Self Care through Creative Practice & Intention: Gratitude

This past week-end I was inspired by Susanna (thank you!) to finally put the brown paper wine size bag she gifted me to good use for a new art journaling project. I wanted to discover how re-purposing this type of bag for creating an art journal would be different from the common paper bag technique I usually use.

Susanna graciously sent one paper bag already gessoed…which made starting this mini art journal even easier. (step 1 done!) I gathered some handmade paper, a bone folder, some twine, my SMASH cutter & scissors, as well as a paper punch to put it together.

With the paper bag flat on the table, I folded an insert of the handmade pages to place in the center. Then I folded the sides of the bag towards the middle and over top one another, which created the book’s cover.  The open edges of the bag (on the right side I used my SMASH cutter to open the bottom of the bag) create cool pockets for discreetly stashing stuff in.

I used a paper punch and twine to bind the pages and book together. To start, my paper insert has enough pages for 5 spreads, but lots of room to add more. The concept of this art journal is dedicated to my self-care, especially in relationship to my trauma work as an art therapist.

This miniature book will provide a safe space to explore important considerations to keep myself grounded and refreshed in my work through intention, mindfulness, gratitude, positive affirmation, and of course: creative practice.

Trauma Stewardship- Page 223: Finding Balance | Gratitude

It was very cool to see this week’s 14 Secrets Challenge focused on gratitude, which was on my brain for a spread in this journal. Check out Lani’s post for lots of “focus-shifting for our peace of mind” encouragement and helpful prompts. Practicing gratitude is definitely part of my self-care to help me keep centered.

After reading Lani’s post I quickly cracked open Laura van Dernoot Lipsky‘s book Trauma Stewardship, headed for the index to look up gratitude and promptly flipped to page 223 to re-read Laura’s reflections about how this practice is an important part of creating balance in our life and work.  I included a copy of page 223′s text in my art journal and then created this image:

I am grateful for painfully beautiful things (in people, moments, choices, changes) that help us all discover what truly matters

I started with an “I AM” SMASH cookie note to visually inspire me to think about what I am grateful for, especially in context to this quote from page 223 about the pain that exists in this world: “Remind yourself that while the suffering may seem endless, so is what we have to be grateful for…“. Struggles can become reframed with intention to discover moments of thankfulness within the experience and help us grow.

My response to this quote and the image I created above was to be grateful for the painfully beautiful things (in people, moments, choices, changes) that help us all discover what truly matters. I am also grateful for co-workers, friends, significant others, & family in my life that help support me in discovering this, as well as the women and children I work with.

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I enjoyed using this kind of paper bag to begin this new art journal- especially with the inclusion of pages and how the bag serves as a comforting cover wrapping around them. I’ll continue to add to this self care art journal, its pages, and cover with additional content and inspiration to keep sharing with you!

120 days of 365 revo’lution bits

365 revo’lution is still going strong— this project focused on my 2013 revo’lution intentions just passed the 4 month mark!  Woo hoo!

When reflecting on my daily practice for this month’s revo’lution bits, I continue to be grateful for the moments I am able to slow down to work on each piece and the perspective & awareness they teach me about the intentions simplicity, honor, stillness, light, service, and trust.  Each are precious gifts.  Simple, but 120 powerful lil’ memos to myself in this visual form.

Reaching 100 revo’lution bits during the month of April and my commitment to this practice was awesome!

Lots of thanks for the encouragement and support received for this effort- I believe sharing these daily intentions is an important part of the manifestation process…for what we all want to invite, have more of, and give in our life, daily practice, relationships, and well-being…

Previous months and 365 activity can be viewed here:

From My Smashbook: April Inspiration

Thanks to Artsyville’s Glue It Tuesday and the revival of a local Saturday art-making get together I enjoy attending, my smashbook has been filling up with lots of the things I love to stick, collage, and glue down during the month of April:

Here I’ve used magazine photo images sent by Lani in 2013′s Creative Pay It Forward, pages from a vintage Reader’s Digest book I discovered, dictionary pages, and other collage bits & pieces I’ve been collecting.  Looking for to this week’s Glue It Tuesday’s fun!

Inspiring, Artsy Link Love- Round Up #1

Not only did I discover Tammy’s awesome Link Love initiative last week, but that she also kindly included Creativity in Motion and my 365 Project on her list of five blogs in her recent post.  Thank you Tammy!   I want to contribute towards her search for fun this April and pay the shout out I received forward to other blogs I am inspired by… and you can too…. Read more about Tammy’s mission to share the link love here and how to get involved!

Every Monday for the rest of April (8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th), I’ll be posting five blogs to help spread some link love … Blogs that I hope inspire you as much as they inspire me!

Here’s my 5 for this week..Check them out:

Link Love for April 8

• {stargardener’s} right brain planner: I’m really drawn to Teresa Robinson’s creative mojo of art journaling, quotes, photo goodness and her doses of beautiful light… I smile when I see Teresa’s stuff pop up in my newsfeeds….

• art evolutions:  For more good vibes, I look forward to seeing posts from Lizzie Bellotto, whether this is her Inspiration Monday or Mid-Week Pondering updates.  I’ve also really enjoyed her recent work of mandalas!

• a big creative yes: I loooove Dan James’ inspirational writing and reflections… it’s one of the few blogs that I go back and re-read past posts from his archives.

• inner canvas: For the art therapist in me, reading Lisa Mitchell’s blog is super nuturing!

• positively creative:  Dale Anne Potter’s blog is a hopeful & lovely online space full of positivity, gratitude, and creativity.  Home of Positively Creative Journaling  and the weekly Gratitude Accordion Book.

Adventure Visioning: A Page From My Smashbook

“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.” ~W. Somerset Maugham

 I started to play with doing some visioning in my smashbook. Using magazine photo collage, drawing & inking, I began to visually organize content & happenings for the next few months ahead by converting my to-do post-it notes and lists into image form. Above is a page for April, May, June, and July, which includes inspiration about appointments, proposal deadlines, projects, brainstorming ideas, upcoming events, bits & pieces of fun stuff, & more.

My Top 10 Favorite Things to Glue: Glue It Tuesday

A few weeks ago, Aimee over at Artsyville introduced Glue It Tuesday- and for a collage making, gluebooking geek like me it’s like a special holiday that happens every week! Thank you Aimee!  I also love that this cut & paste celebration connects other #glueittuesday enthusiasts together on Instagram and Twitter, as well as on the Artsyville site so you can check out what other gluebookers are doing with their sticky fingertips and be inspired!

Take a peek at what’s happening for today, Week 3 here.

Today’s Glue It Tuesday got me thinking about all the things I like to glue in my collage work, 365 project, gluebook, and art journals.

In honor of today’s Glue It Tuesday, I decided to make a top 10 list of the stuff I love to glue and add it to my smashbook:

1. Magazine photo images:  My favorite mag to use includes Cloth Paper Scissors (!);

2. Exchanged paper stash goodness:  It’s always so much fun and another layer of connection to use the wonderful paper bits & pieces I’ve received from others in paper stash swaps/mail;

3. Dictionary pages:  I’m addicted to ripping up dictionaries for words and definitions to add to my collages;

4. Quotes: I’ve noticed for my 365 project, I’ve been searching for and printing out quotes to sometimes use as part of that day’s intention or on the flipside as additional meaning to describe the image;

5. Hearts: There’s something I really enjoy about the act of cutting a heart out of paper & adding it to my art;

6. Hands:  I often find the image of a single hand as a very sacred addition to what I am working on;

7. Fragments:  Gluing these plastic pieces on top of paper backgrounds, words, and images helps create protection and containment in many of my collage pieces;

8. Numbers:  Totally inspired by my 365 project, I’ve discovered the joy of gluing and adding numbers to my work from sources such as bingo cards and old calendars;

9. Smash Stuff:  I’m a big fan of using Smash Stickies, Labels, & Pads for gluing down in my art journaling and smashbooking;

10. Handmade Paper:  I love the texture that adding handmade paper creates to my work.

What would be on your Top 10 list of favorite things to glue?

My 365 Project: 90 days of revo’lution Art Bits

So here I am with 90 days of revo’lution art bits done for my 365 project– wow!  My revo’lution ring of creative goodness keeps growing…

Here’s a peek at the flipside of March’s revo’lution art bits…I continue to label each one with the day’s number/date, the bit’s core intention in that moment, as well as an inspiring quote, phrase, or words related to the expression.  I found this month’s practice especially valuable: sometimes it was challenging to find time to stop and work on this project, but when I did… the expression for that day surfaced as an important reminder to pay attention to.

Here is a collection of  revo’lution art bits completed this month for Days 60-90:

A lookback at previous months:

February revo’lution art bits:  Days 32-59

January revo’lution art bits: Days 1-31

Drawn Together Community Journal Project

[Added to] December 2002 Page from Kat & Roar’s Journal

When I received my beautiful copy of Drawn Together by Katarina Thorsen and her father Roar earlier this month, the mailing also included some of their original journal pages. What a wonderful addition! Much of Drawn Together’s content is told through the narrative of Kat and Roar’s journaling and art-making.

In Chapter Three of their book, Kat describes that she and her father often worked in many, many journals back and forth with one another from 2002-2005.  The intention of this shared experience was to help strengthen their connection, as well as manage and try to make sense of difficult events happening in their lives during that time.

The journal pages sent to readers is an opportunity for these expressions to be shared and have others in the community also become part of their process through the invitation to add to them.  To hold some of Kat and Roar’s pages in one hand and their touching story in the other, I felt such gratitude and privilege to be included in their art-making connection.

[Added to detail] Another December 2002 Journal Page

Pages that have been added to and returned back to Kat for the Community Journal Project will then be exhibited at a Drawn Together event!  What a great idea to celebrate the power of art, community, and connection!

If you’re interested in also contributing you can learn more through this link.

On Day 68: In Art I Trust

On Day 68 of my 365 revo’lution art bit project:

“At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen

59 Days o’ Revo’lution Art Bits

It’s Day 59 of my 365 revo’lution art bit project. 2 months of this practice & time of reflection on my core revo’lution intentions continues to unfold as an inspiring process of growth and awareness.

During the month of February, I upgraded to another metal binder ring, as finished revo’lution art bits were quickly outgrowing their space.  I hope that this larger ring will be able to accommodate all 365 very nicely and securely. I also received 3 more lil’ sketchbooks from Tracy (thank you again!) to add more paper to the original stash I was using for this project.  The support, feedback, and interest I’ve received for this adventure has been encouraging and super helpful!   Much gratitude!

 This month I was introduced to the write up, 15 Reasons Why Artists Keep Visual Journals, that I thought was an excellent summary of the benefits for art journaling. The information supported many aspects of this project as a safe holding place for expression, self-awareness, learning, and transformation.  On another resource related note, a HubPage article published by Art Therapist Carly Sullens this month, Writing in a Gratitude Journal to Manage Stress,  provided the idea of  adapting and creating “Gratitude Art Bits” inspired by this 365 project. Super nice!

Here is a collection of  revo’lution art bits completed this month for Days 32-59:

I am going to take some time later today to reflect & focus more on the themes and connections inspired by this month’s 365 activity.  I feel like each revo’lution bit I create  is an artful seed of effort to foster stillness, trust, service, simplicity, honor, and light into my actions and awareness, as well as into my life for growth, harvesting, and sharing with others.  

Onward to Day 60 and Month #3…. Stay tuned!

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January revo’lution art bits: Day 1-31