Creative Every Day Check-In: January 17 – 23
January 17th, 2011, 43 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: Read all the details and sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 1/17/10 - 1/23/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CED2011 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for January is the Cosmos. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. ~Les Brown
Being a Beginner
January 14th, 2011, 27 Comments
I'm learning to sew. Crafty skills, where precision is key, are not my forte, but I want to learn well enough to make simple things like pillow covers, curtains, little baby items, and some things for myself. So I signed up for a few lessons at a local fabric shop. Last week we played around with the machines and today we started on a simple bag.
We used samples from a fabric book to make the outside of the bag and pocket, and other remnants for the lining (which you can see sticking out the top because I haven't sewed the lining and outside together yet.) And next week we'll make straps and sew it all together. I'm excited about this imperfect little bag. How fun to be a beginner, learning to do something new!
Next we'll be working on a pair of pants (loose, pajama-like pants, that I'll be able to wear after the baby), so that we can learn to sew from a pattern. But what I'm most excited about tackling is these little booties (on the cover, below) I saw in Anna Maria Horner's book, Handmade Beginnings. Gosh, they're cute!
Trying something new is always good for the creative soul. It sparks the imagination while getting us excited and thinking in new ways. Are you learning anything new this year?
While learning something new, can you allow yourself to let go and embrace imperfection? I sewed the back part of the pocket inside-out by accident today and just laughed it off, but sometimes it's hard to not get frustrated when our first experiments are a little off. I know I can get easily frustrated when I'm not naturally good at something (like all sports-related activities), but I'm really trying to let go of that while learning to sew. Give yourself the space to be a beginner, to make mistakes, to play, and see what happens. So much of art and creativity is about happy accidents and what you do with them.
p.s. For those of you who sew, where are your favorite places to buy fabric?
We Are All Made of Stars
January 12th, 2011, 46 Comments
I was just full of images today relating to the Cosmos theme and I'm glad I was able to get one of them out. I was thinking of Carl Sagan's quote about us all being made of "star stuff" and also singing Moby's song in my head as I painted it.
Of course, since I've got my baby on my mind, this worked it's way into the piece too, with a pregnant figure and a spiral of stars at the belly. Oh, I love that spiral!
This piece is about 5"x10" with acrylic and ink on canvas paper.
Soul Art TV
January 11th, 2011, 5 Comments
The truly amazing, Laura Hollick is launching a new show on Soul Art TV called the Creative Spiritual Revolution.
The show features interviews with Revolutionary Leaders with inspirational insights to ignite your own Creative Spiritual Revolution. Check out the launch here and stay tuned for my own interview on the show!
Creative Every Day Check-In: January 10 – 16
January 10th, 2011, 42 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: Read all the details and sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 1/10/10 - 1/16/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CED2011 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for January is the Cosmos. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
When it is darkest, men see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Leonie’s Goddess Circle
January 6th, 2011, 7 Comments
This year, I'm participating in Leonie's Goddess Circle, an online forum that is way more than a forum. For a set price ($99/year), you get access to a forum full of beautiful, interesting women from all over the world, plus (and this is a huge plus!) access to Leonie's fabulous 2011 Workbook and all of her e-courses and other goodies, such as the Creative Goddess e-course, Creating Your Goddess Haven e-course, Divine Dreaming Meditation Kit, among others. It's an amazing deal for all the fabulous things you get.
One thing I love about belonging to a forum like this, is that it can provide wonderful support for various aspects of life, from business to the personal. And one one thing I've learned about myself is that I thrive when I have wonderful support systems in place with like-minded souls.
The forum has sections for accountability, support for your growing business, a book group (they're doing The Artist's Way now), and others. I'm particularly excited about the section for mothers, as I love gathering wisdom from other women who are going through or have been through the process I'm in the middle of now.
For those of you who don't know Leonie, she is an amazing woman, new mom, and business owner. I admired her work before I met her online and am glad to now call her a friend. She's sweet as can be and full of such beautiful fire and sparkling, creative energy. Seriously, the girl is a total inspiration!
In the interest of full disclosure, the links I've provided are affiliate links, but I would 100% support Leonie's work without any added bonuses because I truly believe in her work. So if you feel called to do so, check out her Goddess Circle. Or if you're looking to bring some focus to your year, check out her 2011 Creating My Goddess Year Workbook.
If you're already part of the Goddess Circle, say hi to me there!
New Moon Rabbit
January 5th, 2011, 20 Comments
Last night was the New Moon, so thinking about the whole cosmos theme, I spent a little time drawing in watercolor pencils in my sketchbook and ended up with this bunny sitting in the circle of the New Moon.
I like to think of New Moons as a time of new beginnings, a time to reflect, gather, and dream of what's ahead.
For the year ahead, what is it you'd like to gather to you, as you prepare for a year of creativity? What tools do you need at your disposal? What support systems? What would you like to manifest? What are your intentions for your creative life?
UPDATE: This evening, as I was reading the comments on this post, I looked up and saw a bunny rabbit sitting just outside our screen door in the backyard. And in the middle of winter! What sweet synchronicity!
Night Dance
January 3rd, 2011, 15 Comments
If you're looking for this week's check-in, I posted it a little early, on Saturday, because I thought it would be nice to have a check-in begin at the start of the year. After this week, the check-ins will return to Mondays.
I'm loving the excitement and enthusiasm around the Creative Every Day Challenge this year (you can sign up anytime!) Keep on sharing, encouraging each other, and creating freely. It's going to be a great year!
With the piece to the right, I started playing intuitively with a piece of 6"x12" canvas paper that I wet, then dripped magenta and blank ink onto it, letting it spread and move on the page. As I worked, I thought about the cosmos theme and it felt like I was creating a mini milky way.
I let that dry and then came back to it later. I saw a figure dancing, so I brought that out with a bit of acrylic paint. I put on a podcast about prenatal dance while I painted, so that was great background for this pink dancer!
Creative Every Day Check-In: January 1 – 9
January 1st, 2011, 64 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. This check-in is for a little more than a week, as I wanted to have a new one for the beginning of 2011. After this, the check-ins will return to every Monday.
Join in the Challenge: Read all the details and sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/27/10 - 12/31/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CED2011 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for January is the Cosmos. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.
Happy Creating!
Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. ~Carl Sagan
Creative Every Day Theme for January: Cosmos
December 30th, 2010, 34 Comments
At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. For the month of January 2011, the theme will be the Cosmos. This theme was suggested by the lovely Lianne Raymond. Thank you, Lianne!
As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it inspires you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between. You can sign up for the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime. More info can be found here and the sign-up page is here.
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Go stargazing and make up your own stories for the constellations.
- *Paint the night sky.
- *Make a mobile of the solar system.
- *Explore the myths of your favorite planet or star and write a poem about it.
- *Get inspired by the ways the cosmos have been represented by different cultures and art forms.
- *Wish on a star.
- *Play with the ideas of order and chaos.
- *Create a mandala that represents the cosmos.
- *Focus on the lunar or other planetary cycles this month. Create a dreamboard for the full moon (January 19th.)
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
And have fun with it!
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself. ~Dr. Carl Sagan
p.s. The art above is adapted from my painting, If the Moon Came to Dinner. Prints are available here.
