Hello and welcome back to Beginnings where we talk about new cycles, fresh starts, experimentation, exploration and creativity. For this post, I’m sharing an Art Studio tour (fresh start!) (still in the organization stage but progress is progress!) along with my busy illustration happenings (both commercially for blogging and personally in my journal). You’re welcome to come along with me as I show you behind the scenes including some antiques from childhood! Plus I chat about our friendly felines in the neighborhood. I hope to inspire you in your own creative pursuits! 

Journaling Prompt: 
What fresh start are you celebrating right now? Detail it in your journal. How do you feel about it? Are you excited, uncertain, disorganized or aligned? 
It’s ok to feel out of sorts with a fresh start; after all, you’ve entered some new territory. Try to take it slow and go gently. Don’t expect perfection from yourself. Where do you want to go with this fresh start? What would the ideal look like for you? 
Write the smallest step you can take in this new space to make it feel like Home. And then, do it! 

I wish you the Best of Beginnings! 

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!