The studio is open for sessions today. Holidays can be hard, especially when you’re away from family or community.
What gift of creative time, self-care, or tending to your emotions can you gift yourself this holiday season?
Latest Art Journal
Here’s a little tour of my latest art journal.
Taking the time…
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can feel more comfortable taking time to explore and express. How do we give ourselves permission for this essential work? Sometimes, we have to sign up for something. We have to attach a day and a time and sometimes a price tag in order to let ourselves create. But what if this was just an essential part of who we are in the world and how we operate? What if this was just as important to us as breathing?
Inktober is coming…
I think I might do all owls for inktober this year.
An evolving barn owl in my art journal
Creative Parrot
Sammy sees me use all different art materials all day long in the studio...sometimes I wonder if she ever longs to get creative...
...this morning I got my answer!
Sammy the African Gray Parrot holding some scissors she found on the countertop. Look how excited her eyes look!
Art Journal Video
Here’s another video tour of a completed art journal. This one was tall and used heavy watercolor paper and pastel paper for the pages.
A peek in my art journal
Here’s a peek inside my most recent art journal.
Close up photo of magenta brush strokes in acrylic paint over wax crayon and watercolor. Image color goes from magenta to emerald green.
One thing I’ve learned, after twenty (yes, twenty!) years of keeping art journals is it is valuable to vary the size and shape of the book form you work in…Each new shape is a new creative and compositional challenge.
What size do you gravitate towards? How do you keep a creative project fresh after years (or decades) of practice?
Shelves filled with opportunities
I recently wrote a post about my thoughts about decluttering, ephemera, and collections. If you visit the studio, you’ll be greeted by two parrots, full bookshelves, and a wide variety of supplies. This studio is not a blank-slate…it is a bower bird’s eclectic space meant to stimulate curiosity and creativity (which seems appropriate, since these birds are described as being “bright as crayons”).
What collections are essential to your creative practice?
My book!
Last night, I arrived home to a box of my books…not drafts, not proofs, but the real-deal printed books!
One of my very favorite older adults did the cover art…I can’t wait to show her how it turned out!
Though this is an academic, clinical book, it is filled with stories from the work I do; I believe many will find it enjoyable to read and full of respect and reverence for the amazing older adults I have joined in the studio. It should be available for ordering anywhere books are sold.
Using masking fluid allows us to build up layers, ...
Using masking fluid allows us to build up layers, preserving bright colors & textures...this piece is currently on round three of masking fluid & pigment.
