Hello and welcome back to Beginnings where we focus on fresh starts, new cycles, experimentation, exploration and creativity. 

In my previous post which you can read here, I shared about why I’ve been absent for the past few months. I also share images from my last completed art journal spread and what it meant to me. 

In this post, I’ll be sharing about the process of creating the illustration, Coming Full Circle: Eclipse. 

When I broached the subject of creating an illustration, I knew exactly what I wanted to portray: Dividing the image in half darkness to represent how my heart felt eclipsed by the event of my father’s passing. Praying hands were in order since that is one of the essential pieces to processing such a loss. I also show this in how I designed the letters, partly in grey and black with dots of red for the heart centered emotion. I also drew a circle to represent coming full circle with life and death. A new cycle has begun. 

There are several things I wanted to point out with the technical process of experimentation with this illustration:
 
First, I used a new mixed media pad by Master’s Touch, which description says can be used with wet and dry media. I experimented with this paper before and it went well. But I only used minimal water application to activate the colored pencil I was using.  

With this illustration, I applied more water and more layers, and while doing so, the paper did not hold up well. As a result, I decided to acquire my go-to brand, Strathmore, for a mixed media pad for my next illustration. I have yet to activate water soluable tools with this paper, but I’ll let you know when I do. 

Secondly, when I require water solubility with a larger area, a pencil tip is not the best way to go.  It ends up looking uneven in coverage. Pastel was better but since the pencil was applied initially, it was difficult to eliminate the unevenness. I ended up using a charcoal pencil to fill in the areas that needed more coverage. Then I was reasonably satisfied. 

Thirdly, I did enjoy the water solubility of the colored pencil and layering color for the hair giving it more texture. And it also gave the solid black of her garment more density. 

In this illustration, I used Prismacolor Premiere soft core pencils. I love the smoothness of application and the density of color. I also used Caran’Dache Supracolor Aquarelle water soluable colored pencils and Neo Color ll water soluble pastels for the areas where I applied water. 

Again, this was fully experimental and I’m always learning about what each supply can do and what paper works well with them. I have supplied an art demo video which you can view above where I share most of my process in creating this illustration, Coming Full Circle: Eclipse. 

I also include the theme song to this blog, Beginnings, to inspire you in your own creativity. 

Journaling prompt: 
Where are you giving yourself space to experiment, whether creatively or simply in life? Where do you experience the most resistance when considering the possibilities? You can ask yourself the question: What am I afraid of, to help unpack that resistance and see what you discover. 

I want to sum up this post with a word about this day: June 8, 2023 marks the 5th month since my father passed from this world. So I find the timing of this post serendipitous to honoring his life and his death with creativity and appreciation. My father was always giving me encouragement concerning my art; he was always ready with a critique when I asked for it growing up in his house. He was very proud of my skill and told me so, often. I wanted to share that with you, my friend and reader. 

Thank you for being a part of my creative and life journey. 
May you have blessed Beginnings! 


​

Welcome back to Beginnings. It’s the place where we talk about Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Experimentation, Exploration and Creativity. 

It’s a been several months since I posted here on this blog, and this post will explain why. I’ve been wanting to share but had not determined the right way to do so until now. 

I will use the context of my art journaling practice to share my story since it seems appropriate and timely to do so. 

In this post I am sharing with you my most recently completed art journal spread. Just for context, I will say that my art journal is not a daily practice. It can sometimes takes weeks or even months to conclude a spread from start to finish. Sometimes I simply need to wait to determine the next step, and I take my time and give my intuition space to determine what that next step is. 

With this particular spread, which I named, Eclipse, I began (in the early autumn of ‘22) with an idea in mind, using circles as my main motif/geometric shape. I initially planned to use the spaces inside the circles from the overlap to collage fabric. I did so in the first session. 

Some time passed with work and life keeping me busy. But when I returned to it, my trajectory changed. I began using oil pastel to make marks and circles and color in the spaces between the circles. I was especially drawn to black at one point, as if reflecting what my body intuitively knew was coming. Like a premonition. I don’t usually reach for black since it’s such a bold color; vibrant color is usually my jam. But black felt right, good, timely. 

As I worked with black, I realized what it was reflecting: GRIEF. I decided to pull some black from my fabric stash and cut strips of it and attached the strips to interior spaces between the circles already covered in black, like an extension of it, almost like tears being shed. 

It was at that point, after the holidays came and went, and we moved into the New Year, that my GRIEF was fully realized, an extension of what I knew was coming; it was just a matter of time. 

I got news that my father, my DAD, had passed away. P. Daniel Bel-Tempo. My beloved parent who I had the deepest connection with, firstly with being raised by him in the most sensitive, respectful and compassionate fashion. Secondly, through our love of music. He was a drummer for many years, and also tried his hand at saxophone and a bit of piano. 

This news of the death of his form came as such a shock even though I was expecting it. I can still feel that shock as I write this to you. Yesterday (from when I write this post), May 8, was four months since he passed. It has been quite the life changer, a major demarcation point, for me. Life without my father present in this world. 

My creativity was hit hard. I still used my daily illustration to express my grief and life’s continuance after this event. I didn’t go back to my art journal spread for weeks. But I now knew what the spread would be called. ECLIPSE. I felt as if the loss of DAD in this world felt just like that. An Eclipse of My Heart.

​It was only a few weeks ago that I returned to finish the spread. That is when I installed the word, Eclipse, in several places, both vertically and horizontally, showing, really, the impact my father’s death has had on me, both in my day to day interaction and thought processes as well as in my Connection with Spirit, as I work through and process this major life event. 

I have been desiring to share this very important and personal news with you, my dear reader. It is difficult for me to write this but I felt compelled to share this with you now for several reasons. It is time to share my Grief. And I have concluded this spread during Eclipse Season, which is timely and completely aligning for me. And finally, today (the day I publish this) would have been my beloved father’s 88th birthday. So I decided that I must HONOR his LIFE by sharing his Death with you. 

Yes, he lives on in Spirit. He is free. He is well. He is at Peace. He is no longer bound by form. 
And I know that I shared with him everything I wanted to say before his passing. And we were able to 
Connect on the deepest level possible. And for that I am grateful.

And when I sit at my piano and play my spiritual songs, I know he can hear me. And he will always have a special place in my music studio, as I compose, sing and play. He was and still is and always will be my inspiration. 
I know I have made him proud. 

I love you so much, dear DAD. Thanks for being you. And may you be honored today (and every day) for the life you lived as my DAD. 

And thank you, dear readers and friends, for being a part of my creative and life journey and sharing in this honoring of my Dad’s life and in his passing. Thank you. 

Yes, this is a Major Life Cycle come to a close; coming full circle, for my dad, and for me. And now I must move forward as a New Life Cycle begins. 

In my heart, my soul, my creativity. 
And You are welcome to join me as we Begin Anew together. 

Welcome back to Beginnings where we focus on Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Experimentation, Exploration and Creativity! Yes! And today we are celebrating the New Year! So excited for you to be joining me with this Fresh Start to our linear lives! 

In the above video is my 4th Vlog, the first of 2023; in it I share some Show and Tell which includes a sketchbook update with a pen sketch I’ve been working on so you can see the progress I’ve made and my take on some art supplies. 

I also include items that have been inspiring me as an artist and creator that I thought might inspire you too! 
I also speak of my plans for this week and what’s been on my mind that I want to accomplish. 

In the beginning of the video, I speak about styling my hair differently and invited you to “vote” for straight or curly; so if you have the fun initiative to do so, you’re welcome to leave a comment below or on my YouTube channel! 

I also share a bit about my Music Mind Bullet Journal Collection and why I keep it. Music is always in the Mind! (Thus is the life of this aspiring musician!) 

Finally, I share a new JOY Card Reading from my JOY Finder Game Card Deck which is my own creation; this one has to do with Life Messages! There is a time stamp for the video so you can pick and choose what topic interest you if you desire to do so, unless you want to watch from start to finish. 

This vlog includes just one day’s recording, January 3, 2023. I want to try keeping it a bit shorter, even though it’s 20 minutes in length anyway. Thus the time stamp! 

I appreciate your continued interest in my Beginnings as Artist, Illustrator, Aspiring Musician and Journal Keeper. I am always interested in what you are Beginning, especially as we enter this New Year of 2023.

Journaling Prompts: 
What goals do you have in mind for this New Year? What is vitally important to you right now? What did you dismiss in 2022 to make room for the new in 2023? What have you not tried that you are curious about that inspires you to go down that rabbit hole? Make a list of what is calling to your heart. Choose one to take action on this week. One small step can make all the difference to open your heart today! 

You’re welcome to leave a comment below about your Beginning, your Fresh Start. 
I am here to cheer you on! 
​Happy New Year and I wish you the very Best of Beginnings! 

Welcome back to Beginnings, where we focus on Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Exploration, Experimentation and Creativity! In this final post of the year, I will be sharing with you my 7 Topics I chose to focus on that were the most important to me concerning my activity and content here at Refresh with Dawn Herring as well as my growth as artist and aspiring musician. 

Many of the points I share about in Vlog 3 (above) in more detail, especially with my specific art supplies so you’re welcome to check that out as well, and join me for an impromptu Christmas Holiday Party! 

Below I have listed off these 7 Topics along with links to varying content that is available right here on my website, in case you haven’t seen it or read it yet and would like to. 

First on the list is my One Year Anniversary of Playing Piano: I go into the details of my song writing and experience with learning to play my spiritual songs in this post, Music Life Lens: Celebrating One Year of Piano from my The Way I See It blog. Learning to play an instrument to accompany myself while I sing my spiritual songs has been a deeply satisfying and thrilling experience. Music has always been in my blood and this just solidifies it in a way I’ve never experienced before. And I continue to enjoy learning and growing as an aspiring musician throughout ‘22. I look forward to new horizons of where it will take me into 2023. Special Thanks to everyone who has supported me and watched my music videos on YouTube. You can access them here on my Music Page! 

The second item on the list is my The Way I See It Podcast which premiered on April 13, with the first episode, Three Keys to Aligned Living, followed by Sensory Power, A Creative Lifeline, Resistance or Flow?, Music Mind, Saying Goodbye and Give Yourself a Voice. Each topic ties in to Awareness, Attitude and Intuition and how they lead to Aligned Living, giving examples from my own life. Each episode comes with a transcript and journaling prompts for further reflection and empowered action. You can access each episode on my podcast resource page. 
It was also fun to create illustrations to accompany each episode, making it a visual reminder of the what are my truths expressed. You can view these illustrations on my Commercial Art Page. 

New music is next on the list! Yes, I already spoke about playing piano. But with each new song I write, there is always the possibility of it ending up being composed for the piano. Not all the songs I write are composed; some I just record for future reference. But the ones that do end up in my piano book, I then determine which ones I will share with you, my friends! And this year I chose to share several on my YouTube Channel: You Are My Friend, The Evidence, The Eternal Now and my newest song, which is the theme song for Beginnings blog, I just released last week on 12/8/22. These have been such excited and rewarding times for me, sharing spiritual songs that come directly from my Sacred Studies and Prayer/Meditation, which are my foundational actives to my Spiritual Practice. When I sense that a song may be a source of encouragement in Spirit, I choose to share it publicly. Again, I so appreciate those who take the time to watch/listen to my spiritual songs. (You can watch them here.) And my greatest hope, in addition to spiritual support from my music, is that the Beginnings theme song will be a continual source of inspiration, encouragement and empowerment for your in your creativity! 

The next category of items to look back on is my ART. Art is such a fun and vibrant part of my creative practice; I would never want to live without it. For this year my main focus has been on illustration, both in my personal journal to highlight moments in my day that I want to remember as well as illustrations I create for my content here at Refresh with Dawn Herring. 

My first point of reflection is with switching out the design of my personal journal illustrations. I show examples of how I did this in Vlog 3 specifically. Initially when I learned to draw myself as a cartoon figure, I introduced it inside one of the letters of my word doodle. But after doing this for a while, I decided I wanted to give more space to my illustration and less space to the word itself. What a difference this has made for me as an illustrator overall. I can put much more detail and surrounds into these “spot” illustrations which give me more room to express all the things that matter to me. It is so much more fun as well. 

My next item focuses on the Art Mediums I used in my illustration work this year and how I changed things up to experiment and explore and see where it would take me. I was working with fine point and brush pens from Faber Castell and Tombow for the first couple of years. This year, I decided to play with pencil and pastel! I use both regular and water soluble pencil as well as water soluble pastel (Prismacolor and Caran’Dache brands). I show these in Vlog 3 as well if you want a close up view of what I’m using and my favorite colors. It has been fun seeing what I can do with pencil and pastel since I hadn’t worked with it in quite some time. Pen and marker had become my go to for so long. Pencil is pretty straightforward but when adding water to the mix, it takes on a whole new vibe! I plan to try more of this in 2023 now that I have mixed media paper to create future illustrations with. The Commercial Art I created for my Refresh with Dawn Herring content was also done in colored pencil, but I start my commerical art with sketching pencil rather than pen for these. My personal illustrations are always started with a fine line pen and then filled with color. I look forward to doing more experimenting with these mediums and see what new work I will produce and have fun with! 
I also wanted to add here that I got back to sketching with just fine black pen this year, getting Back to the Basics, as I like to put it. If you would like to see my pen sketches, I show them inVlog 1 and Vlog 2.  

My next point in review is the launch of my new Blog, Beginnings where we focus on Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Exploration, Experimentation and Creativity! Woot! This has been a such an exciting venture so far, sharing art demos, new music, and talking about what’s on my mind as a Creator with you. My aim and goal with this new blog theme is to encourage, inspire and empower you in your creativity. Those of you who have read my posts, watched my videos and left comments and thumbs up are so deeply appreciated. Thank you! You make it fun and worthwhile, letting me know what is inspiring you.  I look forward to sharing more of my Beginnings in 2023! 

And my final point of review of ‘22 is with my brand new venture of Vlogging, giving you a Behind the Scenes View of what I’m up to. It has given me a place to chit chat with you about all kinds of subjects, plus show you some art and play bits of music to inspire you in your creative path. I so appreciate those who have already watched the first two vlogs I released, and now the 3rd vlog with this new post. Your comments and thumbs up are so greatly appreciated. It’s exciting to have a new format in which to share my creative life with you, my friends! I’m having FUN! And I trust you are too! 

Well, that wraps up my 2022 Year in Review! It’s been a fun ride, an interesting journey and I look forward to what is in store in 2023. I do hope you will join me as we continue our creative journeys together; that makes it so much more fun, doesn’t it? 

I am always here to cheer you on, to encourage and inspire you and even empower you to take those first steps, choosing courage as you determine where you will express yourself as only you can do! 

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me! 
Here’s to 2023! 

​And I wish you the very Best of Beginnings! 

All images, artwork and music shared are Copyrighted to Dawn Herring, 2023. 

Welcome back to Beginnings, where we focus on Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Exploration, Experimentation and Creativity! 
In this post, I am sharing my 2nd Vlog, a new venture here at Refresh with Dawn Herring, giving you a peek behind the scenes, where I share my thoughts on what I’m up to, topics that are of interest to me, plus wardrobe selections. And I’m having fun! 

The topics I cover in Vlog 2 are an inside view of my new theme song, Beginnings, which you can watch on my home page here on the website. I also chat about my take on social media, why I choose to be present in various outlets, especially in connection with you, my friend! I also share a sketch update and do some “show and tell” with art supplies. 

I also chat about decluttering and what a difference it has made for me. (If you want to read and watch about my decluttering process, please click here.)
And another topic is about my 2 decks of cards I use for insight and connection with Spirit and where they come from. (Not tarot related.) 
And of course, my wardrobe picks! 

If that is of interest to you, then you’re welcome to watch the video! I have chosen to create a time stamp so you can choose your topic of interest if you’re thus inclined unless you just want to watch from start to finish! 

Vlog 2 encompasses 4 days, 2 in late November and 2 in early December. 

I hope you enjoy, are inspired and leave a comment about your favorite subject matter that I chat about. I’d love to hear from you. Your feedback is highly appreciated. And you're welcome to share what Your Beginning is right now. I'd love to support and celebrate with you! 

​And I wish you the very BEST of Beginnings! 

Hello and welcome back to Beginnings where we talk about fresh starts, new cycles, exploration, experimentation and creativity! 

In this post, I am sharing my very first video log (vlog) where I talk about and share new art, pen sketches to be specific, my experience with new music and my thoughts on a video project which is already published on my YouTube Channel, which you can access here on my website. 

I decided to record some behind the scenes footage to share more of my thoughts and intentions with my creativity and with my content that I share here on my website. This is a new venture for me and I'd love to know what you think! 

I've been inspired by other artists who have vlogs and decided to try my hand at it; if you like it, please give it a thumbs up on YouTube and leave a comment below on your favorite part! I hope you are inspired in your own creativity; that is my aim and goal always. 

Thank you for watching and supporting my YouTube Channel and my presence online as a creator. 

That means a lot to me! 
And I wish you the Best of Beginnings! 

Welcome back to Beginnings, Where we talk about Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Exploration, Experimentation and Creativity! Yes! 

For this blog post, I wanted to share with you how I determined the design for my Beginnings Illustration (which you can see above). I was excited to consider how best I could represent the Idea of Beginnings as the new theme for my website and blog, as well as show the topics that are closest to my heart that I love to share with my friends which include Art, Illustration, Music and Journaling. 

The initial idea was to use new leaf growth as a motif, the freshness of the start of what could potentially become a full grown beautiful plant benefiting the caretaker of such a delight. Then I considered how I present them, on their own as well as in pots with soil. 

The leaf motif is full of vibrant color, that new yellow green that happens to be one of my favorites! I find this color so inspiring and I’m very attracted to it, whether it’s a plant or tree with the sun shining upon the leaves, really enhancing the beauty of such life. 

It also represents to me possibility: we can really use our imaginations of where this new growth can go. What does that represent to me as an artist, an aspiring musician, and journal keeper? 

It also represents to me new cycles. Each new plant begins as a seed and then this fresh new life reveals itself as it pokes through the soil, as if saying, celebrate with me! It encourages me as I make my way into a new project, new song, new art, new love, new discoveries, new curiosities! 

It all takes action, persistence, devotion, decisiveness and even confidence and courage! Yes! 

The figure holds in her hand this newness and is ready to see what it will grow into. She is optimistic and ready to move step by step into what this moment holds. 

And I think that’s the key to Starting Anew, to Beginnings in themselves. 
Instead of looking too far ahead, we can stay in this Present Moment and relish this New Start, this New Season, this New Cycle and what it may contain. One step is all it takes. 

One note is the start of a new melody. One pencil mark is the start of a new illustration. One word is the start of a new journal entry. One seed is the start to a new garden. One tap of a key on the typewriter or keyboard is the start of a new story. 

It all starts with that first step. And an idea or a concept or a plan…

So what are you starting today? Every thing you do each day is a new start. Think of all the Fresh possibilities that await you! Or maybe just think about one. And focus on that next step, putting your whole heart into it. Fully present, ready to take on what’s next. 

Feel the excitement, the pleasure, the satisfying sensation of moving forward. 
And if you feel a little unsure, that’s ok too. Step into that Courage that is available in your heart and go for it anyway. Your intuition will guide you. 

Hold the possibilities in your hand and smile. 
Because this is just the Beginning! 

(and I’m Cheering You on!) 
Here’s to beginning anew!