The Art Journaler

Today I added a few "final" touches in line 'n' words to a recent art journal entry. Of late, journaling has been offering a constant flow of questions, considerations and unlikely surprises. But that's a whole (and holy) other can of worms - an image that will likely show up in a near-future entry. Anyway...

Today's journal page is a pretty literal adaptation of a Picasso inspiration. She's called "The Art Journaler." I'm sharing it with Mix It Monthly (for my attempt at color blocking), Art Journal Journey (for the masters inspiration) and Paint Party Friday (for the pure fun). I invite you to click through to these sites so you can visit so many others who share their artful inspirations.

And be inspired with us!

Peace.

The Face of February

Yesterday was art journal day. Sunday's become a day that I invite folks to join me in the studio to partake in some communal creativity. I was joined by a dear friend and we agreed to set up a spread depicting the Face of February for this final week of January. February is, from my view, a measure of linear time that's short, and yet a measure of seasonal time that seems to lag and drag. It's a month that expresses dichotomies similar to those shared in my Painted Meditation, Abstract Medicine post. So, the idea of Facing February felt fitting.

This spread began with lines symbolic of rigidity, and words that were fittingly reflective and projective. The palette was chosen intuitively, the Face of February blocked in, spontaneous line added, and layers of dim light 'n' darkness painted into the background. The Face was given a hint of color and then she was coiffed.

When I looked up I discovered that my friend had also given her Face red hair. Funny, that. In any event I've already started adding to the page that you see here. I love setting up a multi-day spread in this way ... and watching it evolve.

And now ... I'm fixing a cup of tea and will sit at the window to watch the snow fall. Apparently we're expecting quite a load of it!

Peace.

We Three Queens - A Crone Inspired Sketch

As a part of a larger holistic exercise, I've been going through art books, scrolling classic art images online, even perusing way-back-machine drawings of my own, as a method to seek inspiration for some kind of daily mind-bend in the form of a quick sketch in one of my journals or sketchpads. Or any scrap of paper, if that's all I have in the moment.

Sometimes it's a quick "copy," or an adaptation, or an interpretation, or sometimes it stretches beyond those things to pure inspiration. And that inspiration is a piece of what I'm after.

This daily exercise is already opening pathways to how I see and experience my world/s ~ the "ordinary" world around me, as well as the other ... less ordinary realms.

This little drawing, "We Three Queens," was inspired by an old book cover. The charming, stylized illustration appealed to me and I wanted to capture its simple quirkiness, and as I began, the voice of my inner crone spoke up and made a suggestion. Thus we have this representational adaptation. And a fitting adaptation it is, for the rule-of-gender has been a repeating theme for me lately.

I'll be returning to this little sketch at some point to add color, and possibly see what else might emerge from the deeper inspiration. In the meantime, I'm sharing it with you and with Sunday Sketches ~ so click on over to see other sketchful inspirations!

That's what I made today.

Peace.

Painted Meditation, Abstract Medicine

Yesterday I completed three canvases (whatever complete means) and I wasn't necessarily compelled to cut them up for other art-making. This kinda surprised me... with skeptical delight.

You see, this is the work of Nona Entropy. Of this, there can be no doubt. She's been whispering to me for months, increasing the volume with every message, so that now I hear (and feel) her daily. Her core mantra, "Don't be so damned literal" is sometimes following up with, "Not all the time, anyway," just to temper her tone. Turns out, now that she's got my full attention, she's a demanding wench. A little scary. But not enough to sever this intriguing relationship. And this surprises me not one iota.

The painting on the left started several months ago, before I was consciously aware of Nona Entropy's presence, and was "finished" only two days ago. The painting on the right started weeks ago and I glazed it two days ago. The painting at center was started days ago and was likewise glazed the day before yesterday.

I could distract you to tears with seasonal stories of missing tactile communing with the rooted ones, of visiting them in realms of our shared creation, tangible and "not," and of how this all relates to the manifestation of these paintings, and the escalating journey this experience has offered ... but I'll spare you.

Simple. Complex. Light. Dark. Bright. Dim. Chaos. Order. Skeptical. Compliant. So far. Yes. That's what she says. So I repeat it for you.

See more paintings and creative love at Paint Party Friday.

Wishing you a creative day.

Peace.

A Return to the Sketch Pad as Medicine

I've returned to carrying a sketch pad and pen with me at all times. It's a fine reunion. Whether I'm inspired to capture a moment in ordinary time or pause for a centering, meditative doodle, I'm ready.

From a holistic perspective, this is yet another remedy to support and promote wellness, another gift of the universal Medicine bag. Creative expression, in all its forms, can be such powerful Medicine.

We need to remember this. We need to resurrect this. We need to practice this. All of us.

So go. Create something today. Something small. Something ordinary. Something simple. Something extraordinary. Something. Anything.

Do it with conscious awareness, with love, and offer gratitude for the Medicine that it is.

You'll feel it. The Medicine. I promise.

Peace.

Placation in an Art Card

In addition to my heART journals and sketch pads, I'm creating a card catalogue of artful expressions in this leg of my journey, my Course. After all, this is another way that I journal to keep records in other personal realms, so why not for my heARTful expressions too?

Having multiple venues and choices for personal expression appeals to me, so this fits in. Even as I Dream of simplifying. This added element is likely to nurture the potential for chaotic destruction and creation, so it pleases mama Muse. And right now, I'm doing my best to placate her.

So it felt fitting, with my first card, to honor her in name.

That's what I made today. Peace.

My Way with Entropy

Been working with the latest incarnation of mama Muse. Her name is Entropy. She taunts, teases and tempts me to do things ... differently. She bellows in my auditory perception to cast aside the hats and costumes, the boxes and processes, the external and internal conventions of familiar comforts. And challenges. She suggests a Personal Revolution, and we've been negotiating specifics. She's a pain in the arse. She feels the same about me.

So it is that we continue the journey through the gates, the portals, the doorways to what lies ahead.

I say, "I'm anticipating chaotic destruction." She says, "Of Course."

Of Course. So it is that I make my way, hand in hand, with Entropy.

Peace.

Coconut Macaroons, Bean Soup and Ease

Merry calendar flip day to you! I wish you ease in adjusting to the writing of 2015 and in all things for this experience we collectively call the "new year."

As I view all life and each day as a spiraling evolution, with no beginning and no ending, acknowledging the "new year" as most folks seem to do is a challenge for me. A welcome and comfortable challenge. All the same, in my desire to nurture deeper relationship with the collective (in all its manifestations) I'm striving toward being more accepting (and less belligerent) to the shared conventions of our contemporary tribe.

So today I invited ease into my day, to set the tone ~ not only for the day ~ but for "the year ahead" as well. I started a bean soup, a "new years" tradition I grew up with, a tradition that many of us share, and which seems to have roots that are very old and that reach very deep. Happy ham and ham stock from the freezer combined with lightly fermented organic pink beans, dehydrated leeks, lemon and caserta squash, green beans, collard greens ~ all from the summer garden, along with bay leaves, astragalus root and kelp are simmering together as I type. So there's dinner. Easy, nutritious, born from love, made with love, all the while honoring the verve of shared mores.

While I was in the kitchen, focused on ease, I was was inspired to give this macaroon recipe from Cooking with Dog a go. I mean, I had the three simple ingredients, so why not? Besides, I've been following Cooking with Dog for years now and have been delighted with every recipe of theirs that I've made. These cookies are no exception. I'll definitely make them again. Next time with cocoa or cacao, methinks.

So, yeah, that's what I made today.

Peace.