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, 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. 

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, Experimentation, Exploration and Creativity. For this post, I will be sharing about a “full house” declutter, and more specifically the jewelry pieces I chose to remove. If that interests you, then keep on reading. ☺️

First a little backstory. I have done major house Declutters several times over the past 5 or 6 years, referring to various Decluttering experts and their published books for reference and inspiration. And I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff as a result. 

This time around, I have been more recently inspired by a funny and practical person; I found her initially on YouTube and subscribed to her newsletter. I’m referring to Dana K White of A Slob Comes Clean. I love watching her videos where she features different areas of her house that she is decluttering with her tips and tricks and her unique decluttering process that she uses personally and teaches others how to do. 

One of the things I love about Dana is that she focuses on intuition as your guide, a way to trust yourself to know where to put things. I won’t get into the five step process she uses but I have followed at least 3 of her steps and it does help reduce the overwhelm when it comes time to declutter. 

I’ve been through all visible spaces, bathroom and living room cabinets, as well as a full wardrobe and jewelry declutter (and I'm still taking stuff out!). I still haven’t finished my whole space (more kitchen to do) and really, you never do. It’s an ongoing process to keep up the reduction of clutter over time. But I’m pleased with what I have accomplished; and it motivates me to keep it up. 

I think it helps to start with a visible space that doesn’t take up a lot of room. That’s where I started. At my dining room table. Yes, I have several items I keep there and I completely decluttered and revamped what remains and how I store it. 

It also helps to “shop” in your own home for storage solutions once you remove what doesn’t need to be there. I found myself exchanging containers from one place to another, and it worked out nicely. One basket was on the table; I moved it to use it in a drawer instead. I also moved a black mesh office organizer from that drawer and chose it for the dining room space and it’s perfect. One clear plastic dish was in that same drawer and I moved it to the kitchen to hold items in one place. Yes, it’s helpful when you don’t have to buy anything! 

That leads me to decluttering my Jewelry Collection. It was an interesting experience for me to go through it. I’m big on jewelry and hang on to things longer than I should in some cases, so it was time. Using Dana’s process, I removed what was worn or broken, some stuff I just don’t wear, and made some space for new pieces. I have found right away that since I decluttered my jewelry, I’m now wearing pieces that I wasn’t wearing before, and I’m happy about that. There is less to choose from so it simplifies decision making when pulling a look together from my wardrobe. 

I shared the various pieces I let go of and put a video together (see above) to share what I removed so you can learn about my thoughts in the process. I hope it inspires you to do some decluttering too! 

It feels good to let things go that are no longer needed, that are worn out, or simply what I’ve outgrown; it helps me recognize how I’ve changed and what I still love and why. In a way it’s like shedding an old skin and fully embracing the “new” me. It’s a Fresh Start. Like a New Cycle of what belongs to me and why I choose to keep it in my space. I will keep an eye on what I could let go of in the future, being mindful of how my belongings make me feel. Because I do trust myself and will know when it’s time. And that’s a good feeling! 

Journaling Prompt: 
What do you feel Iike you need to “shed” right now? What items in your wardrobe are you hanging onto that no longer suit your style? Do you have collections that have been piling up and need paring down? Record your thoughts on decluttering and brainstorm where you would like to start. Keep it simple and easy and reward yourself for any progress you make. 

​I wish you the BEST of Beginnings! 

Welcome back to Beginnings, Where we talk about Fresh Starts, New Cycles, Exploration, Experimentation and Creativity. In this post, I will be sharing about some New Music I’ve written and composed for the piano. I will share lyrics, my reflections on the meaning behind the song, as well as journaling prompts for further reflection to take with you. 

I wrote the spiritual song, The Eternal Now, last year (2021), when I had a lot of questions about the future. There was so much changing on the home front and I was looking for answers. My first place to look is always through prayer, but sometimes the practical side of life seems to require an external source. And when it doesn’t come right away, or there are too many options concerning the subject matter, it can sometimes be overwhelming. 

In recent years I have come to understand that much frustration and angst can result from looking to the future to the point of struggle rather than being in the Now. I found that the more I spent time just focusing on what I could do in the Moment, the more peace I felt. 

Another issue I was addressing was Trust in the Divine; and when I choose that Trust, it brings  even more Peace. 

So my spiritual song, The Eternal Now, was my way of expressing this understand that Now is all there is and all that matters in the moment. And in that Now Space, Wisdom resides, bringing clarity and direction and that inner knowing, a powerful place of Intuition we have all been gifted with. 

And when I experience this energy within myself, I no longer look outside of myself but within, where Divinity lives and moves and blesses me with Presence. 

I have offered the lyrics to The Eternal Now below. I hope it lifts and inspires you! 

I look to Now
For the Answers
As my questions turn to dust

I look to peace
in the place
that requires I must

I see the space 
that is open
Timeless and True

I rejoice 
In the knowing
That comes from you

From within
I am certain
From within
I know

That you are here
And I am with you

I rejoice
In the Eternal Now


Journaling prompt: 
Is there a situation in your life where you feel like you need external answers to your questions? 
Do you find yourself looking to the future and wonder if NOW is where you will find peace?  Detail this situation in your journal and list off ways you can become more present from moment to moment. As you implement these ideas, record any change you experience in contrast to any struggle you’ve had with looking externally. Also detail if an answer came when you least expected it as a result of your presence in the Now. 

Note: Music (both video and lyrics) are Copyrighted to Dawn Herring, 2022