As the creator of a 21 Day Refresh Intensive Course, I wanted to get a Fresh Perspective on the course content and decided to engage with it once again. One of the things I appreciate about Refresh Intensive is the fact that it's evergreen, so it never grows old. We change every day, so each time we engage with questions we can answer or an activity that can show us something about ourselves, we can learn something new and profound. 

I wasn't disappointed! I was quite amazed with the discoveries I made throughout the course; it really did reveal things to me I was unaware of and it also clarified and affirmed some things I've experienced before. 

I don't mean to make this post an info-mercial for my course. My purpose is to simply share with you how I benefited from the journaling and other activities I engaged in and why I think it was a good investment of my time. 

First, I determined to do each day's Journaling either before or after my usual personal journaling since it seemed to fit and resonate with that time the best. I was fresh and ready to dig in at that time, so I could get the most out of it. 

One of the things I really love about each day's content/engagement are the options for further reflection and activity, such as art journal prompts, poetry ideas and more, and I felt like I could just run with something that really resonated and not feel obligated to do something that didn't interest me. 

I think the use of COLOR was the most FUN element in whatever context it was contained in. I found the music topic to be revealing and even profound as I worked through the questions. 

I think really focusing on my preferences and why I loved what I was drawn to so much helped me appreciate my own personality on a deeper level because of what I learned about myself in the process. 

I've shared an image of items I found during two of my "Field Trips" I did for those portions of the course. 

I had a great time following the directions and questions about my Field Trip experiences and what they had to teach me on a deeper level. I was surprised by how much I learned from these activities. 

Journaling is a powerful tool that I use daily, and yet, engaging in the journaling exercises in this course showed me things I might not have otherwise discovered if I hadn't worked through those specific processes. I answered the questions as honestly as I could and I think that really initiated a more profound and enlightening "opening up" to Who I Am in the process. 

Each activity truly gave me food for thought. And as I looked back on each one during my Wrap Up time, I was freshly appreciative of what I learned and look forward to going even deeper in the days ahead. 

There are suggested ways to extend each activity, if it especially resonated with you. I found this especially helpful in the EMOTION days and the DECISION MAKING activities. 

Of course, COLOR is a part of my daily life as a watercolor painter, so using it in a fresh context really made it fun and insightful and revealing into deeper dimensions of Who I Am. 

I really look forward to more insights, reveals and fun fabulousness as I engage once again with a Refresh Intensive, with the purpose of always Activating My Intuition, Honoring My Preferences and Listening to my Life Messages. I always want to know what my Life has to say to me! 

Creating Awareness and Appreciating Myself For Who I Am are key elements to Refresh Intensive, not to mention being personally empowered by recognizing things that I didn't realize before where positive change can be initiated toward a more refreshed life. 

Journaling Prompt:
What specific choice can you make for yourself right now that will create more awareness of your preferences? How can you celebrate specific elements of your personality? What there something you did today especially that you can celebrate as a direct result of a choice you made today to honor your preferences? 

Art Journal Prompt:
Create an art journal spread to show appreciate for a specific aspect of your personality that you don't normally like to pay attention to and give it homage. Do this from the heart without hesitation. 

You're welcome to check out my 21 Day Refresh Intensive Course to see how it might benefit you. 

So, here we are at Back to School Time. Where the school supplies are in abundance (Stocked up on those trusty composition notebooks of course!) and the kids are getting ready to start classes to get them one step closer to graduation, to meeting goals, to establishing what their direction will be and to figure out their purpose. 

This time of year can also be a source of inspiration toward life-long learning and activating self-discovery as we choose to go deeper into Who We Are. As we watch the kids gets their school supplies, clothes and gear gathered, we can also be inspired by what motivates us and where our curiosities are bringing us. This can enable us to learn something new about ourselves, which can lead to more self-appreciation as well as motivation to initiate positive change. 

As an artist, I am constantly looking for inspiration by taking photographs, looking through magazines, and watching videos, reading inspiring blog posts, articles and reading books and also listening to podcasts.

And I often find it!

And when I do, I get excited and motivated to look more closely at my own motivation, direction and purpose as a creator. 

One thing I've already learned in my life-long pursuit of educating myself about Who I Am and What My Purpose Is is to always be willing to make a change when it's needed, with no apology, no second guessing. 

When I see what is working, I look to expand on that. When I see what isn't working, I start journaling, connecting with Spirit and determining what my next step is. 

Life is constantly changing, just like our kids and grandkids do as we see their growth and feel proud of their accomplishments as they learn about Who They Are, what talents they possess, and how they can leave their meaningful mark in the world. 

And because of that flux of change, we need to always be looking for new opportunities to grow, to create, to discover, to go deeper. 

That's why I love my creative practice so much. Each activity I choose to engage in, as often as I choose to engage in it, is another way of learning about myself, giving myself space to think, dream, love, discover, follow "rabbit holes" of curiosity, and learning to be more flexible with myself with what I choose to do, what supplies I choose to work with, and with what I choose to express myself. 

It's easy to fall into a creative rut, doing the same thing over and over. That's when it's good to change things up, be open to new possibilities and try new things, things that excite your heart and make you want to do a happy dance. 

And a happy dance in just the beginning. Who knows where our creative practice can lead us, what new places we have yet to explore and what new inspiration will come across our path and lead us into a new love?

See yourself as a student of your Creativity; see what it has to teach you; listen carefully and relish each moment. No, not everything we do has to be "just so." Stay open to making mistakes (If you perceive them that way) and not being completely satisfied with the job you did. That's okay. It's all a learning process. 

I think one of the key issues is being True To Yourself. 
Honor Your Preferences. Pay Close Attention to Your Intuitive Nudges. Follow Those Curiosities. 

What Life Message can you glean from each creative experience, each creative act, each creative project, each creative journey? 

Enjoy each creative moment, whether you're going solo or sharing it with your kids or grandkids. Let Life Teach You and Relish the Learning. 

Journaling Prompt:
What does your creative practice teach you? What have you learned about yourself, your creative work, your world? What is the most recent creative experience you've had and what did it show you about yourself? What positive change can you initiate based on what you now know? Celebrate in your journal what you've learned!

Art Journal Prompt:
Create a Back to Your Creative Practice spread, using images of creative projects you've completed and what they have taught you about yourself. Or dream on the page about what you want to learn and try that is new for you. 

And if you're wanting to go a bit deeper into Activating Your Intuition, Honoring Your Preferences and Listening to Your Life Messages, you're welcome to check out my 21 Day Refresh Intensive Course. 
​
Copyright 2016 Dawn Herring 

Creativity is one of my favorite subjects. So when I heard a creative reflection, How has Creativity Changed Me?, offered by Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios, I decided to share this reflection with you, my dear readers. 

I've always had a creative vibe since I was a child, drawing pictures of animals, people and faces over the years. Then I discovered watercolor (Yay!) about 6 years ago at the same time I started art journaling. I continue to enjoy daily doses of painting with watercolor as well as doodling in my personal journal each evening to summarize and honor my daily experiences. 

My creative practice, which includes journaling, doodling, painting and writing as of right now, has given me a gift. 

Do you know what that gift is? JOY. 

Yes, JOY. Joy is a high vibration sensation and emotion that nothing else can trump. It comes from within. But I believe my creative practice elements give much greater space for JOY. 

And JOY changes a person from the inside out. It lifts my spirit and makes me feel whole inside. 

When I paint, the process of paintbrush to paper or canvas is an utter delight that exudes JOY. That's why I go back to it daily. Who wouldn't want to do that, some thing that enhances life so faithfully?

When I journal, I listen. I learn. I ask questions and get answers to how to create positive change where I need it most. And that positive change initiates JOY. 

And sometimes just thinking about the JOY my creative practice brings gives me JOY! 

You know what else gives me joy? Listening to the mocking bird sing. Listening to my grandson sing! 

When I look at life through creative eyes, (which I find it difficult NOT to do), JOY is usually very close by ready to lift my spirit and leave me feeling fabulous. 

Creativity is a GIFT that keeps on giving and bringing JOY that is full and lovely and oh-so-worth-it! 

Journaling Prompt: 
What brings you JOY? What thing can you do every day that will lift your spirit and make you feel whole? Make a list and then choose something to do right now that will enhance your day. YOU DESERVE IT. 

Art Journal Prompt:
Use the word JOY as a prompt, choosing colors that bring you joy. You may want to doodle the definition of JOY and/or doodle what brings you JOY from your journal list. EnJOY! 

Copyright 2016 Dawn Herring

JOY. 

I just love that word. It's something you feel on the inside that makes you want to do a happy dance, but only if you make space for it. 

It's easy to allow the distractions of this life to fill up the space where joy can be felt and experienced. 

What kind of distractions? 

Well, let's see. 

"Obligations" that aren't really the obligations that you think they are. 
Conversations that are completely irrelevant to you. 
Getting stuck in a rut that you've created for yourself. 
Feeling boxed in by responsibility that you think you have to attend to at a certain time when you really don't have to. (This can feel heavy which is the opposite of JOY.) 
Unnecessary activity that doesn't add to you or enhance your daily life experience. 

So, what do you do with all this distraction?

I think the first step is recognizing what is a distraction in your life and how much space it's taking up. You may be surprised with how much room you can make in your life for the JOY you really want just by eliminating what isn't necessary and just focusing on what really matters to you. 

You know what question I often ask myself when I want more JOY? 

"What do you really want to do right now?" 

You see, we often think we want things that we don't want when we really stop to think about it. If we're truly honest with ourselves, life can be much simpler and satisfying when we listen to our hearts. 

And that makes sense since it's our heart that feels the JOY when we create it or when it happens spontaneously. Keeping our "ears" open for what is distracting us and taking action to remove or greatly reduce it can help us be more open to the JOY that awaits us with greater awareness and mindfulness of how we are spending our days. 

I love it when I experience JOY in my heart when I choose to eliminate what is unnecessary and focus on what really matters. Then I know I'm truly aligned with Who I Am and I'm more able to leave my meaningful mark in the world. 

Journaling Prompt: 
List any and all distractions you currently have going on in your life. Determine the first one you will look to eliminate or greatly reduce to make more space for JOY. Take note of how you feel once that distraction has been dealt with and the space it makes for you to feel more JOY. 

Art Journal Prompt: 
Use the word JOY as an art journal prompt, showing and telling what brings you JOY. You can also create a spread expressing how you feel when you reduce the distractions  in your life, honoring this positive change you have chosen for yourself. 

The doodles I feature here at Refresh Daily are ones taken directly from my personal journal that I record in daily. I do a doodle every evening to honor my daily experience. I choose a word or phrase that encapsulates my day and then design a doodle to showcase it with fun, fabulous color and design, which I greatly enjoy doing. 

For this doodle, Totally Unexpected, I determined the words themselves based on what came into my path that day. Most of what I experienced I didn't see coming, both negative and positive. I was challenged with some situations and yet pleasantly surprised with others at the same time. You know how life can be truly dichomatic, where on one hand, you're totally excited about one thing and on the other, you feel thrown off your feet due to circumstances not in your control. 

That day was one of those days. And you know what's amazing? As I realized how tough and yet successful my day was, I was thankful to be sitting and doodling, having made my way through! 

The word, Totally, was drawn with letters compressed together, with arrows aiming toward the center, to emphasize the contraction of experience. The word, unexpected, also has letters that overlap, as if to present one thing after the other, and the sense of responsibility that comes with taking care of business. 

The emphasizing marks in yellow and red show the excitement of something good that I didn't see coming at all and was very glad for it. 

I filled the letters in with watercolor markers, with base color and several colors for shading to give the letter space dimension. 

I really like using arrows for emphasis and often fill them with stippled, colored dots for fun visual interest. 

Journaling Prompt:
Have you ever had a day that seems totally overwhelming from unexpected responsibility and yet you had a totally surprising experience that you didn't see coming that made you elated at the same time? Describe this dichotomy in detail and perhaps, share anything you would have done differently and what you would do the same. Congratulate yourself for having successfully dealt with the challenges and for your wins too!

Art Journal Prompt: 
Using Dichotomy or Totally Unexpected, as word prompts, create a spread that honors how you handle difficulty and showcase your successes at the same time. 

I had so much fun with this art journal spread, Bloom. I started the process by putting on my finger cuffs and finger painting with blues (unusual for me), purples and reds. I love doing finger painting because it gives me a very visceral experience with body to art which is highly enjoyable, dare I say, even blissful! 

Once I had the finger painting part down, I decided to use some flower stencils to highlight various parts. Some I did removing the paint leaving it white for contrast. Others I used blue and red, sometimes layered over each other in different sizes. It was fun to determine where to put the flowers and where to layer them. 

Once I had those down, I added bits of watercolor to add more definition where I felt it would be appropriate. I also highlighted the flowers with white Uniball pen and with red pen as well. I highlighted some of the finger prints with the white pen to give them more pop. I painted in a wash of red for a background color and I drew a red pen line all around the circumference of the fingerprinted area. 

I decided to call the spread, BLOOM, since flowers were featured. So I cut out letters from colored construction paper to spell, Bloom, very organically. I did not use a stencil for the letters. I adhered them with matte medium, then I highlighted them with white Uniball pen and some purple oil pastel, and then outlined the letters on the background with white pen. 

For the final application, I decided to write my insight from this spread in white pen which reads: Life happens in layers. Sometimes it's hard to see them all. It takes some excavating to discover the beauty within but it's there if you take the time to discover what lies beneath, and when you do, you will see that you're always in bloom. 

Sometimes it may be hard to imagine when you don't feel like you're blooming, but I think that's where faith and trust in the process comes in. We are all beautiful inside; we just have to find that beauty, and it may come in ways we least expect. But when it comes, we KNOW. And it's a beautiful thing. 

Journaling Prompt:
Describe a recent time when you really felt like you were blooming. What was the situation or occasion that prompted you feeling that way? Now describe a time when you felt like you weren't blooming. What did that feel like for you? What was the trigger of not feeling it? Now determine if this trigger came from within and if it's based in truth or a misconception of some kind. See what TRUTH you can reveal about yourself through this new understanding. 

Art Journal Prompt:
Using Flowers as an image or using Bloom as a word prompt, do an art journal spread to honor the beauty within you. What makes you feel beautiful? You can commemorate a most recent experience that made you feel fully flowered. Recognize the beauty, whether it's obvious or not. 

It can be difficult to recognize your value, can't it? You don't have an objective point of view when it comes to what you put out into the world. 

But I think a good place to start is to LOVE YOURSELF just as you are, wherever you are, no matter what your circumstances are or where you've come from. 

Start with where you are. 

Verbally affirm how you love yourself. Self talk is so vitally important in how you see yourself, and if you're not affirming yourself, you will feel the difference. And when you ARE affirming yourself, you can feel a difference and it can help make you feel fabulous! 

Appreciate yourself for who you are right now. With all your perceived "flaws" and quirks that separate you from the rest. 

When you start from a place within where you support and love yourself, you will feel greater confidence in your value personally, creatively and even professionally. 

Another nurturing way you can recognize your value is by building a creative practice that lifts your spirit and leaves you feeling fabulous and committing to that practice every day. 

When you commit to doing something you enjoy (and who doesn't want to do that?) without guilt or obligation (don't do it because someone else suggested it unless you WANT to), you are giving yourself and your Creative Voice space to express what is in your heart, and to spend time doing something that fills your creative well and honors Who You Are and keeps you aligned. 

This will only enhance your value even further as you use that creative energy to enhance everything else you do. 

With Valentine's Day coming up, take the initiative to LOVE YOURSELF no holds barred and build a creative practice that you can't say no to. 

BE YOUR OWN VALENTINE. Affirm yourself. Appreciate yourself for Who You Are. And Nurture yourself by building an authentic creative practice. 

YOU DESERVE THIS. TODAY. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE TO YOU.  

Start today. Now. Get Your Spirit Lifted and Feel Fabulous. 

Journaling Prompt:
Write a list of all the ways you are loving yourself right now. Keep it simple and intuitive. Pick 3 of those things that really hit the spot for you and circle them. Now record why those things work for you and leave you feeling fabulous. Then pick your top activity and makes plans to go do it! Put it on your schedule. Then follow up with an entry sharing the details of why you loved doing it again. 

Art Journal Prompt: 
Create a visual showing how you have loved yourself in the past week. Use colors that are authentically aligned with how you feel about this activity. Doodle some words that capture the essence of how you made yourself feel fabulous. 

(Send me an email at [email protected] to let me know what you're doing to refresh and love yourself and find joy, and I may share it (with your permission) on a live social media broadcast! 

Copyright 2016 by Dawn Herring
Copyright 2016 Header by Dawn Herring 

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! 

At the tail-end of autumn, I was out for a walk on my usual block in my neighborhood. It was bright sunshine with lots of wind, blowing the leaves from one end of the sidewalk to the other. 

As I began my cross over, a thought occurred to me that as the wind drives the leaves away, they will never be seen again in their beauty in the exact same spot. Once they're gone, that's it. 

So I became compelled to capture the beauty of leaves exactly as they were At That Moment in Time. I was totally in the moment as a result. I must have taken over 30 pictures in the space of 10 minutes. I felt blown away by the beauty and yet felt the overt transience of the moment, the position of my subject matter, and the great realization that I would not be the same after this moment. 

LIFE is Transient. In all of its dimensions. From one moment to another. In our way of life, our day to day existence, our relationships, our routines, our work, our health. Everything changes from one moment to the next, and you can never know quite what to expect. 

So I must make the best of each moment. Seize the moment while you have it. Slow down long enough to take it all in. Like I did on this day. 

This moment and time really spoke to me. Sometimes it surprises me what comes to me during these times on my walk when I'm truly open to what nature has to share. 

As I took one snapshot after another, I became mesmerized by the variety of shapes, the varying colors, the brilliance of sunshine on the leaves in contrast to the sidewalk colors, stone-looks, and background nuances that caused the leaves to really pop out at me. I felt as if I didn't want to pass any up since they all seemed frozen in time just for my camera! 

Leaves have truly been a fascinating subject matter for me visually, both as an image taker and as an artist, and that day just put them even more in the spotlight. And when I was finished and satisfied with my time, my adventure, and the gift those leaves gave me, I returned home to view my images and was amazed as to the color and variety of treasure I now contained and planned for future enjoyment. 

I would say that Autumn 2015 truly left its mark on me; it had a lot to say and my heart is full. 

Journaling Prompt: 
Have you ever had an experience that truly made you realize how transient life is? How did this experience alert you to this? What impact did it have on you? Did you feel changed by this realization, and if you did, did you change anything about the way you do life as a result? 

Art Journal Prompt: 
Using the word, Transience, create a visual that shows your understanding of how being in the moment can change the way you experience life. Use images that are transient in subject matter. Use colors that remind you of the changeability of every day life.