I want to ask you a question now that we're already in the month of February in this delightful year of 2016. Are you investing at least 5 minutes of time in yourself? How is that going? I've been doing Live Periscope broadcasts and one of the issues I've been addressing is taking just 5 minutes daily to invest in yourself and do something that lifts your spirit and makes you feel fabulous! Then someone said to me, but you can't really get anything done in five minutes. That can sound like a true fact. But, I am on a mission to show YOU that you can refresh yourself in five minutes. And, what I've recognized, is that, some activities don't require physical exertion on your part. We're talking relaxation and enjoyment on tap. Are you puzzled? Wonder, what is this all about? Well, here are a few ideas! I thought about different ways I refresh myself that don't take very much time but really refresh and inspire me. So, here is my list (and I'm sure I'll be adding more as I continue to experience refreshment and may not even be actively looking for it! That can happen, you know. What you focus on grows!). Call these my Five Minute Refresh ideas. My ways to refresh: bird watching and listening (one of my favorites!) squirrel watching right outside my window (super cute!) watching a vocal audition (I see these linked on Yahoo or in YouTube emails or in my FB feed) (totally inspiring most of the time) listening to a great song on my Spotify list talking to my grandson watching some Periscope broadcasts (some are short enough) (inspiring or informative or both) reading a magazine article doodling (although most of my doodles take longer than five minutes but you can doodle something in five minutes, right?) adding one element to an art journal spread adding another watercolor layer to an area of a watercolor painting choosing an outfit that makes me feel fabulous ad infinitum! Quite the list, huh? I'm sure if you really give it some thought, you could come up with things you love you can do in five minutes and you might not even realize what you are already doing (and what you want more of!). Of course, the goal is the find something simple that refreshes you that is easy to incorporate into your daily experience and expand on it...in whatever way suits you. Once you get started, you'll be amazed how to how easy it is to get refreshed and no longer have any excuse not to...or have any guilt with it whatsoever. And It's all good!! Take five minutes and enjoy...to the full! PS. I am looking for 5 Minute Refresh Ideas from you, my dear readers! You can either leave a comment below with what you do to refresh in 5 minutes or email me direct at refreshwithdawnherring@gmail.com. I plan to share these ideas on a Live Periscope broadcast in the near future, giving YOU a shout out! Do join me at @DawnHerring on Periscope and be a part of the refreshing fun! Journaling Prompt: Write a list of things you already do or that you want to do that only takes five minutes. You can choose to categorize them to get even more ideas. You can also do a mind map to expand your ideas and see what comes up naturally. Then go do one! :) Art Journal Prompt: Take one or two 5 minute refresh ideas and create a visual to showcases how they refresh you and why you enjoy these activities so much. Honor your value and your desire to refresh yourself and love yourself from the inside out.
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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 Here is my recent Refresh Daily Periscope Broadcast where I share 2 Reasons to Invest Time in Yourself in 2016, plus I discuss the #JournalChat Live OPEN HOUSE invite and then I give a Close Up View of my Intuitive Watercolor Painting, Flourish. Due to the video being based in Periscope, there are spots throughout where what I'm saying is cut out and it skips, but the message is still there! Enjoy.
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. 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. As I decided to write a blog post for this week of Christmas, the first thing that came to mind was something we may not necessarily see as a gift, since it doesn't come in a box.
No, it resides in the heart. It's called...(drum roll...) Creativity! And I'm not just talking about art-focused stuff like painting, etc. I'm talking about anything you do that inspires you in some way. Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes and approaches...and the fun part is discovering what parts you like the most and doing them as much as possible. You know, when creativity isn't seen as a gift, we sort of either take it for granted or don't bother paying attention to it at all. And that is so very, very sad. Why do we ignore it? Because we're too busy. Or we think we are. And I'm not saying we don't all have loads of responsibilities. I know we all do. But we do have, say, 5 minutes? Take five minutes to do something you've been creatively craving. So, how about it? Are you going to open up that GIFT of Creativity now that it's been brought to your attention? Creativity really loves attention, because when you give Creativity its rightful place, it has lots of fun. And it wants YOU to HAVE LOTS OF FUN. When was the last time you had lots of FUN? Yea, that's what I thought. So, five minutes. GO do something you really love to do. Get lost in it. Forget all sense of time. (That's what happens when you take creativity for a spin.) Then write about it in your journal. Or tell a friend. Or both. Or write a blog post about it. Or simply relish the moment, again and again. Oh, and then take it out for another spin...and another. (It really is addicting once you get started; but that's a good thing.) Now, doesn't that feel better? Now Creativity doesn't feel neglected anymore. And neither do you. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Journaling Prompt: Record the last time you did something creative, anything at all that made you happy, inspired, lost all sense of time. How did you feel afterwards? Guilty? Refreshed? Wanted to do it again? Reflect on Creativity as Your Inner Gift. Art Journal Prompt: Using a Gift with a bow on it as a visual, give honor to Your Creativity and show using your favorite creative colors why your Creativity means so much to you. Enjoy. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Header by Dawn Herring
I read the book, Eat, Pray, Love, several years ago, and I've watched Elizabeth Gilbert speak several times. I find her sense of humor, her forthrightness and her honesty refreshing, so when I found out she came out with a new book, AND it was about CREATIVITY, which is one of my favorite subjects--well, you know I just had to get my hands on it and see what all the hubbub was about!
Her new title,BIG MAGIC: Creative Living Beyond Fear, is a BIG PERMISSION SLIP to have Fun, Follow Your Curiosity (which I talk about here in my video, Creative Curiosity), not to take yourself so seriously (martyr syndrome) but to go about pursuing creativity from the perspective of PLAY, taking it light, and why not dress up for the occasion to keep inspiration fresh? Showing up because you want to because you like it. Elizabeth sprinkles stories, anecdotes, and relevant words of wisdom, sometimes on the humorous side, to prove her specific points on being brave (because being creative takes guts, folks!), on the amazing experience of when inspiration comes at you and even through you like a creative force, and the issue of not giving up and learning to trust yourself and the process of letting your creative expression flow. I laughed aloud several times during this insightful and interesting read. I think one of my favorite parts is when she describes dressing up for a refreshed inspiration session. I also enjoyed her inside track on writing several of her other books (it helps to see what others experience in the writing process). And I appreciation her revelations about her parent's influence on her while growing up and how those values have stayed with her over time. Inspiration, laughter, permission and going about your play with curiosity just because you like it. That's BIG MAGIC. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Header image by Dawn Herring
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The thing about Life is we are always growing. (Well, not physically once we reach the age of maturity...) We never stay the same. Even from day to day. Our life experiences change us based on how we react to what happens and the decisions we make based on what we experience. Growth can be a measuring stick of how we are changing for the better. I have a certain path I often walk in the mornings for my time of exercise and getting a bit of fresh air. As I walk, I pass a certain floral bush (not sure if it's a rose bush or not) that I have observed in various stages of bloom. There was a time in the spring, when it was full of floral delight. After it began to lose its petals, I noticed the change in the color as it decidedly turned brown with a bit of green leaves. But recently, as I walked past it, I noted a few new flowers appear in a section on the bush. This came as a surprise to me, since it's wasn't all over the bush, just in one area. And it was New Growth in what appeared to me an unlikely place. After all, its autumn, not a time to grow, but lose. This got me thinking about unlikely areas in our lives that may sprout new changes, like ideas you've never had before, a new color you're attracted to, or perhaps, an experience that changes you on a deeper level that you know you won't forget. It's important to recognize that new growth; it may be easily overlooked since you're not expecting it. But when you see it, it's a pleasant surprise.
Life is full of surprises; when we take the time to really pay attention to areas in our lives where we sense change, we can gain a clearer vision of actual Growth in our lives and celebrate it! It's important to Honor these changes and areas of growth so we can recognize who we were and Who We Are Now. And even still, we can actually look for ways to grow: perhaps breaking out of our comfort zones to try something new or do something we haven't done in a while but would really like to make time for. When we step out in this manner, we may see new growth, like rose buds, popping up and showing itself in all of its beauty. Grow and Enjoy! Journaling Prompt: Note an area in your life where you have recognized new growth, whether in your relationships, in your emotions, in your work life, or in your spirit. Why do you suppose this new growth has appeared; what is it telling you about yourself and who you have become as a result? Art Journaling Prompt: Use an image of something that is showing areas of growth or use the words New Growth as a prompt for a visual, honoring an area of your life where you are growing and becoming more of Who You Are on a deeper level. 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. This art journal spread, Pathways, took me on a colorful pathway with reds and purples. Since my previous spread worked out so well with using a brayer to apply watercolor paint to the page, I decided to continue this trend yet again, applying layers of red washes. When I applied the purple hues, I used a palette knife for more focused areas and controlled application. Once I had that done, I accentuated the areas of paint with torn bits of magazine paper in red I had stashed and applied them with matte medium. This created areas or sections on each side, and they reminded me of pathways that lead to different places. Thus, Pathways, became my focus. That's when I determined to stamp out the word pathways along two of those sections, one on each side, using red and purple paint. As I considered the issue of Pathways and what ones are in my life right now, (this is what happens as I'm creating an art journal spread: it opens pathways of thought and brings subconscious ideas to the fore and that's when I learn something about myself; always worth the time invested). As I considered my next step in this spread, I began to think about what this message could be teaching me right now. In this process, I determined to stamp out the question: Where will they lead? I used my Uniball white pen on stamped letters and the wrote the word, Lead, with Uniball pens in different colors. I also outlined the white letters with red pen. Once I had the question down, I knew I needed a conclusive message to sort of answer it...What I determined was...The Aligned Path Always Leads Home. Aha! (Pause for a Epiphany moment). It's funny. My word for 2015 has been Aligned. (Yes, I'm sharing a secret here.) So naturally the word came to mind in conjunction with pathways. And that was my concluding answer...and you know how I determined that? Due to life experience. When I'm aligned, I'm HOME. Everything just FEELS right. And I know when I'm not. And want to get realigned as soon as possible!! So I stamped out the "the" in white Uniball pen, then stamped Aligned with large alpha stamps in red watercolor and highlighted them with white pen. I then hand drew letters for PATH with white pen and filled them with red pen. I hand wrote "always leads" and highlighted with white pen. Then I stamped "home" with ink and alpha letters. I also had some fun cutting out Arrows from colored construction paper and adhered them in various spots around the Pathways showing different directions. But the concluding "Story" behind this spread is I always want to be Aligned becomes that's where I'm home. And it's very good. Journaling Prompt:
Do you know where your Aligned Path to HOME is? If so, detail what it feels like and looks like when you are there. Also describe when you know you're NOT aligned and the process you use to get realigned. Art Journal Prompt: Honor your HOME place in your art journal through images, text and maybe even colored arrows pointing to home using your favorite or associative colors that remind you of HOME. You can also use the word Aligned as a focal point. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Art Journal Images by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Art by Dawn Herring |
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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
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