Sundays is the day I've been posting my stamping and printing lately. Today I threw it all over and went to the beach. I certainly left my mark there, however.
We made flower and sea drift mandalas on the beach. Inspired by photos I've seen of the mandalas others have made, I decided to give it a go. The process unfolded naturally, the tiny cherry blossoms were laying on the sidewalk just begging to be included. Each layer was lovely to behold, but more items beaconed. The final row of shells seemed just right.
It's funny how the creative process is like a road that leads itself. If only I could step out of my own way more often.
This week my creative focus has been on photography. It's natural to happen while taking a class. I'll leave you with one more double exposure from the beach.
Sometimes I say "Yes…" when I want to say "NO!" I'm guessing I'm not alone in this. Today my self care included saying no to the alarm, yes to my pillows, no to moving fast and yes to taking things at my own pace. I said no to the car. Yes to the kitchen. Generally I did what felt right. I cleaned because I wanted more order rather than cleaning up because it is messy.
Attitude is a game changer.
So I choose to pay more attention to what I really want to say and practice saying it. Kindly. Creatively.
I also plan to practice being more creative with the way I respond. Friday I told a friend that yes, I had time for lunch if it could be half an hour later. Today I tried something similar. The results so far have been really positive.
As this art journal page evolved I noticed little buds emerging from the background. They reminded me so much of Tokyo in June. The big patches reminded me of the Ajisai (Hydrangea) that blooms so gorgeously in the rainy season. There was a stretch on the Inokashira line where the sides of the train tracks were bursting with the flowers - blue, purple, pink and white. I used to ride back and forth just to see them. Around the same time the azaleas come forth with such loveliness it takes away your breath. I saw both of these flowers in my background.
Do you struggle with saying what is in your heart? Do you wish you could say no? Are you true to yourself? How do you balance the greater good with your own good?
I'd love to hear from you.
Textures - I love them! I once had a boss who was a master at the use of texture and color, for that matter. It was a joy to see the way she engineered her outfits…dressy, but a bit funky. I'd love to dress like that. In the last few years I've gone for simple to wear and to choose. I'd like to reclaim my sense of style. While I am engineering a new set of items in my closet I want to remember to add texture.
The images I chose this week are hardly the styles I would wear. I found them beautiful, however and full of texture. They were a good reminder of how I might like to go about adding texture - fabrics of various thicknesses, densities, and, for lack of another term, texture. Brocade, silk, lace, weave, embroidered, fluffy, rough, beaded, yet nothing furry that originated as someone's skin, thanks. And whether it is out of a love of beings that fly or based on my own allergy to feathers I prefer looking at them on the sky creatures rather than wearing them.
What are your favorite textures? Do you think much about textures in your wardrobe? In your interior? At all?
The images came from a Marie Claire magazine from 2012. I cut out the exact issue and page and then lost it in a pile of clippings.
The Double Exposure Love course with Vivienne McMaster has been a blast this week. It was just the creative outlet I needed.
When the class started and I realized that I could use my gelli prints as a background I was entranced. Many a combination of photos included some of my artwork. Experimenting with other elements was so enticing that I ended up exploring those as well. I'm sharing just a few of the photos here.
After all this time that I withstood the temptation to start an Instagram account, it made sense to take the plunge. The course participants were sharing on Instagram and I notice many art journalers are abandoning their blogs for the immediacy of Instagram. Feel free to give me a shout over there at https://instagram.com/lynda_shoup/.
I'm doing something a little different this Sunday. On a whim I signed up for an online photography course with Vivienne McMaster. She is very inspirational in her writing and is an encouraging and cheerful guide. Having taken her classes, I can say my eye for photography has grown exponentially, my photos have improved, but more importantly Vivienne has helped me to see myself in a different way. I would highly recommend her courses.
(Do you recognize the stamp I made out of a vegetable tray transposed over a picture of me at work?)
The course I signed up for starts tomorrow. It's called Double Exposure. You can guess what we are going to do. In preparing for the class I started trying out her recommended tools. I melded my gelli prints with other photos and the results blew me away. So today I am sharing my prints in a different way. I love the whole process. I'll be posting more this week as I take the course.
(Can you see my daughter walking through the paint smudge portal she found in the park?)
(My daughter and our rabbit, Fern, running through a field of gelli print….This is getting a little Alice and Wonderland-ish….)
Self Care Saturday is here and I don't have a page spread done to share.
But hey, Self Care Saturday is about self care and I decided that pushing myself this late in the day to create a spread was going to end in a sad looking spread.
So what do librarians do for fun?
Here is a video for National Library Month that sums up why I love my job:
If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.
Would it surprise you that today's self care included going to someone else's library, finding books to read over the vacation and then hitting up a Barnes and Noble?
(I also slept in, had a great meal and took a nap!)
Of the many kinds of fashion that I find draws me in is re-imagined clothing. Articles of clothing that were once loved and now linger in the back of a closet. Fibers that have worn so well that some of them have worn straight through. Items that were never quite right. When these see the light of day, when they receive a little tender care and a heavy dose of embellishment, well, I swoon. I love the fussy, the complicated, the difficult to wash. (I have a pile of it ready to be hand rinsed to prove my point.)
So this week I rescued these images from the Winter 2014 issue of Altered Couture. I hoped to remind myself that this is a dream of mine.
I'll be looking through my closet this weekend. The season is changing and the light weight clothing must take precedent over the heavy knits. To be sure my eye will be ready to find items to rework or to donate.
How do you approach the season change? Do you regularly cull your closets and make way for something new? Are you a shopper? A refashioner? A stalwart fan of clothes you bought years ago and have no intention of letting go or letting out?
