Two lessons learned today...

There is a bug in my living room, so I'm typing this on my iPad across the room.

(I don't like bugs. At all.)

Self-Care Finds a Way

I slept wonderfully last night, but my legs were on fire when I woke up. This is a Usual Side Effect of having your period and FMS at the same time; your pain levels grow and grow and make you wish pain medication worked instantaneously.

Bug has moved. I am back in my comfy chair.

I got dressed and put on my makeup and pretty new earrings and got in the car to head to a client's to shoot some video. As I drove, my hips weren't happy, but I am committed to this particular, lovely woman, and had to reschedule from the day before because of dismal sleep. 

She texted me while I was curving into Phoenix and needed more time.

I went home and napped. We'll be shooting on Monday. Sometimes, things work out.

Where We Think We Are & Where We Really Are

I haven't been able to work at my studio table for a little while due to health issues that have decided to jump at me. I think painting last week took it all out of me, meaning I've been working out of my Couch Box for the past week or so. It's been hard, trying to capture the same colors and ideas when limited by supplies. I love my paints. I love my palette. And while journaling from the couch is lovely, I want those long hours at my desk, not long hours in my bed reading and working on my iPad.

This week, I shared my painting with my women's circle, which was, for some reason, more frightening than sharing the thing on the entire Internet! But it was an example of higher vibrations, when you are using something to cheer yourself up but unaware you're creating something beautiful at the same time. 

Like the journal spread below. Born from a need to distract myself, struggled through without the colors I saw in my head (and had on my desk), and finished with some help and creative solutions, I suddenly found myself liking it. 

It is a reminder that you don't need fancy supplies, everything you think you need, or all you're used to in order to make art. You just need the will, the childlike spirit, and an open mind. 

You don't even need water.

Re*Think

The three of us sat there,
Life of Brian playing off an old VHS,
each of us creating in our own ways. 

I was tipsy and happy and full of warm, yummy soup.
And so I began to create.
To doodle and add water and color, & thought about the day.

It is time to go deeper.
To re-think the days of my life,
the art I create,
why and who and where and how.
To open my Third Eye, meditate, see, think, BE.
Deeper than ever before, scrambled and new.

What about you?

12"x12" mixed-media on canvas

Listening Past the Noise to Her Wild Self

This painting came with me to the undertow and rode the storm with me.
It picked me up and carried me to shore. 

It wasn't an easy journey. This wasn't done in a day, or two, or three.
But weeks. Hours and hours spent with detail brushes.
Pushing the very boundaries of my abilities.
Challenging me. 
Cleaning me out. Pulled out all the wires and bits and what-makes-me-me until it reached my heart. 
And plucked it from my chest. 

My brains are scrambled, my feet unsteady;
when it put me back down, I stumbled along.
She was hard-won, fought for with blood, sweat, and tears.
The deepest painting experience I've ever had.

She is surrounded by Noise.
By the constant sensory input of chronic pain,
over-stimulated and straining to BE, to think, to be CLEAR.
But she's going to Listen past it all. 

A week ago, I had a vision.
I was me, with feathers in my hair, with moccasins on my feet,
reconnected to my Native heritage,
surrounded by animals.
It has been swimming in my head since then, 
all the peace I felt,
the Oneness,
the Truth of who I am underneath. 

That is what she is.
She is Me, under it all.
Past it all.
A Dream of Me.
Listening Past the Noise to Her Wild Self.

I am ready to Listen, to Be, to Create.

24"x24" mixed-media on wood

Pages in Progress...

Ever since I started playing in my journals daily (for long periods of time!), I've been full of inspiration and bouncing around! I spent most of this week getting my body all back to normal after that medication fiasco, as well as working on a beautiful new painting I'll be introducing you to tomorrow! Here are some of my pages-in-progress, like a mini brain dump. Some will change a lot, and others, not very much....but I want to show you all more in-progress work so you can see the evolution of things. Finished pages are great, but they don't help you figure out how they were made much, do they? 

These are pages in my Moleskine. Most work done in this journal is "dry," that is, without acrylic paint, and focuses on collage, color, and thoughts. I work in here at the beginning of my day, right after I've woken up and my dreams are beginning to fade. 

My new favorite colors -- teal, fluorescent pink, and black.

This isn't a journal page, per se, but it was a mandala I doodled over a gelli print! I spent the better part of a day carving this monster from a block, and just love the thing! I may have to make more! 

Now I need your help! I am not a huge fan of spreads (I haven't done one this size for years!), but was so inspired by Tam's Free Falling journal page video that I jumped in and started one....except now I don't know what to do with the right-hand side of the spread! So, what ideas do you have? What should I do? I was thinking of drawing another face, like Tam does in the video, but there are things over there I like! So help me out -- give me some ideas so I can a. try something new, and b. finish this spread! 

We're all elders in training, keeping adventure journals

There are times when I get an idea in my head and I just can't shake it....it will bug me and bug me and won't let me BE until I go and do it. Since starting my daily practice of collage and mark-making, I've only found myself coming up with more ideas, not digging deeper to find inspiration. You know, those frustrating days when you sit down to work in your journal and can't come up with anything. Nope. Haven't had that. It drives me a bit crazy at times, but now that I'm writing things down, I no longer worry that I'll forget all these possibly-wonderful ideas!

Things have been...difficult...for a little bit around here. After weeks of declining health and energy (remember all that fatigue I was feeling?), I finally found out I was having a negative reaction to some medication. Did you know generics differ from each-other and the original medication by 15%? Yeah, neither did I! Thankfully, I've been detoxing from it, and am feeling soooo much better (hence blog post; I have four of them slated and half-finished for next week!). I swear, I lost my mind for a little bit! 

One of the things that helped me see clearly once again was a women's circle I found out about when I went on an adventure to see some live music at a friend's house (live music is magical; if you can ever see it, even if it's a small group or music you *might* not like, do it anyway). I was able to drag myself out on Tuesday night in what I call Studio Chic, aka paint-covered yoga clothes, and found myself diving into the conversation and practice in this circle of women. Most know one another through their Kundalini yoga practice at a local studio and ashram; I've been interested in it ever since learning Carissa is actually a non-teaching yoga teacher in the same tradition!

Seated on the floor, we went through basic breathing and movement exercises to warm up, and I found myself able to focus for the first time in weeks. We followed with a vocal meditation -- and in the space of moments in the Present, an hour-and-a-half had passed. 

The line in the doodle above stood out to me (as well as the woman leading the activity) -- that we are elders, just in training. That when we meditate and pray today, we're sometimes sending those messages we needed in the past. Or maybe today, we're praying for the Us of tomorrow. But we always have a line to the elder we will become, a way to connect to the Self that has the answers we so desperately seek in the present.

No, time is not a straight line (though if you're a Doctor Who fan like me, you're already aware of this fact!). 

I began my letter skeptically, then remembered -- I had gotten a message from a future me while writing my daily pages a few days previous, being told about the Artist in me (something I will need another blog post to expand upon!). She told me what I should be focusing my attention on, working through, and that the Work is what matters. 

My Moleskine sketchbook has become my Adventure Journal; I work in it daily, and carry it with me wherever I go, pulling it out to record where I am, what I'm experiencing. It's a lot like a memory device; I can better recall an event if I was drawing/doodling at the same time. And the cover is quickly being taken over by stickers from the indie bands I've seen in the last month (as well as an art sticker of my own!).

I doodled while the Love Leighs played Thursday evening, on my friend's front porch. Dawn recently posted her own scribbles and said: "I’ve realized that if I do them in a more scribbly way, the form is more forgiving and I’m not so worried about making them “perfect”." By doodling and scribbling, I feel like I captured their movement, their melodies, their words, the way the faerie lights made them glow, how two of them weren't wearing any shoes. I journaled a bit about how music in such intimate surroundings feels like a connection through the years, back to an earlier time, before the internet and YouTube and downloading CDs. When people would gather and sing and play and share life. 

I ended my night drinking the remainder of a friend's bottle of wine straight from the bottle (and shared it with the band's upright bass player). As my conversation ebbed and flowed outside the front door, the players changing as the night wained, I found myself peeling off the label and slapping it in my journal. On-the-spot journaling, indeed!

Of course, I had to share my doodle with the band. It's not my best, but they were still touched. And I'm feeling more and more alive as I bring together art and adventure and a body that's no longer fighting against me.

Gelli Printing in Your (hardcover) Journal (VIDEO)

On the lighter side, here is the video I recorded when I hit 1,000 newsletter subscribers, and gave them last week as a thank you (as well as a few other not-seen-elsewhere-things). I have a new set-up, and time between clients (so hire me...I have time!), and have really learned SO MUCH in the past five months about recording & editing & directing & business & so much more, that I wanted to start making videos for myself again.

(Also, I've decided to see if dosage changes with some meds may help with the fatigue and general yuckiness-I-can't-stay-awake-ness, and so far, I've gotten dressed today and am wearing a messy top bun and glasses, since TBD on Pinterest said it is fashionable. I think I still look like a nerdy artist who doesn't like hair in the way when she paints or reads, but hey...that's why they're fashion experts and I blog about art and life. Feeling better today. Got lots of love getting the word out about my awesome $10-off sale for Going Further...really, it's like 3 e-classes' worth of info, inspiration, and so much more...a massive brain-dump of my favorite projects and techniques....you should really grab it if you want to be journaling from now until summer. (I have even uploaded a preview w/ a lesson you can download!) Please help a girl out? I'm not telling you to pay, I'm asking if you would. [you can always donate if you so choose.] Letting my vulnerability hang out here, and man, is it hard. Go watch the video. It's good and fun and artsy and I babble. Are you still reading this side note? Cause I've got a book calling my name from my comfy bed, and a puppy to cuddle with. XOXO, Samie)

The Picture of Our Lives

I read a blog post -- the link escapes me, now -- about how we present these images of ourselves on Facebook and social media that can be created for 'likes,' images of a together-life. It got me thinking of something I encountered recently that had me realizing social media and blogging is only one aspect of our lives...we want to be positive and upbeat, shading all the amazing experiences we're having.

But what about the rest of it? What picture of our lives are we painting?

You may see photos of me art journaling with friends, or off at CHA, yes. But what you don't see are the text messages to friends having to cancel on friends. The tearful breakdown I had walking from the convention center to the hotel, camera gear and junk on my shoulders, the longest walk in a long time fraught with pain and limping and the solid wall of a flare-up. You don't see night spent curled up in a chair because of overwhelming fatigue and a headache that appears, nearly every night, around 6pm. 

You don't see the depressive moods that come on at any moment --  I recently read the best quote about chronic pain and depression (the entire article is well worth the five minutes it'll take you to read): "...chronic pain may cause secondary depression (wouldn't you get depressed and down if you were hurting constantly for months or years?)..." How I can suddenly turn sad and have to force myself to not sign onto Facebook because I always post sad things that I regret hours later. 

But that doesn't mean I dwell. It doesn't mean life is full of acceptance. Sure, I spent two hours in bed watching silly 80's BBC shows this afternoon, but I also went out for lunch with a friend and worked on a painting for an hour. I'm curled up in my chair again, but my Couch Box is next to me and I'll doodle & draw in my art journal for a little bit. 

Life isn't all or nothing. It is living in the moment and enjoying the best of each we're given. Perhaps we could all be a little more honest when posting, showing our true, messy, broken selves -- and all the beauty we can create from it. 

I was given fabric pigtails tonight to make me feel better. It's amazing what a bit of shimmering fabric and a sense of cuteness can do!

Washi Tape Seams!

Like many of you, I have a big basket of washi tape that only seems to be growing, but I was clueless on what to use it for!

I'm not a scrapbooker, or one who makes cards. I've seen adorable projects on Pinterest and a few of my favorite crafting blogs, but they don't lend themselves to what I'm creating. I try to grab tapes in patterns I think I'll use enough to justify an entire roll, and have been traded many that I may not have liked at first, but fallen in love with. 

Sure, I've taped down papers, photos, or different elements with washi tape in my art journals and a few paintings, and have started using them as collage elements themselves, but...how and where to use these delicious rolls of addictive happiness?

A few months ago, I was reminded of this post of Julie Balzer's, where she mentions using masking tape along the seams of her journal spreads to keep ink, paint, and more from bleeding through the stitching -- who hasn't had that happen to them before? This genius solution had me using masking tape in my own journals until, one day, I grabbed a thicker washi tape instead...and a favorite technique was born!

I now start my pages by looking through my collection and trades and grabbing one or two that grab me....the colors, pattern, etc. I may put one stripe down the entire thing, or patchwork them like seen above. 

Since I'm not a huge fan of spreads, they can help separate two pages with a nice vertical line as well as influence what colors I'll be using on the pages. 

Or maybe not! Sometimes, the tape gets colored and drawn over in spots, turning into just another element. 

But it definitely saves the seam from leaks. Yes, it resists inks, as seen above, but paints and India Ink stick, as well as crayons, acrylics, and paint markers!

And at times, it sticks out, a border, simple, text, a bit of tinted color. 

And at times, I create before I can get to it, and add it later, the layers underneath peeking through.

I'm using so much more of my tape, now, and just adore how it looks, no matter how I use it! These are just a few ideas of what you can do...how else do you think you could use washi tape to protect the seams in your art journals? 

Reflecting on 28

Last year, after seeing Elsie and, well, Elise, reflect on each year upon their birthdays and create goals for the next year, I decided to make a list of 28 things I'd like to accomplish while 28. 

And then promptly forgot about it.

When I started using my Moleskine again last month, I rediscovered the list, and was surprised to find I had unconsciously accomplished many of the goals I'd made! I can't even describe it...as I went down the list and checked things off, my jaw dropped...and knew I'd just made a tradition I'd continue for the rest of my life. 

(The quote on the left is a John Green quote, from one of my favorite novels, The Fault in Our Stars.)

I did write an e-book this year, over 120+ pages of my favorite art journaling techniques, Going Further.

While I didn't teach a camera class, I did tutor Roben-Marie in camera work and editing.

I taught at my first retreat in December.

I visited Roben-Marie & Carissa in Florida, and my best friend from HS/College Amber, in Los Angels.

Art Journal Diary made me $1000 in one month (It was one of two high-profit months for me!)

Born Brave was born as Creative Warriors in the beginning of 2013.

I sold a few prints at First Friday this month...

... & hung five paintings at a gallery in downtown Phoenix.

I swam in the Atlantic twice.

I have made way more than three new connections this year!

Since going gluten-free in September, I have lost 23 lbs and gone down 2 dress sizes.

I adore my long, wavy hair.

I have experimented with oils, pan pastels, and texture mediums.

Since teaching regularly in-person since last year, I have become oh-so-confident at sharing what I know with others.

I may not have biked in the mountains, but I did spend four days in them.

Jen is an amazing mentor and friend!

I've chatted with and helped a few others with their journaling.

Carissa Paige is a soul-sister in so many ways, renewing my faith in finding those who just know you. 

I have connected with others, set up an alter, and replaced my saints' medals.

My stock of flowy skirts has increased by three.

I can only imagine what 29 has in store for me!

(My darling parents bought me a new cup (if you've met me IRL, you've probably seen me with a blue plastic cup in-hand, as I bring it everywhere...but it broke in December, and then I left it at Frenzy Stamper, so yay...new one!) and some Molotow paint markers. YUM!)

Dreamcatcher Journal Spread

I am in love with the transformative powers of art journaling. I've posted a new video lesson for my Creative Warriors about my struggles with insomnia and chronic fatigue. 

As you can see, I've transformed my old Smash Book into my diary for this year's journey...it seemed fitting since the book wasn't even half finished and just sitting on a shelf. I tore out the other pages and started over!

I'm a Pro!

Look! It even says so! Check out my spread in the new issue of Somerset Apprentice for advice, my favorite supplies, and more! I couldn't be in better company, with lovely friends like Carissa Paige, Vanessa Spencer, Pam Carriker, and Kristen Robinson, and artists I love, such as Christine Adolph and Kelly Barton. It really is a fabulous issue, especially if you're just starting and need to learn the basics. 

And this girl is super excited she can put Pro on her resume now. I can do that, right? How about carry photos of this around? *happy dance*

Happy Happy Mark Making!

I have been trying to write this blog post all day. 

Whenever I’m in a Flare-Zone (flare up, day/s of pain, etc), I try to stay off the internet and not write anything. Pain turns me into a big, fire-breathing dragon guarding whatever tatters of sanity are left, with a quick temper that roars when I get overstimulated. The moment I step into my apartment and the door closes behind me after running even the easiest of errands, I break down and start sobbing from holding everything in for so long. And I get overstimulated waaay too easily. 

This all combines into a Cloud of Negativity that only spreads onto the internet, in Facebook statuses that I regret a couple of hours later when pain meds have mellowed things out to a controllable, I-can-do-art-now level. Ugh. Have you ever sent an email you wished you could just snatch up from the air and grab back? 

Today is a better day than yesterday, and I’m hoping tomorrow is even better than today. Though the girl at the office (where I had to use the fax machine, since mine isn’t working…grr!) told me it’s supposed to start raining come Wednesday…can a girl get a break? Anyway, I spent last night watching Once Upon a Time & Revenge while doodling and finishing up these pages in my larger journal, and as soon as I finished my cotton candy girl, I was like, “Oh my goodness, I am in love with this page!” I wanted to snuggle it close and marveled at the fact that I made it! 

It started all layered and collage-y and with tons of neon….I am SO helplessly in love with neon! The page on the right was done with charcoal and at first, I thought she looked like an alien…I think she still does, but adding hair did help. And then merry, happy marks.

I really want to make a video or class around happy mark-making. Working on the iPad has so loosened me up, and I no longer feel like I have to cover every bit of the page…well, I already talked about that, but it continues on. 

I now switch between my bigger journal and my Moleskine sketchbook. More paint and marks and neon oil pastels. The face on the right is a graphite portrait I did last year that I recently unearthed when cleaning. I made a smaller copy and just pasted it into my journal with some washi tape accents. Journaling is really opening up to me in a new way…after eight years, it continues to surprise and save me, which is why I keep doing it! 

I’ve found a way to use my ever-growing washi collection (we did a SWAP on Friday that was genius!)…I put it down the center of my journal spreads to keep stuff from leaking through. I’m not a huge fan of doing two page spreads, so it breaks it up into pages while adding texture and color. I can jump off from there.

Tonight, I’ll be playing in my journal some more. It’s a wonderful distraction, and can be done anywhere! 

What new things have you tried lately? 

Any new colors, materials, or techniques? 

Are you drawing more, loosening up, expressing yourself?

 Materials used: a lot! MS paint, neon oil pastels, washi tape, collage materials, Prismacolor Colored Pencils, paint pens, markers, graphite, charcoal

A lesson in self-love

Sometimes, my FMS likes to show me who’s boss. 

We usually get along — I make a point to say I live with FMS and not suffer from it — and I can go on trips or spend my days out or painting, have fun as long as I acknowledge my limits (I talk about how I cope in Creative Warriors, and one of my most important tools, Rest Stops). Yes, I’ll have some days that are harder than others, but overall, my health has vastly improved ever since I went on an adventure, stopped consuming HFCS and fake sugars, and cut gluten out of my diet. 

Any illness or upheaval in life can steal any sense of control we have in our lives. Vanessa just wrote a touching and heartfelt post about her recent health issues and her experiences during it all — I really recommend it, because she just…she had me in tears by the end. 

For the past couple of weeks, the fatigue component of my twin diagnosis of FMS/CFS (fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome) has been kicking my butt.

When our bodies begin to act in a way contrary to how we’d like, we can respond with resentment and frustration. We grow up thinking we are in control of our bodies, but the mind is only one component, and while we have the strength of will to keep going during difficult circumstances or bright joys, our bodies will do what they need to do in order to keep us alive. They are marvelous machines, able to do so many things (like creating life — how miraculous!). 

What do we do, then, when they aim to misbehave? 

Mine is teaching me a much-needed lesson on self-care and love. 

I need to stop being frustrated and angry with myself. 

I am doing all I can, getting done all my work, still enjoying art and friendship.

So why should I let this fatigue get to me? 

Why should I let it get me down? 

I fear people may think me lazy, or life may be passing me by.

But we all need to learn how to live as we’re meant to.

And if that means I’m spending more time caring for myself, forgiving myself, loving myself,

then perhaps I’m beginning to learn the lesson.

I brought joy to my insomnia last night by journaling. Materials used: handcarved stamp, washi tape, Cat's Eye ink pads, collage papers, MS Paints, pencils, neon oil pastels, Moltow white paint pen. 

Evolution of a Digital Art Journal Page...

I decided the other night to take some screen shots as I was working on a digital art journal page. I've been posting them nightly to my Instagram account, but didn't want to overwhelm the blog with all this digital work -- I do so much more, like paintings, traditional pages, sketching, patterns, talismans, jewelry, resin casting....iPhoto is chuck-full of pictures to post! Have you noticed how much more I've been sharing, hrmm? 

When working digitally, I pull in all sorts of elements, from photos of older journal pages to found papers and "stencils" I've made! I work mostly in Procreate and use a Sensu stylus/brush (but don't pull out the brush very often!). The more you work with any tool & app, the better you get, so keep playing!

I'm planning out an e-course for digital art journaling...are you in?

A Lovely Creative Day

After ages of being sick, working digitally, & generally working on other projects, I packed up my supplies and met the wonderful S. for shopping and lunch and journaling and gabbing. 

Don't we look alike? I noticed on Instagram the other day, so I said we SO had to take a picture together! Plus, we're both IG addicts, so we were snapping pictures on our phones while chatting for hours. I really love it when you meet someone one on one and just click and can be vulnerable and true. It makes life sweeter! 

I brought my little gel plate and favorite supplies, and S brought her couch box (and I felt silly since I put everything into a different pair of boxes....I promptly reassembled my couch box when I got home!). We played with each others' favorite supplies and did drawing and general mess-making. If you haven't had a play date in awhile, you really should. I found myself re-energized after a few weeks of ucky CFS fatigue and really enjoyed myself. 

(The pic above and the two below were taken from her IG feed, btw! Credit where credit's due; and permission given!)

(She doodled this! And said she wasn't good at faces. PSHAW! Help me convince her she is in the comments below!)

My finished page I had a BLAST making it! 

I tried to get the face details to work, and got really frustrated, but was convinced she's just as beautiful without it. One of the things we chatted about was anxiety and comfort levels, and how it can be hard to put yourself out there. We can think the worst because of our own individual objectivities and issues, and have to be careful to stay open. I know I have to work on this, and it is a huge life lesson. I'm glad we were at a "yay!" level! 

Working on my daily digital pages has really loosened me up and helped me to express myself through drawing and painting, and this journal page is new and lovely and oh-so-awesome. Lots of growth is happening over here! 

Write Everything Down

For an art journaler, I am terrible at writing things down! I'll get an idea while driving, or out with friends, and try to remember it....but then I forget everything except that I HAD a really awesome idea and now it's gone. Arg! Has this ever happened to you? I try to implement things if I'm near the studio, but sometimes, well...you're just NOT in the best place to work! 

So I decided that this year, I was going to carry a journal with me and write everything down. Ideas, phrases, even images or inspiring collections of color! No more missing out or forgetting (my fibro-brain is terrible at remembering things). I dug out a Moleskine sketchbook I've had for a few years and only used a third of, and tossed it in my purse, ready to capture all the stuff my brain thinks up. 

There are diagrams of projects or technique ideas, of course, but what I'm really thrilled about are the times when I see a pattern or image that I love -- that I'd usually try to remember for later -- and do a quick sketch. Working daily on the iPad has really made doing imperfect and spontaneous drawing so much easier, and I get lovely journal pages out of it! 

This page was inspired by a sweater a woman was wearing in a TV show I was watching on Netflix. I adored the collar and colors, so I doodled it! And then just....kept going! Having a steady journal companion allows me to be creative whenever I'm struck with an idea, and just because I've drawn this once doesn't mean I can't do, say, a more involved journal page or painting of it later! Repetition's a great teacher, right?

What ideas have you lost? Why don't you join me in writing things down more; you'll quickly fill a journal with how inspiring life can be! 

Materials Used: Gelly Roll black gel pen, Tombow markers, Copic Markers, Dylusions Ink, Moltow Paint Pens, gold Uni-Ball pen
(And yes, I usually have all these materials in my purse, just in case!)

on seeing my art on the gallery wall

Check one off the bucket list -- that is my bright, formerly-in-a-pile art hanging on the wall in a real gallery.

I know! 

For years, I've been a huge chicken, always finding a reason to NOT go visit my favorite coffee shop with a portfolio in hand, letting my Inner Critic sway my positive thoughts into the deep Fear of Rejection. I think that's natural, especially when you put so much of your heart on the line in an artistic pursuit (though I've been able to share my poetry, in the past, with less trepidation; not so much these days!). We all reach milestones and are praised by friends and family, but fear, outside the collective bubble of loving support, that things may not be as good as we thought. 

With how much I've been teaching lately, I've begun to learn the value of live, real-time positive feedback and get out of that bubble a little more. There is definitely a difference between comments and likes online and the way a person's whole being seems to light up when they accomplish something they never thought possible or see a piece of art that resonates with them. 

The gallery deal happened so fast, so last-minute, I didn't have time to say no or pull out. It started with me agreeing to drop off some prints to sell and ended with Heather, the manager, stopping by my apartment while I was out filming Kristen Robinson and chatting with the ladies at Ice Resin. So I really couldn't back out!

Walking in and seeing them up on a wall, along with work by other artists, and being asked to leave them for the entire month was....wow. A rush? That full-body tingle that runs up your spine when a dream comes true? A jolt to my system that opened up so many more things -- if this were possible, what else was I wrong about? What other seemingly-impossible dreams are waiting in the wings? 

I sold some prints ten minutes after I arrived, and hung around for a little bit, just to see how people reacted. I could see their eyes sparkle, and then Heather would say, "We have the artist with us this evening," and they would turn to me and I would give a little wave, and oh my God, when did this become my life? I went from using watercolors wrong eight years ago to sitting in a little gallery in downtown Phoenix selling art. My morning had been taken up by directing videos that would, well, a bigger audience to say the least. I talked shop, finished up a few things, rested, and went out. Hit a friend's for games and a late dinner after. Spent the weekend polishing an article for a major magazine. 

I am social and constantly creative and can someone come pinch me so I can make sure this is real? 

You can come visit my artwork at Soul Invictus gallery at 1022 NW Grand, Phoenix, AZ on Third Thursday and whenever a concert is going on. Both the original paintings and prints are available.

Art Doodle Love Blog Hop!

Oh! A new book is always a gift, but one created by a friend is one wrapped in beautiful paper and dashed with glitter. Dawn Sokol has really outdone herself with this, her third art journal book -- created just for YOU -- by aiming not for young girls and boys, but YOU. Yes, YOU! I know if you're reading this, you're going to LOVE her new book, Art Doodle Love. 

I'm so excited to share some pages from it! I first saw it while having coffee with my darling friend about a month ago, and couldn't wait to get inside it! I just adore her backgrounds and colors (which attracted me to her and her art years ago!), but what REALLY excited me was the prompts. Oh, yes....did I mention it's full of prompts?

The first chapter is all about loosening you up! When I approached the scribble page, I was like, "Oh, I can scribble!" But it's HARD, isn't it? To just let go and make random marks across the page? I think we all scribble to a point, and then move on. Having a spread telling me to scribble and fill the whole thing was actually hard, until I just started having fun! I got a few odd looks from the sounds of my paint pens and markers jumping around on the page, but I was grinning the whole time! 

There are a bunch of fun activities inside to prime the pump, like the page of drips and drops; I saw a trapeze artist when I saw one, and just doodled her. This book is full of thick, creamy paper, by the way, so your pen just glides, and you don't have to worry about the paper buckling under your work!

The prompts are amazing....look at this one! This journal REALLY gets you thinking, reflecting, and being still enough to listen to yourself. While journaling on your own is full of discovery and revelations, working through one with prompts, and ones that engage and pull you from your comfort zone, can really unlock parts of yourself you haven't engaged in years.

When was the last time YOU thought about the past you? I think many of us start over in our lives, again and again, and shed those old identities. As I was working on this page, I found myself wanting to go back and talk to the old me, give her advice, help her through the battles to come. It brought me a measure of peace, knowing how far I've come. And the background already on the page made it easy to focus on the thoughts and emotions going through my head, since I could collage and doodle right away, rather than waiting for paint to dry.

I found that the colors and backgrounds helped me focus down what materials I would use, and locked me into a color palette that took a lot of guesswork out of journaling! Instead of being overwhelmed by all my choices, I could grab a small collection of supplies and match things to the backgrounds. They're great to work over, and have those messy details I adore! 

Because of the quality of the paper, I wasn't afraid to collage, paint, and doodle all over the pages. My Copic markers didn't even bleed through that much....easily thicker and nicer paper than the Moleskine sketchbook I've been playing in! And this whole book is sewn, meaning it lays flat and the pages aren't coming out any time soon. It certainly will be hanging out with my other art journals, there to pull out whenever I need to reflect, warm up, or just play. I did a lot of this stuff while watching movies on the couch, using a smaller batch of supplies.

If like me you're past how-to books and are really yearning to use your journaling for self-discovery, then you can't find a better book to invest your money in. Reasonably priced, full of color and inspiration, and prompting you to really examine your life, Art Doodle Love is amazing and perfect for ya. 

Dawn will be running a give-away on her blog starting February 8th, so make sure to head over there to enter! And don't forget to visit the others in the blog-hop for more pages, inspiration, and peeks inside!

Feb. 2: Pam Carriker, http://www.pamcarriker.com/blog/

Feb. 3: Samantha Kira Harding, http://www.journalgirl.com (you're here!)

Feb. 4: Aimee Dolich, http://artsyville.blogspot.com

Feb. 5: Jane Davenport,  http://www.janedavenport.com

Feb. 6: Carla Sonheim, http://www.carlasonheim.com

Feb. 7: Tracie Lyn Huskamp, http://www.thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com

Feb. 8: Tammy Garcia, http://www.daisyyellow.squarespace.com

Feb. 9: Carissa Paige, http://www.carissapaige.blogspot.com

Feb. 10: Mindy Lacefield, http://www.timssally.com

Feb. 11: Dina Wakley, http://dinastamps.typepad.com/

Feb. 12: Tamara LaPorte, http://www.willowing.org/blog/

Feb. 13: Jill K. Berry, http://jillberrydesign.com/blog/

Soaring Through January

I'm finally feeling better, phew! That flu was no fun. I'm still dealing with some nice CFS after affects, but I taught a class yesterday and baked a yummy cake (and made home-made buttercream frosting and colored it and doodled on it!) for a birthday today, so I'm getting there! 

Even though I didn't feel well, I managed to create a bit in my journal in 5-10 minute spurts at my studio table. These little snatched moments added up, and I would bring my pens and markers out to the couch to doodle while watching movies. I've found the more I do art when unwell, the less miserable I become. What a simple solution!

Here are some in-progress snapshots from my journals!

(squee! i found neon oil pastels!)

Materials Used: Pitt Artist Pens, Gelli Arts Gel Plate, Tombow Markers, Copic Markers, Amy Tangerine Thickers, Neon Oil Pastels, Crafter's Workshop & Hand-Cut Stencils

Remember how I started using my Smash Book for Project 365 last year, but never finished? I decided to re-claim it as my Creative Warriors diary! I'm so excited to be art journaling in my Smash Book again, and I shared this spread with my lovely community of brave women tonight as we surge forward into February. 

365 Days of Digital Art Journaling: days 25-26 (studying light)

Some days, I'll spend maybe ten minutes on a page, and others, I'll play for nearly three hours.

The first is a quick one. The second, a longer painting.

I have become fascinated by light temperature. I never knew it impacted color in painting until I checked out a book on portraits from the library. I know it has a huge impact when filming video (I spend hours with my friend, the Color Correction panel in Final Cut Pro for my professional clients), but my understanding of portraiture was lacking.

Working digitally has opened up a whole knew world of practice....I no longer have to pull out my oil paints for studies...I can sit comfortably and use this magical tablet device. I am doing things I never thought I'd be interested in, sampling colors and learning how light behaves. It's fascinating and fun and so rewarding! For my third attempt, and having never taken more than a drawing class last year, I'm insanely proud of what I've been able to do.

You don't need a fancy education to create, just the curiosity and practice to want to strive for more.

(Mad props if you recognize my subject. I'm a mad fangirl. Mwahaha!)