I've been wanting to share with you something I've been experiencing in my creative practice that has given me some serious food for thought. 

My Creative Practice consists of journaling, art journaling, doodling, intuitive watercolor painting, walks, and reading inspiring books as well as a deep spiritual practice that directly impacts all the other elements. 

I've been keeping an art journal for five years (since 2011). I started with collage elements and watercolor, moved into stamping and a bit of stenciling, a dabble in transfers, then mostly just layering with watercolor and bit of collage to create fun, vibrant pages that speak directly to my heart. 

In January of 2014, I started doodling a word or phrase that summarized my day in my evening journal entry and in November of that year, I started filling my doodles with watercolor markers. 

I'm still trying to determine a shift I have felt in the frequency of my art journal time versus my daily doodling. I've tried to figure out if the energy I put in to my night doodles is "taking away" from my time at my art journal table. 

I have noticed that my art journal spreads have been taking a lot longer to come together. Sometimes I'm simply not sure what the next step is or I don't have the energy/time to sit and do. I do still love to art journal, but I have noted this change in the frequency of my spreads. But another thought also occurred to me that the change I'm noticing in my art journal practice may simply be a reflection of how I am Processing what I am learning As I Create and that's why I'm not doing it as quickly. Some of my spreads have taken 3-6 weeks to complete, which has really surprised me. I still find my art journaling practice enjoyable and a great way to listen to my heart, so that's not the issue. But why the spread in time frames and lack of frequency? 

So that's why I started looking at my daily doodle in the evening and how I've been making that a priority rather than my art journal practice being in its usual prominent space. 

I have wondered and pondered about this for the past several months, have journaled about my thoughts on this matter, and thought I would share was seems like an apparent shift taking place in my creative practice. 

So, it has given me some food for thought about the possible Shifts that can take place in our creative practice without our even realizing it at first. And how we might respond to such changes.  Do we question it? Do we wonder, is this not working for me as well as it used to? Am I overloading myself? Expecting too much of myself? What's the deal? 

Yes, I have asked all of these questions. And I think I've determined that it doesn't really matter how frequently I do any of my creative practices. (Although I did create a goal to paint with watercolor daily.) As long as I'm honoring Who I Am creatively every day, I'd doing good. As long as I'm listening to my heart, I'm on the right track. 

These shifts may even reflect changes deep down on the inside of us, in the core of our being, showing us how we are growing and what is working for us. And that IT'S OKAY to let something we've been doing for a while not be as prominent as it once was while something else we are enjoying takes more center stage. 

It's funny: I actually thought about my art journaling and my doodling competing with each other and vying for my attention. So, I suppose that's why it was sort of bothering me once I saw the change taking place. But, again, I realized, IT'S OKAY. 

Our creative practice will have shifts that we create simply by following what interests us the most and what is speaking to our heart Right Now. And as we go deeper with what we are experiencing as we activate our creative center, we will notice growth and change naturally. 

So, if you experience a shift in how you choose to be creative, simply see it as a reflection of Who You Are right now and just enjoy every minute of creating. 

Journaling Prompt:
Have you ever experienced a creative shift and saw yourself doing less of one thing and more of another? How did that shift feel to you? Did it disturb or were you simply delighted with how you were spending your time? Why do you think this change took place, and were you happy with the shift? 

Art Journal Prompt:
Using the words, Creative Shift, create a visual that shows any changes you have experienced in your creative practice and honor those stages to show what they have meant to you over time. You can also make a spread that showcases your favorite creative practice element right now and why you love it so much. 

Copyright 2016 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2016 Header by Dawn Herring 

I am excited to share with you my contribution to our January/February #JournalChat Live OPEN HOUSE (see link for details!) with our focused topic, Your Journaling: The Greatest Investment. 

I will share with you why journaling and art journaling have been 2 of the greatest investments in my life and what these practices have led me to as one of the Greatest Investments in my life, especially in the past five years. 

As an avid written journal keeper, I have found numerous benefits in my daily entries as I've discovered more about myself, my life, my world. 

But one of the biggest Investments my journaling practice has been for me is in direct connection with my creativity: It has been directly influential in giving me creative clarity and direction (combined with prayer/meditation) toward building my creative practice, which is essentially regularly engaging in journaling, art journaling, doodling, intuitive watercolor painting and other creativity-based activities that keep me connected with my creative flow and light. 

Journaling has enabled me to hash out what works for me creatively and what doesn't. I can be honest with myself and determine what I love and what doesn't float my boat. 

One of the Greatest Investments I have discovered as a RESULT of my journaling practice has been my Intuitive Watercolor Painting. I decided to start using watercolor 5 years ago when I first began working in a sketchbook/mixed media book to create visuals with paint, image and text, what I now call my Art Journaling practice. 

Watercolor and Art Journaling came into my life at the same time and both of those practices have become essential in my creative life. With both activities, I can listen carefully to my intuition and to my heart, which enables me to understand myself better, on a deeper subconscious level, which is incredibly powerful. I have been amazed with what comes out sometimes. 

My watercolor painting that I do daily has become a way to play with color and apply it in my own artistic approach, both using the stippling method (essentially, dots of color in layers) as well as other paintbrush applications. This process for me is relaxing, refreshing, revitalizing and FUN. I have found my artistic style using the watercolor medium and that makes me very happy. 

Journaling, both written and visual, have been conduits of wisdom, deep understanding, insight, and help with making decisions, including investing time in  myself every day, even if it's just 5 minutes. 

I highly recommend a written journal keeping practice as well as a visual one to invest time in yourself this year. But one of my greatest wishes is for you to discover what makes you happy and practice it every day. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID. 

​Journaling Prompt:
How has your journaling practice been a wise and beneficial investment in your life? Detail how your life has changed for the better as a result of keeping a written journal. 
Also, detail how your journaling practice has led you to the greatest benefit of your life. How did you discover it and how often do you engage in it? How do you feel about it afterwards? 

Art Journaling Prompt:
Using the Greatest Investment as a prompt, create an authentic visual that honors what you love about art journaling or another activity that lifts your spirit and leaves you feeling fabulous. What do you love about it so much? Relish the process! 

As you can see by the title to this post, I'm starting a new series of doodle/art related posts in association with an Art Journal Challenge I signed up for called Color Me Positive. :) They post a new challenge each week, and our first one had the theme, Gratitude. 

As I have already noted, this is an art journal challenge. But I did not choose to use my current art journal as my substrate of choice. No, instead I decided to go the Doodle route and use a page in my art sketchbook where I take notes, make headers for my blog and experiment. 

With the challenge having a focus on gratitude, I decided right away that I didn't want to use the word, Gratitude, in my visual. Instead, I came up with a way of expressing gratitude using different terms, so I decided to use: Thank You Very Much.

Once I determined what words I would start with, I then considered what I would include for the items I am thankful for. The three (good number!) I considered and used are: Creativity (but, of course, right?), Love, and Connection with Spirit.

Of course, creativity includes all of my Creative Practice Elements: Art Journaling, Journaling, Doodling, Watercolor Painting, Collage, Walking, Reading, etc. My creative practice has had such a positive impact on my life that I want to encourage every person to build one of their own. It can be simply life-changing. Why? Because it gives you a way to express yourself, go deeper with yourself and understand yourself better. Plus, it's FUN. It's a way to Play. And we ALL need more PLAY in our lives! 

The second one is focused on Love, which includes my relationship with my husband, my daughters, and my grandson, as well as others who are dear to me, both relationally and based in quality friendships. Love makes everything more meaningful and purposeful. Love never fails. 

The third, yet most important, in my list is my Connection with Spirit. I wouldn't have anything at all without it. And it is the basis for everything I do. It's where my Intuition and Inner Wisdom come from, it's where my creativity finds its greatest strength, and how I keep the LIGHT ON in my life so I can see the next step on my journey. 

As far as process goes, I determined I would use wavy lines as my framework, and then I drew in letters for my message, determining spacing and design as I worked my way through. Then I determined what sort of embellishments I would use to create visual interest as well as what colors I would incorporate to help express what I was feeling the most authentic way possible. 

I really enjoyed the idea of bright sunshine where my Connection with Spirit was located since this is the Light that shows me the way with every step. The rest of the embellishments are focused on geometrics, with squares and diamonds and circles, molding to the shapes around them. I had a lot of fun with this design creation. 

Journaling Prompt:
What would be your focus with the words: Thank You Very Much? What top three dimensions of your life would you include if you made such a visual? Why would you choose those elements over others? What do these choices say about what's most important to you? 

Art Journal Prompt: 
Using the words, Thank You, create a visual spread that incorporates what you valued the most in the past year and why it was priority in your life. Use images and text that show the most heartfelt message that comes to you in this creation to honor your heart and process as you play in your journal. 

It has been a tradition of sorts for me to take a look back on my year and see what has changed, what has stayed the same and how I've grown in different dimensions of my life. 

So, with 2015 almost gone, I thought I'd continue the tradition here at Refresh Daily to share my thoughts, my perspective and my anticipation for the future. 

I wanted to start by talking about this blog, Refresh Daily. I have had an interesting, fun and adventuresome time as a blogger since 2007. (Yes, I've been around in the blog sphere for 8 years now.) A little background: I started on Blogger with my personal blog, JournalWriter Freelance. I then changed it up with Refresh with Dawn Herring: For a Fresh Perspective. I also added the blog with a focus on #JournalChat and journaling related info. Then I added Your Authentic Refreshment with interviews about folks who have found what refreshes them. 

Since then, I started creating a blog here at www.dawnherring.net and decided to call it Refresh Daily. But as of this year, I've made Refresh Daily my primary creativity-focused blog where I share my artistic point of view concerning all of my adventures, and I have had SUCH a BLAST sharing with you my art journal spreads, my Doodle Dynamics, my book reviews, Creative Conversations, plus other great stuff like what inspires me, my wardrobe finds and my Refresh Daily YouTube Videos! 

With so much to share, Refresh Daily has become my favorite place to reveal my artistic process, my life insights and some inspiration for you, my dear readers, to keep a journal and to activate Your Creative Center. 

This Refresh Daily place has truly refreshed me! So it's a win-win. 

I have also launched Refresh Daily Video, where I share creativity tips, including journaling and art journaling prompts, to encourage the simplicity of being creative without feeling overwhelmed or guilty. I also include refreshing clips from my creative walks, from birds and nature-based visuals. I've had so much fun with that! 

I also joined a new Social Media Platform called Periscope, an app-based live video broadcast you use from your phone or other devise to record anything you like! Of course, my focus is on creativity and giving you an inside view of my creative practice. (Follow me at @DawnHerring)

Plus, I've joined Instagram, sharing my visual art and photos I take on my walks. 

I still continue hosting #JournalChat Live for all things journaling on Social Media, posting links on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Facebook where we have a thriving membership of journal and art journal keepers, as well as launching the new format of the OPEN HOUSE, where journal keeping enthusiasts write blog posts to a specific topic which I share on Social Media and on my website, bringing you more great journaling content for your journaling inspiration! You can read my Thank You Post for this past year of 2015 for those who have been a part of our #JournalChat Live activities!

Refresh Journal was my newsletter that I published for 4 years, and I chose to Retire it back in the spring. You can read my post about my decision here. I so appreciate those who were regular readers of Refresh Journal and I appreciate your interest in Refresh Daily, where I post all of my content now. :)

On the personal side of things, I continue my creative practice with keeping a personal written journal, which I record in twice per day, sometimes more, which also includes my evening doodle, where I look back on my day, create a word or phrase that describes it best, and doodle with black Uniball pen and Winsor Newton Watercolor markers, which is such a refreshing, relaxing creative practice. I've had so much FUN with this!

I also continue to keep an art journal, as Refresh Daily attests, which combines watercolor, mixed media, collage, text, stamping, stenciling, image, and experimentation, that brings the subconscious to the fore. Art journaling continues to be a very powerful practice for me. 

I continue strong with my commitment to paint with watercolor daily, a decision I made back in the summer of 2014. I enjoy putting dots of paint on the canvas, watercolor paper, etc, using an intuitive approach so I can express myself from the heart. I never regret the time invested in my watercolor practice; it truly refreshes me.

I would be remiss not to mention my spiritual practice which directly inspires my creative practice as I study spiritual texts, keep spiritual journals, and pray/meditate and stay connected to Spirit to keep the Light On. 

I am looking forward sharing new content here at Refresh Daily in 2016, including my Periscope broadcasts and Refresh Daily Video, my newest additions to my creative content. I simply love connecting with many journal and art journal keepers, writers, artists, and other creatives on social media and look forward to connecting with YOU in 2016. 

I plan more OPEN HOUSES for #JournalChat Live in 2016, so I am looking forward to YOUR Contribution as journal keeping enthusiasts so we can share with the world the great benefits of keeping a journal and what a powerful tool it is in every day life! 

I want to especially thank YOU, my dear Refresh Daily readers, for making my time on Social Media and on my blog such a rewarding experience. I have received such fabulous feedback on the insight and care I put into what I share and how many have been inspired to get more creative and keep a journal, initiating self care and positive change that leads to personal empowerment. 

Here at Refresh with Dawn Herring my goal is to show you how the Creative Spirit can come to LIFE in your every day experience as well as in your business. Through finding what your creative practice can look like, which can give you fantastic benefits in every dimension of your life, as well as how to infuse your business with your creativity, and showcasing that creativity on Social Media, your creative practice can help you stand out in your areas of expertise. My programs, Your Business Refreshed! and Your Life Refreshed!, can help you do that, with my creative experience and my social media marketing direction. I look forward to working with you as your Creative and Social Media Consultant both personally and professionally in 2016! 

So, that's my review of 2015. 

Thanks so much for your interest at Refresh with Dawn Herring, at my Refresh Daily blog, and connecting with me on Social Media. I look forward to continuing our creative conversation in 2016. 

Of course, I won't forget to remind you to refresh yourself in 2016. And I mean that! <3

Journaling Prompt:
Take time to look back on your year of 2015. Be sure to recognize your accomplishments no matter how small, what you let go of, and what you made more time for. Assess if there's is anything you should release as you head into 2016. 

Art Journal Prompt: 
Using 2015 as your prompt, express your emotions and recognize how far you've come in your journey toward aligning with Who You Are and honor that process visually, with images, text, or simply color. Relish the moment. 

Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2015 Header by Dawn Herring



 

I read the book, Eat, Pray, Love, several years ago, and I've watched Elizabeth Gilbert speak several times. I find her sense of humor, her forthrightness and her honesty refreshing, so when I found out she came out with a new book, AND it was about CREATIVITY, which is one of my favorite subjects--well, you know I just had to get my hands on it and see what all the hubbub was about! 

Her new title,BIG MAGIC: Creative Living Beyond Fear, is a BIG PERMISSION SLIP to have Fun, Follow Your Curiosity (which I talk about here in my video, Creative Curiosity), not to take yourself so seriously (martyr syndrome) but to go about pursuing creativity from the perspective of PLAY, taking it light, and why not dress up for the occasion to keep inspiration fresh? Showing up because you want to because you like it. 

Elizabeth sprinkles stories, anecdotes, and relevant words of wisdom, sometimes on the humorous side, to prove her specific points on being brave (because being creative takes guts, folks!), on the amazing experience of when inspiration comes at you and even through you like a creative force, and the issue of not giving up and learning to trust yourself and the process of letting your creative expression flow. 

I laughed aloud several times during this insightful and interesting read. I think one of my favorite parts is when she describes dressing up for a refreshed inspiration session. I also enjoyed her inside track on writing several of her other books (it helps to see what others experience in the writing process). And I appreciation her revelations about her parent's influence on her while growing up and how those values have stayed with her over time. 

Inspiration, laughter, permission and going about your play with curiosity just because you like it. 

That's BIG MAGIC. 

Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2015 Header image by Dawn Herring 

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Here is my latest Periscope Refresh with Dawn Herring Broadcast where I talk about the elements of My Creative Practice, which includes journaling, art journaling, doodling, watercolor painting, and walks. And I talk about the importance of doing something you love every single day. 

Hello, Art Journal Friends. Today's featured spread, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, had an interesting start. I recently got my hands on a different kind of bubble wrap from a package containing a book that I used. I applied watercolor to one side and then applied the paint on the wrap to the page with a brayer. And--whalla! Lovely, colorful texture! I applied this on repeat with several colors: red violet, yellow, and violet. 

Once I had those layers down, I found some magazine pages with yellow and violet colors, tore them in bits and adhered them with matte medium. Once I had that down, I had to give this beginning some serious thought. I didn't have a "message" come to me right away. But once I came back to it, I eyed the "path of yellow" created by the torn bits of collage and it reminded me of the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz. Aha!

I now had my message: Follow the Yellow Brick Road! 

Once I knew this, I went to work/play on how I would display each word. The words, Follow and Yellow, I cut out free hand from colored construction paper. I love the long, exaggerated letters. I then adhered them with matte medium in a random fashion. Once the letters were down, I used oil pastel to bring out the edges and highlight them.  I also cut out rectangles of purple and stamped each one with a letter to spell "the." I also highlighted the letters with pen. 

Then I got to work on the words Brick Road, and I knew I wanted to do my own lettering with Uniball Pen. I love doodling in my evening journal entry, so I applied my same lettering techniques here, adding lines to each letter and alternating the colors. I  added black dots to every other space to create bricks in the letters. I also accented the letters with a black brush pen to give them a bit of shadow for more pop on the page. I added musical notes and other stamped words to enhance to purpose of the spread. 

I did want to say a word about the message behind, Follow the Yellow Brick Road. The thing that stood out to me the most about it was the difference between when being able to recognize when the road you are traveling leads to HOME or if it's a situation where you feel you've been confused by an illusion. And when you realize it was an illusion, it's as if you've seen behind the "curtain" to what's really there, and it's a true disappointment. Yet, the silver lining is what Glenda the Good Witch told Dorothy, "You've had what you needed all along." What I say is this: The Truth Comes From Within. And you will always find the Truth if you are seeking it, even if you have to get past Illusion to find it. 

Journaling Prompt: 
Can you remember a time where you felt like you were on a yellow brick road and how what you thought it would lead you to was an Illusion? How did you reckon with this discovery? Were you disappointed? Where you relieved to discover it when you did so you could get past it? How has it impacted you in your life today?

Art Journal Prompt: 
Create Your Own Yellow Brick Road and show where it led you and where you are now. Honor your path by validating how you felt at that time and how you have responded to the Truth you have discovered since. You can use map pieces to create a travel perspective as a background visual. 

This art journal spread, Pathways, took me on a colorful pathway with reds and purples. Since my previous spread worked out so well with using a brayer to apply watercolor paint to the page, I decided to continue this trend yet again, applying layers of red washes. When I applied the purple hues, I used a palette knife for more focused areas and controlled application. Once I had that done, I accentuated the areas of paint with torn bits of magazine paper in red I had stashed and applied them with matte medium. This created areas  or sections on each side, and they reminded me of pathways that lead to different places. Thus, Pathways, became my focus. That's when I determined to stamp out the word pathways along two of those sections, one on each side, using red and purple paint. 

As I considered the issue of Pathways and what ones are in my life right now, (this is what happens as I'm creating an art journal spread: it opens pathways of thought and brings subconscious ideas to the fore and that's when I learn something about myself; always worth the time invested). As I considered my next step in this spread, I began to think about what this message could be teaching me right now. In this process, I determined to stamp out the question: Where will they lead? I used my Uniball white pen on stamped letters and the wrote the word, Lead, with Uniball pens in different colors. I also outlined the white letters with red pen. 

Once I had the question down, I knew I needed a conclusive message to sort of answer it...What I determined was...The Aligned Path Always Leads Home. Aha! (Pause for a Epiphany moment). It's funny. My word for 2015 has been Aligned. (Yes, I'm sharing a secret here.) So naturally the word came to mind in conjunction with pathways. And that was my concluding answer...and you know how I determined that? Due to life experience. When I'm aligned, I'm HOME. Everything just FEELS right. And I know when I'm not. And want to get realigned as soon as possible!! 

So I stamped out the "the" in white Uniball pen, then stamped Aligned with large alpha stamps in red watercolor and highlighted them with white pen. I then hand drew letters for PATH with white pen and filled them with red pen.  I hand wrote "always leads" and highlighted with white pen. Then I stamped "home" with ink and alpha letters. I also had some fun cutting out Arrows from colored construction paper and adhered them in various spots around the Pathways showing different directions. But the concluding "Story" behind this spread is I always want to be Aligned becomes that's where I'm home. And it's very good. 

Journaling Prompt: 
Do you know where your Aligned Path to HOME is? If so, detail what it feels like and looks like when you are there. Also describe when you know you're NOT aligned and the process you use to get realigned. 

Art Journal Prompt: 
Honor your HOME place in your art journal through images, text and maybe even colored arrows pointing to home using your favorite or associative colors that remind you of HOME. You can also use the word Aligned as a focal point. 

Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2015 Art Journal Images by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2015 Art by Dawn Herring 

Intuition is a powerful tool that I believe in underused and neglected. I didn't realize its power fully until later in life. But I'm so glad I understand its importance and how I can activate it and pay closer attention to it so I can benefit from it! 

Enter My Personal Journal. 

Taking my catylistic tool of journal writing and using the pages to record what my intuition is telling me is something I have found has changed my life for the better. As a matter of fact, I could not overstate the importance of these two powerful tools in my life. 

The thing is, we all have Intuition. But do we listen to it? 

It can sometimes be a challenge to know what voice we are hearing since we hear more than one; this can be disconcerting. But I have found that when I persist in knowing the truth about that Intuitive Voice, I have been able to recognize it more distinctly than ever before. 

How? Because I've been able to TRUST IT. 

Each time I pay close attention to the message coming from my heart, I get to know it all the better. And the more I know it, the more I KNOW. 

Knowing is HUGE when it comes to every day decision making, direction for the future, even when to do something on which day for the best energy applied. 

My journal is the perfect place to Keep Track of those daily intuitive hits that give me clear guidance and sometimes insight that I would not otherwise have. 

My journal and my intuition are both Gifts; and for me, they are to be used for my benefit. Why? Because as I see the track record of the positive changes I have made as a result of listening by journaling, it helps to heighten my confidence and it gives me opportunities that I wouldn't otherwise have. 

Listening to my intuition and recording those insights and plans to make change has enabled me to do what I never thought possible. And it's so exciting when I see and experience those positive changes where the rubber meets the road. Especially when the benefits are unexpected. 

Journal keeping is a way to record what is inside my heart, what I dream of, and what really matters to me. Intuition is the power source (that we all have inside of us from the Creator) that keeps my pen moving across the page in celebration of all I have come to understand and experience, knowing I can TRUST the guidance I receive and can have full confidence for the follow through. 

Journal Keeping and Intuition: So happy together. A Lesson Worth Learning.

Journaling Prompt: 
What was the last intuitive hit you received? Did you listen to it? If you did, how did you benefit? If you didn't, did you see what could have been possible had you listened? (Remember to be gentle with yourself if you didn't. We don't always know for sure if it is our intuition we are hearing; it takes practice!) 

Art Journaling Prompt:
Ask your Intuitive Voice about an issue you need to resolve; then create a spread or page showing the answer in color, text, image or whatever suits your creative expression. You can create a follow up spread to show the results of following your intuition and celebrate what good came of it. 

Note: I wrote this post as my contribution to our September #JournalChat Live OPEN HOUSE where we are sharing Life Lessons we have learned as a direct result of our journal keeping practice. 
Always remember that Your Journaling Voice Matters! 

Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2015 Graphic Header by Dawn Herring