Monday 21 March 2011

OMG I Won!

...and I never win anything!

The lovely Violette Clark had a competition on her blog to win a place on Mindy Tsonas' WishBIG e-camp. The ecamp is a virtual retreat... a series of 10 workshops, run between March 21 and March 27 (all classes are self-paced and available until the end of April)... and I am super excited to have won a place - thanks so much Violette!

If you are interested in signing up for the class, its not too late to join! The details are as follows:-

When: March 21 – March 27, 2011 (*workshops available until April 30th)
Where: online – virtual retreat {$118}


rock your creative girl power! juicy creative living workshops and a tutu friendly adventure…

let’s kick off spring together! come immerse yourself in an online experience that is all about rocking your creative girl power in a unique and fun online community and event!

your week at camp includes:

  • 10 (2 hour) online creative living workshops from a host of fabulously inspiring camp counselors, each of them bringing their own special talent and insight to help you wishBIG, createBIG and liveBIG! (schedule and descriptions below). all classes will be available online through the end of april and are self paced.
  • camp T-shirts for all campers!
  • daily ecamp inspiration postcards (via email) created especially for you by our talented teachers
  • evening campfire gatherings and activities to encourage community and fun!
  • ecamp cabinmates to help you connect with local campers

…and it wouldn’t be camp without s’mores!

wishBIG Spring 2011 Workshops:

Monday, March 21
Darrah Parker :: A Slice of Inspiration: Photographing Gratitude and Your eCamp Experience
Photography provides a wonderful way of noticing, appreciating, and seeing our lives through the lens of gratitude. In this workshop, Darrah will guide you as you dig beneath the surface of your everyday life, find what matters most to you, and photograph it in artful ways. During the workshop, she will lead you through photography exercises that you will do in the comfort of your own home and invite you to join her ecamp Flickr group where you can share your photos. After the class, you can put what inspiration you learned to use by photographing your creative process through your other wishBIG workshops. It will be a great way to dive deeper into Darrah’s lesson and connect further with other campers and counselors! No photography experience required. All that you need is a camera (ANY kind of camera or camera phone), the ability to upload photos, a Flickr account, and a creative spirit!

Tuesday, March 22
Kate Swoboda :: Creative Critics: Shifting Critical Voices Within the Creative Process
Tired of feeling like your Inner Critic is running the show? This class will guide you through a process of recognizing your Inner Critic, getting conscious about how you regard it, and then shifting your relationship with that Critic so that you can go into the creative process feeling courageous. Topics include: the Inner Critic and comparisons; being seen; claiming your choices; integrity; passionate over-committing; crazymakers; making a new declaration for your creative process. The class utilizes a combination of written material, worksheets, and videos. If the Inner Critic is keeping you from enjoying your creative process, it’s time to powerfully shift that relationship.


Shannon Kinney Duh :: Play Create Reflect (and Be Free!)
This class will take you on a mini-adventure of self-discovery and invite you to dive deeper, fly higher and live freer! Using the four stages of the creative process – to collect, play, create & reflect – we will explore techniques that will help you shine light on your inner dreams and build the courage it takes to express them more fully. This two-hour experience is all about getting messy, playing with paint, letting go of “perfect”, finding stillness and celebrating YOUR unique brilliance along the way. Through journal exercises and creative play activities – you will begin creating your personal authentic guidebook for YOUR life. Some gentle yoga & guided audio meditation included – NO art or yoga experience required!

Wednesday, March 23
Jamie Ridler :: Intuitive Vision Cards: Personal Touchstones on the Journey to Your wishBig Dreams.
In the flurry of our day-to-day lives, full of deadlines and must-dos, it’s easy to forget the power and magic of our dreams. Vision cards are focus tools that inspire and connect you to the things that matter most. Deeply personal, wildly intuitive and intensely evocative, vision cards are touchstones of our heart’s desires. These visual reminders slip past gremlins, outwit our intellect and speak directly to our soul. In this workshop, we will use the simple tools of journaling and collage to create three vision cards that will light your way. During our time together, you will…

  • Experience a guided visualization that will ground you in your truest self.
  • Identify three theme areas essential to your heart and soul.
  • Use intention and intuition to gather images that call your spirit.
  • Create three personal vision cards steeped in magic, meaning and motivation.
  • Connect to a process you can use again and again on your creative life journey.

This class is for all dreamers and dreams of all sizes. You do not have to have a clear vision to participate. You simply have to know there are dreams in your heart, waiting to be seen. No art experience is required. Know that simply by creating your vision cards you are honouring your dreams. You are letting your Self and the Universe know, “this is important.” And that, in itself, is magic.

Thursday, March 24
Goddess Leonie :: Creative Business Goddess Generator
Want to turn your creative or soulful passion into a job? This video-class is an inspiring & joyful guide to doing it, with tips on magical marketing & glorious ideas-o-plenty! In the Creative Business Goddess Generator, I’ll also share with you how I turned my sweet lil hippy hobby into a gorgeously abundant business for my whole family.

Kelly Barton :: Find Your Inner Icon {Creating Your Icon and Framing It}
A few years ago, i discovered my groove and began creating my “girls”. this is my icon. yours might be your own girl with her own style. it could be your spirit guide, your favorite mug, or even a bug. deep inside each of us is our true self. this little project will help you discover what form she takes shape as, create it as a piece of art, and then frame it as a daily reminder just in case you forget! most importantly this project will allow you to be free and play, because at the end of the day this is what art is all about!

Friday, March 25
Violette Clarke :: Soul Food for Dreams
In this interactive workshop i’ll encourage you in different ways to dig deep to discover dreams that may have been hidden for years. You’ll answer questions, dabble in mind mapping, and create simple inspiration cards with encouraging words to move you closer to your PASSION. We’ll also be creating an art journal spread that will help you to clarify your dreams and move you closer to making them real! You’ll receive lots of yummy SOUL FOOD to help you on your Creative Journey!

Saturday, March 26
Andrea Schroeder :: Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle
Are you ready for a creative healing adventure? This workshop is a meditative Healing Journey combined with a Sparkling Rainbow Creative Journaling Project. You will journey within to dissolve obstacles and fears as you shine light and healing on every part of yourself and your life. The class is a series of guided meditation videos that lead you through your inner journey. Even if you have never meditated before, this is a simple but powerful way of connecting with your inner self. At each stop along the journey, you will be shown the next step for your Sparkling Rainbow Creative Journaling Project which later becomes a memento of your Healing Journey. Again – even if you are new to creative journaling, this is simple but powerful stuff. When creativity and healing come together the results are nothing short of magical!

Shona Cole :: Finding Your Artistic Vision {and Blasting Through the Funk!}
You really want to create – a mixed media collage, a poem, a set of cards, a collection of photographs. I’m guessing in any given week that you are not creating as much as you want. You probably have many roadblocks to maneuver around; a busy job, social commitments, kids, tiredness and often a lack of motivation. You are not alone. I have found that crafting an Artistic Vision is a vital tool we can use to help us get over the hurdles and get creating! Join me as we spend some time brain storming your own Artisitic Vision Statement and then create a collage wall hanging that will display and remind you what your ultimate vision is!

Sunday, March 27
Liz Lamoreaux :: Creative Senses Adventure & Guided Meditation
I close my eyes and see an image of a nine-year-old little girl with brown pigtails who gathers up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, her current Trixie Belden book, a thermos of apple juice, and her newest diary and favorite blue pen and tucks them inside a backpack. She tiptoes out the back, carefully closing the squeaky screen door and jumps down the two steps to the brick patio. She looks out toward the forest seemingly unaware that she has less than a quarter of an acre to explore as she finds the path toward her favorite log beside the chain-link fence. I often think about this little girl when I gather up my camera and journal and head out to the woods to breathe and notice and find myself again in the midst of all that must get done… In this workshop, we will use the senses to look at where we are in this moment and to remember the real and imagined adventures of the child’s spirit that lives inside us. We will closely examine how the senses can be an important tool in our personal and creative toolbox as we take our cameras on a photography excursion and put pen to paper to find a poem or two waiting within us. We will also explore ways to quiet our minds through guided meditation exercises and look at how focusing on the breath can connect us to our day-to-day experiences. This is your invitation to come along and explore the textures of your world, meet your inner poet, breathe deeply, and find your center.

Monday 14 March 2011

Art at the Speed of Life Blog Tour Giveaway!

I have *so* been enjoying hopping from blog to blog on the Art at the Speed of Life blog tour to celebrate the launch of Pam Carriker's book and have found out so many cool things and read about so many interesting people on the way! Such as:-

AND....

  • Christy Hydeck (Always Chrysti Blog) is running a super giveaway, that includes not only a copy of the book but also prints of her artwork created for the book! A supercool giveaway that you have to check out!

I managed to get my hands on a copy of Art at the Speed of Life a couple of weeks ago and I have to say, it is one of my favourite Mixed Media books of all time {review coming soon!}

If you are in the UK and are looking for a copy, you can get it here:-


Sunday 13 March 2011

Art Journal Every Day: Catching Up...

Why is it, whenever I plan to do something... maybe an online workshop, or a month-long challenge, something comes along to bother me and I fall behind? I was "doing ok" with Art Journal Every Day (March)... and had done a little bit of 'something' 1st-4th March no problem at all.

My mum was due to come and stay 6th-9th (so I knew that meant no arting what-so-ever!) but by the end of the 7th, I started to get sick... terrible sore throat, temperature etc etc. On Tuesday I started going downhill and on Wednesday morning mum took me to the doctors as I had totally lost my voice too! Doc diagnosed a Bronchial Virus and consigned me to bed... mum went home! Art Journaling in bed ensued!!

So here are my latest offerings... I have a couple more to share too, but I'll save them for tomorrow.

March 9th 2011 - Ouch
Art Journal Page - Mar09 - OUCH

March 10th 2011 - Allergic!Art Journal Page - Mar10 - Allergic!
{More journaling was added to this page afterwards}

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Art Journal Every Day: March 1 & 2

So far I have kept to my word! Oh but it is *only* the 2nd day LOL!

Yesterday I signed up for the Art Journal Every Day in March challenge, mainly to try and change my journaling habits but to also help me journal more about my daily life. Baring this in mind, I decided for the challenge my pages don't have to be overly fancy or complex, not necessarily full of fantastic techniques or 10s of layers.. just a small art injection each day, and a space to *actually* write too.

So here's my page for March 1st and 2nd. I did the background yesterday (Neocolor II Watersoluble wax pastels, smooched with a wet baby wipe) and today I added the collage flower (Jillibean Soup paper), journaling spot (Fancy Pants Designs), stamp (Club Scrap)... and some pen work (Sharpies!). Journaling has been added too... but I prefer to keep my words private :o)

Looking forward to more tomorrow now! I might even add a little more to this page...but for today... my work is done!

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Art Journal... Every day for a month!!

Its a brand new month and yes ...oh yes... I'm jumping on the bandwagon to Art Journal Every day in March!

Over on the Balzer Designs Blog, Julie invites us to play along as she challenges herself to Art Journal every day in 2011. Obviously, Julie started back on January 1st... but newcomers are always welcome and you can start anytime (its a super low stress challenge, so there is really no pressure to complete a full page *every day*... in fact Julie explains it really well in her Introduction Post).

So I am challenging myself to do the same as I want to try and change my arting habits. At the moment I journal in blocks or "chunks of time". I find that at the weekend, or on a day off, I'll spend a whole day working in my journals, playing with ink & paints....and then, when the working week starts again, it all goes on hold... and I don't like that! I miss a little "art injection" in my everyday life.

I'll try and update my progress as I go, little snapshots of what I have done each day... wish me luck!