Mind. Body. Soul. (Art Journaling)

I'm happy to say that I've completed the work for week one in my beautiful friend Leslie's new E-course, Mind.Body.Soul. Our task was to create two journal pages focusing on positivity and the word Believe. Here is what I came up with:

"You Are Enough"

Elements attached with string and staples

Revealed message

"Sit with it for a While"

Torn papers and rub-ons

Stamping and a page full of decorative tape

And just as a side: I broke out a new journal for this class, the Strathmore Visual Journal, and I'm more than impressed with it. It's a Cold Press watercolor journal with a good weight (140 lb) and no matter how many layers (painting, rub-ons, stamping, gluing, image transferring, um, glittering . . . ) I put it through, it stayed with me (no balling up or wrinkling). And I loved the 5 x 8 size as it was very easy to complete in one sitting. At around $5 (I got mine at Michaels, but they are everywhere), I would recommend it in a heartbeat!

Thanks for looking! I'm now off to see what's in store for Week Two . . . please feel free to join us, it's inspiring, fun & free!

Kristin xo

Because You Went Away

"Because You Went Away"

12 x 12 Mixed Media Collage

(Images from Retro Cafe Art)

I believe that art is magical. Magical because even when you don't intend (or are even aware) of what you may be creating, a story is being told. A story that only you can tell. And for me, when I get out of my own way and just allow the story to unfold, I find that there are many lessons to be learned.

Case in point: I've had a hard week. In moments of sadness, I went into my studio and tried to play. Play with paint, play with a new song book (found in the post below) and yesterday, I played with a background that I'd made a while back with Shiva Paintstiks. I sat down without knowing what to do and just cut and pasted. I played with the idea of using transparencies and and played with new collage sheets that I just received from Retro Cafe Art, but most of all, I just played without thinking.

When I looked up, I realized that I had created something that came from deep within. Even though I went into the studio to get away from it all, it all came back to me in the form of this collage. The text (which is actually a portion of a poem by Ella Darling Peed) reads, "With all these things / it's not a home / Because you went away." 

Without getting all sappy on you, I will say that this is about our family cat that we lost Monday. She was 17 years old. She was in a lot of pain, but in the moments just before she took her last breath, she started to purr. That made me feel better. . . 

Kristin xo