'in prayer' 24"x18" mixed-media on board
This one took me 2 1/2 weeks to finish, but here she is!
For me, this was a new experience. I'm used to going about things a certain way, of crafting my layers intuitively but having an overall idea in mind. With this, that seemed to float out the window while I was working, and at one point, I had to sit back and let her settle for a bit before getting back to her.
She started at a very different place -- one of dejection and sorrow -- and blossomed into a woman in prayer as the world takes shape around her. The leaves on the left were doodled one night with Copic markers, and the papers in the flowers were made while out creating last week.
I think, with this one, I was exploring color and brushstrokes just as much as I was cheering myself up. I love how paint looks when spread with a small brush, and it was something I hadn't done in awhile. And while I painted, I began to feel better and better about things. In fact, the words I originally wrote with paint are all covered up. Amazing how something like a painting can transform you.
Of course, to stay on track with my 1 painting a week goal, I won't be able to pull off my now-loved larger paintings; my canvas for this week is 9"x12", and I'm excited to get started because I have NO idea what to paint! But I'm back in the swing of things -- working in my journal, getting samples and projects finished, doing design work for others -- and am happy letting things develop as they will. Wu wei, remember?
My other accomplishment today was FINALLY setting up an online classroom site for myself. I didn't want to pay for Ning, so I went through a very frustrating 2 days of trying to get software to work, and at the last minute, found something that's easy to use and perfect for what I'm doing. Easy-peasy is my motto!
With the WISH Journal Workshop now being about a year old, I have reduced the price to $10. Yep! Get full access to all the materials and make your own pretty journal for just $10.
I've also ported over my workshop from 21 Secrets. It's all about getting started journaling on loose canvas, and if you missed 21 Secrets, you can now get this little workshop for just $10, too!
This is all groundwork for my next art journaling workshop (coming out in March) as well as this little idea I have about starting a kit club of my own. I'm working out the details, but it'll be a mix of digital & mailed items, videos, resources, and fun bits. I think that'd be awesome, don't you? Who doesn't like getting a little extra. And on the theme we're seeing here, it'll be something like $10-$15 a project, and you can sign up for any month whenever you want.
(If you have a Workshop Ticket, you'll be getting log-in information either tonight or tomorrow, for the new site!)
I figure, I have all these ideas in my head, I should start taking them seriously and sharing them with the world!
Tomorrow, I'm totally filming a video, by the way, all about my love affair with Collage Pauge. I was playing around yesterday and actually made a cool effect with it -- after a year of using it, I'm still figuring out new things it can do!
♥, samie kira