Thank You November

In appreciation for an amazing gift that Leah has provided through her Art Every Day Month experience, I would like to share a gift with you!

As we welcome winter - the month of retreat, reflection and solitude - and with the new year just around the corner, I'd like you to think about this one question:

Your Personal Reflection: What would you like to bring into your life this new year?

Leave a comment for your chance to win one of my free spirit funky felts. I will draw a name on December 1st.

There's Some Knitting & Felting Goin' On

Today - Sunny. 66 degrees. No plans. Loving life.

As I continue making art every day for the month of November, I've had the bug to play with some fiber. Here are a few of my recent projects.

Funky, fuzzy, knitted scarf:

And felted wool rings. I'm excited to make more of these!

Your Personal Reflection: What are you creating today?

Loving Messy

The recycle bin is becoming my favorite hot spot for finding perfect painting tools. Nothing around this house is safe from my paints!

As I continue making art every day, I am having a lot of fun being really messy. The more I paint, the messier I get. Feeling freer in my painting has allowed me to reflect on "control" and what that symbolizes in my life. Having Kestan has definitely been a great practice for me in letting go and not taking life so seriously. It's pretty hard to feel "in control" when I've got an almost 2-year-old calling the shots. And how can I be that serious when one of our favorite activities is playing with the fart machine? Now that's some quality homeschooling right there.

This painting acts as my reminder that I don't always have to feel "in control", and that lots of good can come from being messy. I am allowing myself to stress less, clean less, PLAY more and it feels amazing.

Your Personal Reflection: When do you let yourself get messy? Do something really messy today, and leave the mess for a while. Seriously, enjoy being a little out of control. Do something really messy...play in the mud, eat with your hands, finger paint, start a food fight... See how you feel when you allow yourself to stay in the mess.

Being Free

"Being free, living free, feeling free" has been a mantra of mine lately. Here is an intuitive journal entry I created this week with these words in mind.

Today, I celebrate the aliveness I feel, my friends and family, and the awareness of my breath. For me, feeling free is setting the intention to go deeper. The deeper I go, the more authentic I am, and the freer I feel.

Your Personal Reflection: When do you feel the most free?

Trust

Today I played around with monoprinting. I love the element of surprise. I also love that I can't be attached to the outcome, because I have no idea how it's going to turn out.

This painting reminds me to open my heart. Be still. Ask questions. Feel the answers.

Trust. Trust. Trust....

Your Personal Reflection: Right now, stop. Give yourself one minute of stillness. Take a breath. Ask yourself a question. Close your eyes. Feel the answer. Breathe.

Facing the Blank Page

For my art every day challenge, I painted this simple tree today. It is my visual reminder of how creatively alive and connected to the source I feel when I allow myself to slow down and be fully present. I can imagine myself laying peacefully underneath the branches, while soaking in the sun's warmth.

When I first stepped foot in the studio this morning, the paints, brushes, white paper and quiet space felt a little intimidating. They told me to go find something "easier" to do, like cleaning the kitchen or starting a grocery list, or reorganizing the art room (again). I chose to ignore those voices and instead, I stayed there, BEING in the space. Breathing in the stillness. Not sure where to go. Feeling a little uncomfortable.

And in this uncertain space I found myself drawn to this painting that my toddler, Kestan, created a few months back.
Look at how free his brush strokes are. I love how vibrantly alive it feels.

His painting became my inspiration today. It helped me face the blank page. It reminded me that I, too, can let my brush strokes free, and that playing with paint, without being attached to any particular outcome, allows me to create from an authentic place. I'm very happy that I chose space, rather than filling it with my "to do" list. Because it's in the SPACE that the true magic happens.

Your Personal Reflection: When do you let "should's", "have to's" and self-generated "to do lists" keep you from doing what you love most?

Creative Recycling

Just as I was about to make my way to the art store for a new paint holder, I found a much better solution.

Your Personal Reflection: How can you look at the "ordinary" in a new way?

Become a Bold Explorer of Your Life

I love getting my hands dirty. When I make art, I make a mess. I can't help myself. And the messier I get, the better I feel. Just seeing chalk or paint or glue on my hands sets my creative energy on fire! I become totally IN the moment. I feel connected. I feel alive.

Today for my "art every day month" challenge, I started sketching logos for my upcoming e-course. With some white paper, a couple of brushes and black paint, I played around with some rough doodles.

I'm so excited to be at this stage of my class preparation, because although I've been focusing on developing it since June, it has truly been in the works most of my creative life, and I'm SO excited to share it with you.

This soul e-course is 4-weeks long, running from January 18th - February 12th. It's a wonderful opportunity to discover more about YOU, release old fears, celebrate new dreams, nurture your creativity, and will inspire you to express your vibrant brilliance more fully into the world.

Inside Out™:

A Creative Adventure of Self-Discovery through Personal Art Journaling

We are living during some challenging times. Fear, worry, anxiety, and confusion can make us feel completely depleted and stuck. NOW is the time to become a BOLD explorer of your life.

In this course you will:
*connect with a like-minded, supportive community
*deeply learn more about yourself

*set powerful intentions for a new year (and a new life!)
*discover thought patterns and learn techniques to fully expand to your greatness
*define your values, creative & life goals, and learn how to take action to make them real
*play with paint, doodle, collage and more, turning a blank journal into your vibrant guidebook
*receive personal life and creativity coaching

*feel more creative, more clear, more alive

*participate at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home

You will receive:
*weekly guided meditations (audio podcasts)
*daily writing exercises, art prompts and self-discovery techniques & inspiration
*yoga and breath techniques & guidance
*weekly LIVE journal jams with the community
*and more surprises...

OK...this is simply a SNEAK PEAK...a taste of what's to come. Take a moment and sign up to join my mailing list and you will be the first to know when this class is open for registration. Just fill out your name and email address on the top right of this page.

No more hesitation. We CAN live more BOLDLY, FULLY, FREELY. Let's do it together.

(p.s. NO art or yoga experience is necessary!) ...a beginner's mind is a good thing!

Visit www.freespiritknits.com to learn more.

Your Personal Reflection: Are you ready to OPEN your heart and give yourself the gift of a creative adventure?

Free Spirit Tip #6

"Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours." - Jason Mraz

Playing with Paint

Keeping creating each day as a priority, I worked on some background pages in my journal today. These pages are just calling out for more images and words and texture and layers, however, I'm happy to let them sit in stillness for a while.

This next painting was magically produced by my 21-month-old artist. He likes to paint when I do, which is great for both of us!

Your Personal Reflection: When have you given yourself some quiet time to nurture your innate, child-like intuition, and let yourself play with paint?

To Create is to BE

As I continue making art every day in November, I chose bike riding as my creative activity this past weekend. Being surrounded by the beauty of Fall, feeling the wind on my face, and the sun on my skin, and playing with my very favorite people, I was reminded that to CREATE is simply being in the flow of the present moment.

In fact, one of the definitions of CREATE is: to cause to exist, bring into being. So my lesson on this creative journey is to remember that it's not necessarily what I make with my hands that's important, but how much I am living in the present moment, that truly matters.

Here are some photos of my time enjoying "creation". (Compliments of my lovely husband, Chris.)

Your Personal Reflection: How PRESENT are you?

Creating Through Vulnerability

Yesterday was day three of the Art Every Day challenge that I've happily (and willingly!) joined for the month of November. The first two days went super smoothly and I had bursts of creative energy working on a new scarf, and I finished the class content for my upcoming e-soul creative adventure course (more to come). It felt amazing and I was on a natural high. Then, day three hit.

I was home all day with Kestan, which is what I do during the days. AND I LOVE IT. However, feeling a little spent from all the right-brain activity, I was tired and was finding it ever so difficult to make any sort of art with the likes of a toddler in my midst.
Just when I was about to give up the notion that any art-making would be happening that day, I saw a blog post on Jessica Gonacha's site about Gemma Correll's fun What I Wore Today project. Without thinking, I pulled out some markers, colored-pencils and chalk, along with my journal, and my babe, and we found ourselves on the studio floor making art.

As a life coach specializing in creativity, I often talk to my clients about the act of "creating in the middle of things". It's so easy for us to find excuses not to create. While it can be difficult, finding ways to create in the middle of things, is a must. So, on this day, I chose to find a way to create in the middle of my mommy-duties, and happened to learn a thing or two about myself.

The spontaneity of deciding to draw this picture brought up a mix of feelings; joy, nervousness, happiness, and vulnerability. I mostly felt vulnerable because I don't draw. I make art and do LOTS of creative things, but drawing makes me feel nervous, rigid and child-like. And yet, in a weird way I also felt free. I let go of any expectations of what my drawing should be in the end, and just treasured the moment of sitting there, side-by-side, with my sweet boy. I watched him. He didn't think about it. He just reached for colors. He just drew. He let his nature pen stroke be expressed. No judgement. No limitations. No fear.

So I took his lead, and even posted my drawing on the Flickr group. Because it's not about the drawing. It's about the act of making art, and the growth that comes from facing our creative fears.

And now, on day four of the challenge, I see things differently. I am looking more closely at the world around me, and seeing everything as an opportunity to practice a new sketch. Taking the time to see the details, like what I am wearing, and what "seeing" it takes to draw that, is the continued practice of being more present.

Your Personal Reflection: When is the last time you felt vulnerable? Have you tried creating out of your comfort zone? What kinds of creative fears will you face today?

Today is the first day of the Art Every Day Challenge. For the entire month of November I am making the commitment to do something creative every day.

My choice today - to knit. I'm working on a soft, yummy, yellow bamboo scarf. So I took some time today to knit some rows.

Your Personal Reflection: Are you ready for a creative challenge?