even considered such a thing (perhaps they hadn't). Grandparents, their reactions more sedate, beamed and in quiet moments shared various ideas with one another, sewing techniques, or choices in character and style.

Toward the end of the week, once the puppets were complete, they had to invent the storyline for a puppet show. In order to accomplish this, I gave everyone a few pointers on the concept of "council" slowing down, taking turns, and really listening to one another. Then the grandparents and grandchildren created wonderful stories and I took notes.

These children and their grandparents were truly delighted by their creative explorations and discoveries. Later that year I presented at an American Art Therapy conference. I was able to assure the attendees that although many writers were concerned about the future generation's creative and cognitive abilities being negatively influenced by the electronic environment, there is tremendous generative potential in multi-generational play and creativity, the embodiment of the 11th secret.

But if you don't have any grandchildren, perhaps you have children or nieces and nephews. Create art play dates for some children (who ever you can find). Your own creative abilities will be so grateful.

Do you feel a little intimidated, as if you might have to compete with the ever present electronic distractions? Well, have no fear. I have the perfect inspiration for you, it's this fantastic blog:
We Bloom Here. I don't want to say too much, I just want you to explore, look at Wee Peg Dolls, read about Finn Family Moomintroll (my favorite!), endless art activities, and oh so much more!!

Here are some of M. Bloom's favorite quotes:

I am blinded by the glare of all the silver linings... (Elizabeth Cohen)

The reason birds fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings. (J.M. Barrie)

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all...
(Emily Dickinson)

What, are you still here? Go quickly, don't miss a minute! M. Bloom is waiting for you now!

A couple of M. Bloom's adorable monsters!

Interesting tutorial here to add to your blues chasing possibilities.

2012-01-18T14:28:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways to beat the winter blahs is to try something new. I totally like this way of working and I'm going to try it right away!!!:

This video was from Bonnie Rose Bryan's website . I learned about Bonnie Rose from this amazing year long eCourse:

Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year!

2012-01-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

Blue Monday Collage by Lani

Did you know about Blue Monday? The most depressing day of the year? The date of "Blue Monday" was mathematically calculated Dr. Cliff Arnall a researcher at Cardiff University. He created his formula for the most depressing day of the year by working six distinct factors into the equation: weather conditions (Gloomy January and its typical lack of sunshine - that's of course in the Northern Hemisphere), debt level and our ability to pay that debt, time elapsed since Christmas, time elapsed since failing our New Years resolutions, our general seasonal motivational levels (don't you find it's WAY harder to get up and out these days?), and our need to take action and to have something to look forward to.

Whew, am I glad that William is having a tea party over at his blog, so there will be some fun stuff to reminisce about when yucky ol' Blue Monday rolls around.

For other blues chasing ideas, check out my other blog.

Did you hear the news?

2012-01-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

Did you hear the news? William is hosting another one of his amazing tea parties on Wednesday January 18, over on his blog. If it's like any previous blog party he's hosted, it's sure to amuse and chase away any winter blues. I can't wait. Now if only I could find the right outfit...

Angelic stress busting

2011-12-19T11:27:00.001-08:00

Collage by Lani with brand new texture from FlyPaper Textures.

Over at 14 Secrets we have a delightful Angelic exchanging going on. Participants list what areas they would like angelic energy type assistance with and their partner sends them as much positive angelic energy, art, and ideas as possible. My partner wished for assistance with stress at work and at school. Well now the interesting thing here is the more I look for ideas and create little art pieces for her, the happier I get and the less stress I feel. Pretty awesome experience.

So here's a youtube video I sent her the link for, guaranteed to bust stress just watching it, and if you remember to employ these techniques the next time you are under stress, I have no doubt what so ever that it will work.

Today I sent her this stress busting technique for school and work. I believe that nothing beats stress like planting seeds of kindness. So I suggested perhaps leaving an annonymous thank-you card for the boss or professor. Also leave some cookies where co-workers or classmates can find them, with a hand-made 'smile, help yourself, pay-it-forward' sign. Place extra money in the company vending machine and tape a happy Artist Trading Card next to it.

Want some more stress busting kindness ideas? Visit HelpOthers.org. Have any stress busting tips you would like to share here? Feel free, it's lots of fun!

Wonderful Inspiration and some is Today Only!

2011-12-10T10:27:00.001-08:00

Collage by Lani

OH BOY, want some inspiration and some of it is a TODAY ONLY kind of thing, so read on carefully! One great inspiration, just in time for the new year, is Gretchen Miller's Art Journaling Revo'lution E-Book. I immediately got my copy and not only does she have her own inspiring art work but she has included the work of others (including our own 14 Secrets Peep Janet McLeod). Also Gretchen has tons of inspiring live links in this E-Book, guaranteed to keep you lost but happy for hours!Click here to view more details

The next inspiration is a time limited event, a blogroll to giveaway copies of Jill Berry's Personal Geographies, and today is the last day of the blogroll. 11 blogs in 11 days, including some amazing Artest Teachers, including Carla Sonheim, Judy Wise, Diana Trout, Lisa Engelbrecht, Tracie Lyn Huskamp and Orly Avineri. Have fun reading what they have to say, and get a chance to win if you leave them a comment comment.

So cruise the blogs and try for a free book, or take advantage of North Light's half price offer to buy it, with free shipping. Both these offers end at 10pm tonight.

Finally there's my own 2 for 1 eCourse offering which you can find here.

Now excuse me while I go visit some blogs, and then I'll be the one working on my personal art journal revolution all evening!

2011-11-27T14:07:00.001-08:00

Occupation Sale - 2 for 1 Creativity and Joy


Collage by Lani, texture by Kim Klassen.

Thinking about Occupying Our Art and Lives, I started wondering about the opposite of occupying something. Being occupied by something else? Being colonized? I don't particularly want to be colonized by anyone or anything, not now, not ever! What I'd like is to be completely in my life, to live and enjoy each moment, each breath, and each daub of paint!

I'm proposing a new eCourse for the new year on this topic. Meanwhile I'm going to run the current eCourses at a 2 for one OCCUPATION SALE!!! Sign up for one and send me a message about which other one you would like to be a part of, or what friend you would like to gift with an eCourse. If you or a friend are interested in art prompts which help build resilience and a happy life or if you are interested in working with collage and photomanipulation, then come play with us!

You can read about the eCourses here but to get the most value, make sure to sign up on the blog (just look for the super secret savings to the right of this post). Once you have signed up for one course, then email me with your second choice or your friend's email so I can sign them up. Our next round of courses start January 9! Do join us if you can!

Book Review of a new Image Transfer book

2011-10-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Collage created from techniques in Digital Image Transfer.

I used to get depressed with Image Transfer books, feeling like I needed to go out and buy myself a ton of new materials to be able to start dabbling. That is until I discovered Ellen Horovitz’s book, Digital Image Transfer: Creating Art with Your Photography. Here’s a book for every art room, with transfer techniques for every budget. Every possible material and supply combination seems to have been considered. This book is quite different from the other books on image transfer. I no longer feel that the right materials are just around the next corner. She's got me covered! In fact this book is so thorough, and generous with images, that it is very easy to follow! And it seems no matter what sort of digital image manipulation program we might use, no matter what sort of printer we might have access to, no matter what sort of materials we want to work with (from glass to polymer clay to leather and everything in between) we can get ideas for our work and we can actually start creating right away, even as we read! Both images here were made while testing out some of the techniques in the book.

One of my favorite chapters is the last one, which is a highly creative chapter that includes sections on Cyanotype creation, replicating an early printing process on natural fiber surfaces, instant film transfers, and byproduct art. “More often than not, artistic souls find the beauty in nearly everything that surrounds them, even in the discarded products from various transfer techniques!” Ellen says. And she's right.

Another great aspect of this book is that Horovitz has access to many very creative students who are very willing to explore and try out methods and materials in new ways, and I suspect willing to compete with one another to see how far they could take these techniques. They have tried the techniques in their classes and enhanced them, tweaked them, and run with them, and of course we benefit from what they have learned. The result is a book full of very exciting ideas and images (full color), illustrating the limitless possibilities of digital image transfer. The text is animated and a delight to read. I got the sense that being a student of Ellen Horovitz would be an extremely stimulating experience, but for those who can’t take a class with Ellen in person, I would recommend this book as an inspiring consolation for any art room, art studio, or art therapy practice.

Collage created from techniques in Digital Image Transfer.

Monkey Business

2011-10-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

I know I posted Monkey Business over on my blog but I'm in love with Lulu, what can I say?

Fun going on at 6 Degrees of Creativity

The truth is there's a whole lot of fun going on over at 6 Degrees of Creativity! There are 6 different workshops on offer. Many of us are making sock monkeys, and even threatening to have a little monkey exchange in one of these fantastic workshops. I had a favorite pair of socks which I liked so much that I hadn't worn them out yet, just kept them for art retreats and grumpy rainy days when I needed a special boost. They turned out to be perfect for this particular workshop, but I may have to order more of these socks because I think I'm hooked. Here's my before and after.

Before

After (her name is Lulu)

What do you think? Fun, eh? Want to come join our Sock Monkey exchange? Check out this workshop and the five others here!

Another thing that is going on around 6 Degrees of Creativity is the daily search for 3 good things, and the creation of art based on this search. Some of us have been enjoying the bracing fall winds that have been blowing through our lives. William Charlebois's image can be found here.


Wind, scarf, and dog on morning walk with texture from FlyPaper Textures.

And here's a lovely journal spread all about the finding of good things every day, from Gretchen Miller, who I'm most grateful to for creating 6 Degrees of Creativity.


Gretchen's spread. (So much sunshine!)

Image from my 3 Good Things board on Pinterest.

Some of us have been enjoying collecting good things on Pinterest so that when we look at our collection of images later, we find lovely brain chemicals and hormones get released. For more on the topic of the connections between brain chemistry and imagery you can read here.

For more on sock monkey therapy, you can read Kat Thorsen's blog here.

Oliver Jeffers

2011-09-26T14:44:00.001-07:00

I'm going to start an Oliver Jeffers fan club. Wait a minute, I better make sure there isn't one of those already...OK and here's a video about the Heart and the Bottle App!

Beautiful quote here...

2011-09-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Source: flickr.com via Carol on Pinterest

More on "Finish This Book" by Keri Smith

2011-09-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Collage by Lani

Come on over to my blog for the next installment of my "Finish This Book" experience, which I am totally loving!

(Also if you like my collages, and like to play with collage and photo-manipulation see the eCourse in the right hand column of this blog. It may be just what you are looking for.)

Miwa Matreyek's glorious visions | Video on TED.com

2011-09-12T05:40:00.000-07:00

Miwa Matreyek's glorious visions Video on TED.com

A lovely experience in which to exercise your strength of appreciating beauty and excellence!

Having a little Collage and Fotoshop Fun!

2011-09-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Collage for Digital Whisper at Ning

I posted this over on my blog but it's worth repeating here in case you missed it. There are some nice links here. It's all about Digital Whisper which is a very interesting looking Ning group. (Thanks William Charlebois for this link!) They have a lot of inspiration, challenges, links, support, and other good stuff.

And for more exploration in combining photo manipulation and collage, please consider the eCourse which is starting next week. (The discount for blog readers is over on the right hand side of this post, just scroll down a tiny bit and you will see it.)

The above piece came from this image from Moonchild which is the background for the current challenge. (I can't wait to explore the other challenges):

Couldn't you just get lost in this spot for a few hours? Oh, yeah, wake up Lani. So then I added an old photo, a collage sheet face from ArtTeaLife, and a texture from PaperWhimsy. So much fun. Thank you Bill!

Something wonderful is going to happen today.

2011-09-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

This came from The Brave Girls' Club email this morning...

So do you ever have one of those magical days, that start off with a sweet little warning or reminder like this in the old in-box and gets better from there? Well today is one of those days around here. A book showed up on my doorstep, a very mysterious occurrence and when I began to look through the book, I had to stop everything else. It seemed to be a book about a person who is naturally curious about life and connections. She loves to spend time in the library, making connections between various books. Right away I thought this is my kind of heroine! Then she finds a book and needs help completing it. Very mysterious. So I find I'm reading about a curious person who finds a book much like I found this book and of course I want to complete it. And this entails a bit of sleuthing training on my part, going out on morning walks, collecting odd bits of information and evidence, which all goes into this wonderful found book. Hopefully soon I will be trained and will be able to finish the book. Here are some of the adventures so far:


I found 3 naked Burmese boy dolls in an antique store. (Did they ever have clothes?)


I found this odd sign very carefully posted upside down. (Who did that? Was it a joke, a mistake?)

The book came with a disguise and some instructions on what to do. (Fun!)

A little bug I found on my morning sleuthing. (Is Halloween coming?)

Maybe you remember the fun we had here at 14 Secrets with Wreck This Journal? After several of us had read and wrecked our copies of Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal we made our own journals and created several round robins which you can read about right here.

Well, I can imagine that this new book of Keri Smith's (Finish This Book) is going to be even more fun. It is so far! Can't wait. Want to see more of what is inside? Click here!

There's a lot going on around here!

2011-08-31T12:22:00.001-07:00

Collage by Lani, with help from FlyPaper Textures

New eCourses that combine art and positive psychology, resilience, creativity, photoshop and collage are ready to go, starting September 12. You can read about them here but don't forget to come back to this blog to get your big blog-reader discount (just look at the column to the right).

Six Easy Lessons for a Happy Artist's Life

2011-08-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the 6 Degrees of Creativity?

This is a 6 month on-line group of workshops starting October 10, 2011. It includes 6 different workshops, offered by 6 instructors from the art therapy community. We have created workshops which will explore practical and useful hands-on concepts, techniques, and ideas relating to themes about transformation, social change, collaboration, and using art for good. All these ideas and techniques will work in your life, your art room, and your creative practice.

My workshop is Six Easy Lessons for a Happy Artist’s Life and the little video above may give you a flavor of the material to be presented. I believe the simplest and gentlest things really are the source of creativity and happiness. I'm sure of it. Those moments when you are actually in your own skin, feeling, being, enjoying your life, those are the deepest moments of happiness and they are free for us to access at any time. Have you ever felt that sense of possibility and excitement of a magical day unfolding like on the first day of a vacation, or on the first day in a new place when you have no idea what is around the next corner? For me that feeling is a clue to creating a happy artist's life. If you are interested in how to take the "least thing" and make up the "best happiness" check out "Six Easy Lessons for a Happy Artist's Life" where you will receive one lesson per month. Each lesson will have a positive psychology principal at its base, and will be easy to replicate in any art room or even in the privacy of your own art journal. What could be better? Come join us and start your happy artist's life today!

The other workshops include Examining the Everyday, Creating Gratitude and Affirmation, 6 Degrees of Creativity, Altered by Art: The Transformative Media of Beeswax Collage, and Sock Monkey Therapy!

Oh my! Spots in these workshops go on sale here, starting September 1! Oh boy, oh boy!!!

Claudine Hellmuth - a simple transfer technique

2011-08-31T03:37:00.000-07:00

Bill's Zine "We Collect Joy" Vol. 1 is ready for downloading!

2011-08-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

You can click here for your copy.

Bill's Zine "We Collect Joy"

2011-08-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

We Collect Joy cover by Bill.

Do you ever wish that in the depths of winter you had a bit of the joys of summer, or maybe just a bit more of what makes life so delightful?

Bill thought about that and started working on a collaborative Zine for all of us to contribute to, a zine which will be called "We Collect Joy".
So if you had as much free time as you needed, and you were able to share some joy with others, what would it be that you would share?

Here are some ideas from the 14 Secrets folks (I can't wait to see this zine!). If I could, I would:
"share scenes of Nature's beauty, faces of children and pictures of animals, mountain moments poetry, nature photographs of the mountains alive with color, words and art to celebrate the joy of life, as much color and light filled joy as possible, a world filled with light and rainbows, laughter, music, the ocean, being surrounded by trees, small children being free, and a walk on the Escarpment where you can experience glorious fall colour, the wide expanse of Georgian Bay and smell the forest and the humus, feel the breeze rustle their hair and know that all is well within Creation."

Isn't that wonderful?

How it's going to work is Bill will create a digital "We Collect Joy" zine for everyone in the group to have. What will go into the zine? Our favorite poems, photos, pieces of art that we have created that gives us joy, essays on what "joy" means to us, and/or brand new digital collages all about joy. Bill has already created the cover for this zine (see above), and hopefully it will inspire you to want to join this digital collaboration.

Kate Church's workshop part two

2011-08-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Final version of the doll from Kate Church's workshop.

Here she is in progress.

She's pretty delighted with life.

And she likes her killer eyelashes, lol!

Another participant's doll (the owner of CatFishMoon)

He's pretty happy with his killer eyelashes too!

Kate demonstrates the finishing touches.

Super workshop! Thanks so much Kate!

Kate Church's workshop in Chester! Wow!

2011-07-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Round one photos with more tomorrow. Here are some samples of Kate's work. Very delicate and expressive. (I'm used to working lumpy and larger, so it's a challenge)


Kate Church's work.

Here's how we started, a peace of sculpey, mixed to Kate's specs and we pulled a bit for the neck, added a beakey bit for the nose and four indentations.

Then we formed the beginnings of a half moon mouth...

Then two dents for the cupid bow lips and a long dent below the bottom lip. This is how the mouth is created.

A little pinch here and there and suddenly you have a smile emerging. Magic. Then you do the same with the eyes, creating little cuts in the clay.

Open these cuts a little bit and pop a glass bead in there. Create nostrils for the nose and ears and your head will be ready for the very expensive color palette from the dollar store. So awesome.

And here they are all lined up and ready to be popped into the oven.

Great ideas from Samantha Kira

2011-06-30T04:17:00.001-07:00

The zine is ready

2011-06-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

"Never Give Up" collage by Lani with help from FlyPaper Textures.

Over at 14 Secrets we just finished a month of prompts that were very inspiring and sweet. These prompts were a tremendous help in working with our feelings over the loss of a friend, Deb Gilchrist. I put all the prompts into an eZine along with some tributes to Deb. If you are interested in a month of art prompts, I'd be happy to send you the zine. Just drop me a line at lanipuppetmaker at mac dot com.
If you are feeling blue and just want or need a little encouragement, this zine may be just the thing you are looking for.

“Love is the spirit that motivates the artist's journey.” - Eric Maisel

"Don't worry. Be happy. Make efforts." - Meher Baba

PS - I totally agree with Jan (paraphrased version):
"This is a special group, with caring members who support and encourage each other in many ways! We provide each other with a wealth of resources, experiences and knowledge from the arts, healing, and life through our virtual environment. We are all willing to grow in artistic exploration and knowledge. We are SO about caring, supporting, and encouraging each other...As artists we realize that this gift is meant to be shared... We are so appreciative of each others' expressions in art and writing as it is a validation of our truth and it is what we as a group are all about. We can be strong and tall branches for each other within this 14 Secrets tree of love."

On creating a visual spa for yourself...

2011-05-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in art and brain chemistry, check out my blog. Or you can get the short version here. If you look at a lot of images you consider beautiful, you will be activating the reward part of your brain. Want to test it out for yourself? You can read about a very clever on-line way to release dopamine in your own brain, just using your computer. Go to Gretchen Miller's post on the Pinterest website and read about our latest little addiction. Gretchen and I have been busy "pinning" images that we like; interesting quotes, beautiful architecture, inspiring landscapes, lovely colors, interesting textures, all sorts of things that stimulate the one third of our neocortex devoted to visual activity. (And I can tell you dopamine is involved!) A mini vacation for the eyes. I've visited many new-to-me blogs and flickr accounts and am learning just how many of us artist folks are actually out there in the world. If you ever felt alone in your love of art, this website will teach you that you are so very not alone.

Create a visual spa for yourself to visit at any time, and if you keep adding to your collection and looking at others' collections, then it's always fresh and new. Lovely! Amazing!

A sweet video from Lynn Whipple

2011-05-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

2011-05-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

"common miracle" collage with the help of FlyPaper Textures.

I've been reading the lovely blog Gingerblue.com, and after some research in well-being, happiness, and even a bit of neuropsychology, Chel Micheline has come to some lovely conclusions. She's cultivating a sense of gratitude for the small, simple things in life, and she's starting to feel more positive feelings on a more regular basis, feelings like contentment, well-being and even relief.
There's a growing feeling that "things are okay." During the day, she collects small, simple things that she is grateful for. This is very similar to Seligman's 3 Blessing exercise, which you can read about here.

So I thought try Chel's idea with my blog. She wondered what would happen if a few people began to collect and share the small things they were grateful for. She wanted to know: What small, simple things brought you comfort today? What made you feel a little more okay? Is it one thing, or ten things, or two HUGE thing or five tiny things? She's inviting us to join her in her experiment. Would you be willing to share your own list on your blog? Maybe once a week or once a month or whatever you like? For more details see The Common Miracles Project.

"A teaspoon of light in the darkest tunnel"

2011-05-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on my blog. To see Bill Charlebois' prompt, check his blog. For more, join our group!

Image created for Collage Obsession Challenge with the help of FlyPaper Textures.

Over at 14 Secrets we are missing our friend Deb Gilchrist. We have several art projects that we are working on in order to channel our feelings, soothe our grief, and create gifts for each other and Deb's family. One of the activities we are working on is a garland of inspiration and healing. We are actually creating paper chains from links inspired by daily prompts. Today was my turn to provide the prompt. I had been watching a most wonderful video about some work being done with the Christchurch earthquake and this clip really got me thinking.

Peter O'Conner (Associate Professor at the School of Critical Studies in Education of Auckland University) was working in the rubble in the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan China and previous to that with victims of abuse and violence, using drama and art education to provide therapeutic activities for folks struggling in that situation. Now he’s part of the Auckland University initiative which offers arts based workshops to Christchurch earthquake victims. These workshops are creative responses for schools, very practical strategies, ways to deal with, make sense of what happened. They are not doing this as "therapists" he emphasizes.

In one particularly amazing workshop he tells the first lines of a story.
“A girl gets up and gets ready to visit her grandmother. As she is getting ready, she trips and tears her cloth of dreams.” Peter then says "Normally I would have a picture book and show you what that would look like, but I don’t have one with me. So can you imagine what it would be like to tear you cloth of dreams?"
One child says "I think all the dreams disappear."
Another child says "I think it's the saddest thing that could happen to you if you tear your cloth of dreams."
Peter then says "Could we create a new cloth of dreams?" The children use crayons on plain muslin filling it with all wonderful things.
Peter then suggests that maybe the girl in the story would be able to repair her cloth of dreams if she had the right thread. “And if we could create a thread that could repair anyone’s cloth of dreams, wouldn’t that be great?” So he asks "What would the recipe be for the magic thread, to repair this cloth of dreams of the little girl who tripped and tore her cloth while getting ready to see her grandmother?"

There were many wonderful answers but here’s one little girl’s particularly poignant list:
"…for special thread you will need:
1 tsp of light in the darkest tunnel
10 cups of love
2 tsp of belief
1/2 cup of adventure
3/4 cup of hope"

Finally they had a very complete list so Peter asked, “how would you combine them?” "You need a cloud bowl to put everything in."

So they created an imaginary “cloud bowl,” that they all held in the center of their circle. And then they put the various elements into the cloud bowl. Peter asked for sensory type descriptions of these elements. Is 2 tsp. of belief light or heavy? What color is love? Does hope have a scent? And with each description, the element went into the bowl.

Finally the little girl who had the list above said “now we need the teaspoon of light in the darkest tunnel.” The teachers all had tears in their eyes. Everyone had a sharp intake of breath as if to say, did she really just say that? Did someone in our room really say that? It was what Peter called a "the moment of gift" recognized by everyone in the room. Then Peter asked “how do you add a teaspoon of light in the darkest tunnel to our cloud bowl?” The little girl said, “you need to sprinkle the light in,” as she mimed sprinkling a teaspoon of light into the cloud bowl. “See,” she said, “the light goes through everything!"

Just beautiful!

So my prompt for us was "what would we add to the recipe for this magical thread that would repair our cloth of dreams?"

Samantha Kira's newish video...

2011-04-17T04:21:00.001-07:00

Michael Nobbs and Sustainable Creativity

2011-04-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

Michael Nobbs' Sustainable Creativity

Here's one of Michael Nobbs drawings from his flickr collection.

Why have I not heard of Michael Nobbs until today? Anyone who has Jung and the Moomins in the same pile of books is way cool, in my estimation! A very inspiring artist in Wales who is using his art work to live his life more fully, to live with joy (in spite of it all), and in a most sustainable way imaginable. He's got a blog and eBooks and newsletters. He has free samples of his work on his blog. Do check him out, I guarantee you will be delighted! Oh, and he's a fan of Dan Price's How to Make a Journal of Your Life, and Keri Smith's How to be an Explorer of the World, and Julia Cameron's 3 books, The Artist's Way, The Sound of Paper, and Walking in this World.

Working on a Deb Gilchrist Memory Book...

2011-04-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

Morning pages collage for Deb by Lani

Over at 14 Secrets we are missing our dear friend Deborah Gilchrist, and we are putting together a zine/book of memories, art, and favorite quotes to honor her memory. The due date of art work is mid May, so if you knew Deb and want to honor her in this way, please send your digital work to lanipuppetmaker at mac dot com and I will include it in our zine/book.

Postcards for New Zealand

2011-02-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Over at 14 Secrets we are collecting hand made postcards for survivors of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. If you would like to participate, let me know (lanipuppetmaker at mac dot com).

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

Collage by Lani, elements from ItKuPiLLi and Art Tea Life, texture from from FlyPaper Textures

You are worthy of love and belonging...

2011-02-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a wonderful Ted Talk by Brene Brown. It's 20 minutes, funny, touching and filled with treasure. You may find her saying the things you waited your whole life to hear!

More Playing with Photoshop and Collage...

2011-01-31T12:59:00.001-08:00

The 14 Secrets challenge of this week.

2011-01-17T07:27:00.000-08:00

Morning pages collage with some photoshop activity.

The inspiration for this challenge came from susanna suchak over at 14 Secrets. She forwarded us this Brian Andreas quote:

Someday, the light will shine like a sun through my skin & they will say, What have you done with your life? & though there are many moments I think I will remember, in the end, I will be proud to say, I was one of us.

To which I responded that I wanted to use it in a collage, to which susanna suggested that be the challenge of the week. Why not? Try it, it's wonderful!

Hope everyone is having a HAPPY & ART filled new year!

2011-01-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

New classes starting next week! Come join us, have some fun, build resilience through art and self care, and play with collage and photoshop. It's all happening January 10. Discount for blog readers.

Look to the right hand side of this page.

A very sweet challenge!

2010-12-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a lovely challenge for us! It's from Liz Lamoreux who has written Inner Excavation, a really great book, I think maybe a "must have."

December 1 from liz lamoreux on Vimeo.

Radical Self-Care Strategy from Sark for the Holidays

2010-12-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

I wrote the words below for you based on my newest book Glad No Matter What: Transforming Loss and Change into Gift and Opportunity. I sent this out to you in November and feel very moved to send it again.

I invite you to soak it in and practice living with Practical Gladness in what I call the "marvelous messy middle" this holiday season - and every day. I also invite you to gift someone you love - especially yourself - with one of my ePrograms. I'm having a SARK Succulent Sale! See what I'm talking about here.

The holidays are full of pressures to be glad even if you don't feel that way. People talk about "holiday cheer," "finding the silver lining," "looking on the bright side," all of which are fine when we feel those things, but can actually add to feelings of loneliness and depression when we don't. There is also a certain kind of "holiday tyranny" where we are encouraged to hide how we're actually feeling, for the "sake of the holidays."

We are meant to feel what we feel when we feel it, then let it go. Most people don't know how they're feeling, or that it's okay to feel it. We are not taught how to have, or hold multiple feelings simultaneously, so many people choose one and cling to it. That one feeling might be described as happy or sad, but it's not a true reflection of our complexities as humans, and results in our feelings not flowing. Instead they get stuck, or other feelings are left untended.

For example, you might feel happy to see your mom at Christmas, sad that she's physically declining, angry that your sister isn't doing more, and worried about the future. If you fixate on just one of those feelings, it will not be as productive or helpful. Instead, it would be much more effective to feel all that you feel, respond lovingly to yourself, your mother and your sister, and create good systems for your family and self-care practices too.
Practical Gladness means living in the "messy middle" of all of your feelings and finding your "glad ground" underneath. From this glad ground place, you can be aware of and hold all of your feelings, notice ways to respond instead of react, and transform what's possible to transform.

When we find our glad ground in the middle, it is possible to enjoy the holidays truly, authentically, and with grace and wisdom. Here are some practical ways you can experience more gladness this holiday season:

1. Create a new self-care plan -- Think of what you need to feel good during the holidays, and provide it for yourself. Some of these things might be:
*Special foods that you know you will enjoy
*Call a friend to share how you're really feeling-- not how you think you should be
*Practice ways to experience less stress, like going for a walk or attending a yoga class
*Write in a journal or book with lists of things that nourish you, and do the things.

2. Adjust and lower your expectations, or better yet -- have none -- Notice how your expectations bring suffering when they aren't met. For example, if you feel ignored or overworked at holiday times, take yourself out for champagne and ignore some things you "should" be doing. Change your expectations about what you or others "should be" doing or acting like, and practice allowing how it actually IS. Focus on what's good and working

3. Educate others in the best ways to support you--Become clear about what actually feels supportive to you, and ask for others to contribute. For example, if you typically care for others and wish others would or could care for you, figure out what they could contribute to you that would be easy and fun. You might ask a friend to meet you for tea and laughter in the midst of a busy shopping or cleaning day, or sit with you while you wrap gifts or write cards

4. Experiment with new traditions and rituals for the holidays -- Do things differently. We all tend to repeat and become habituated. For example, "we always have our meal at _______." Some of my greatest holiday experiences have taken place at the movies, miniature golfing or serving food at a shelter instead of trying to participate in rituals or traditions that no longer represent who I am now.

5. Allow yourself to experience your holidays imperfectly -- Revise your ideas of perfection and increase your capacity for spontaneous joy. For example, if you get tense and pressured about preparing a meal, buying gifts, sending cards, or trying to do it ALL, try:
*Doing less and feeling good about it-refuse to be a prisoner of others expectations
*Doing parts of things -- fix the dessert, ask others to bring the other things
*Doing tiny amounts -- consider attending a holiday party for 5- 15 minutes with no explanation about why
*Asking others to help and then don't control or manage "how they do it"

6. Practice transforming what hurts into what helps -- Find the places that aren't working and speak up about them. For example, you might ask a group of people in your home to talk about different subjects like what they're loving in this moment, instead of sitting there judging how bored or dissatisfied you are feeling.
*If you're cooking and get crabby, let others know and help you!
*If you hate shopping, ask others to create experiences or adventures for each other instead of buying gifts
*If you keep complaining about the holidays, see if you can put your complaints on paper and resolve to have new experiences
*If you feel ungrateful, find someone to listen to who is facing challenges that you're not.

Being glad no matter what is NOT about feeling glad when you don't- how annoying. It's about practicing with all of your feelings and feeling glad as often as you possibly can- especially during the holidays!

Sending you every gorgeous moment,
Susan
aka SARK

EnJOY!

SARK's eLetter is published by

Copyright 2010 SARK. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute this eLetter, so long as this copyright notice and full information attributing SARK are attached.

Holiday post full of links and inspiration...

2010-12-19T03:08:00.000-08:00

Oh my word what fun this was, using Kelly Kilmer's amazing collage ideas but with a totally digital twist. Layers and textures from FlyPaper Textures , Kim Klassen, and DJ Pettitt, while the central image is part of my growing tintype collection. (Getting ready for my newest eCourse.)

"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle." - Francis of Assisi

Check my blog for some good links for holiday fun and or survival!

Collage Fun with Fotoshop Freedom

2010-12-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

This eCourse is all about playing with photo manipulation programs and collage. The "class room" is "learn while having fun" area for players, photographers, artists and non-linear learners. It’s an eight week course with two lessons a week, one on collage and the other on photo manipulation, using the collages you create during the first part of the week. The new course will begin on January 10.

My approach is definitely non-linear. I don't learn in a linear way, I love experimentation and play, so that is also the way I love to teach. I have found plenty of good, solid, linear type tutorials and links for those who would like that too, so no worries.

One thing I have noticed in my exploration of various art techniques is that if I start with images and ojects I really like, the learning is much easier for me. So that is the key to this course. We will be using the images and objects we love. My intention with this course is that we get inspired by what we find and that our inspiration will lead us to learn more techniques with greater ease.

As part of the course we have a blog, a yahoo group which allows us to discuss our struggles and triumphs in real time, and we also have a flickr group where we can share images easily. Hope to see you in the course really soon. If you are interested there's a TOP SECRET discount button for blog readers over on the column to the right. (The new Resilience Art class and Photoshop Fun class will be starting at the same time, so you can sign up for one, two, or three at a huge savings!)

The new session begin’s January 10, 2011 and runs for 8 weeks with lots of coaching and play.
Price - $39.99

Playing with Photoshop and Collage...

2010-12-14T06:12:00.000-08:00

I posted this over on my blog but it bears repeating...

Playing with photoshop and morning pages collage. Layers and textures from Kim Klassen, DJ Pettitt, FlyPaper Textures and angels from ItKuPiLLi.

Oh my word, am I having fun! So I'm thinking a little more about this idea of combining a collage making course with a photo manipulation course. I should have a class up and running in the beginning of January. Exciting! The Fotoshop Fun class has been such a blast, I can't wait to see what happens with this one! So if you like major fun, want to do more with collages, and mixed media and run them through the whole Fotoshop Fun process, then you might like to join this class!

Stay tuned...

Radical Self-Care Strategy

2010-12-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

I've always had self-care strategies as part of my Resilience and Art eCourse, but I've decided that periodically we need some self-care strategies right here on our 14 Secrets for a Happy Artist's Life blog. I'm really sure about this one thing: self-care is essential to having a happy artist's life. So sharing strategies are a great way to share happiness!

This self-care strategy is pretty radical, probably not for everyone. It comes from blogger, Scott Dinsmore. Scott noticed how often we ask each other what we do for a living and how it often leads to some really unhappy and highly competitive feelings.
He's taken to asking “So what do you do for enjoyment?” instead.

So try it as a radical self care strategy. Instead of asking others about career and work, try asking about what we all care so about–our passions and enjoyment. You should notice the immediate change in energy, posture and overall physiology in yourself and others. Some amazing things immediately happen when the focus is here. Not only will everyone immediately start thinking very happy thoughts and releasing endorphins like crazy, but you may actually get some more great self-care strategy ideas from the conversation.

Try it, if you dare, and let us know what happens.
Love,
Lani

Do you know the work of Mariko Kusumoto?

2010-12-05T04:35:00.001-08:00

Beautiful, wonderful, fantastic!

And the whole happy collection is here.

More Tanya Davis

2010-12-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

I love this video! Tanya is a delight!

Have you ever wanted to have your Inner Critic arrested?

2010-11-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Photo manipulation by Lani (my inner critic resembles my ah-ma from my early years, lol)

If you have ever wanted to get a divorce from your inner critic, or have it arrested, or send it away on a long vacation, you need to see SARK's post on the topic. Check my blog on her mood altering games as well.

Dancing Under the Gallows Trailer

2010-11-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

Beautiful film clip here via Bobbi Stoll (thank you Bobbi!), about how the arts can save our lives!

Who gets to paint?

2010-10-30T10:39:00.001-07:00

More "Great Gall" work!

2010-10-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Art Journaling with Summer Pierre

As far as great learning experiences go, this particular adventure with the preview of Summer Pierre's new book is just awesome. "Kick ass" is a good description, but I don't think it totally covers the actual growth that happens if you apply what you learn.

So here's what I've learned so far:

Life is difficult and filled with all sorts of "adventures" which need to be worked with if we want to be the great galls we can be. Here's how Summer says it (so very well) on her blog:

"...one of the questions that has come up is about the overall philosophy of the book–which is to acknowledge and honor the lives we are living RIGHT THIS SECOND and not when we reach some idealized level in some idealized future. Yes “great” women are featured in the book, but so are their fears, their struggles, their chances, as well as their triumphs. It all looks so good in retrospect, but I can tell you that every single woman in that book experiences/experienced chaos, boredom, worry, doubt, loss, confusion, heartbreak, vanity, you name it. I can feel so stuck in my life and project whatever story of success on people I admire or look up to–it is SO EASY to forget that it is NEVER easy for anyone.

I think too often we hand over our desires, dreams, and actions to “experts,”–to those we perceive as great or gifted or special. At most we think, I could do that, but then…we don’t. It’s easier to give it up, to get lost in the distance we see between where we are and where we want to be. I get lost in there all the time, but it’s really just another story I make up so I don’t feel scared. The truth is, no one is living THE great life, so don’t worry about it being taken already. There’s room for you and there’s room for me. Stop leaving it up to the experts, don’t wait to know how to do it. Just live it."

So I created the above collage with an old photo of what looked like a great gal to me, and I added the sorts of adjectives which I admire most in people (today anyway) and the directive to play, always play, don't take things too seriously if you can help it.

One of the "great gals" Summer features is Margaret Cho. She tells us how she had to overcome the desire to please everyone around her, and really find her own expression, and her own story and once she started using herself in her work, she became a "great gal". Pretty neat because our own selves is something we can all access!

"I'm not going to die because I failed as someone else. I'm going to succeed as myself." -Margaret Cho

Fotoshop Fun Course is really Heating Up!

2010-10-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here's the result of one assignment with lots of textures and layers. In order to create this image I used my own collage and TtV layer, some layers form FlyPaper Textures and Kim Klassen, but best of all some layers from a class member, Merielsea. Thanks so much Merielsea!

The down side here is the class is ending this week but there's a plus of course, there always is. Folks can stay on and continue to play and share their work AND a new round starts in January. Join us if you can! There's a nice little discount for my blog readers.

Great Gals; Inspired Ideas for Living a Kick-Ass Life by Summer Pierre

2010-10-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ganesha (Remover of Obstacles) with texture by Kim Klassen.

Over at 14 Secrets we are test driving Summer Pierre's soon-to-be-released book Great Gals . It's a totally inspiring book filled with great women role models and some wonderful journaling prompts which are related to each role model. After the introduction which was inspiring in itself, Summer created a mind map with all her associations to "great gals" and then on the opposite page she has a mind map for "I am" and you fill in all the associations you can think of but the great thing here with this is you've already gone through all of this positive stuff about the folks you admire and then of course you are on a roll and you apply those same positive descriptions to yourself. It's like you can't help it. You just want to be a great gal too and why not? As Summer says, why not make your life great? Isn't it the only life we have? Shouldn't we make it great by being a great gal?

What kept coming up for me in both sides of this two page spread was that "great gals" are bold and brave and they do things even when life gives them a hard time. I think as a kid I thought "great gals" just had greatness conferred upon them, because the world realized they were special, but as time goes by, I'm realizing that life happens to everyone, and some of us find a cocoon to hide in and some are bold and brave in spite of everything. "Great gals" tend to get the job done. This is a quality that I think would be very helpful for living a happy artist's life!

Come on over to 14 Secrets and test drive this soon-to-be-released journaling book by Summer Pierre. It will help you overcome obstacles, be brave and bold, and live a happy artist's life.

Two Great Quotes for the Journey...

2010-09-30T04:25:00.000-07:00

Two great quotes:

‘Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.’ ~Lao Tzu

“You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.”
– Joseph Campbell

My Art Has No Rules...

2010-09-29T17:24:00.001-07:00

Originally published on my blog

Collage by Lani Texture Layers by FlyPaper Textures.

Over on 14 Secrets we were having the most amazing discussion. The idea about rules in art and judgments about who brakes the "art rules" popped up. I created the above art journal page in response to this discussion which popped up around our Journey with The Traveling Artists Guild... Many of us were getting very exciting by the possibilities for this journey, which will include art dolls, traveling trunks, paper bag books, and little pamphlet books to go inside the paper bag books. Some of us are nearly done with our preparations and decorations and some of us are struggling with a familiar uncomfortable feelings of comparison and judgment. Someone mentioned that on a different art forum, there was some discussion about not following the rules, that the art work should follow certain rules. Since when is rule following a big part of the artist's life? Actually NOT following the rules, or being creative with the rules is more likely to be a big part of the artist's life, since playing, having fun, and creating are all about bending and altering the rules.

I love art. I love how I can play, how my soul can come out and find just the right thought and image and it's all SO much fun. So here's to having discussions and here's to feeling bad about what we are doing once in a while because it will (if we are open to this) lead us to our own true self, our own true expression, which for me at this moment is all about play and fun and joy and happiness. Hooray!

Shhh, more top secret doings at 14 Secrets...

2010-09-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

We are collecting our bags, suitcases, steamer trunks, maps, journals, and needful things for the journey. Check it out (or just ask Gena) at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/14_Secrets/.

Shhhhh, top secret doings over at 14 Secrets...

2010-09-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Shhhhh, top secret doings over at 14 Secrets...

Do you want to challenge your routine, risk being seen, step out of fear, question your assumptions ?” and many other "Everyday Acts of Power"?

I know I sure do!  Come join us and play with beautiful graphics, quick quizzes/activities to remind us of our inherent awesomeness!

We'll be exploring everyday, easy ways to break our own rules to find a stronger us!

Use journaling and art to write, draw, paste, and finally to discover the best of yourself in the process!  Hooray!

But you have to be a 14 Secrets member...

Originally posted on Lani's blog but it should be here too!

2010-08-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Collage by Lani and layers from Flypaper Textures.

Over at 14 Secrets we are having a birthday bash this week, because our group is 4 years old and because several of us have our own personal birthdays as well. We decided since we are a virtual group we can celebrate any way we would like, so a virtual art retreat cruise to Hawaii seemed to be the just the thing. We want it to be a week of Creative Juju collecting, creating, and sharing. Like Cynthia Morris's workshops, we want to gather Juju, and one of the best ways to do that is get together with your artist friends and explore the world. We'll have our art journals with us and we will keep our senses wide open and play with generosity. We will look for joy and juju in design and in all we see. Some of us are filling the ship with flowers; frangipani, orchids, and rudbeckias. We will find juju in stories and sounds around us, listening to the waves, seagulls, and each other. Of course there will be new scents to breathe in and all of it will be memorable. There will be new tastes, meals to share... Exotic tropical fruit will be available at any time, along with teas and lattes. Mmmmm. Maybe some chocolate? There will be much laughter and delight. Want to join us? All you need is your imagination.
We will have workshops on board our virtual ship, one being altered boxes with Patti. Maybe I could do a little art doll workshop. Any other offers?

'I feel so strongly that deep and simple is far more essential than complex.'
Mr. Rogers to Benjamin Wagner

Oh my goodness, check out this video and blog...

2010-08-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

And here's the blog that's filled with this inspiration, more videos, and tons of great ideas!

http://www.vivelaslink.typepad.com/

Giveaway alert

2010-08-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, Zura is offering a spot in my Fotoshop Fun eCourse, tomorrow. Check out her great new website and tomorrow you could win a spot in my class. (The class starts September 6)
http://www.classes.creativeclown.com/

Muse swap anyone?

2010-08-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a fantastic blog post by Deb Gilchrist on Quinn's muse swap! Wow, read on:

Bemused?

Recently, on the 14 Secrets group, Quinn proposed a very intriguing idea. She suggested that we identify what characteristic(s) our Muses exhibit that might actually hinder our creative process. Then... she suggested that we exchange Muses for a short time, to see what ours might inspire in another person and vice versa. Whoa – crazy. But hey, it might just work. Check out her blog post at the link above to see what other folks' madcap Muses have been up to (or not up to, as the case may be).

Quinn did the swapping and assigned each of us our new Muse. I exchanged with Pete, who thinks he doesn't have a Muse. Quinn is certain she's there, and, well... I will give away no secrets before their time. I did give Pete a wee clue, though, about my sometimes-fickle Muse. Quite often, she will work for a bit of chocolate. Good chocolate. A glass of wine sweetens the deal. Sometimes, a glass of wine goes a long way. Hmm, I'm not sure if I mentioned that.

We've been encouraged to tap into the upcoming full moon energy. Creativity always overflows for me during a full moon, so this will be interesting. We are to create in whatever form our visiting Muses wish to explore. Pete's Muse and I have become acquainted. (No pressure, Pete.) I'm very interested to see how everyone fares with their guest Muses.

Now you might be wondering what the photo above has to do with any of this. Nothing, really.... unless your Muse is fast asleep.... or perhaps to serve as a reminder that rest and nourishment are needed to fuel our Muses... feel free to stretch it however you choose.

Truth is, the munchkin fell asleep in his dinner. I can't share what I'm working on for the Muse exchange with you just yet, so I took advantage of this opportunity to express my grandma vibe. ;)

Someone I know is squeezing every ounce out of his summertime experience. Just like his daddy (who also never-ever-ever wanted to come in out of the rain). And, just like his daddy, he falls asleep in his dinner. (Somewhere, I have a photo of his dad, at the same age, actually asleep on his feet. Really.)

The Muse is alive and well in this little guy. I so enjoy watching him at play, allowing even the smallest things to spark his imagination. Everything is possible in his world.

The moon is half past waxing gibbous. Pete's Muse (I call her Stella) and I will catch ya on the flip side.

Want to read more? Check Deb's blog!

Art Fest and other courses for the passionate artist

2010-08-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Teesha Moore has posted the ArtFest schedule for 2010 and it LOOKS GOOD!!! I can't imagine a more fun way to nourish creative growth than by attending ArtFest.

However that's a long way off and a girl's got to nourish her creative growth all the time, so if you are interested, Zura of Creative Clown (a very inspiring website) has set up a new website where all kinds of on-line classes are listed. Fantastic. What a brilliant idea. Pop over and take a look! Some time on August first she'll be hosting a grand opening with a give away and lots of other fun things. You may find me there too!

And finally Mystele has a free class starting the evening of August 1. You can take a look here.

Treasure, Links, and Inspiration

2010-07-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

Originally posted on my blog...

Collage from Morning Pages by Lani, textures from ShadowHouseCreations, girl from PaperWhimsy

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, it's that time of year again when we dig for treasure on Seth's blog. It's always an amazing experience to go through the Buried Treasure list of blogs, always an inspiration and sure to take your breath away! I hope you can take a look on July 15, 2010!

I've noticed a strange phenomenon lately...

2010-06-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on my blog:

"Treasure" Collage by Lani with textures from SkeletalMess.

Ever since I started thinking about and creating this "Postgraduate Studies" program for myself, I've noticed the strangest thing. It's as if the Inner Critic has disappeared. Have you ever experienced that nagging, critical voice that seems to have an opinion about every thing you do? I certainly have experienced that in my lifetime, but not really recently. I don't know where she's gone, but she doesn't seem to be around here at all. Maybe she's on vacation! I figure my inner critic would need a run down little resort where she could complain about everything to her heart's content. Maybe she's found her own little spot in the sun... Anyway, where ever she's gone, may she find lots to do and may she stay a good long time!

So now I'm thinking that it would be good to start up a Facebook Page just for inspiration and sites from the internet that I have found useful in this new program which seems to have quieted the inner critic and allowed for more actual creativity. I figure if this is happening for me, who knows, maybe someone else might find something useful too. So the new facebook page is Lani's 14 Secrets, and it comes with a WARNING: Contents may trigger many good things.

What would you rather see?

2010-06-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

“When you look back in 20, 30, 60 years, what would you rather see? A life filled with stacks of stuff and a ton of obligations and a lot of scurrying around from errand to errand? Or a life centered around carefully gathering valuable experiences and items and goals?”

Jeffrey Tang { Minimalist Connoisseurs }

Do you know Liz Lamoreux?

2010-06-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

There's a whole lot of inspiration over on Liz Lamoreux's website. She's got a great blog where she interviews people (among other things of course), gives them nine questions which they can answer with video and/or photographs. It's a lovely idea. Want to have a go?

Here are the nine questions:
Who are you? What do you love about where you live? What might your perfect afternoon look like? If you had an hour alone in your studio/creative space, what would you do? Right now, what are some of your favorite things? What foods nourish your soul? When you simply need to take a breath and reground yourself, what do you do? How do you nurture your creative dreams? Does your heart have a secret wish you want to share?

Use photography or art to answer these questions and share what you discover on your blog or send to me and I'll post here.

Art Saves

2010-06-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Do you know Jenny Doh's "Art Saves" series on her website? Worth a peak!
http://blog.crescendoh.com/art_saves/2010/02/index.html

One of my favorite swaps so far...

2010-05-19T04:02:00.000-07:00

Collage by Lani for 14 Secrets Swap about honoring our grandmothers

I loved working on my page for "Honoring our Grandmothers." It was one of those magical things where all the elements fell into place so easily. And then I hadn't figured out what I wanted to write about it until I uploaded it on our yahoo group. The I realized I wanted to write about what I learned from all my Grandmothers (and there have been many): be kind, be generous, be loving, be patient, and finally be yourself! That was it. Very simple and very satisfying!

That's all I wrote, but I'm sure if I gave this a bit longer to think about I'd have a much longer list of what I learned from my Grandmothers. Actually, I can see one that I forgot, right now. Edith Kramer, one of the grandmothers of art therapy, always taught us to make art, all the time. How could I forget that one?

What have you learned from your grandmothers?

Jenny Doh's GIVEAWAY #6: Digital Expressions by Susan Tuttle

2010-05-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

Jenny Doh's blog has a great give away going on right now! Take a look, a chance to win Susan Tuttle's new book and her new on-line class! And of course Susan Tuttle has a giveaway going on as well. You can check out that one here.

And while I'm at it, here's an amazing website, full of great tutorials AND a call for art!

Here's a question for you...

2010-05-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

I stumbled on this website with many, many artist's studios and it got me thinking:
"If you could create a dream studio what would you want in it?"

Here's a video on prepping your art journal!

2010-04-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

Looking for these video's to post on our blog is a lot of fun. Anyone have any requests?

Here's a video on how to make your own hard back book...

2010-04-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Very cool idea, using recycled paper! Check this one out, and it's based on another one. I'll put the link at the bottom.

This video was based on Baronessnz's tutorial which you can find here.

Mystele has some new idea filled videos!

2010-04-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Tracy and Teesha Moore have some new awesome videos!

2010-04-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

Very exciting, these guys are so great! AND I love these cloth journals!

Do you know Mystele?

2010-03-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Do you know Mystele? She's got some great art making, art journaling, book making video's over at youtube. Take a look at this book, which I love! What a sweet woman! And also check my blog for more Mystele and other brave, encouraging artists!

I think she has what's called a "channel," little glimpses studio, (which you can subscribe to which I did immediately!) as well as a ning site, also little glimpses studio, which I joined immediately also. Best of all Mystele has an old blog with a lot of interesting material and a new blog also with a ton of inspiration and great stuff!

Thank you Mystele!

Putting some fragments together...

2010-03-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

Box of Simplicity by Lani

Check my blog for more explanation about this post!

Do you want a nice link with lots of inspiration and ideas?

2010-02-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

Originally published on my blog, but it's a fun one!

Collage by Lani with help from http://arttherapist.blogspot.com/

Shhhh, here it is! Top secret!: http://arttherapist.blogspot.com/ It's an art therapist's blogspot loaded with great ideas. The most recent one is pdf files full of words cut from magazines, great for collages! All you have to do is print out your favorite. They are grouped by theme. I cut up the Art pdf and used it on a Wreck This Journal journal and the above collage. Great fun. Now I'm going to check out Dream & Inspiration and Encouragement. I'll let you know what I come up with!

Collage by Lani with help from http://arttherapist.blogspot.com/

(This one if for Gioia!)

Art with big hearts!

2010-02-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a blog post by Art at the Center. My kids make fantastic art there. I helped them throw an impromptu Artist Trading Card party/ Haiti fundraiser last weekend, sure was fun. Lots of love, art, and we raised some nice cash for a community in need. It was all my favorite things: love, social justice, artmaking, community building all wrapped up in a big shiny bow. Thanks to Kathryn of Art at the Center for the great idea! Click here for more:

http://artatthecenter.blogspot.com/2010/02/artist-trading-cards-saturday-february.html

Gioia

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

Try this fun technique for happy artists, which was adapted from Traci Bautista's super easy fusion dyed transparent collage. (Her "Collage Unleashed" book is a must have.) Project has a few steps: First get ordinary white paper towels, scrunch up and dye with whatever you have-watered down acrylic paint, watercolors, leftover Easter egg dye, etc. Let dry. Then put down a big sheet of slick paper like parchment paper or contact paper to work on top of, and layer paper towels scraps with glue. Mix up white glue and water to the consistency of cream and lay down a layer of your glue and water mix on the slick surface, then rip up your paper towels, and paste them together in layers with your glue and water. Wait overnight to dry, peal up and you have this cool fabric like paper --with one side kind of shiny! Cut in heart shapes and hang with wire. Yum!
Gioia Chilton

A lovely video on how and why to keep a journal!

2010-02-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Kim for this link!

Summer Pierre and "Bring Your Artist to Work"

2010-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

The cover of Summer Pierre's new book.

A while ago, over on my blog, I posted about Summer Pierre and her very awesome videos. Now I get to report that her book is out and ready to be purchased by us! Yay! So I thought I'd cruise around a bit on her flickr account while I listened to an interview Jamie Riddler did with Summer. Very inspiring. Summer's flickr account is full of great images and ideas and I'll include some here so you get a taste, and the interview was also full of great ideas which I'll share in a minute, but first I'd like to share some of her answers to my own art and creativity questions. So here you are:

From Summer Pierre's Flickr account

1. Some artists say they do their art because they must. Do you ever feel compelled in this way? If you do, where does this drive come from? Are you comfortable with it?  
I literally have no memory of not being able to draw or not having a compulsion to draw, so I would say that the creative impulse is as familiar to me as my own family members. Of course, as time has gone by and my creativity has expanded and changed with age, my relationship to it has changed, but one thing stays constant: I use it as a way to understand and make sense of the world and of experience. Sometimes this is an absolute joy, sometimes it’s a pain the ass. There is nothing like the spark of it, of hitting on some deeper sense of play and inspiration that helps me fit the puzzles together. Consequently, if I don’t use it when it calls to me, or even when it doesn’t, all the old spiders in my brain start to come out of their hiding places and I can get stuck not just creatively, but in life in general. This is a balancing act that can sometimes be more time consuming that I want to allow.

From Summer Pierre's Flickr account

2. Some artists say that their work nurtures them in ways that material things can't. Do you create to feed your self in this way?
 I can’t stress how much art FEEDS my life in so many ways. I am not a materialistic person. I grew up without a lot and continue to not “have a lot” in the ways of materialism, but I don’t miss it. My priority has always been to have meaning vs. stuff. I am happiest, most well fed in life when I have time to do what pleases me—which is includes a heaping amount of art.

From Summer Pierre's Flickr account

3. As an artist what are you most passionate about?
Making sense of experience and exploring new ideas. 

From Summer Pierre's Flickr account

4. Are you living an artful, deeply satisfying life?  If not can you imagine such a thing? What would it be like?
 I am living as close to my “dream life” as I ever have. For now I have figured out the priorities and arranged my life to fit those priorities. It’s ever evolving, but yes, amazingly I live an artful and (most days) a deeply satisfying life.

Pretty cool, eh? So here's what I learned from her pictures on flickr and from the interview on Jamie's website. 1. As artists we need to be able to do our creative work. We NEED to in order to live, breathe, and enjoy our lives. So why not take your inner artist to work. Consider the possibilities for letting the inner artist out at work, what would that look like? Would you get to be more yourself? Wouldn't you like to be "the artist in the office"? 2. If you live in Brooklyn there's this totally cool, radical concept of a place to work with other artist types, the Brooklyn Creative League. Check it out! It looks SO awesome. Wouldn't it be great if every city, town and village had one of these places? WOW! 3. We can make our own Cafe Mocha's and they taste GREAT! (I've had about 3 today already, can you tell, LOL) 4. Play as much as possible... everywhere and all the time.

Thanks Summer!

How do you furnish your mind? (The answers so far)

2010-01-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

Here are the responses so far...

Mine is furnished much like my life--a tight little workspace, with a comfy spinning chair, everything I need within reach for any project I can think of, lots of little boxes and bins some with labels, some color coordinated with...something, little post-its all over the place with those "pearls" and things I want to do someday, floor to ceiling, wall to wall. Paths through the woods and maps of everyplace I have been or want to go, little fragments of things I've started and may pick up again someday, paint chips, wallpaper books, fabric samples, and all manner of tasty tidbits.

There's a remarkable lack of actual music, though I have the lyrics to all the songs I remember from my teens, and bits of melody from all the classical music I listen to on the radio, and there are movies! Films and videos, slideshows and stills of everything I've ever been, done or seen, tucked here and there to spring out sometimes when I move something else, and take me off in a different tangent, or to be running in the background while I do something else.
A slightly chaotic but also ordered place, but only to me. No one else can find anything if they go looking in there!
-CR

The first thing that came to mind is dusty old broken down springs showing couches and chairs with missing legs and stuffing pouring out. :-)
I forgot the cobwebs
-DB

My mind is furnished with a sofa, very comfortable and a table that has lots of my favorite books on artists and various techniques of pottery making and watercolor. Also, I like to write and draw so I have a journal for poetry making and a tablet for art/water color. Oh, and I have a ceramic studio with clay, a wheel and a kiln to fire with glazes, very vibrant and colorful. My mind always has music in it too so there is a large variety of CDs, and some old classical records that I play. Gee, this is fun, I have lots of things in it. There are "Pearls of Wisdom" given to me throughout my life in a book that I sit on my table to look at and glean from when needed. God is ever present for me and gives me a place of rest and freedom here and I have many spiritual beings and prayers of meditation that are constant and forthright, helping me to get through the challenges in my life. That's what my mind carries for me.
-MS

So how do I furnish my mind?
One thing that I do is write, that kind of sweeps out some of the mischievous monkeys that are chattering away throughout both hemispheres.

Then I walk to and/or from work (10 - 15 minutes depending on how much I dawdle and gawk at the scenery around me).

Art helps, so I try to find a space in my working day to encourage that practice with the program participants and I get to "play along" which is blissfully satisfying. Being a sweetmeat that I am sneaking into a professional practice.
I am imagining a "great room" as my primary living space...in a country cabin.
So furniture. Okay for me there is a antique writing desk with quill and ink at the ready.
A little silk pillow on the floor for meditation.
A danish sofa which doubles as my bed.
A table at which I can glue, collage, paint, and read.
Then there is my Bose for listening to Bach during which time I practice proprioceptive writing to help form my whole spiritual self.

And a window with lovely blown glass that makes sparkles on the deep window ledges.
Just outside that window is a bird feeder which is the kitchen for slate juncos, nuthatches, chickadees, a downy woodpecker or two, and a pair of cardinals.

Oh dear me, I have just described my living room. Maybe how we "decorate" is just a metaphor for our minds. smile.
-SS

My mind, overall is a large studio. At the centre of the studio is a huge mixing bowl where everything flows in together. My walks in the woods, the books Im reading about spirituality, neuroscience, animal rights, my oil pastels, knitting, beadingmy personal history with family, relationships, careers, gardening, technology, healthits a huge melange of things that I stir up like a cake batter. And as I do, lumps form, and become beautiful spontaneous sculptures which I lift out of the bowl to contemplate and enjoy as they settle and dry. Most eventually flow back into the mixing bowl to dissolve and be formed once again. A few stay for decades.
-CD

(I particularly loved the following exchange, found it very useful!)

Oh goodness--I have too much furniture and too much of everything......so much that I have trouble accomplishing anything. I can't imagine quieting my mind enough to meditate, let alone polish my furnishings. If anyone has any suggestions--please share...
B. D.

B. D., I totally know what you mean! I've devised a coping strategy whereby when things in there get really over cluttered, I have to take a "vacation" and do something totally outside the norm--a way of stepping back and letting everything go back to its "place". It's like having a mental maid come in and tidy up for me while I'm "out". I don't know how it works, it just does. The thing I do that starts the process most often is a ride in the country--or anyplace I haven't been before. Or, if I can't get out physically, a movie marathon a la Netflix, or a new book in a new genre. The thing is to stop, redirect and proceed in a different new direction for a little while. Then, when you're done, all is right with the world again!

Try it and most important, have fun!
C. R.

Hmmmmm well I'm very intuitive and because I know this, I drink in Everything, that way when I go to create art, decorate cook whatever the dreams locked in my heart and soul come out in what my hands are doing. D. as I know her, disappears and the magic happens.This is much like a gardener spending hours in the garden not realizing lunch has passed with out notice and so has dinner and darkness has now set in before they realize the beautiful creations that have been made.
D.

Essentially, I have a bunch of different spaces to hang out in,
according to the mood I'm in, the mood I want to be in
and what I want my mind to be doing.

Music, mostly opera, in some; silence or nature sounds in others.
My posture changes according to which "room" I'm in, and my
voice tonality and vocabulary, too.

The elements common to all... comfort... control over the "lighting"
and "space" and plenty of both and heaps of different "objects"... my tools... and an atmosphere of joy and curiosity.

Come and see... the doors are always open, the cookie jar is always filled, the kettle ready to bubble, and the crone ready to whoop it up.
A. A.

My first reaction was color. There is a children's book out called "Frederic" and it is about 4 field mice getting ready for winter. 3 of them are scurrying around collecting food for the cold months and Frederic is just sitting in the sun with his eyes closed. The others prod him and say, "Come on Frederic, we need your help." But each time they do, Frederic tells them that he is collecting light and colors for the winter months...

Along comes the winter and the little mice are finished with all they have stored. They are cold and hungry and have are feeling depressed... then they turn to Frederic, who starts describing the warm summer days using colors and adjectives that bring summer alive for the mice. He talks about the beautifully colored flowers and all the ripe and colorful fruit on the trees. He tells them to picture the warm sun rays kissing their faces and... they are all restored and happy and thank Frederic for this wonderful "soul food" sustenance :)

So color was a first. And then I thought, nature scenes. Because I get my inspiration and I resource myself by going into nature: I go to the heighty mountain tops when I am feeling low, to the harmonizing in and out of the ocean's waves when I am feeling out of sorts, to the refreshing ocean breeze when I am feeling "hot," to the rolling green hills in the countryside when I need to feel more flow..., to the forest trees when I am in need of inspiration... you get the picture. In order to see all this, I need a big window. So these are the furnishings in my mind: colors and a window on to nature, a book (that turns into the one book I need in the moment), and a very comfortable easy chair. I figure if it is neat and tidy and peaceful in my mind, I can draw on it wherever I go :)
G.L.

How do you furnish your mind?

2010-01-12T13:42:00.001-08:00

Edith Kramer once asked me how I furnished my mind... What was the "furniture" that I put in there. Well, at the time I hesitated, not really all that keen on admitting to some of the pablum that was passing itself off as "furniture" in there, so of course I turned the question around and asked her how she furnished her mind.

Edith said because of her classical European education, her mind was pretty well furnished with the works of Freud, Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Ernest Thompson Seton, and Selma Lagerlof to name just a few. She said she was never bored, even when swimming laps, because she could always entertain herself with something from her "furniture". She just wondered what young folks today furnished their minds with.

Now of course with all the information and images flying at us every day, I seriously make an effort to keep the furnishings as simple as possible. I might play with an idea or two, a few images, or some new art technique. Mostly I try to keep the space as open as possible so that when I see something of delight while out walking, I'm able to think about what I might do with it. Or if I come across a new idea or technique, I am free to think about how to apply it. So I would say my "furniture" is pretty Zen spare, with a tatami floor, a nice flower arrangement and a scroll with some elegant calligraphy hanging next to an open window.

So how do you furnish your mind?
You do get to choose what you put into it, you know.
How do you choose?

Play Retreat in the Seattle area!

2010-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Do you have a free weekend at the end of the month? Do you live on the left coast? Teesha and Tracy Moore have a little retreat called PLAY RETREAT. Check in out!

Adela's link for a happy new year! Check it out!

2009-12-31T17:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Love, Lani

Celebrate what's right with the world - Dewitt Jones @ Yahoo! Video

Carolyn's Tutorial

2009-12-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

There's a pretty cool journal cover description over on Carolyn's blog "Mindless Wonders" all about using alcohol inks on glue covered copper. She say's she used a sheet of copper that she textured with a hammer and then covered with Aleens clear tacky glue (fairly thickly) and added drops of two different colors of Alcohol inks then dabbed it lightly with a makeup sponge. She then added the image and let it dry. Then she covered it with another layer of the glue and added a little more Alcohol ink and dabbed again with the makeup sponge. She also moved the alcohol ink away from the image with the sponge. After letting it dry over night it was ready for use.

Pretty cool Carolyn!

Wrecked is Beautiful!

2009-12-06T12:51:00.001-08:00

Check out Kim's beautiful blog, and it's getting more beautiful by the minute with new header and background. Hmmmmm! Our wrecking is featured and it's beautiful too!

Puppets and Animated Story-Telling on YouTube

2009-11-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in encouraging animating puppets and story-telling in the class room or in your art room, you might want to look at these short videos for ideas.

U film major Keri Hopkins engages 5th grade students by teaching them how to make their own cutout animation.

Keita Funamoto and Masahide Kobayashi's stop-motion and flash animation from Tokyo, Japan.

This video is Keita Funamoto Puppet and Clay Animation School's Student film.

Lior's second single from his second album 'Corner Of An Endless Road' featuring Sia in duet. Shot by award winning director, Natasha Pincus. This clip is a "Stories from the Ground Puppetry" and "Starkraving Productions" collaboration.

Animation by Tany & Subrin Our first cut out animation for Intro to Animation final project semester 3, SEGi University College Kota Damansara, Malaysia

The Little Chimney Sweep, a 1954 film by Lotte Reiniger

"Altering recycled books into sketchbooks" By Jean Littlejohn

2009-11-05T12:42:00.000-08:00

This came in an email today from Quilting Arts so I'm sure they wouldn't mind if it is shared!:

Boost Your Creative Vision

If you ever get the chance to take a class with Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn (a.k.a. Double Trouble Enterprises), jump at it. They are two of the most innovative people I know when it comes to creative embroidery and textile art. Plus, they are just a hoot to be with!

Jan and Jean are fearless when it comes to artistic experimentation and firmly believe in the practice of sketchbook keeping to inspire ideas for textile work. However, we all know that the blank page can be very daunting.

A couple years ago in our sister publication Cloth Paper Scissors, Jean Littlejohn shared a trick to dress up the blank page and give it some texture and depth on which to add your photos, drawings, and ideas. Although Jean works in different types of sketchbooks, she finds using old recycled books an effective vehicle for developing themes.

Altering recycled books into sketchbooks

By Jean Littlejohn

Materials

Recycled hardbound book (Look for some unwanted books: children's annuals, cookery books, and road atlases, etc. that are no longer special or have outlived their usefulness to me, a book of 40 to 60 pages is ideal; too many pages will prove unwieldy.)
PVA glue
White gesso or white acrylic paint
Plastic container
2 Foam brushes
Waxed paper or parchment paper
Old maps, magazine images, bits of text, and other printed ephemera
Sharp paper scissors or craft knife, ruler, and craft mat

A finished spread from Jean's “Falling Roses” sketchbook. These pages contain splattered paint, text, quotations, and layers of collage and paint.

Directions

1. Mix 1 part water to 1 part PVA glue in a plastic container. With a foam brush, glue the pages together in groups of 3 or 4. You are gluing sets of pages together to make a base that is strong enough to handle layers of paint and collage. Make sure to paint each page thoroughly with the glue mixture and press firmly so no air bubbles appear.
Step 1. Once the sets of glued pages are dry, a collage of ripped papers is glued down to add texture.

2. Place waxed or parchment paper between each set of glued pages to prevent the sets from sticking together while drying.
Step 2. A gesso wash is applied to create a drawing surface.

3. When you are finished gluing the sets of pages together, allow the book to dry standing upright on a plastic sheet with the pages fanned out.
Step 3. Here, a light acrylic wash was painted on top, creating a colored background for the drawing surface. Now your journal is ready for some featured imagery and text.

4. Now the pages are ready for further texture to make a complex background for your sketching. Some pages already contain print and photographs. Further elements can be added with the application of collaged old maps, tissue papers, color magazines, etc.

note: If the edges become ragged with these added layers of collaged paper they can easily be trimmed when dry with a sharp knife or scissors.

5. Once dry, paint the pages with gesso or white acrylic paint to make a good surface for drawing. If a thin wash is used, some of the print or imagery shows through and can add an exciting serendipity to the drawings. Paint and ink react differently on the uneven surfaces and add an unexpected dynamic to drawings, as well.

Video from Pam Carriker

2009-11-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a lovely video tutorial on using the "Pan Pastels" (like Teesha talked about in the previous post) to create a Modigliani type portrait. Very clear. Hope you enjoy it!

Want more?

Pam's blog is wonderful as well. Do visit!

Teesha Moore's Art Journaling Videos!!

2009-11-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

You can now find art journaling videos from Teesha Moore! I'm so excited! Teesha and Tracy got themselves a video camera and are now documenting the amazing process! So here you go, in order that makes sense. (If you look on You Tube it's a little bit hard to sort at first.)

Need some motivation?

2009-10-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Very encouraging!

Let's get busy and fail! LOL!

Recycled Doll Swap

2009-10-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Joyce Kliman's Angel

When I received this beautiful doll in the Recycled Doll swap, I couldn't help but wonder what the story was behind her. So here's what Joyce said...

...this has been a year of acute loss for me, and I have ended up with a lot of stuff that belonged to people who are no longer here. The doll body itself was made by a patient who died (since this is my line of work I end up with a lot of artwork that I am not always sure what to do with, and there is no family to give it to). This year I have decided that I have to clean out my studio and can't hang on to everyone's artwork. I have hundreds of pieces...so it is with mixed feelings that I am recycling some of it. The fabric of the dress is from Malaysia and there is a story of loss behind that as well. This year angels seem to be a theme and a comfort for me.

What a lovely idea! I'm so glad that I received this angel and I'm so glad I asked about it! I'm thinking that something like this would be a wonderful way to create something positive out of our loss and sadness. I'll bet of we created angels from our sorrows, there would be a lot more light in the world!

Susan Tuttle's "Visual Poetry" class.

2009-10-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

I posted this on my blog but it bears repeating here.

Collage by Lani

Just to let you all know that Susan Tuttle is almost ready to offer "Workshop 1: Digital Photomanipulation" again. The four week class will be held from November 1st through November 29th. Registration will begin Sunday, October 25th, 7 PM EST. Spots are limited, so be sure to register promptly at that time. It is an amazing course, "Visual Poetry" is a great name for it, but it's so much more than visual poetry. It's filled with visual delights, wonderful gifts and magical learnings! I've had such a wonderful time learning a whole new "language" and I think you would enjoy it too! Do take a look at our class photos in the flickr group here and sign up soon.

Collage by Lani

OK, so life can be very difficult sometimes...

2009-10-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Collage by Lani

OK, so life can be very difficult sometimes, and the road uncertain, but we can remember to bring art supplies and friends! My friend Diane sent me a quote from the wonderful New York Times article April 21, 2009 on the importance of friendship. Although most of the article was about how friendship actually helps us live longer, more healthy lives, it was the very end of the article that caught my eye.

Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.

The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.

“People with stronger friendship networks feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech. “Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”

This idea about friendship making the "steepness of the hill" easier to bear is a wonderful idea. And the best part about this is that being a good friend has nothing to do with our social status, our education, or our abilities. We can all be good friends to each other, and make those uncertain and difficult roads a little easier. So over at 14 Secrets we're playing with these questions as a precursor to creating an art swap:
1. What would you share with friends to make their climb easier?
2. What would you want your friends to bring that would make YOUR climb easier?

And here's what we came up with so far:

Susanna: I would have to bring an open mind and a good sized sketchbook with lots of mark making tools...because sadly I don't know anyone well enough to be certain that they would like/need any one thing...but I think some turtles might be a good start...

Brenda: ...pink jello shooters with whipped cream on top--oh yeah!!
glitter--glitter always makes the climb easier.
and coffee............coffee helps me cope--and of course Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte makes my heart sing.....

Kim: i love me some chocolate covered ginger but i would also bring some kind of yarn, i do love lucious fibers and it you have some kind of fiber or string, you are able to create and use it for many things on the climb with my 14 secrets sisters......
omg!! coffee is so right...starbucks instant italian roast is a real winner
in a pinch..

Deb: What a wonderful idea.
Both chocolate and tea are a definite yes, to give and to receive IMHO. ;)
Some poetry (and/or pen and paper to write poetry).
Music.
Shimmery, iridescent paints. And some unusual brushes and other applicators to play with.

Susanna: Let me see, now that you folks have given me a push in the right direction.
Herb teas ... especially from someone's garden. Home made bread and soup with a flower and herb garnish like what I was served yesterday. Perfect for this weather.
Not a fan of glitter, but I love luscious blendable art crayons and pencils and graphite of all the multitudinous varieties available. Paper that just sucks up whatever you lay on it. and wools, fleeces, fibery, threads, and yarns. Oh yes! knitting is just perfect.
Books, can't get enough about art journalling, art and spirituality, healing properties of art...videos too!
I will bring the soup and bread and we can all dump our favorite art supplies in the centre of the table and play nice and share.
Now I'll start working on specifics.
off to read and knit and draw by the fire!

Lore: OH YES! Tea! Real black tea! Irish or English Breakfast! OR Chai!
I would bring an art journal, and a bag filled with supplies for creating in it. Magic would come along and some pure laughter.
Woops there goes the tea kettle!

Gena: Did you say Starbucks Pumpkiin Spice Latte - it makes me fly....
Oh man, Lani,
What fun, the thought of meeting with 14 secreters at the foot or top of a hill is already inspiring enough... I would of course bring tea :) and ginger :) and ginger cakes :). I also love the soup and bread that Susanna intends to bring :) And well I would bring a sewing machine and fabrics and fibers galore and love a doll-making, fabric anything making session. I would also like to bring a sketch book and a pencil to sketch down the essential. I am also all for a poetry reading/writing ane of course this would all be tracked in my art journal! ANd buttons!
Sounds like we are all sisters in more than one way, hah?
Hugs to you all 14 secreters. Let's climb to the top then roll down together. Oh in fact, now that I think of it, the most important thing for me - if we only got one, and for the sake of simplicity is a good LAUGH!
Here, go here: http://www.laughteryoga.org/
Everything else is icing on the cake ;)

Brenda: (re:pumpkin latte)
Yep--and I figured out how to make them at home-and they are 99% ! not quite 100--as I have to do the work myself--and no--no espresso machine here--I have tried the at home versions and they just don't cut the mustard!
--we have pumpkin spice creamer in the "dairy" case here--International Delight..Pumpkin Pie Spice--and to get the froth--a bit of fat free milk in your mug--whip it up with one of those nifty BOUJOUR mini whippers--available at TJMAXX for around $5....pop it in the microwave for about 21 seconds--then add your creamer--coffee--stir gently and top with a hint of nutmeg------------
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
yummy!!!!!

Susanna: Oh yes, Lore,
Tea, English Breakfast, Chai, herbal...and that real leather ... what a heavenly smell.
I used to love to find a suede skirt or some leather pants in the thrift stores. I remember a royal purple skirt that I scooped for our youngest daughter and then made her a lovely heather mix sweater to go with it. Ooooh I was so jealous not to be 12! so I could wear it of course.
Let's all bring our inspiration journals...the ones with lots of poetry and quotes that make our hearts soar...
We are gonna have so much fun ... I can't wait.

Carol@Swallowcliffs: Basic needs like water and snacks, essential needs like art supplies, soul needs like an open mind, companionship, joy, friendship....

Lore: I would bring things to make healing dolls for us all. ANd wire and things for making a special charm to mark our journey together. Oh and sacred popcorn, my old recipe that my kids named when they were young!
Ya know, we may need a few mules to haul the stuff up!

Susanna: Yeah, mules, donkeys, maybe a large dog or two to help with the load and keep us warm during the night!

Gena: Holy Popcorn!
I love it. I love the donkeys and the pumpkin spice. I love the inspiration journals! Yay!!! And the spiirit that is present. Woohoo, Isn't this fun?

Deb: This is getting wild! I love it!
I'm envisioning gypsy tents with beautiful, ornate fabrics... guitars... campfires....
I'll bring some wholegrain flour and some cinnamon so we can make some gypsy fry bread... warm with butter... oh yum... nothing like freshly made bread shared with friends, right?

Carolyn: I would bring supplies to make everyone a special amulet bag.
maybe some hot chocolate, how about some fun music to keep our minds busy while we're climbing.

Lani: Oh wow!
The journey is getting very richly textured and layered!
I love it! No wonder they say that climbing hills with friends is easier!

Lore: Gypsy bread OH YEAH! Delish!
Remember YOU ARE THE GIFT!
All we need is each other and a few art supplies!
Thanks everyone this is grand!

Susanna: Yum fry bread and with cinnamon no less...I am drooling think of hot chocolate and fry bread around a campfire with all those colorful gypsy tents' banners fluttering in the breeze.

Maria: And I think I would bring colorful scarfs for all of us to dance with . . . with music played by guitars and natural instruments such as the pan flute to echo in the night air. Of course, all around the campfire!

Gena: That campfire and the colorful scarves are delightful sounding. I think I will bring us little bells to put on as we dance by the fire under the moon after a wonderful day of art making and sharing our hearts and drinking pumpkin spice lattés and eating fruit and soup and home made bread. Gypsy bread? Are we talking about heaven here? :)

Brenda:
Gypsy bread--sounds yummy--I don't think I have experienced this culinary delight..any recipes you might like to share?

Deb: I was actually just thinking of a basic fry bread recipe when I posted, but check this out:
http://celticgypsycampfire.blogspot.com/
There's every fry bread recipe you can imagine and them some, with campfire cooking instructions. I'm ready to cook some up and enjoy with a cup of your pumpkin spice latte for breakfast! Yum!

Lani: And I found a link on the celticgysycampfire blog for a dutch oven blog! Fabulous for our gypsy adventure:
http://marksblackpot.blogspot.com/
Re: fried bread, we have something up here called beaver tails.
http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/recipes/beaver-tail/
And in our village we eat "fry doughs" with molasses! Yum.

Now you get the idea, our difficult journey has miraculously turned into a wonderful celebration of the traveling band of gypsy artists! What a wonderful group of friends!

Collage by Lani

Trying new words and new ideas!

2009-09-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

I posted this over on my blog but I thought I'd repeat it here because I had so much fun and because it has to do with Cyn's Wreck This Journal and she had such a good idea!

Collage by Lani

Working in my friend Cyn's "Wreck This Journal" for an RR I'm participating in and I found this amazing sentence. "Dark times call for new words and ideas to bring the colors back into the day." So true! There's nothing quite like learning something new, trying one new thing every day to help us bring color back into our lives.
Today's images are from Susan Tuttle's amazing course "Visual Poetry" and what a delight that is, learning so many new words and ideas!
This shot was into the sun with marbles in an antique glass bottle. I love this but I have to admit I didn't think of it all by myself. I got the inspiration from Azirca's blog. Thank you Azirca!

And finally we have some sweet peas from Edward's garden with some of the "Visual Poetry" treatment. Such fun. It really is hard to keep a grumpy mood going if you are learning something new! Try it out for yourself and let me know what happens.

This is SO cute! And so encouraging!

2009-09-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

And there's more here!

And her shop is here!

OMG, and here's her blog! Whew! Is her work just too cute or what?

14 Secrets Stamp Swap

2009-09-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

I love this swap, and I was out of my stash, so we held the third round of the 14 Secrets Art Stamp Swap --We made our own pretend postal stamps for the land of "14 Secrets." Sometimes they were 14 Secrets Air Mail stickers or 14 Secrets Mail Art Stickers!!! We printed multiple images on sticker paper or created the stamps directly on the sticker paper for added artistic fun. Sometimes we worked on heavy paper and added sticky dots to the back, to make our own stickers! Our stamps were sometimes all different (like Lore's) or all the same (but handmade! like Carol H.'s), but we made many! Everyone will get back more than 20 different stamps. Here is me diving up the goodies-it was amazing as we had artists from New Zealand to Canada and in the US, from Arizona to Pennsylvania! and so fun!
Gioia