day one - 21 days in september 2014

day one I flipped to a page in the book and came across the words "all is bliss".  perfect!  a good message for me to keep in my head right now.  I used stamps for the word "all", hand wrote the word "is" and cut "bliss" out of an old dictionary.  voila!

21 Days in September 2014

Ideas come to me all the time.  Mostly this happens on our beloved porch.  I call it the "idea porch".  I get an idea, I write it down, maybe sketch a little and file it away for - SOMEDAY.  Except tonight was different.  No more "someday"!  NOW is perfect!

Here is the scoop:  

The inspiration began with this song:

From there I got the crazy ass idea that for 21 Days in September 2014 I would flip to a page in a book.  Any book will do.  I just happened to choose Emptiness Dancing by Adyashanti.  I would see what words jumped out at me and write them down in a journal.  I chose the Strathmore Watercolor Journal.  Perhaps I will add some colour, collage or calligraphy.  Who knows!

It took about two minutes to gather my supplies and get down to it.  Then I continued with the crazy and created a Facebook page where I will post my pages.

You are welcome to join me and post your creations.  You do not need any special supplies or buckets of time to do this.  This is meant to be quick!  Have fun!  Keep it simple!

My intention for this 21 Days in September 2014 is to fill a little of that emptiness in my life.  Things are emptying out around here and times they are a changing.  What better way to get through it all then with ART and a book titled "emptiness dancing?" and a few moments to gather words.

Hope you will join me for the next 21 days!

we're teaching in california!

exciting news!  I will be teaming up with a fellow coach/expressive arts facilitator Nadine Hamil in orange county, california.  to register see the side bar.  first five registered will receive a discount.  hope that you can join us in "awakening the goddess within you!"

upcoming workshops

I have two workshops coming up soon!

the first is here in edmonton at the paint spot.  it begins on september 11 and runs for three weeks.  I will be guiding you through tips and techniques on how I keep my daily creative practice going.  creating daily has helped to ground me, guide me and inspire me in all areas of my life.  for me it is a practice.  I create everyday!  either 5 minutes or five hours, depending on my schedule but the art comes first!  hope you will join me and discover all the ways you can set up a daily creative practice in your own life.  to register go here or call the paint spot at (780) 432 - 0240.

the second workshop is up north in dawson creek, b.c.  I will be returning to one fitness & yoga with "the magic of sacred symbols".  learn all the different ways you can use sacred symbols to transform  your space and empower you in creating the life you want.  I will guide you through meditation, dancing, art making as we uncover the magical energy of sacred symbols.  to register go here or call one fitness & yoga at (250) 784 - 0056.

I hope to see you at one or both workshops.  no experience needed and most supplies are included.  if you have any questions regarding the workshops or would like to set up your own workshop please feel free to contact me at artitude@telusplanet.net

I made this!

following right along with the "I made this!" project…

today I made - GREEN JUICE!

I am off caffeine - AGAIN!  doctor's orders,  so I thought I would pick up juicing again as my afternoon pick - me - up.  my recipe is super simple:  spinach, celery, cucumbers, lemon and apples.  I toss in ginger as well but I didn't have any, so sans ginger today.

my juicer of choice is the hurom original slow juicer HU-100.  I have been through many juicers and this one has been the best of all.  super easy to use and clean.  

 look at that green goodness flowing out!  YUM!  today I called it "green sunshine"

all ready for consumption!  SO good!  and I suppose we can say better than caffeine!  for those of you who have to give up caffeine or are trying to find an alternative I use dandy blend.  it's good people!  this coming from an italian gal, coffee snob, former barista who cannot live without her cappuccinos.  I whip some up in the morning and add steamed milk and non the wiser it tastes as good as my cappuccinos.

mmm…almost finished my juice and I can feel that energy coming back!  yay!

I made this!

with inspiration from Jamie Ridler.

every month I create handmade birthday cards for family and friends.  it is a way to reach out and say "thinking of you" even if we do not see each other throughout the year.  It saddens me to think that our snail mail is becoming a thing of the past.  I love receiving "art mail"!

this past week I was working on birthday cards for april and I was stuck!  stuck, stuck, stuck!  did not know where to start!  I had just finished participating in collecting birthday cards for a celebration where they needed 2000 cards.  our group created 250 cards!  you would think that through that I would have had some ideas!

I recently checked this book out of my local library and found my inspiration on page 112.  it was this piece by isaac tobin.

I cut some pieces out of white card stock to create the base for my cards.  I dug into my collage stash and found some music paper and grid paper to use for the background.  I applied it all with glue stick and trimmed the edges.  I liked the colour palette he used and tried to find similar colours in my stash of acrylic paints.  a few swipes of paint, a doodled birthday cake and some rubber stamped greetings and voila I was on my way to completing my cards for april.

I had some leftover collage pieces and paint on my palette so I grabbed another piece of card stock and used up the leftovers.  now I have a base ready to go for my next spark of inspiration!

art therapy

what do you do when you feel like you are being pulled into a million different directions?  what do you do when you feel like there is not enough of you to go around?  what do you when what you want to do has nothing at all to do with what needs to be done?  what do you do when you feel like someone is holding you underwater and you can't catch your breath?  what do you do when self-care doesn't even make the cut on the to do list?  what do you do when you are feeling so sucky and knee deep in questioning everything and everyone who crosses your path?

YOU STOP!

YOU DROP!

&

YOU PAINT!

grab a sheet of paper - any paper!  mine happened to be arches HP.  bigger is better.

drop cloth and BIG paper!

  grab some paint and crank the tunes.  drip, dribble, swoosh and spritz, smear and whack!  move your whole body and let it all go preferably on the floor.

drips, spritz

  this simple act of floor painting takes you out of your comfort zone and gives you a totally new experience.  not to mention the fact that when life hands you shit you best drop to your knees and pray.

smear - use your hands!

 once you let it all go on the paper how about cutting it up into pieces and creating some "soul cards?"

cut into 4 x 6

add some words that inspire you, support you, remind you and comfort you.  little boosts of love that YOU created!  from yucky to beautiful!  how's your mood now?

all cut up and lettered

I YOU to try it out for yourself!

here are some pics of the rest...