![]() Hello friends, creatives, journal keepers, small business owners and those looking to Find Their Creative Voice. Today I would like to share some tips on Journaling, especially for those who are just starting or want to start a journaling practice. What I share here is intended to help you build a strong, empowering foundation from the very beginning so that you'll want to come back to your journal again and again because you enJOY it so much! This post, Your Journaling "Why" is the first in a series I plan to share here at Refresh Daily, with the aim and goal of giving you a step by step guide toward personal empowerment with journal keeping. Today I would like to ask the question: Why do you want to keep a journal? There can be a myriad of reasons: 1. You have heard that journaling can be beneficial for well being, for personal and emotional expression on the page. 2. You have seen others keep journals, whether through text, image or a mix of both, and you are curious about starting one of your own. 3. You enJOY writing and thought journaling would give you a similar benefit. 4. You've had other friends encourage you to try journal writing even though you have no idea where to start. 5. You think it might be fun. Now all of these reasons can be completely legitimate and true. It can be truly inspiring to see others using their journals, to hear about the benefits of journaling and to use writing as a way to express yourself. My goal and aim is to encourage you to reflect on the deeper "why" of this desire to record your thoughts in a book for safe keeping. When we determine what we hope to derive from such a practice, it can help us determine how to go about it so we can experience more longevity. To help you get started and inspired, you are more than welcome to click on either image below and receive my 2 resources, The Art of Journaling Toolbox that contains 7 Power Tools for journal writing and The ART of Journaling Prompt PLAY Book, which contains 31 prompts, questions and image suggestions to bring more PLAY into your day! Let me share with you my "Whys" for Journaling. Journaling, for me, gives a place to express my Creative Voice, to record my intuitive hits (for a written track record when my intuition hits the bulls eye!), to hash out what is working for me creatively, to express my angst when boundaries are necessary for my well being, and to have a written record of my life insights and happenings, which are extremely important to me. Other reasons are for Clarity, Fun, Connection with Spirit, and a place to practice my doodling/hand lettering fun each evening. (Purchase the current journal/sketchbook that I'm using right now.) So, what do You have in mind for the reason you would like to start one? How about recognizing patterns, especially ones that are no longer serving you, so you can create new ones that will enhance your well being and self-care? This ultimately initiates positive change that leads to personal empowerment. Are you looking for something specific? Do you just want to have fun and see how it goes? Do you want to dive deeper into Who You Are and take a listen to The Higher Voice inside you that can tell you what you want to know? I encourage you to give journaling a try. Use the resources, The ART of Journaling Tool Box and Prompt PLAY Book, that I have for you so you can get a jumpstart and not lose momentum. The 7 Power Tools keep things fresh so you don't have to do the same thing on repeat (unless you want to). Sometimes, folks get bored just writing down the same thoughts every day. These power tools will help you keep it fresh, fun and fabulous. Just click on either image above. My aim and desire for you is to find your perfect sweet spot when it comes to journaling, and determining Why is a great first step toward getting a strong start that can make all the difference between journaling regularly with JOY and getting stuck and bored and forgetting about it altogether.
Journaling Prompt: Start this entry by writing down three reasons you want to keep a journal. Be completely honest even if you think your reason is silly or outside the box. Determine which reason most resonates with you and go deeper with it in your journal, beyond Scratching the Surface. Art Journal Prompt: Using the word WHY in your spread, cut out letters or words to express your biggest reason to keep a visual journal. Doodle Prompt: "Why" can be a starting point word plus using Question Marks to highlight your reason. Read these blog posts for more inspiration: Scratching the Surface with Sketchbooks Communicating Clearly Book Review on Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee Copyright Text 2019 Dawn Herring Copyright Header 2019 Dawn Herring
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Hello friends, journal keepers, creatives, artists and small business owners. I am excited to share with you the replay of The ART of JOY with Dawn Herring interview hosted by Andrea Lewis, from her live Radio Show, Heal Past Wounds and Bring JOY Back, which took place on March 7. We chatted about how journaling is a power tool for personal empowerment, my artistic and journaling practices and how JOY can be simple to incorporate into day to day life.
I thoroughly enJOYed our conversation and trust that you will be inspired and get motivated to start your journaling practice or to take it to the next level, as well as have impetus to Find Your Creative Voice. EnJOY and do leave a comment below with your feedback. We'd love to hear from you! ![]()
Hello friends, creatives, journal keepers, artists and small business owners!
I'm excited to share with you a book review for Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee. I originally found this title visually on Pinterest (follow me at Refresh with Dawn Herring); and I'm sure if you've known me for any length of time, that you would know that anything with JOY in the title is sure to get my attention! So I knew I had to get my hands on a copy, and I'm so glad I did. Ingrid is detailed, comprehensive and fun in her study on JOY as she dives deep into what initiates JOY from our Surroundings and WHY that happens. Through many interviews with architects, artists, designers and others who incorporate deliberate JOY into what they do, she showcases the initiators of JOY. Examples are color, shape, dynamic, energy, inspiration and a myriad of approaches to what can bring us JOY and Why. I love how she categorizes her 10 topical chapters (energy, abundance, freedom, harmony, play, surprise, transcendence, magic, celebration, renewal) and her comprehensive approach to sharing what each one represents, both seamlessly and with great detail. I enjoyed my reading of Joyful; it gave me new appreciation for my surroundings and even some ideas that I can incorporate into my space. I really loved her focus on abundance, giving examples of confetti, a ton of balloons, bubbles, and repeating wall paper as examples of what can bring us JOY visually and why it has such an impact on us. Yes, there is a science to it all! Somehow, this title, Joyful, really affirmed what I have already discovered and experienced as a JOY focused creative, and it just made me smile knowing that I've got this whole JOY thing right! We can have more JOY in our lives by deliberately choosing what is in our surroundings, how we decorate, how we dress, and how we connect with others in community. Love this quote from the book: "At the Heart of Celebration is a kind of mathematical paradox: the more we share joy, the more it grows." Ingrid does such a splendid job on this title, Joyful, that I wholly recommend it. Plus she offers several resources to help you figure how best to approach your choices in creating more JOY in your life every day. Thank you so much, Ingrid, for writing this book; it was a true blessing to read it and I'm delighted to share it with my readers. P.S. I've included Ingrid's TED Talk below, Where JOY Hides and How to Find it.
As an avid journal keeper, I know it can be helpful to have more than one approach to journaling to keep it relevant, revealing and renewing, as well as a prompt or question to keep things fun, fresh and fabulous. You can now receive all this journal keeping support with The ART of Journaling Tool Box, filled with 7 Power Tools for your journaling as well as The ART of Journaling Prompt PLAY Book, filled with 31 prompts, questions and image suggestions to PLAY with in your journaling practice. Whether you're just getting started or looking for some fresh starting points, the resources are simply Perfect for Powerful Playing that leads to personal empowerment. Just click on either image and get started! And let me know which ones are working for YOU right now.
Journaling Prompt: Look at your surroundings and do an analysis in your journal about what you like the most about areas in your home and what you would like to change to make it more JOYful and aligned with Who You Are as Artist of Your Life. Art Journal Prompt: Have fun with some JOYful images that encapsulate how you want to feel with more JOY in your life. Doodle Prompt: Using JOY or JOYful as a starting point, draw circles, confetti and/or bubbles to highlight and accentuate JOY visually. You can read previous book reviews: Creative Revolution by Flora Bowley The Creative License by Danny Gregory I Just Like to Make Things by Lilla Rogers Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Watercolor from the Heart by Barbara Nechis Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin Copyright 2019 Review by Dawn Herring Copyright 2019 Art by Dawn Herring Hello friends, creatives, journal keepers, artists and small business owners! I've got some fun insights to share with you from this past week. I so enJOY sharing what inspires me, what fills my creative well and what I'm thinking about and working on behind the scenes as Artist, Designer, Creative and journal keeper. This past week, I watched a movie titled, A Brilliant Young Mind, which is a story about a young man in school who is Mathematically a genius, the mentors/teachers that helped him and his parental story, his pain and his connection with others in the process. One of the things that fascinates me with these stories of autistic children is how they think, how they process their world, and how they use their gifts to excel and make a life for themselves. In this particular story, the young man's way of thinking is in Patterns. Thus the mathematical interest and genius in his application and focus. This gave me food for thought concerning patterns and how they influence me as an Artist. Whether it's a pattern in wall paper, in a rug, with tiles on the wall, and even from questions on a standardized test (remember those?), patterns are everywhere. In interior contexts, I have patterned preferences, ones that are loose and more abstract, rather than repeated, ongoing. You know, the kind that keeps your eye too busy when your'e trying to concentrate or have a conversation and it's distracting you... I prefer focal points that inspire versus an ongoing continuum. I once had a rug that had different sized squares with many of my favorite colors. That rug was really cool, and I loved looking at it. It was restful yet colorful. No repeating patterns. Yep. This movie actually inspired me to think more deeply on what I prefer as designer, artist and resident of my abode. Of course, I recorded all these observations and considerations in my journal because of its relevance, it being a great way to keep track of my Artistic Mind and where it might lead with future designs that I create. Want to keep your journaling practice more relevant, revealing and renewing? Check out The ART of Journaling Tool Box filled with 7 Power Tools I use to keep journaling fresh, fun and fabulous. Just click on the image to sign up and get your free PDF! Ready to P-L-A-Y with your next journal entry with prompts, questions and image suggestions for journaling, art journaling, doodling/drawing? Check out The ART of Journaling Prompt PLAY Book, perfect companion to The ART of Journaling Tool Box. Just click on either image to sign up and get your complimentary download today! In continuing with the movie's story (spoiler alert if you haven't seen it yet!), the young man has a horrifying experience in the car with his Dad driving, where someone runs a red light and there's a head-on collision, killing his Dad on impact. Traffic lights are featured frequently in the movie as a reminder of what he saw in patterns at the time of his Dad's death. He had a very close relationship with his dad, despite his autism, since his dad understood him deeply and often used humor to connect with him. This created many poignant memories throughout the movie at times in the young man's life that were deeply significant. As a Grandmother of a grandson with autism, I deeply appreciated the father's connection with his son and his desire to enable his son to feel secure, loved and appreciated for who he was. I pay close attention to my grandson's development (since his birth!) and when he struggles or when he's thrilled, I try to understand him on the deepest of levels, both in connection with how I felt as a child as well as wanting to feel what he is feeling, which can be challenging when he's in his own "world." Not only do I connect with him emotionally but also through humor, just by the way I say things to him. I have had the privilege of hearing him say to me, "Grandma, you crack me up!" Sometimes I'll ask him what was so funny, and he will reiterate what I said. It's always nice when he understands my humor and appreciates my communication with him on that level. It brings me great JOY. As I continued to reflect on A Brilliant Young Mind, I realized that life is full of repeating patterns, some of which we deeply enJOY and others we would prefer to change in order to grow. Whatever patterns suit you, pay closer attention. They may give you deeper insight into why you like what you do. Whatever life patterns you realize in your own reflections, remember that you always have the power to change in order to grow, if necessary. And those patterns you've developed to make self care a priority, appreciate them afresh as you relish the poignant moments that you experience from the heart. Journaling Prompt:
Recall a pattern you remember from childhood and detail what it looked like. Why did it leave such an impression, and was it positive or negative? Compare that pattern with ones you have in your current environment. Any similarities? What are the differences? Which do you prefer? Art Journaling Prompt: Find a pattern you really love in a magazine and use it to frame your next art journal spread, using colors and words to show your appreciation for such resonating visuals. Doodle Prompt: Create a Pattern in your sketch book using colors and motives that are your favorites. If you are a small business owner, and you desire to feel empowered and confident with the visuals you use to market your products and services, and you would like a more customized approach to how you present yourself in the marketplace, check out my service, Dawn's Dynamic Designs: Hand Lettering and Illustration. My great desire is to create art for your business brand, products and services, so you can approach the market knowing you can attract the right client with the right visual. Plus with 10 years of experience in Social Media Marketing, I can take the overwhelm out of the navigation. I look forward to hearing from you! Copyright 2019 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2019 Images by Dawn Herring Hello friends, journal keepers, creatives, artists, and small business owners! I'm excited to share with you some important developments I've discovered and uncovered for myself, both in my journaling practice and as an Artist and Creative. The month of January in this New Year of 2019 has been very introspective for me. I realize it can be that way for a lot of people as we determine what we want to accomplish with the setting of goals often being the focal point. But for me, I think it's been more of a comprehensive looking inward as I focus on Who I Am as a Creative, Journal Keeper, Artist and family member, and friend to You, dear reader! So, I've been taking a lot of time, going deep into the recesses of my journal and my thoughts, putting them on the page. And it's been quite a revealing time for me. (One of the elements of The ART of Journaling ToolBox is for your journaling to be Revealing; see below to subscribe and get the PDF resource for your practice and take it to the next level!) Before I share more deeply what I discovered, I also wanted to share with you about two card decks that I use for such times like this. The first one is my Spiritual Deck. The idea for this one came from Julia Cameron, author of The Vein of Gold, a tome not mentioned often with her as author, but it's my favorite, and I've read most of her published works, including The Artists's Way of which she is most known for. In her book, The Vein of Gold, she offers an activity to build for yourself a Spiritual Deck. It contains your favorite things and people, plus much more. When I use this card deck, after shuffling three times, I pull three cards off the top, one for the past, one for the present and one for the future. This current card "reading" I did for myself opened up the energy for me to look back to the beginnings of myself as an Artist, which takes me all the way back to when I was 8. Yes. Remembering that far back is a bit of a challenge! So as I prayerfully discerned this possibility, I decided that after I recorded the details of this reading, which I always do in my personal journal as a record of what I've discovered, I determined that I would write a letter to my 8 year old self. Yes. After a full page, I was amazed what came out. And it shifted my energy in such a way that it was surprising. It was truly a way to honor myself at that age and give me a fresh voice to be heard. And I'm glad I listened! Deep journaling, when you give it space and connect it with what is truly relevant to you, can make all the difference in helping to see yourself in a whole new light (sort of like an Inner Seeing), with fresh appreciation of where you've come from and where you want to go. ![]() I'm so excited to offer you The ART of Journaling Tool Box filled with 7 Power Tools for your journaling practice to keep it Relevant, Revealing and Renewing! Whether you're just getting started or could use a jumpstart after being away for a while, or you just want to try something new, The ART of Journaling Toolbox is what you've been looking for! Just click on the image to subscribe! The second card deck is what I refer to as my JOY Deck, which I've used during Live Facebook Events. I decided to pull it out and do a reading from that as well using the same approach. And it showed me again, the importance of that inner child and who I was as that young artist and what I can learn from her now moving forward. It revealed more of what I already knew and clarified my direction and my focus concerning where I want to expend my energy when I create. (Currently I am illustrating dresses and working on my first Lyric Lines Design Series which I talk about in my post, My Visual View. ) As I have gone deeper into my journaling practice, writing up to 2 or 3 times per day instead of just one evening entry, it has given me SPACE to listen, to dream, to love, to understand myself on a deeper level. And it has given me a fresh appreciation for Who I Am as an Artist and Creative as well as going deeper in Connection with Spirit. That's really where it all begins, and journaling is my Power Tool to peel away the layers to get to my Deeper Truths that I aim to live by every day. If you want to go deeper in your journaling practice, or you simply are looking for inspiration, do click on The ART of Journaling Tool Box image above and subscribe today! Then enJOY some inspiration for tapping into Your Creative Voice and Honor Who You Are as Artist of Your Life. Journaling Prompt:
What does Going Deeper mean to you? What immediately comes to mind? What one activity in your life would initiate going deeper most naturally? Record this in detail in your journal, then determine how you can make this happen right now. Art Journaling Prompt: Choose an image that means Deep to you, then choose your favorite way to create text (hand letter, stamp, cut out letters, stickers) and describe what going deep means to you. Doodle Prompt: Draw the word DEEP as if it were deep! Or draw an image of something that feels deep to you. How does that make you feel? You can answer this question in your journal. Copyright 2019 Dawn Herring Copyright 2019 Images by Dawn Herring Hello dear friends, subscribers, journal keepers, creatives, artists, small business owners! It's great to be with you again here in this New Year of 2019!! Happy New Year to you all! With this new year having begun and moving at a quick pace (always, right?), I have managed to determine a focal word, which I have done for 6 or 7 years now, most of the time it having a positive impact on my focus for the year. For this year of 2019, My Word is SPACE. I shared briefly about this word choice with my subscribers to The ART of JOY. Click the image to sign up if you're not already! (Then you'll also get The ART of Journaling Tool box, filled with 7 Power Tools for your journaling practice to help keep it relevant, revealing and renewing!) I wanted to go more in depth into what the word Space means for me and why I chose it. Space can connote making space for something--such as creative time in my studio, or time to write and sing with my tambourine, or watching a movie if I want to. Space can also suggest room for Quiet: the space where I sit in stillness, meditate and relax. To me, this is imperative. I began this practice more regularly last year in connection with my spiritual practice of prayer/meditation/singing/study and songwriting. This time is stillness has been profound, so SPACE is a huge initiator for that time of Quiet. In this fast paced world, Quiet seems so foreign, doesn't it? That's why we have to choose to make space for it. And when in meditation, that space can infiltrate into our thought process, leaving room for peace and JOY. Space can also suggest to me the area around me literally; whether in my office, my studio, or in my private space in my bedroom. It can mean honoring my preferences with what I see, hear and feel around me. Color, texture, books I love, and even my small clock that sits on my desk so I can see what time it is at a glance. When I think of my bedroom, the word Comfort comes to mind. Soft blankets, fluffy pillows, comfortable bed linens, and a place for all my essentials, such as my journal, my markers and pens, my lap desk, and my PJs. What feels good to me is important; I have found myself asking myself, what brings you comfort? And I really pay attention to that. My throw that I use in my bed looks like a leopard print and it feels as soft as a cat's fur! (I don't currently have a cat so it's a nice side effect.) So I really enJOY using it. Did you know that writing in my journal actually comforts me? Especially when I want to express angst, disappointment, or struggle that I'm dealing with currently. I feel better afterwards, because I feel heard, even though it's just me speaking in my personal journal; or it may just seem that way since, for me, it's also my sharing with my Higher Self as well, which is important to me. Perhaps you would derive more comfort through a journaling practice, if you don't already have one. Just click on the image for The ART of Journaling Tool box to help you get started or to get a boost when you need it most! Those 7 Power Tools are my go-to to keep things fresh, fabulous and fun! Choosing the word SPACE can also suggest making room for Curiosity--giving myself "permission" to follow something that interests me, whether watching a video, searching for a book title I'd like to check out, or looking at art that inspires me. There are so many ways I can honor Who I Am as an Artist, and making Space for my Curiosity is important to me. Especially when it comes to stuff others around me have no interest in. What really matters is that I have interest. I love viewing other's journal page spreads and how they create their own planners, or sketch with pen and fill with watercolor. What inspires me as an Artist, Designer and Creative is important enough to me in which to Make Space. So whether, I'm looking for Quiet, Comfort or want to follow my Curiosity, Making Space, being Mindful of my Choices with how and where I spend my time and its impact on my well being, is a way to give me clarity about Who I am and my Purpose which is a peaceful and JOYFul place to be. And when I experience the positive effects of these essences of Space, I can then share them with YOU, dear friend! Journaling Prompt: Have you chosen your word for the year? If so, why did you choose it and what do you hope this word focus will help you accomplish? Always remember that the word choice purpose is to create awareness so you can be mindful of what's important to you. Let this be a nourishing time to help get your New Year Started right. Art Journaling Prompt: Using the word, Space, or your own Word Choice, as a prompt, use colors and textures that speak to that word choice, stamping out its meaning with alpha stamps or cut out letters from magazines. You're welcome to use an image of yourself to focus on what this word means to you. Doodle Prompt: I love doodling a word or phrase at the end of my day to encapsulate its meaning for me. You can use your Word for 2019 and really give it some pizzazz with your favorite markers, pens, pencils, paints...whatever suits your fancy. Really have fun with this one. Copyright 2019 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2019 Images by Dawn Herring Our Creative Energy can be a power house for expression and leaving our meaningful mark in the world, but sometimes we may find ourselves using that energy in too many places at once. We may want to go after this project and that activity and end up feeling pulled into too many directions. When that happens, we can lack direction which is a good time to get back to center.
I find that when I look at all the different things I'm doing, it's helpful to ask the question: What is Bringing Me the Most JOY? Once I determine what that is, that's where I choose to put my energy. Yes! (Of course I continue to fulfill needed responsibilities.) When we spread ourselves too thin, it can actually be a deterrent to our creative growth and to expanding on the very thing that brings us the most JOY. When we engage with too many things in our creative space, it can sometimes be disorienting, leaving us feeling misaligned, not in our creative flow. When we feel that way, we can take a closer look at where we might be putting our energy that may be making us feel like we're just spinning our wheels and not really getting anywhere. I want to give you Permission today for releasing your Self from working on something that just isn't working right now, especially if you feel like your energy is being wasted. It's okay to let it go for a time or for all time, if that's what it takes to get you back to center. When we align and center ourselves with what brings us the most JOY, we create a shift in our energy, getting back to Who We Are creatively. Looking at the contrast of feeling not as happy, too heavy, overwhelmed and disheartened and feeling like maybe we shouldn't even bother, it pays to give ourselves space so we can regroup and figure out what exactly we want to accomplish, where we want to go from here, how we want to grow as a creative being. It can help to dissect how we are feeling and where we are putting our energies as we detail our current place in our journal, helping us determine where the JOY resides in our creative path. Trust yourself as you look a little closer and make some choices that will lead you into a better place. Pay attention to your intuitive voice, especially if it's telling you to let go of something, if it's leading you in a different direction or showing you to expand on something you're already tapping into and it just needs a fresh approach to get where you want to go. It may just leads you to a place that lights you up, lifts your spirit and leaves you feeling fabulous! Find that place that feels expansive, fun and vibrant and aligns you with Who You Are Creatively.** Journaling Prompt: Make a list of all the activities you are currently engaged with. Note each one singly and see how your body responds as you read it out loud. Record your discoveries and nudges in those JOYful Directions. Then pick your favorite and go do it! Art Journaling Prompt: Using JOY as your starting place, use visuals and your favorite colors to showcase how you feel right now in your creative space, giving honor to what is bringing you the most JOY right now. Doodle Prompt: Create the word SHIFT in doodle form and see how your lettering can look shifty as you use your favorite pens, markers and colors to honor your creative experience. Note any associations that come to mind in your journal. Copyright 2018 Dawn Herring For those of you who prefer to listen to my Joy Filled Content, I have created Refresh Daily Podcast. This is audio with visuals for those who like to watch as well. For this Episode Two, the topic is Present JOY, both for the holiday season and every day. I originally recorded to main audio from a video greeting I included in my Christmas Edition of The JOY Finder, my newsletter, but I wanted to make it available to all for your creative and joy-filled benefit. EnJOY!
You're welcome to subscribe to my YouTube Channel for future Episodes of Refresh Daily Podcast. You're welcome to subscribe to The JOY Finder. You're welcome to view 7 Steps to Creative Clarity to see if it might be the perfect Holiday Gift for YOU or someone you love. You're welcome to view Dawn's Life Directives and Affirmations Coloring Pages with Prompts and see if it might be the perfect Holiday Gift for YOU or someone you love. As an artist and creative, I’m always looking to stretch myself and try new things, sort of change things up to keep me on my creative toes but not so much that I feel strained or burdened. JOY is what drives me to pursue different paths. My curiosity gets initiated and then I eventually just MUST make space to try out what’s been in my heart and desire to do. One of the issues I face as a artist is putting myself in a creative box, one I invent for myself, sometimes, without even realizing it. Then I begin to feel the confinement of that box, like something doesn’t feel quite right. Like my creative freedom is being minimized somehow. We all put ourselves in boxes of one sort or another, don’t we? And often, we have no idea that we have done so. We just start to feel restless, like something has to change, or we might just get a little annoyed! As a painter, for the past several years, I’m delved into intuitive transparent watercolor, both on canvas and on watercolor paper. I built myself a portfolio, both for public viewing as well as some personal paintings I have tucked away. But, alas, I have still felt other artistic urgings begging for attention, and I think they were starting to feel forlorn that I hadn’t done something about it already! Well, it was just a matter of time before I broke out of my transparent watercolor box and decided to try some mixed media, often a combination of transparent watercolor and gouache paint (which is more opaque in nature), as well as adding pen work with india ink. Plus the subject matter that has been pining after me has been fashion focused whether garments, jewelry, or handbags and shoes, etc. In the past year, I did do several pen renderings of my own jewelry and then I added a bit of watercolor marker for a colorful flair. But recently, I decided to make space for a fashion rendering of a colorful fur jacket that I’ve had pinned to my inspiration wall for some time now. Out came my gouache paints and my sketchbook, and I finally went to town with a paintbrush. I didn’t do any sketching ahead of time for structure or for figure work. I just started applying paint and ran with it. After the initial gouache groundwork, the next day I used my Winsor Newton watercolor markers and Faber Castell Artist Pitt Pens for added depth and texture. So this is basically my first attempt at rendering a fashion piece with paint and pen after many years of sketching/drawing fashions with pencil in my youth. I was quite delighted with the result. No, it isn’t perfect and I see my flaws. But it was a complicated piece and I’m satisfied with how it came together.
I’m sharing this with you, dear reader and friend, to show you the importance of making space for what is calling to you. Whatever it may be. I know we all have busy lives. And we all fall into our ruts of sorts that we just naturally follow, until we feel that pining inside and finally decide to do something about it. I’m glad I did. Yes, it took me a while from the time I pinned that image. But timing is everything. And I did this rendering on the heels of another painting I just completed, that is a combination of transparent watercolor, gouache, and collage with card stock, which is another creative goal I have met. Yes, in a sense, I feel like I'm on a roll with breaking out of the boxes I was in for a long time and really making space for the new. It doesn’t mean I’m going to donate all of my time to those new ventures. I like dabbling. And I still have my go-to stippled watercolor painting I so love to do and have from the beginning of my watercolor journey that started almost 7 years ago. My aim is to follow my intuitive heart wherever it may lead and indulge in what brings me the most creative JOY for my path. What will your Creative Path pine for next? Journaling Prompt: Make a list of 10 ideas you want to follow. Which one is pining most for your attention right now? Start making plans to open up space for one or two ideas that you feel the most drawn to. Remember to keep it simple so it’s do-able and brings the most JOY. Art Journaling Prompt: Break out of your art journaling “box” and try a new approach to a spread that you’ve been wanting to try but simply haven’t made time for. See what this new approach opens up for you! Doodle Prompt: Draw a box and items in the box that that have been your go-tos, things you’ve been doing for a long time or using that you want to put aside for now. Draw another box with the items that you are pining for or that are pining for your attention! Subscribe to The JOY Finder here! Get Creative with Dawn's Directives and Life Affirmations Coloring Pages with Prompts here! Copyright 2017 Art Rendering by Dawn Herring Copyright 2017 Blog Text by Dawn Herring Note: The image to the left is from Elle magazine and is copyright to them. Thanks for the inspiration, Elle! It's time for more Acronym fun, isn't it? I shared my September Acronym late in the month (better late than never, right?) so I'm back at it (albeit, late again...sometimes it take me over a week to remember we're in a new month!) with October's rendition, all with the purpose of initiating more JOY and Creativity in our daily lives.
Here is the acronym for October: Ongoing Creativity Takes Over Bringing Each Restoration Journaling Prompt: Make a list of the "creative" activities you have engaged in recently, wether in the last few days, weeks, or month. Note which activity you recall most clearly and the positive impact it had on your well being, bringing "restoration." Record it in detail. Art Journaling Prompt: Create a spread that shows what restoration or "rest" means to you and honor your creative space to reflect that essence. Doodle Prompt: Using your favorite doodle pen or other implement, create a doodle that focuses on the word "Restoration." and reflect on what that means to you. You may want to put the doodle in a frame to remind you of how your creativity enhances your well being. |
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![]() Dawn HerringDawn engages in many roles: As Writer/Blogger and Artist/Creative and Founder of Refresh with Dawn Herring: Where Art and JOY Align, She enjoys sharing from her vast experience as award-winning, life-long artist and leader in the field of written journaling, offering encouragement and proven tips to other journal keepers. Dawn's focus is on written journal keeping, artistic expression and finding your Creative Voice, and positive change that leads personal empowerment, encouraging you to leave your authentic and positive mark in the world. Dawn is a Commercial artist, hand letterer/illustrator and writer/blogger and enjoys sharing insights, humor, and encouragement as she shares from her life experiences as a woman, wife, mother of two grown daughters and as a Grandparent to a special needs grandson. She enjoys keeping a journal and reading spiritual texts to help keep the light on. May JOY Align with Your Creative Heart. Archives
August 2019
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