Nurturing a daily creative practice

It's been a while my friends, too long really, but while life feels like it is passing by sometimes, it is good to just stop and take a breath and be present.

While I may not have been posting on my blog, I have been arting, teaching my monthly art journal classes, travelling to teach at an annual weekend art convention, and exhibiting and selling my work at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. I have also signed up for Book Of Days, Lifebook and the 30 Day Journal Project this year. Add to that a major house renovation, that I was project manager for and you have a busy year. Thankfully, the renovations are finished (and look fabulous) so it is time to get back to 'normal', whatever normal is.

It is so easy to get bogged down in daily running around, feeding the family, working a day job, getting caught up in the day to day running of a household that, sadly our creative practice is sometimes last on our list.

Personally, I sometimes struggle with spending time in my studio playing with no end in mind, no "product" to produce, just arting for me, without feeling guilty, selfish even. But you know what I remind myself every time I get in this mindset, is that without this art practice I am not nurturing myself, not honouring myself.

It is essential that we find "me" time every day, whether that be 15 minutes of creative expression, 15 minutes of quiet time with a cuppa and a good book, or whether that be 15 minutes walking out in nature.

Late last year I was hearing from a lot of people, myself included, that there is not enough time in the day to art so to that end I decided to find a way of making my creative practice a part of every day. A challenge, if you will, to make art part of my everyday, even if I have just 15 minutes. It is not to 'produce' anything, it is just to exercise my right brain, to keep the creative juices flowing, to banish the excuses that there is no time for art.

To this end I have been adopting a daily art practice, which I coined, Lunchtime Art Time.It started with a daily challenge between a friend and I. Each day we would take it in turns to post a prompt and by the end of the day we had to express that prompt on a page in any way we chose. For me I decided to challenge myself to make my creative practice portable and so packed up a little art box and started taking it to work.

Each lunch time I sit down with my travel art box and my handmade journal and loose myself in my art for half an hour. Most times, I end up with 15-20 minutes, most pages are very simple but they take me out of the daily grind and bring me peace, ground me and centre my mind into the present.

So, what do you think. What are your favourite supplies to go in your travel art kit? I would love to hear the essentials that you cannot live without and what you take when you travel.

  I would love for you to join me and make art a part of your daily life, so connect with me on Instagram and lets make some art. Click on the icon below to go to my Instagram page.

Until next time
Namaste

Lee

two in one week!

Well, I don't blog for ages, then I post 2 in one week. One word for that isn't there..... random. Yep that's how I go sometimes and this month has been no different. I am actually sharing this weeks Book of Days spread during this week. I know, shock, horror! I'm also sharing a painting I delivered to it's new home last weekend.

 First the new painting. I was given a colour palette by my client and a general theme of what they wanted and this is the finished canvas. I really love the light airy colours. It was a bigger canvas, measuring 1.8 x 0.6m.. I really loved it and so did it's owner.  I really love painting these long canvases and it has me wanting one in my own house now.

This week for me it was all about being in the moment and finding little Joy Moments each day.

The prompt for this week was to use fabric in our spread. 

I used the Atelier Free Flow paints and I started with a brush blended background of Pthalo Green, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Titanium White.

Then I used one of the new Scrap Fx stamps, Ruffled Feather, with Titanium white and also just spritzed with plain water to create texture in the background.

I always tell my students to save everything in case they can use it in their art journals. I see them roll their eyes, listening to me telling them to save crazy stuff, wondering when they could use 'that' again. Well as I was sitting at my desk I was wondering what sort of fabric I wanted to use, looking around for inspiration and my eyes landed on some scrunched up dried, used baby wipes.

 Well, baby wipes are a type of fabric aren't they, so that is where I started. I decided that I didn't want to rip them up and saw my Big Shot machine sitting idly by, not having been used for a long time, so out it came with some Spellbinders die's. I cut out circles and dragonflies and began my spread.

 We had some lovely sunshine this week so I sat out and doodled around the circles and labeled them with the days of the week.

Of course I used by favourite journaling pen, the White Signo, and the purple Aqualip for the title and some doodling. The Aqualips are fast becoming my go to pens for titles now. They flow so easily and dry with a nice glossy finish.

Each day, at the end of recording that day's happenings, I wrote a Joy moment, one moment from each day that gave me joy. No matter how small there is always something that gives you joy on any given day. It can be as simple as my Monday Joy moment of finally curling up on my bead with a good book after a long day at work. Do you look for joy moments in your day?

Registration for the next session of Book of Days is open on October 15th. Sign up for Effy's newsletter so you don't miss out.

Life is a Precious thing....

Life is Precious

Life is Beautiful

Life is to be Treasured

Life is Short.....

This weeks post is all about life, how you respect it, how you take time to appreciate the little things, how you spend your precious time living the life that you imagined.

My Book Of Days spread is from a couple of weeks ago and had that theme running all the way through it. There ended up being reminders of it every day, a common theme of appreciating life and living it to the fullest and remembering those who are no longer physically with us.

It is a simple spread. The prompt was to paint in journaling blocks for the week ahead, making it super easy to just fill it in as you go. I loved it!

The background is all made up of leftover paint on my palette from another earlier spread and a painting that I had started. Not ever one to waste things, I used it on this spread. All the marks I made were using found objects around my studio like corrugated cardboard and bubble wrap and various pens and paintbrushes. the journaling blocks were first blocked in in Titanium White and then the colour lightly painted over it, mixing in a bit of white and leaving it shabby, doodled around the outside of each block and then filled in each day with a white Signo. Easy peasy.

 On another note, during that week, I flew up to Sydney to teach two classes with these wonderful ladies. On the Saturday I taught my Blue Lotus

and then on the Sunday I taught 2 art journal classes on a canvas board.

I was also able to catch up with one of my dearest friends' on the Saturday night, so it was a really quick but meaningful visit all round. 

This weekend once again reminded me how lucky I am to be able to teach and share what I am most passionate about. It reminded me that when we all share that common passion, great things can be achieved, friendships forged and strengthened and our lives are so enriched by the experience. It reminded me the value of true friendship, the precious time we have with them and how we must vow to make each day precious.

Day 30 - Gratefulness

I try to remember to take a moment each day to recognise what I am grateful for. Each day I try to recognise something that I haven't during that week. Gratefulness is an integral part of my life. For me it is the difference between the glass being half full or half empty. With a daily practice of gratitude, the glass is always half full. Whenever I am faced with a challenge I always look for a positive, no matter how small. It may be that the positive thing out of a situation is that I have learned a valuable lesson. It may be a wonderful new, although scary opportunity opening up. It may be recognising and acknowledging a relationship that soothes my soul.

I have many mantras that I say to myself in any given situation so when people ask for a favourite it is hard for me to pick one. One of my all time favourites is

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" 

 

This phrase opens up possibilities, it helps me take stock and reframe how I am looking at the situation, how I can turn it into a positive, how i can make something even more. Effy wrote about reframing a while ago. If I can locate it I will update this with a link.

I'll start today with being grateful for belonging to such a great art community, on and offline, for being able to interact with so many wonderful, inspirational people that may never have crossed my path if not for this community and my passion for the creative. They inspire me everyday.

Friendship seems to be the recurring theme of my posts this month.

 Apart from my family, my friends are my lifeblood, they are the rocks in my hard places, they are the glue that binds my worlds together, they are the paint on my page, they are the words in my books I read. They are there in my times of need and they are there for a laugh and a nice relaxing cuppa. They "get" me and they don't judge me. They accept me for me and I am eternally grateful for their presence. I only hope that I am as good a friend to them as they are to me.

Each day, take time to recognise all that you have to be grateful for in that moment. Start with the obvious but try to go a bit deeper, look for things that you hadn't noticed before. See the little things that mean so much, from the clean air that we breathe, to the fresh water coming out of the tap.  Be grateful for the mundane, the routine, the normal. Be grateful for each and every experience you have because they are all a part of the beautiful mosaic that you are.

Namaste

Lee

Day 29 - a recipe and a journal page

Here is the recipe for the Cinnamon Maple Cake that I was talking about yesterday. 

It is a modified version of a recipe that I shared on my Facebook page a couple of weeks ago. Apart from the amazing taste, I love it because it is Gluten Free, Dairy Free, low sugar and low in carbs. Now how can you go past that one?

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, low carb, low sugar Cinnamon Maple Cake 

(makes 9-12 servings)

2 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped  
1/2 cup chopped merjool dates
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter , melted ( i find the coconut oil helps keep the slice moist and together more than using butter, and the taste is soooo good)
1/4 cup maple syrup - I used Greens brand as it is the lowest in sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter , melted
6 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup  chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 160deg C fan forced. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or pan with butter and lightly dust with almond meal.

To make the cake:

Combine the almond flour, salt, baking soda, pecans and dates in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter , maple syrup, eggs and vanilla.  Make a well inside the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined, the batter will be very thick.  Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Using a spatula, gently push the batter into place making it as level as possible.

To make the topping:

Combine cinnamon, butter, maple syrup and pecans or almonds in a bowl.  Spread the topping over the cake batter. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick  inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour on a wire rack.  Slice cake into squares and drizzle with Maple Frosting before serving.

This cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.  Once you drizzle it, store it in the fridge.

Maple Drizzle:

3/4 cup coconut butter - see below on how to make coconut butter

1/4 cup maple syrup (or more to taste)

1/4-1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, almond milk, or coconut milk - i used almond milk because I have it in the fridge anyway.

pinch of salt

In a small saucepan, heat all ingredients over medium-low heat, stir until well combined.  Consistency should be thin enough to drizzle over the coffee cake.

***If you eat dairy and prefer a maple cream cheese drizzle…substitute 4 ounces softened cream cheese for the coconut butter and reduce the heavy cream to 2 Tbsp.-1/4 cup and blend in a small bowl with a hand mixer until smooth.  Again the consistency should be thin enough to drizzle**

Coconut butter

to make coconut butter place 2 1/2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut(not desiccated) into a food processor. process for about 10-20 minutes stopping now and again to scrape the coconut down into the bowl. after a while it will turn to liquid and will set upon cooling. this quantity makes just over 3/4 cup of coconut butter. 

I'm catching up on my memory keeping in my Book of Days so this is acutally for a couple of weeks ago. It is all about the week that I had no voice. i used Dylusions sprays, paints, crafters workshop stencils, and new foam stamps from Scrap Fx

The week that I was ordered by the doctor to have complete silence started out as a real challenge and a difficult and frustrating week. As the week wore on though, I really started to connect fully with my inner voice. It's funny the different things you notice when you lose one of your major communication tools. It was almost like other things were amplified.

It gave me a good understanding why silent retreats are so popular and it is something that I wouldn't mind repeating on a smaller scale.

Namaste

Lee

Some exciting news

It's been a while since I posted. Life has been frantic, exciting, busy and creative and since it has been a while I've begun freshening up my blog so bear with me while all the links are gradually updated.

These days you are more likely to connect with me on Facebook. I love the instant interaction with my friends and fellow bloggers so please come and find me here so we can keep in touch.

In the past 12 months I have been teaching a monthly art journaling class at my local Scrapbook Shop and have made some wonderful new friends and have been having the time of my life.
I've also discovered the world of indie authors and have met some wonderful people, authors, book reviewers and fellow readers. Lately I have been combining the two- art journaling and reading, which brings me to my latest news.

Laura Howard is a new indie author, blogger and staunch supporter of self published authors. Laura hosts a fantastic blog which, in her own words,  "is an educational community for women on the path to becoming published authors. The site features interviews with top experts in the fields of writing, editing, marketing and publishing.I'm currently revising my first contemporary fantasy novel. Visit often for free tips, tools and more."
Laura has just announced a writing competition on her blog with prizes awarded to the winners of which, I am so honoured and thrilled to say, that a piece of my artwork will be one of them.  Here is the page that I will be sending to the winner. All that needs to be added is a quote from the winning story. Of course the watermark will not be on it.

Please visit Laura's blog to see all the details and have a go at penning your own story.

Now about my art journal classes. I must say that these are the most fun I have had teaching and can't wait for this years classes to begin. The first one is on February 28th and we are making our own journal and then will be using it throughout the year in the rest of the classes. You can go here to see more details.
Here are some photos of my workshop spreads and class shots from last year.

I leave you with a beautiful interpretation of a Rumi saying that I found on Facebook which describes my journey over the last year.

Namaste
Lee

Book of Days update

Back again to finally show you some art...

While I was away last week, I did do a few pages in my Book of Days which I can show you now.  I am a bit behind in art journaling the pages but because I am also working through Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance I am writing it all down so I can refer to it later on. I am really enjoying this process as it stops me from sailing through each week unconscious of what is going on around me but also within me. If you feel like joining in, just visit Book of Days here.

This is a page with the challenge of doing a mosaic of some kind. As you know I love my spirals so this was the shape I first thought of. It expressed perfectly what I was feeling on the day, going within and listening to your inner voice instead of all the chatter that can sometimes send you off course.

  This was my first spread for the start of last week using crafters workshop stencil in the background (white sponged over the stencil on a blue background), glazing with various colours of Copic markers, white paint and punchinella, cut outs of thongs from a scrapbook paper collection, and a white signo pen for the writing.  

 As I had limited supplies, I actually used a few supplies that I don't normally use and it just shows how much you can do with very little. The background for this one was water soluble crayons, then white paint and punchinella and journaling with a black copic marker.

 This last page of the week was to celebrate my youngest sons 20th birthday 

(yes I did say 20 and this makes me feel.... ummmmm... well more advanced in age than I was last year lol).  I am not saying 'old' because I think that it is all in the mind but it did make me pause - in a good way :)

The background was Inktense pencils, a circle border stamp in Black Staz-on and journaling with a purple artline marker and white Signo pen.

The message on the right hand side describes how I was feeling after a lovely relaxing week away, realising that you don't need all the latest gizmos, the clutter of "stuff" and other distractions to make your life complete. Sure they can make it easier but I have found recently that they can also make it more stressful. The technology that was supposed to make our lives easier can often end up taking up more of our time as it gives us more and more things to do while we try to fit it into our already busy lives. 

Sometimes you just need to  

stop, breathe and listen to the stillness. 

Find a quiet retreat, even if for only a few hours and  

just "be". 

This is often when you realise just how much you have to be thankful for.

My quote today is the one I used on this spread.

"Who is content with nothing,

possesses all things."

Have a lovely day

Namaste

Lee

Almost back on board

Hi everyone

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and break afterwards, I've been on a nice little break which has helped to re-charge the creative batteries and plan the upcoming year. Over the break I have dealt with feelings of overwhelm and excitement as I realise how busy I am going to be over the next 12 months. It is going to be an exciting year with new classes to teach and classes to take. I have also had a lot of time to think about what is important and what is not, what to concentrate on and what to let go and to ultimately prioritise effectively. Janet had a great post last week that expressed much of the same feelings. For years I have always been in a rush at the end of a deadline and have become stressed with all that is on my plate. This year I am feeling that it is going to be a year of new habits and different thinking. My priorities are changing slightly and I have committed to using my diary more effectively. Part of my daily practice towards that Balance is meditation, which helps to stop the scatter-chatter that is in my mind. 

And so on to the choice of my word for the year....  

Balance,

balance in all areas of my life

balance between family time, friends time, art time, spirituality and relax/recharge time

So having said all of that, I signed up for Effy Wild's Book of Days and have become a bit addicted to it. Effy has a wonderful program for artfully documented the next year and gives excellent instruction and encouragement through bi-weekly newsletters and videos as well as a very supportive group environment on Facebook. It has enabled me to sit and art everyday, even if for 15 minutes, which is something I have been trying to do for a while now. Along with Book of Days, I am doing Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance. I originally thought it would be committing to to much but am finding that the daily reflection required for Simple Abundance goes perfectly with my journaling in Book of Days. I have kept a journal sporadically but never recording my thoughts every day and I am really enjoying the process. Anyway, if you pop over to Effy's website you can find out how to join in on the fun.

Here is a couple of photos as a sneak peak of my Book of Days. In the coming week I will be sharing my process for some of the pages and the cover.

Have a great day everyone.

My quote today is from one of the lovely ladies from the Book of Days group, thanks Kel :)

"Art has the power to unveil the mysteries if we look closely enough"

Namaste

Lee