The Willowing Haunting...

Hello to everyone...I hope you have all enjoyed your holiday and are geared up for the xmas season!  I've been keeping my eyes open for some inexpensive xmas gifty ideas and when I visited the stationery store yesterday I noticed they were carrying Papaya journals and calenders and such.  I love Anahata's line of things!  Here is her blog address  http://www.papayablog.com/  if you want to take a peek.

I've been haunting Tam's Willowing site (button at left) this week and was motivated to do some art.  So I created another self portrait of a younger me.  Covered up in the background is the negative self talk referencing things that went on at that time in my life .  I've noticed some of them coming to the surface again now that I'm widowed and a single girl once more.  It's like I'm trying to figure out who I am and I'm feeling some of the same things I did when I was a young single woman even tho I'm older.  Being happily married for almost twenty years, I never thought I would be single again and it's very different this time around!

This is what I've done so far...

I still have some work to do on her and I need to add my positive journaling after I do the background in mixed media technique.  She will be finished and in my post next week...

Then I watched week 1 of Tam's Art, Heart & Healing class again while sitting in my comfy chair with my puppy and kitten.  I worked in my journal and did the sketch just like hers right along with her instead of doing my own thing - just for fun.  I haven't done the background yet on this one either...

It was freezing and pouring rain so I really enjoyed being in my cozy chair with my fur babies just watching the videos and doing art.  It was a bit difficult to do the coloring portion but somehow I managed it.  I didn't find my water brush until it was too late of course!  I'll have to finish her in the studio tho.  She should be done next week as well.

I'm really excited to get started on my angel for the last week of Tam's class (I am behind).  I will probably do her on canvas and make a production out of it as I am so often prone to do!  Ha!

I haven't been able to focus on the journals I was wanting to do for an Etsy shop.  I will do it but probably not until after xmas.

The rest of this week I will be playing my xmas music and starting to make some decorations.  For my xmas cards I just did very simple ones this year from scrapbook paper.  (Not blog worthy!  Ha!)  Maybe next year I will design a cool one and post it.

My diet is going well and I have been losing the weight!  I see the doctor next week and then I will have a better idea of how much I've lost and how much further I have to go.  I haven't started my exercise routine yet but I will have to soon - just waiting for this weather to level out so my arthritis and fibro will calm down!!!

Stay warm and dry and don't do anything I wouldn't do!  Ha, that leaves you wide open!!! (I'm not kidding!)

Music in the studio this week was Cheryl Crow's Detours.

Forever in art,  Jessica

Art dreams and doodle fairies...

Hello again!  It's been a cold snow flurry day so I've been cuddling with my kitty and puppy in front of the T.V. instead of rocking the studio with my tunes and working out some of my wonderful ideas.  It seems as though those ideas are just dreams, though, as I just keep cranking out the doodle fairies!  Ha!  The power of the doodle.

I guess for me the appeal of the doodle is that I can do the backgrounds in the studio - all flying paint and messiness - and then still go out and cuddle with my fur babies, watch T.V. and doodle away.  It is a great comfort to me, now that it is so cold outside and either pouring down rain or snowing.

I added a few things to the fairy doodle I was working on last time.  I just used a copic marker for the wings.  I don't know if I like it but it was a fun experiment.

I will be adding a haiku poem I wrote as journaling:

Faries' song on breeze delight

flowers bursting bright

Summer's magic in plain sight

Summer?  Ha!  Officially it is still autumn but for me, winter is here!  
I started a doodle painting for the cover of the 8x10 journal I made last week...

And I did another summer fairy or is it faerie?...

This was another oddly colored one!  Ha!
Here are a couple photos of the beach at the Bandon beach village - I had to go and get my fix at Winter  River Books this last week.

Tonight I will light my little fireplace in the living room and enjoy the first fire of the season.  Happy thanksgiving to all!

Music in the studio this week was Sarah Mc Laughlin and the Dixie Chicks...
 
Stay warm!
Hugs,  Jessica

A Special Memory

I woke up this morning to the first snow of the season!  It is especially exciting for me as we don't usually get it here at 500 ft. elevation.  It's only since the global warming trend that we have been getting snow like this.  So it's not yet thanksgiving and I'm enjoying a winter wonderland from my studio window.

Today is also a very special day, my late husbands birthday.  I have a beautiful memory of his first experience of seeing it snow up at our mountain cabin.  His eyes were lit up with delight as he commenced his childlike play amongst the huge fluffy flakes falling all around.  We held hands and ran around in circles then grabbed our flashlights and took a short hike in the dark with the utter silence and falling snow surrounding us...

Here is the view from the studio this morning...

I will be posting my art journal in progress photos and a doodle fairy later on this afternoon.  Have a warm wonderful day!

Forever in art,  Jessica

Helloooo from the Studioooo!

Hello all!  I hope you've had a good week so far.  I'm still adjusting to the winter-like conditions here, trying to continue to get out and about for inspiration.  I will be doing my favorite thing today besides art...exploring the countryside and becoming closer to nature.

I have been doing more fairy doodles and imagining the energy nature fairies would have this time of year.  I hope to portray that feeling in my upcoming fairy doodles and paintings.  I spent time doing summer garden  fairies this week.  I was not wanting to let go of the sun!

My summer nature fairy in progress...

This doodle still needs a little work and I want to journal and do a bit more graffiti on the background.  I added a little glitter but it doesn't show up in this photo. 

I have put together another art journal to paint in.  I used  140lb. hot press watercolor paper of course!  I will fill it with paintings and my journalings of nature, imagined and real.  It will be magical don't you think?  I will start sharing it hopefully by this weekend.

I am also doing work on a handmade illustrated blank art journal project using the wonderful Fabriano Artistico Hot press watercolor paper and I want to open an Etsy shop to promote it.  It's a little scary to think about putting myself out there so soon after just starting my blog.  I'm still a little unsure.  Do you  think I should just go for it? 

Stay warm, my artsy friends, and keep those creative fires burning!

Music in the studio this week was Blondie and Miranda Lambert...

Forever in art,  Jessica

Art Journals Revisited

I thought that this week I would do some reflection on some of my art journals I have started but not added to in a while and indulge myself in doing yet another doodle girl. A garden muse, floral fairy...

This is the cover of the journal I made in Traci Bautista's Dream Big e-class.  It is the artwork I used for my blog banner too.  I am adding to it again, putting down my ideas and listing my short term and long term goals.  I doodled these little frames and will be working with them in photoshop.  Of course, I'm photoshop challenged but I'm learning slowly!

The weather has been so fickle this week.  First sunny with record highs in the 70's and then very cold with torrential rain.  Earlier in the week I was doing a bit of exploring and stumbled across a beautiful reservoir just 8 miles from my house.  I've been here over 2 1/2 years and I never knew it was there.  

The day was gorgeous so I took the pup down to the waters edge. He did not like that! He had never experienced anything like it before in his short life. 

I'm still not used to being so totally alone - I was the only person there.  After living in the greater Los Angeles area, this new life of mine is a complete 180.  At first it was cool.  Wow! all this to enjoy without the noisy crowds.  But then it became a sharp reminder of how truly alone I am now.

Well, I must forge ahead...  Started another journal page last night and hope to share it with you in a few days.

I'm am thankful that today we are seeing a bit of sun and I'm off for a bit of exercise with the dog at the reservoir.

Artfully yours,  Jessica



Back in the studio again...

Hi ya all!

Yes, I'm back in the studio again - la, la, la.  This last week I made an art journal out of my favorite paper, Fabriano watercolor hot press 140 lb.  I made 4 thin signatures and bound it simply with 20 lb natural hemp cord.

Then I proceeded to join Willowing and friends on Ning http://willowing.ning.com/  and do Tam's wonderful free e-course "Art, Heart and Healing".  The class focuses on transforming our inner critic. 

Lesson 1 deals with creating a self portrait portraying yourself any way you like on the right side of the journal page spread.  On the left side you write in pencil all negative inner critic thoughts you have that hold you back from your dreams.  This can be anything you don't like about yourself or are insecure about. 

Then as you move forward through the exercise you cover the negative thoughts with a couple of coats of gesso, thus erasing those bad thoughts and self doubt. 

After you finish your portrait and the background you add the positive words to heal your heart and then choose one word to portray yourself and your spread and add it to the portrait.  Tam chose to add her word under her eye.  I put mine to the side.

Most of the gallery entries I noticed were done in more of a fantasy style than mine was.  Maybe I'll branch out more next time.

In progress

     

 The lighting was a bit harsh on these so I took some in a lower light.

Much softer!

Anyway, there it is in all it's glory.  While I didn't choose to do wildly colored hair I did make myself prettier than I really am!  I didn't spend much time on the background either - I was ready to be done!   I have started another sketch of myself in my late teens/early 20's.  I felt I could use some healing for that time in my life too.

My other projects in the studio were to do the vigil candles suggested by Violette on her blog (in my blog listing at the right).  I purchased the plain white ones at the dollar store and then designed a label from one of my doodle mermaids.  Then I added just a little bit of stickles glitter glue.

Little doodle mermaid girlies all in a row!

I really should have taken more time with this project but again I was ready to be done.  I don't know why I'm not enjoying my processes a little more other than I started my big diet (yay!) and it is quiet the adjustment period.   The project I enjoyed the most was constructing the art journal!

Well, hopefully I'll be out of my diet funk and feeling freer by the next blog post!

Music in the studio this week was Colbie Caillat's Coco.

Forever in art,  Jessica