published!! (Somerset Studio Art Journaling mag, Autumn 2014)

 “We all begin the process before we are ready, before we are strong enough, before we know enough; we begin a dialogue with thoughts and feelings that both tickle and thunder within us. We respond before we know how to speak the language, before we know all the answers, and before we know exactly to whom we are speaking.” 
                                                                                                        - Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
 Friends...I have some great news to share...I have been published in the Autumn issue of Somerset Studio Art Journaling mag!!!! I am so very very grateful to Amber Demien (editor) as well as the lovely ladies at Invincible Heart Co. for making this all come together.  I am so grateful and honored to have an 8 page spread! For me, art journaling is a sacred space to pour out all of my soul...all of my fears, insecurities, vulnerabilities as well as joys and happiness mingle on these pages and create a path to healing and creative expression. I never know what's going to emerge (and isn't that half the fun?).

The story behind this little "Spirit" journal is this right here...it was earlier on this year when I felt a deep pull toward both my creative life as well as full time mothering. While I knew that Tara was going to be starting full time Kinder in the fall and I would have plenty of time for art making then...it was still so difficult to put my creative life on hold. I think so many of us moms struggle with that. Anyways...I was contacted by the lovely ladies at Invincible Heart Co. and started working with their creative kit...oh my!!!! My creative juices were jump started and ...I poured all of it into this little journal. I turned toward my real life struggles...how my very ordinary life paled in comparison to other artists who were flying here and there to exotic locales to either teach or attend a workshop/retreat etc etc. How even though I was so very fortunate and grateful to witness my daughter growing, to spend this time with her...how another part of me yearned to have the time to create more...to blog more, to paint more, to write more. It was a continual struggle.

But through the very cathartic process of spilling my truth onto these pages...I found a path forward. I elevated my mundane reality to that which was worthy of inspiring my creativity. I started to see the whole rather than this one part of my journey...where all the strings + strands, all the people + experiences of our lives come together to form the beauty of the whole. I began to see that nothing, absolutely nothing, is ever lost. Everything has meaning and the seeds from which greater things will bloom...our stories, our art...our very lives. As I went through my pages...combining words and images I began to feel stronger, more whole...more empowered.

Almost...invincible:)
xxx

storytelling from the soul, spreading my wings and taking a leap!!

Dear friends: It's with a heart full of gratitude that I write this today.  I have some wonderfully exciting news...I am going to teach an Art Journaling Workshop this summer!!! I am excited beyond belief!!! Truthfully...I have wanted to teach for such a long time now...to step outside my comfort zone, share all I know and (hopefully) inspire others to make the journey to the doorstep of their own creative wellspring.The story behind the story goes a little like this...I had made the decision to put my art on hold until next school year when Tara starts full time kinder. And while I was 100% okay with this...I still had a deep (but frustrated) need to express my creativity. So...a few months ago when I was contacted by the darling women at Invincible Heart Co. it all just felt deeply right.

And while I am terribly scared (it's the very first time I'm teaching) ...I feel deeply humbled, grateful and excited that I have been given this opportunity. I know from long experience how healing art journaling is...how these pages are made sacred as a space to connect to our SELVES, each other and truth. I know how committing with the deep intention to be ourSELVES leads us to doorways and paths that  we never could have imagined. It's truly magical. So...if you live in the Colorado Springs area or Denver (it's an hour drive friends!!)...I would love love love to have you join us!!! You can sign up here !!! xxx

making space + opening up

 Dear friends...so much is happening over here I can hardly catch up with it all! Excitement and adventures and long long days...but totally inspired and open to all the goodness. I am leaning more and more into my two words for the year (surrender + faith). As I get older, I realize how we have so little control over so much in life...that for all our plans and hard work and what we thought life would be...a lot of times we simply have no control over circumstances. Still...we try our very best each day and...maybe there are bigger dreams for us in ways we couldn't have imagined. That's how I am feeling these days. Blissed out in an exhausted kind of way:)

 I have been working at the kitchen table again...my art journal (using the kit from Invincible Heart Co.) is coming along and taking on a life of it's own. I am loving all the experimenting, messes and discoveries along the way. Been listening to The Late Bloomer (by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes) audio series while I work and I just cannot tell you the sheer  brilliance of it!!! Every single word, nuance and breath goes straight to the very heart and soul of me. Truly...an entirely separate post is needed to talk about this bit of goodness. I signed it out from the library but am just going to have to purchase it.

 And through it all...I have been trying to practice courage. My friend Dee (an artist from across the way in England) made me these gorgeous affirmation notes last year that I have stuck up all over the place. For some reason...the exact one I need seems to be in the right place at the right time and bathes me with love.

 Been catching up on some quiet time and reading as well. Even though I can't quilt..I adore looking through books like this one. Quilting is such an art form that combines story and place with pattern and color. Totally fell in love with this book...a cup of tea and 15 mins. looking through these pages leave me...enchanted. 

And I have been paring down big time around here...it started with my clothing and I've moved out into the entire house. Can you believe I set my goal to have no more than 50 items in my closet??? Of course...ahem...that doesn't include shoes:) If it didn't fit, if I hadn't wore it in the past 6 months or if it wasn't practical...out it went! So now I adore everything in my wardrobe and I can get dressed in 5 mins. with no fuss. It feels so liberating and ...like  a breath of fresh air to make space for the person I am today (not the one I was 5-10 years ago or who I thought I was or wanted to be etc). Now...why didn't I do this sooner??

And I visited Invincible Heart Co. studio last week for a chat regarding some super exciting news (more soon!!) and found this piece of gorgeousness all over the table. This is the new art journal kit for the month and am loving the all the butterflies this beautiful lady is wearing. was so happy to see all the goodness emerging! Thanks so much for letting me take some pics + sharing your work Aimee:)

And to top it all off...just when I thought my little girl couldn't get any more adorable...she lost 2 of her front teeth last week!!! There was much excitement, a visit from the tooth fairy and the realization that life is precious and brief and magical. xxx

smitten!!!

A few things that make my heart go pitter-patter...
*creative inspiration, art journaling and storytelling. This pic. above is one of my latest art journal pages using the mixed media kit from Invincible Heart Co. Loving all the goodness emerging!
*spring!!! It's in the air...I can feel her coming! I simply can't wait to get out my flowery, lacy, printed skirts and dresses +  witness all the trees and flowers come into bloom. Not to mention the warmer weather...it's been a long winter, friends!

*fresh flowers!!! I always try to keep a vase (or two) of flowers in our home year round. Whether they are gorgeous roses or a sprig of something or other...they make our house come alive! I simply feel happier around flowers!
*this amazing blog right here! I stumbled upon it many years ago and immediately fell head over heels in love...her writing, photography and take on food (mixing up recipes with storytelling) had me hooked! So when I recently came upon this delicious breakfast (or anytime else!!) recipe...I decided to try it out because I love creamy, adore figs + when you add honey...well, what can I say???

*date night with my husband!!! It's been ages since Tim and I could sit and chat over a glass of wine...just relax and enjoy each other. So when it happens...I totally don't take it for granted. I am so very grateful...after all these years...I still think he's the most handsome, charming, interesting man...+ my best friend. He makes my heart go pitter-patter! Love.

*started a brand new journal last week...loving this one from Papaya! Filling up pages + pages with stories + dreams, hopes + ideas...it's the simple things, right??
*this word  right here...la cantadora. I first came across it many, many years ago in Women Who Run with the Wolves...but right now, at this time in my life...it just sends my heart racing! It means...keeper of the old stories...and Dr. Estes talks at length about the layers + layers of stories we all have hidden inside of us that need a voice, that simply have to come from a place of truth + vulnerability so we can connect...soul to soul. How amazing is this woman???? So very grateful for her presence, her works and her gracious spirit!!

*I had 3 hours alone in a coffee store with some fave. inspirational mags...heaven! Love paging through endless pics. + articles about everything creative...mixed media, studio spaces, art journaling, home decorating...colors + prints + paints...swoon.
*Lupita Nyongo!!!! She broke my heart and laid me bare in 12 years a Slave! Her beauty + brilliance is breathtaking; I can't take my eyes of this talented lady. Total girl crush!

*loving the wide open spaces here in Colorado...surrounded by mountains and endless skies...I can breathe! A lot of times as I go about my day...I am taken aback by the sheer rugged beauty of this place. It gives me pause...and makes everything right in the world.

*And my gorgeous, growing up waaaaay too fast girl...here she is just brimming with happiness...which makes mamma happy:) Mothering her has transformed me, has taken every single part of me and turned it upside down. Where I used to be closed off...now I am open. Where I used to be filled with trepidation...I now jump in with eyes closed! She has my heart, this sweet girl!

adventures in using a mixed media kit!!!

“The creative force flows over the terrain of our psyches looking for the natural hollows, the arroyos, the channels that exist in us. We become its tributaries, its basins; we are its pools, ponds, streams, and sanctuaries. The wild creative force flows into whatever beds we have, those we are born with as well as those we dig with our own hands. We don’t have to fill them, we only have to build them.” - Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves.

Truthfully...I've never used a mixed media kit before. I'm not quite sure why...maybe it's because I never knew they even existed?? Anyways...for the past week I've been using this art journal kit from Invincible Heart Company and oh my!!!! ...it's jump started my creativity in ways large + small. The first thing is...I turned our kitchen table into my art table. Yes...I have a home studio...but things are more comfy + cozy at the kitchen table...the sunlight pours in from all sides and tea is readily available:) Tara and I are ecstatic about our new arrangement...uh...Tim, not so much:)

So...I opened up the kit and laid everything out...there were things I had never even seen before!!!! Just magical, fantastical, super cute stuff!!! Who knew??? It was a little bit intimidating...what was I going to do with all this stuff? Right away...I set a few goals to keep me on track:
* I was going to use up every bit of the kit...especially the stuff that challenged/frustrated me
* I was going to establish the format of my art journal (I decided on a made- from -scratch journal)
* And the most important rule????? Get out of my own way!!! (Easier said than done!)

I added some of my own materials, of course. A pair of 7 Gypsies book boards (to make my front and back covers), watercolor paper (140lb rough), paper cutter, stamps, ink pads, markers, tapes, acrylics, inks etc.

And then I just went to town!!! The pages are fairly small (5.5 x 7) so I laid them all out on the table...added the patterned papers, acrylic paints, tapes, stains...

This right here is one of my all time fave. art supplies...Liquitex Acrylic Ink in Burnt Sienna. It creates such gorgeous aged surfaces; a little jar of magic!!  If I mix it with Paynes Grey...I get even more depth and luscious color!!!! LOVE!

This musical stamp came from the kit...the possibilities are endless with this and I can't even believe all the great stuff I can create...dresses, hair, backgrounds...on and on!

 

Oh my!!!!! The metaphors with this bit of gorgeousness are endless....

Magic...and serendipity

Loving these painters markers I picked up at the craft aisle in Wal-Mart!!!! I decided to try a few of them out and...love!!! So great for writing or mark making. Lush, rich color with great flow. Much better than tons of way more expensive markers I've picked up over the years that always seem to clog up at some point.

Love this gold paint...

 "I'll tell you right now, the doors to the world of the Wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door; if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much that you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door." - Clarissa Pinkola Estes
 I decided that my art journal is going to tell the story of where I am right now in my life...it's going to speak of all the frustrations, insecurities, vulnerabilities and healing. It's also going to tell my story of love + joy, possibilities + creativity...of all that I am on the cusp of...if I surrender, have faith and ...get out of my own way!!!

 "Stay with it. By insisting that nothing will stop us from exercising the animus, by continuing our soul spinning
wing- making ventures, our art, our psychic mending and sewing, whether we feel strong or not, whether we feel ready or not." -Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
 And this is what emerged on my first completed page!! I love the raw, unfinished feel to it (I actually kept a rip in the paper for her face)...and used the patterned background paper for her crown. That's one of the things I love about art journals...there's just something about this medium that facilitates freedom, experimentation and play!!!! So excited to see what emerges!!!
Happy weekend friends!! xxx

serendipity, invincible heart co. + mixed media heaven!!!

Just last week I wrote about feeling a bit blue...a bit jealous + frustrated about my creative life. The truth is...I made the decision to scale back enormously on my art/blog/photography etc to focus more on Tara. She's an energetic 5 year old who wants to go places and do things and tell stories and play puppets and I'm...well... a 45 year old mom trying to keep up with her as best I can:) I realize that these years are short, that time flies by, that pretty soon I will have more than enough time to focus on my art. I know all of these things so I am 100% okay with my decision. Truly. Yet...I still yearn to write and make art and indulge my inner photographer and so on:) So honestly...there has been an inner emptiness that only creativity can fill. So...imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail last week with an intriguing offer  requesting a meeting with me...

Now...imagine a huge historic schoolhouse turned creative oasis...complete with high ceilings, old wooden floors and architectural details in an old + artsy part of the city. Imagine 2 darling women who decided to follow their hearts and dreams to open up a business where women could connect + create and commune. Where art and creativity is used to heal, inspire and lead us deeper  to our true SELVES. Imagine meeting 2 people for the first time and having an instant connection of hearts and minds. Imagine  a space where every nook is filled with such loving attention to detail...where you think you have died gone to mixed-media heaven...where the space is infused with so much love and inspiration...you don't want to leave!!!

Well friends...I didn't have to imagine any of it...because it's all right here...Invincible Heart Co.    

There's so much good stuff ahead...I can hardly stand it!! More soon. xxx