A Play Day!

So, I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon that I have to rush off to after posting this, but I've had sooo much fun playing in my journal today, and I couldn't help myself from sharing with you!  (So what if I'm a few minutes late for my appt., right?  Normally, we have to wait on the doctor anyway, ;].)  I just love this page, ;)!  She's me, with a twist ~~ totally gray-haired, instead of "salt and peppered," learning how to "don't worry, be happy!"  Okay, so I don't wear my hair in a bun, lol, but still ~~ she's aging and HAPPY!  I just love her.

Okay, so this journal page isn't as good, but it was still fun!  I love my flowers, and enjoyed creating the images on the page digitally...if I can say that, using Photoscape (and then printing them to add here).  Not the best page, but fun still, and I got to include some newly altered photos with some info about my garden.  I'm happy!

Hoping each of you are having a happy day also, finding something to smile about, or someone to share happy moments with!  Wishing you days ahead filled with cooler temps (Gawd, It's Been HOT here!),  much blissfulness, and wild creativity!

New Toys!

Okay, so on my latest "internet travels" I've found lots of informative blogs and sites with tips and ideas for artful journaling and mixed media.  I've collected a list of "New Toys Needed," while my niece tells me my DH would have heart failure if he knew the monetary value of my current supply of "toys."  But a girl can never have too many toys, right???

While the latest edition of "Art Journaling" is at the top of my current Needed List, I've not been successful in finding it locally.  (I know it's not due in stores until July 1st, but I've seen national sites online that already have it, and I want it NOW, lol!  Yes, I'm a bit impatient when it comes to my art supplies and inspiration, ;-].)  So, I decided to hold out a few more days to see if the magazine arrives locally ~~ if not, I'm ordering it online!

On a tight budget while saving for a trip to CHA in July ~~ yaaa (can't wait!) ~~ I'm trying my best to limit my purchases to one ... or two ... "toys" per week.  So I moved passed the magazine, and purchased the second item on my List ~~ Water Soluble Oil Pastels!  I found these at Staples for $11, and really want the Caran d'Ache Neopastels, but convinced myself that I could start with the Portfolio set .... so I can get that magazine should it become available locally within the week, lol!

I already had a "background" journal page prepped, and decided to experiment with the pastels here.

The butterflies and flowers were created with the pastels...over the Adirondack Ink'ed background.  I LOVE their smooth, creamy quality, and can't wait to experiment with these on a blank, un-inked page!  Love this newest pack of toys...and they will keep me entertained for a few more days, while I wait for "Art Journaling" to arrive!

I mentioned several posts ago that I had created three canvases that weren't photographed at that point.  Here is one of them; I've since given another one of them away, and want to embellish the last one a bit more before photographing it.

I love the colors within this piece.  Currently, this is my favorite color palette.

Lastly, I'll share a few more journaling pages, some done weeks ago, and others more recently.

These pages are nothing spectacular, but were created to inspire me to continuing "Growing with Wild Wings of Abandonment," in hopes that we will all be "Free...[and receive] a Pair of Wings to Carry Us to Happiness," and to remind me that "Happiness is Simply a Direction to Success!"

Here's wishing each of you a pair of wings to carry you to much happiness, success and growth!  May we all find peace that surpasses understanding today and always, through creativity, love, and sharing!

Another Crazy Week

Hello fellow bloggers! Hope all is well for each of you. I'm having another crazy week, but I did get a chance to create the beginning of a new project yesterday, ;). I purchased Alisa Burke's book "Canvas Remix" some time ago, and have been wanting to try some of her techniques . . . and yesterday seemed the perfect day to do so.  I chose to work on two 14" squares at the same time.  The pic above is one of the canvases I began yesterday.  My intentions are to add a butterfly ...or two, or three...to the bottom right corner and then mount it on stretcher bars to create a gallery style canvas!  (However, that will require some assistance from DH in cutting the stretcher bars and assembling them.)

This is the second canvas.  This was my first attempt at "Graffiti Art," and I totally enjoyed the free, "thoughtless" process in creating this piece.  Ironically, the words written in the background say "Live life free.  Enjoy it, laugh of-ten, love much, and share whenever possible."  The yellow ochre Chinese characters in the foreground say "Home, Welcome Home."  (Or, is it Welcome Home, Welcome, lol?)

This is what I was creating when I received a text message from a friend whom lives beside of me stating that her 36-year-old son had just passed away.  The ironic part of this is that I had no idea he was dying as it was very sudden, and unexpected.  And this is exactly what he did ~~ lived life freely, enjoying it, laughing often, loving much, and sharing whenever possible.  I believe this piece was simply meant to be just as it is, and words that I need to apply to my life, everyday.  Perhaps Tito's angel inspired me to do this piece; I like to think so.  May he rest in peace, and may we all live life freely, acknowledging that today may be our last one on this earth.

Wishing each of you a beautiful day, filled with much love, happiness and creativity.

Hopping Fun!

Well, I've hopped all over blogland during this week and weekend... ignored my DH and puppies too much, couldn't wait to get home from work each day to continue this journey, discovered many new blogging friends all over the world, found so much great inspiration, discovered some awesome blogs as well as links, and am now on Inspiration Overload, :0! 

And I still have at least 120 blogs yet to discover!  I began my journey with the first blog on Kelly's Blog Hop list, got to #10, then said, OMG there are 180+ on the list ~~ perhaps I should go to the bottom and work upwards, as it will take everyone forever to reach the bottom, and perhaps these blogging folks need some visitors!  As of this morning, I believe I've reached 1-10 and 130-180 (but the list continues to grow!), but I still have 110+ blogs still to visit ~~ I need an entire vacation week to get to each of them, lol!  Thankfully, Kelly is going to archive this Blog Hop List, so we can reach everyone...eventually.

It's been great fun!  I've located many of my "Fellow Suzi Blu Students" (Suzi cracks up at this title), several whom are passionate about art journaling ~~ my new love! ~~ and many whom are also passionate about mixed media ~~ my first love!  I have "followed" each of them in hopes of staying in touch, watching them continue to grow, continuing to gain inspiration from their blogs and, I'd be amiss if I didn't say that I hope they also will do likewise, ;).

Now, I've determined that I should have been writing all the inspiring links and ideas down as I went along this journey ~~ I should have been more prepared, but instead, I dove in head-first, no pen or pad in hand, and went on an awesome journey...hoping to retain everything mentally ~~ what a joke of an expectation that was!  However, I have put several links in my "Favorites" . . . for a later date when I need that boost of inspiration!

While on this journey, somehow a link discovered on one blog stayed up and running.  I must assume that this is where I should begin my quest to try each of the inspiring things discovered along this journey, since it was readily available, right?  The picture at the top of this post was created using the link, Andrea Mosaic.  Admittedly, it took me a few attempts to get a "solid" image (without black tiles), but how awesome is this???  In my humble opinion, this is such a neat application!  I will definitely be playing with it again.  There is something about mosaics that have always intrigued me.  Following is the original image, used as a base for this first mosaic (posted at the beginning of this post).

While creating this post, I had to experiment with a second mosaic, using the same application (Andrea Mosaic).  Here is the original photo:

And here is the mosaic created using several images.

So now I'm attempting to figure out how to create the mosaic using only the original image, ;).  Currently, it is using a selected "library" of photographs on my hard drive.

Okay, it's off to work I go...so I can continue to afford to play with art in my off time!  Happy Living and Creating to each of you!

Rays Of Fathering Love

On this day, while many are paying tribute to the men whom gave birth to them and their children, and/or help to raise them, I join you and pay tribute to all fathers, perhaps taking a bit of an "untraditional" approach to my tribute.

On this Father's Day, I find myself pondering, "what is a father?"  Webster provides a description of father as "one who fathers a child;"  this would be my personal definition of a "birth father."  However in today's broken society, it is my belief that there are several types of fathers.  So I looked to the active form of the word 'father' and found Webster providing the following definition: "to care for or look after someone as a [birth] father might." 

This leads me to think, aren't there many types of people, and things, "fathering" today?  We have mothers whom are "fathering" their children (as well as "mothering" them).  We have grandparents, aunts, uncles, distant relatives, neighbors, and even former strangers doing likewise today, through formal and not-so-formal adoptions of children, animals, mammals, our environment, and so on.

If I look at the current tragedy in the Gulf of the US, I see many coming forward to father the environment and wildlife, assisting to save lives and attempting to preserve as much of the environment as possible ~~ much as its "birth Father" would do.  Likewise, if I think of the thousands of military personnel serving various countries, being stationed away from home and their families for long periods of time, I can only imagine those whom are stepping in to assist in fathering these families.  There are so many similar circumstances where fathering is taking place in a not-so-traditional setting today.  I reach out here to say "thank you" to each one stepping forward to father a child, or being, in any way today.

In my own home, my DH and myself "father" many, but not a child.  With great love, and tender care, we father our two labrador retrievers, each other, our home, our "toys" ( mine being art supplies, and his being sporting goods, :)), and so much more.

So today, I pay tribute to all whom look after someone (or something) with tender love and care, just as the one whom conceived would have, if they had been provided such capacity.  In this view, I send a warm "Happy Fathers Day" to each of you ~~ women and men!  May we all appreciate and love our "fathers" today and always!

Also, I send special hugs to all whom have lost those whom "fathered" them, and hope they can also see that their are many "fathers" surrounding them today and always, <3.  Happy Fathers Day, . . . and Happy Creating!

Blog Hop & A Blissful Play Date, too!

First, I HAVE TO share this Journal Page with you...created by Kelly!  I love the colorfulness of it, how she incorporated her name into the piece, and I think the flowers are beautiful.  She has also created an AWESOME BLOG HOP...and invited others to join in, ;)!  You can find the Blog Hop here, to the right, under my "Blog Archive"...or you can find it on Kelly's Blog.  Please travel along with us, find new inspiring friends, and share inspiration with so many other artists ~~ what fun!  I've found some beautiful new friends here, and gained so much inspiration and support through this Hop.  My heart is shining today, 8-)!!!

Another big reason my heart is shining today is due to my "Play Date" with my 29-yr-old niece, and 8-(almost-9)-yr-old great niece whom both joined me yesterday for hours of playing with artsy stuff...and beginning their own Art Journals!  We had so much fun together!!!  Last nite, my great niece journaled about our day together, writing that it was an "awesome day" ~~ the best day she's ever had, only surpassed by a day at the amusement park at the beach, lol!  It truly was the best of times...to see them totally enthralled and enjoying art with me, and discovering something new that we will share now and, hopefully, forever ~~ our passion for art journaling.  I believe they have both "caught the journaling bug" as my niece is "on the hunt" for arts and crafts stores locally to purchase some more supplies ~~ gosh I'm such a bad influence on her already-suffering-budget ~~ sorry Mist!

Here are a few of their journaling pages, beginning with my great-niece's pages.  Don't be concerned about our appearance, as we were "down and dirty" in art supplies...and heading off to the pool afterwards, lol:

She said this page was inspired by her Papa, whom "loved flowers," :) ~~ how sweet!  Here, she learned the fun of using Glimmer Mist to color a few of her flowers ~~ oh yes, we went through some Glimmer Mist, lol.  I need to restock my Glimmer Mist supply now.

This page is her Beach Trip 2010 page...I believe.  She used some spray paint on this one (the dark circles) and one of Marah Johnson's cardboard, die-cut frames.  (Yes, I'm 'attempting' to get her into "upcycling!")

Now for my 29-yr-old niece's pages:

This was my niece's first page ~~ what fun!  She drew the zebra print with a Gelly Roll pen, and if you look really closely, you can find her name in the print!  How clever!  She also used one of Marah's cardboard frames...but she's not happy with the "2010" inside of the frame.  However, she knows she can change ANYTHING!  She also used some of  the Tim Holtz tickets, ;).  I've taught them right, lol!

This is her UNC-G page ~~ very important to her because she was just accepted into UNC-G last week, and plans to pursue a degree in nursing.  Her Mom, Dad, and Granny would be SO proud of her, just as I am, ;).

Lastly, this is her "Wicked" page.  A great friend took her to see Wicked for her 29-th birthday last weekend, and they won lottery to get awesome seats at the show ~~ a great memory, after a tragic week prior (when her Dad suddenly passed away).  Here, she discovered the blissful world of using stamps and embellishments, ;).  Now she's debating over what to write on the page ~~ what fun!

Then we were off to the neighbor's pool where we splashed each other, floated around, and enjoyed our last moments of the day together.  What a great day together, that we will remember for decades, and hopefully will lead us to share many more artful days together.  This is why my heart is so happy today, ;).

I hope each of you will find something to make your heart sing today, and please check out and join Kelly's Blog Hop ~~ there are some awesome blogs and artsy souls to be found there!

Happy Living and Creating to each of you, today and always!  Let Your Light Shine Today and Always, xoxo ~~ Jeanne

Oh my, ... so I've been journaling more ~~ what more can I say, lol!  What fun is this???  Gawd, I keep asking myself, "why didn't I began art journaling sooner?"  The journaled words here say, "No matter the Scars [cuz my girl got a scar on her face during the process of creation, lol] or Circumstances, Just Continue to GO WITH THE FLOW...it Conserves Energy," then, in black Gelly Roll, further into the piece, "Put a Flower in Your Hair and Rock On!"  I love this process and piece!  This process is so freeing, and "happy-go-lucky!"  No mistakes, no worries, no stress ~~ just happiness, and artsiness!  For example, I made a mess of the paper on this chickie's face, and turned it into a piece of journal art, with journaling to go along with it!  My good friend, Jan, told me yesterday, "this [my first journaled girl from the previous post] would make a great card!  So perhaps some of my journaling will make "history" somewhere ~~ who knows?
 

Thank you so much for your comment, "Odd Chick!"  I hope you find as much bliss in the Artful Journaling magazine and journaling as I am finding, ;)!  This is just total bliss for me ~~ no canvases to mess up, no mistakes to make, nothing to worry about ~~ just have fun and don't worry about the outcome because it's not 'permanent,' or 'seeable' by others...unless you want to share it!  What more could we ask for as, as "artists in waiting?"  So much fun, and no stress!

 

 

This is a "Tree Of Life" I did after seeing (being inspired by) Pam Carriker's striped tree ~~ mine's a zebra-print tree, as I love animal prints.  I love it..and this may inspire a "real" piece of art.
 

Tomorrow, my niece and great-niece are supposed to come over to "play" with me...and you have one guess as to what we'll be playing with, lol!  I've purchased Moleskine Sketchbooks for each of them, as well as a pack of Gelly Roll pens, some acrylic paints, stamp pads, glue sticks, and Lord knows what I'll give up from my artsy stash!  I'm so looking forward to having company to journal with! . . . I only hope they will end up enjoying this process as much as I am, currently!  [My niece suddenly lost her Dad last week (55?-yrs-old), and my great-niece lost her Papa, and they lost their Mom/Nana is 2004, so I kinda figure this may be good therapy for them, also...and something we can all have in common, more importantly!]

 

My 8-year-old great-niece loves art, I think as much as I do, and I'm sooo hoping she'll "get" the jouraling bug as much as I have already capture it, hehehe, ;).  Here are some of my favorite "Refrigerator Art Pieces" by her that mean the world to me, from a year or so ago, ;).

 

Artist: Truely Talented Taylor Truell!  What more can I say?  You think she can do journaling, ;)???

Happy Flag Day & Art Journal

Sending out wishes for a Happy Flag Day to each of you...and a Happy 29th Birthday to my niece, ;).  May we all remember what the foundations of our countries are, and respect them, and every countries' flag.

Well, after reading about, and viewing so many art journals...I finally broke out my Moleskine and got busy with it, beginning approximately three weeks ago.  I purchased a Moleskine last year at the request of Suzi Blu, upon taking my first online class.  However, the blank pages were so soft and pure that I hated to "mess them up."  Last October, I did sketch a witch in the journal, but I couldn't even bring myself to add color to her, afraid I would mess her up ~~ if you have begun an art journal, I believe you know the feeling.  Another factor that I did not previously understand was the "why" in art journaling, as journaling cannot be sold, given away, or displayed on a wall.  It's simply a book!  I just didn't get the need to journal...until a sweet client loaned me her recent copy of Stampington's Art Journaling magazine...and the rest is history!

My witch has finally come to life!  The background here is inked with Adirondack ink, misted with Glimmer Mist, the background swirl is a Tattered Angel screen that was Glimmer Misted, and then I used water color paints on the witch and pumpkin ~~ what fun!

After reading and viewing every inch of the borrowed Art Journaling magazine, I got the "Journaling Bug," and cannot wait for the next publication of this great magazine to arrive in stores!  Viewing the inspiring works within the pages of Art Journaling, I finally thought, "okay, so what if I mess up my Moleskine ~~ no one will ever have to see it, and what a great way to try out new techniques, put my crazy thoughts and ideas on paper, and follow my growth in art and life!"

I will spare you my first spread, as it looked like something a grammar school student could have done ~~ but it was fun!  I felt like a child playing with her coloring books and crayons again!  So I moved forward, doing several background pages, and began toting my journal with me daily.  Now in my third week of journaling, I have some pages that I will share with you here:

I did this page yesterday, and she was alot of fun to create.  This is my version of a Traci Bautista girl, and I love her...and hope to take a class with Traci one day soon!  I used Pitt Pens to sketch the girl, her hair and a few of the flowers, charcoal pencil to shade her, Prismacolor pencils on her facial features and the hand-drawn flowers in her hair, Adirondack ink for the background, and an entire sheet of rub-ons!

  

I love this digital pic found in the current publication of Stampington's Digital Studio, and wanted to incorporate it into my journal...for future inspiration (and a reminder to self that I need to learn how to use my digital editing software, lol).  I painted the background of this spread with watered-down acrylic paint not knowing what was going on this page (if I did it again, I would have used a different color), used water color paints on the page border, Sakura pens to journal, a hand-cut stencil and spray paint, book text for the body, die-cut/punched flowers, and a piece of ribbon down the edge of the left page.

I was simply having fun here, and I had a blast with the hand-cut stencils and spray paint ~~ so much fun!  I'm thrilled with the effect of Glimmer Mist on the pages, although its shimmer doesn't show up in these pics.

So, now I'm becoming an "Art Journaling Addict," and loving every minute of it!  Of course, I'm asking myself, "why haven't I tried this earlier???"  My Moleskine is becoming my new BFF, lol.  While it is a terrific way to express myself, try new mediums and new techniques while not worrying about ruining a canvas or a board, it is also a great way for me to eventually form my own style, and watch my growth unfold over time.

Now I want to take a class with Traci Bautista and Pam Carriker!  If you have taken a great journaling class, that you could recommend, please share your experience with me.  I love hearing from you, and learning from your experiences!

Wishing each of you a great week ahead, and much creative inspiration!  Happy Creating!

Craziness!

The wild and craziness of these lilies and sweet peas mingling together express perfectly what my recent days have been like.  While I love these colors mixed together, my "anal retentiveness" wants to "fix" them into neat little, separate plants, growing peacefully, with plenty of room to spread among themselves.  But that's not how life is, and strangely for me, I see the beauty in this "wild and craziness" today that I've never before seen.  Sometimes we have to get "down and dirty" to make the best of the moment, and help support those closest to us.  I'm adjusting, and learning how to do this today.

While they haven't been the best of times, I'm reaching new heights and discovering new ways to reach out and find the light in the moment.

...and realizing that life is on its way to being simple again.  In the interim, I have made the best of it, and done all that I could to support the lives around me, and be all that I can be in today.  I'm finding it true that difficult times bring us closer together, and help us to move past all the things we previously had thought were "big."  I can only imagine that we, as individual souls, grow more during trials than at any other time, I suppose because we are forced to do so.  Thankfully, today, I feel I am growing in a positive direction, learning some important life lessons, and discovering new ways to support those around me.

Among all this, I have found a great photo editing software (FREE!) online.  If you're in need of such, check it out.  Photoscape.  It has several features available for easy use; I love the backlighting and frames ~~ can you tell?

As for my art, I actually escaped from life for a bit on Sunday, and completed three mixed media canvases, but haven't photographed them...yet.  I'll try to do so, and get them posted soon.  In the interim, I hope this finds you doing well, enjoying life, finding the beauty in each moment, and sharing it with those around you.  Happy Creating and Living!