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!
1 Comment
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. I wanted to share with you, my dear readers and friends, about an experience I had on my walk recently. I go on almost daily walks, weather permitting, for fresh air, exercise and for any adventures that may come my way, which I am always on the look out for. During this particular morning, I was seeing evidences of the deluge of a rainstorm from the previous night--very windy with downpours. Typical Texas weather, of course. So as I was journeying down the sidewalk, then crossed over for my way back to my place, I noticed the sidewalk plastered with leaves in a particular area. Apparently the tree on the nearby property took a bit of a beating and lost a bunch of its glory onto the sidewalk. At first, I just glanced, noticed the textured and layering and then kept walking. But then I realized I could be missing out on something by not taking more careful note of what I was seeing. I believe this was an intuitive impulse I was feeling. I am a huge proponent of listening to your intuition; it will often guide you into some unexpected places that you would otherwise miss, enriching your daily life experience. And I certainly didn't want to ignore this impulse--I didn't want to miss out on anything I may not be aware of. So I took a U-turn on foot and retraced my steps. It's not often that I do this, but this time I felt compelled. So I got my camera ready and started taking up-close shots of various areas where the leaves were congregating. I really enjoyed this process, being careful to really pay close attention to the color, the shapes, the layered effects of the leaves, and the mixed texture of leaves against grass and sidewalk with the colored stones mixed in. In reality, for me, this was a fun filling-of-my-creative-well since, as an artist, I am always looking for images, textures, color and design for future reference in my creative work, especially with my watercolor paintings. You can never know where that infilling will lead. I really do need to trust this process, so I divulged myself and seized the moment. And I'm so glad I did. I really saw this as an important lesson of recognizing those important nudges and not ever overlooking the smallest of creative impulses or opportunities to see what something could mean for me in any way possible. I followed my curiosity and enjoyed the process of absorbing the moment of unexpected creativity. And honestly, I think maybe the leaves were happier because they gave me such pleasure which gave them even more value, off the tree and in places they might not particularly enjoy very much. (Most times I'm sure they just get stepped on and not noticed, especially in such an environment.) I know it may seem odd to give what would be perceived as dead leaves with no life in them whatsoever personality and good thoughts. But when it comes to appreciating the beauty all around me and what it has to offer my creative expression, I think it's worth the good energy-based thoughts to what I come across to induce gratitude for the unexpected. What we think really can make a difference in how we feel. And when we act on those intuitive impulses, we can more greatly experience the JOY of Being Alive. And that can give us the fuel to more readily and effectively leave our meaningful mark in the world. Journaling Prompt: Have you had an experience where your intuition gave you an impulse to do something you might not otherwise do? Did you follow it? If so, you were glad you did? What difference did it make for you? Would you do it again? Art Journal Prompt: Using the words, Intuitive Impulse, showcase visually a time when you enjoyed something special because you listened to the Voice within and followed your curiosity. Honor that process and the fact that you listened.
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
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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. It's time for some Doodle Dynamics! I have such fun creating doodles each evening as a way of Honoring My Day and recognizing the themes of what I experience. These visuals are a type of "encapsulating" with my viewpoint on my daily life.
With this one, Schedule Shift, it was a reflection of what my whole day looked like just as a result of doing something in the morning that I normally don't do, so that pushed off everything else, thus the Shift. Sometimes when we have a shift in our schedule, it can leave us feeling all discombobulated since it's not what we're used to; but when we choose to go with the flow instead of viewing it as an interruption, we can really see good things happen. Thus I used bright colors to convey my day. To create this doodle, I started with letters fully recognizable, but sort of compressed together, like there's no breathing room to speak of, with one thing right after the other. Yet there were good points to the day, so I wanted the visual to reflect the fun element of spontaneity that is often unexpected. So I added polka dot circles to enhance the gold tone. Then I decided to add balls, with that association of having too many balls to keep in the air to make sure everything happens when it's supposed to. I also added movement lines to create that bouncy look. For the Shift word, the letters looked like they're all lined up and working together as they move ahead to get the job done. I added stripes to convey that forward movement plus using those stripes to added more color changes for visual interest. Then I added movement lines. The arrow helps to convey that movement forward. I've been really loving arrows lately and have been adding them frequently to my doodles. I also filled the arrow with stippled dots for a fun visual effect. All the letters are defined/accentuated with shadow lines to give them dimension and a unified look. Journaling Prompt: Have you experienced a day with unexpected shifts in what you had planned, thus moving things in a forward direction? What kind of a day did it turn out to be? Were you frustrated or did you simply run with the spontenaity and enjoy the ride, trusting the process? How did you best benefit from this schedule shift? Art Journal Prompt: Create a visual of your usual schedule that you follow, then cut them out and mix them all up! Note any changes you may want to make as a result from any insights you gained. Welcome to my first Doodle Dynamics post at Refresh Daily!
I am a huge doodle fan; I've been creating nightly doodles from the summary word I reference to extract the deepest understanding of my daily experiences. I have been having so much FUN creating word doodles, which I started back in January of 2014 (in conjunction with a fun creative course by Jani Franck) and added COLOR with Winsor Newton Watercolor markers to make my doodles sing back in November of 2014. So it's been almost a year that I've been in the colorful side of my doodles. And I just can't get enough of it! :) I've decided to share an occasion doodle with you directly from my personal journal, especially ones where the design and color scheme really please my eye. I had such fun with this one, discerning. That day I felt my "discerning" vision was very telling and insightful, whether through direct observation or inner consideration, thus the "eyes" in the background, one being more visible, the other more hidden. I used pretty straightforward lettering, but had some delight with embellishing using small circles like little jewels. I filled the letters with Yellow Ochre and then used Sap Green and Cerulean Blue Hue for the jewel areas. I love the contrast between the letter shade and the "Jewel" colors. Journaling Prompt: Recall a day when you had "extra vision" initiating discernment that helped you understand yourself and your world better. Detail what you learned from that discernment and any decisions you made as a result. Did you find that discernment "eye opening?" Art Journal Prompt: Use images of eyes and/or use the word Discernment as a word prompt for your visual spread, choosing colors that initiate clearer "vision" for you. I always love it when I find something unexpected when I shop at my favorite stores. Several months ago I ran into some sock wear at Target that really caught my eye: Vibrant Colors and Patterns reigned! My artist self was gleeful at such inspiring accessories, I just Had to check them out. I decided to get just one pair just to see if I liked them and if they fit well. The orange slices was my first choice. What fun fabrics to add to my already-colorful wardrobe! I couldn't wait to find an outfit that would suit these socks just right. It didn't take long for me to find an appropriate day to wear them with my sneakers for my morning walk. Although it's hard to see them when I'm wearing long pants, when I take my shoes off, they are all in their colorful glory. But just knowing I had them on made me happy since I knew I was wearing my favorite colors, and I happen to have a painting I did with watercolors my first year of keeping an art journal and it features orange slices! (See image below!) After several wears, with these socks that are mostly polyester with a bit of stretch, I did notice a bit of pilling when they came out of the dryer. I think they do better when hung to dry. I also noticed that the top band that really holds the sock up is a bit tight and leaves an indention in the skin, but I found this to be a minimal issue. Several months after I purchased my first pair, I was back at Target and I saw that socks were on clearance, so I checked to see if those vibrant patterns were in the mix, and to my pleasant surprise, they were! And at a bargain price! Here was one pair I purchased that remind me of a patchwork quilt. The image above is the full sock and the one on the left is a bit larger for detail. Cute, huh? I love the designs all mixed up and with some of my favorite colors! These would probably fall into my "crazy wear" category of wardrobe finds which is just fine by me! I love the zig zag patterns and the flowers and the stripes, oh my! The socks featuring the leaves pattern to the left and below were also in the mix and I was really happy they were, since they would have been my second choice after the orange slices. I just love all the greens and the layers of leaves and it looks like the sun is shining through in parts. I love the way that looks on the trees in my front yard. That's probably why I like these so much. I couldn't wait to share with you these Fabulous Finds with vibrant colors that I love to wear and to paint with! It's so much fun to incorporate what I love into many dimensions of my life, honoring Who I Am as an Artist and Lover of Color. Journaling Prompt:
Do you find yourself purchasing items that inspire you in some way due to a feature that draws you and makes you happy even if all the elements of that certain something aren't perfect? Detail you latest find that fits this description and share why you choose to get this item even with its imperfections and how that makes you feel. Would you purchase that item again, knowing what you know about it? Art Journal Prompt: Use a page or spread in your art journal to showcase a recent purchase of something that truly honors Who You Are in any life dimension and include detail as to how it honors you and why you purchased it. You may want to mention any imperfections it may have. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Header Image by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Photos by Dawn Herring Note: Fabric design is not my own. Special Thanks to the artist who created this design! The brand of socks featured in the post are Photoreal by Xhilaration.
As a watercolor artist, I am always thrilled to find books with watercolor as the focal point, ready to learn, find insightful tips and travels in the wonderful world of this vibrant and fun medium. So when I ran across Watercolor From the Heart by Barbara Nechis, I thought it would be a great read...and it was!
The title drew me in with a focus on the Heart since I know from personal experience how valuable expressing yourself from the heart can be. (You can view my Refresh Daily Rewind Video on this subject.) In Watercolor from the Heart, Barbara shares her thoughts on her watercolor journey, including her past teachers, the rules she learned and finding her authentic watercolor path. I really enjoyed diving into her past experiences and into what she thought was valuable experience for her as an artist. She also shares about the watercolor techniques she found fascinating that enabled her to find her signature style of sorts: using water to create shapes and edges that are the foundation of her fabulous layered paintings, which often feature soft edges of flowers, landscapes and still lifes. Many images she takes for reference are also highlighted as she talks about the importance of observing and taking photos of places and things that fascinate and fill the creative well. She touches a bit on using other media with watercolor, such as gouache, crayon and pencil and offers some fascinating design elements as well. There are step by step examples of her watercolor techniques and also ways to take advantage of watercolor issues that arise and make the best of challenges. I really enjoyed the journey with Barbara and I admire her authentic path as a watercolor artist. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Header by Dawn Herring
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
|
Details
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
Categories
All
|