2023 Artful and Intentional Living

I have just finished my 2023 altered book of intentions and wanted to share the pages and intentions I identified for this year. This year marks 15 years of this creative practice!

The process begins with preparation, including finding the children’s board book I will be using, getting the book ready to create, gathering materials, and prepping the creative space I will be working in. I then direct my focus to intention, which includes creating a list of words I want to guide me throughout the new year ahead with meaning and purpose. From this list, I shift to creation, crafting a page inside my altered book that symbolizes or embodies each intention.

This year I chose the intentions: Meaning, Resolve, Respite, Anchor, Tempo, and Artistry. I primarily used material from my paper stashes, magazine photo collage, dictionary pages, ink, paint pens, washi tape, handmade paper, and oil pastels in a 5×5 children’s board book.

Meaning

Resolve

Respite

Anchor

Tempo

Artistry – The heart piece was done with the handmade paper I made in a BlendJet blender I recently purchased— I wrote on small pieces of paper things I wanted to let go of/transform, ripped them up, put them in the blender to pulp, and then formed new paper from it— other pages/intentions also include hearts with the same handmade paper….

As the year unfolds, I revisit my altered book of intentions to reflect on and witness their transformation. I am grateful I am also able to participate in this process year-round within an inspiring digital community of women who are engaging in this creative practice as part of Prepare.Intent.Create.Transform workshops.

What are some intentions you have for this year?

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25 Creative Quotes on Giving & Gratitude

The Thanksgiving holiday will soon be here, which encourages me to reflect on & share this collection of new quotes I’ve gathered that embody the act of giving, creating, and gratitude.  These musings of thankfulness, graciousness & the power of art are wonderful to remember no matter the time of year!  I believe this lens can also help offer some creative counteraction to fear, judgement, and shame during times of distress, suffering, and sorrow.

What creative quotes or practices help ground you in gratefulness & generosity?

• The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

• All art arises out of gratitude, a deep pervasive feeling that you are glad something exists outside yourself, that something can complete you.  ~Dorothy Koppelman

• Gratitude is a way of creativity. ~ Apollo Matrix

• The art of appreciation begins with self appreciation. ~Amit Abraham

• Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture. ~Kak Sri

• Gratitude is the closest thing to beauty manifested in an emotion. ~Mindy Kaling

• Gratitude in advance is the most powerful creative force in the universe. ~ Neale Donald Walsch

• I have walked this earth for 30 years, and, out of gratitude, want to leave some souvenir.  ~Vincent van Gogh

• Artists are among the most generous of people. Perhaps inherent in the appreciation of creativity comes a deep, underlying love of humanity and our Earth.  ~Kelly Borsheim

• Gratitude opens the door to… the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. ~Deepak Chopra

• I will draw as much as I can for as many people as I can for as long as I can. ~Keith Haring

• I am filled with gratitude for the ability to live the artist’s life. In my studio. Being an artist. Everyday.  ~Mickie Acierno

• I’m very grateful for an entire lifetime spent involved in this creative process.  ~Ron Howard

• Those works I have most profited by are the ones I have given away. ~ Joseph P. Blodgett

• Music and art both spring from a grateful heart.  ~Katie Wood McCloy

• Make a gift of your life and lift all mankind. ~David R. Hawkins

• I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating. I don’t care if it’s a book, a film, a painting, a dance, a piece of theater, a piece of music. Anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us. This world would be unlivable without art. Thank you for inspiring me. ~Steven Soderberg

• Picasso said that the sale of every one of his works was like having a little piece of himself taken away. In this sense, he could be regarded as a very generous person. ~Marvin Humphrey

• Gratitude is a many-colored quality, reaching in all directions. It goes out for small things and for large.” ~Faith Baldwin

• Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

• Art is the giving by each man of his evidence to the world. Those who wish to give, love to give, discover the pleasure of giving. Those who give are tremendously strong. ~ Robert Henri

• There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens up the windows of opportunity for ideas to flow your way.  ~Jim Rohn

• The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure. ~ Dale Carnegie

• An artist gives. Gives visually, gives through courses, or with free advice, through generosity of spirit and through a need to share.  ~Veronica Roth

• The act of giving something to others is an art of flowering your heart. ~Vinayak

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Many thanks for everyone’s support throughout this year!

The Joy of Bob Ross

Last week the classic PBS TV show The Joy of Painting with host and artist Bob Ross celebrated its 35th Anniversary!  The appeal and love of Bob Ross is stronger than ever for old fans and new, with opportunities to binge watch past episodes on Netflix, attend Bob Ross Paint-Along events, and new Bob Ross inspired products and artisan wears to get your daily dose of positivity and determination.

The joys of Bob Ross are many for me:  his calming voice, his words of encouragement and validation as he not only empowers the viewer with how to paint, but with language and experiences inspired by his creative process about life, making mistakes, choices, and enjoying the moment. Bob’s soothing tone, love of nature, and storytelling creates a safe and comforting space of acceptance.  As an art therapist, I find myself sometimes channeling the spirit and referencing the words of Bob Ross with my clients, as an example of how to reframe mistakes, create our world, and be kind to ourselves and others.  Read some of Bob Ross’ inspiring quotes here or watch this fun PBS remix capturing some of his iconic phrases and life lessons while painting on his show.

And…. how perfect it was to be gifted the 2018 Bob Ross calendar over the holidays to be reminded throughout the year of his wisdom and share it with others!  🙂  An inspiring way to launch 2018!

Enjoy more Bob Ross with these related links:

The Life and Story of Bob Ross

Random Joy of Painting with Bob Ross

A Statistical Analysis of the Work of Bob Ross

The Soothing Sounds of Bob Ross

Watch Bob Ross for an Uplifting and Therapeutic Experience

“I can’t think of anything more rewarding than being able to express yourself to others through painting. Exercising the imagination, experimenting with talents, being creative; these things, to me, are truly the windows to your soul.” ~Bob Ross

A Happy New Year Gift: Empowering Your Creative Values & Strengths

To celebrate the New Year, I am re-sharing one of my free and favorite e-workshops from a couple of years ago!

Creative Covenants

How would you define your creative covenants?  Your creative covenants are values that you believe are core to the way you create, practice, and live as a creative and artful being.  When you know your own creative values, you can activate them to empower your creative life.  In this e-workshop, you are invited to create an inspiring book made from a series of permission tags that honor these promises to our creative self and practice.  Content in this workshop will also be nurtured through a series of prompts exploring what celebrates, challenges, and empowers the creative goodness in each of us!

This free workshop download includes a PDF & video offering and is available here:

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An oldie, but goodie New Year’s creative practice I’ve enjoyed for almost 10 years now:

Ready for Revo’lution Art Journaling

Check out these freebie downloads below from archived Creativity in Motion posts that are still available here:

Creative Goodness with Gluebooks eBook

The Art of Emotional Resilience

Art Journaling’s Visual Voice in Trauma Intervention

Paper House Making with Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence

Best wishes for a great 2018!

 

Gratitude Round-Up: Creativity, Resilience, & Well-being

I thought today would be a nice time to re-share some of my favorite archived blog posts about gratitude, creativity, resilience, and well-being. I enjoyed re-visiting these and I hope you will enjoy this round-up too:

• 20 Creative Quotes on Giving & Gratitude
• Self Care through Creative Practice & Intention: Gratitude
• Growing Abundance: The Making of My Gratitude Tree
• Trauma Stewardship, Gratitude, and Wordle Making
• On Resilience, Strengths and Gratitude [Art Journal Pages]

These posts continue to guide me about the importance of having a gratitude practice and the role of creativity in helping support and express what we are thankful for– especially in times of uncertainty, stress, or conflict. Not just today or when times are tough, but beneficial for our well-being everyday.  A wonderful opportunity for us to activate daily creative practices with an attention to gratitude.  🙂

Creative Action Link Round Up: Self-Care, Responsibility, Community

 Social media is a powerful tool for self expression and engagement of all kinds…giving a voice for many and often a way to cast attention, influence, and respond to causes, values, and efforts we hold dear or reject.

Below are some links I have been reading, saving, and sharing from and on social media recently. Most are rooted in self-care, individual influence and responsibility, and creative community action through the arts. Many offer ways we can effectively activate resources, ideas, and our gifts both on and offline with others (and ourselves) as artists, creatives, mental health professionals, helpers, and human beings.

Self-Care:

• How to Take Care of Yourself During Dark Times– tiny buddha
• How to Take Care of Others Without Burning Out– Stanford Medicine
• 5 ways to be online, while the world wakes up to itself- Sas Petherick Coaching
• Life is Tough. Here are Six Ways to Deal with It– Lion’s Roar
• Self Care & Creativity in the Presence of Oppression

Influence:

• Your Three Feet of Influence– Sharon Salzberg, On Being
• Why You Should Think Twice Before Shaming Anyone on Social Media– Wired

The Arts, Social Action, and Community Response:

• Hope & Fear: Using Art Therapy to Cope in Times of Transition- Art Therapy Buffalo Exhibit Online  ¡Buen Vivir! Gallery for Contemporary Art
• This New Bootcamp Is Grooming Artists to Run for Office– Artsy
• How to be a Craftivist: the art of gentle protest – Unbound: Liberating Ideas
• The Role Museums Play in Social Activism – Americans for the Arts
• How Art is an Act of Freedom– Artist Strong
• #Artresponds: Use your gifts for awareness and action in Charlottesville and Beyond – US Department of Arts and Culture
• Art Became the Oxygen: A Guide to Artistic Response – US Department of Arts and Culture

Related Links:

Creative Resilience Link Round Up

20 Creative Quotes on Courage, Hope, & Possibility

Mission Statement Crafting

Recently I attended a retreat where part of the day introduced a closer look at the meaning behind mission statements. A mission statement offers intention and guidance towards ones goals and potential, often empowered by important values and beliefs.  A common practice in organizations and companies is to have a mission statement that helps define and offer focus about what the organization does, its purpose, and values.

Also introduced as a component of self-care during this retreat, mission statements can also be created as a personal declaration that helps define meaning, intentional living, and our own values that guide and empower our work, life, and goals.  It also helps strengthen resilience and compassion satisfaction, especially important for combatting compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout. After reflecting on this practice more, I was inspired to create a mission statement collage to explore this idea deeper.

Before crafting the collage I used a provided template inspired by the work of Covey, Merrill, & Merrill (1997) that offered a series of “it is my mission to” prompts. I also discovered there are a lot of mission statement generators and builders online if you want additional help!

Creating this collage also will serve as a visual reminder to continue reflect on and refine.

It is my mission to

Live mindfully with intention and courage

Work creatively to help others

Continue growing and learning

Love unconditionally

Be grateful, calm, and present

Become open to what unfolds

Believe in humanity and the greater good

Promote hope and possibility

Strive for grace and presence

Seek understanding with integrity

Creative Resilience Link Round Up

make&do 365: Resilient Insights

I’ve put together a round up of recent links and posts that highlight the role of creativity in managing challenging times, finding hope, and empowering resilience. I hope you find them as inspiring and helpful as I have.  As I was reading these posts over the last couple of months, they have been comforting messages about the importance of creative expression to make sense of new shifts, uncertain moments, and distressing times. They have also been amazing reminders of the power art and creative expression hold to connect us to our voice and each other.

On this day, I am grateful for all of this.

• Resilience and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election-Using Creativity to Move Forward
• How To Create Art And Make Cool Stuff In A Time Of Trouble
• Creativity is Often a Means of Understanding the World
• A Message for Artists — and for the Artist in Everyone
• 4 Ways to Use Creativity in Crazy Times
• The Holy Dwells in Dark Places: Using Creativity to Connect with Hope

 

make&do 365: Change Agent: Artful Entry

 

make&do 365: Creative Evolutionists

Reflections on 365 Making

Today marks the completion of another year of daily creative practice with my annual 365 project…. after being so curious what it would be like to take on this kind of challenge, I am so glad I embarked on one in 2013 on New Year’s Day…. Each year and creative undertaking since has graced me with something new to explore over the last 4 years… Towards the end of my first 365 project, I reflected on the discoveries and reminders it helped inspire.

I am re-visiting this list today to make some updates and to reflect more on honoring the lessons that continue to keep me committed to this important process:

1. I’m always amazed and astonished by the containment of small holding spaces in art making. Working within a small space has helped me make each 365 project manageable. Time and time again the power that this small space holds in its message, form, and process is awesome to witness.

2. Remember to slow down.  This reminder is only one of the important lessons that my 365 projects has gifted me. Taking time out to stop and pause for a moment to work on the day’s image is so important.  Sometimes it might feel like there’s no time or things are just so busy that taking this time seems impossible… but engaging in this process helps bring a grounding, focus, and presence that I have come to value and appreciate every day.

3.  Appreciate each day. Each creative piece and image is an expression of gratitude for another day.   It also allows me the opportunity to be thankful for the moment, which is important to recognize and not take for granted.

4. Trust the process. There are definitely some days that I have struggled to find time or don’t feel as connected to the image I have created in comparison to others, but at the end of the day it all works out.  The process of creating everyday outweighs the emphasis on the product. Just like art therapy!

5. I really do have 20-30 minutes everyday to create. Probably one of the biggest surprises after 4 years of consecutive creating!  It’s still true!  Some days it may have been 10 minutes, sometimes longer than a half an hour, but there was always time within each of the 1460 days.

6. Community: It has been inspiring to connect to and support others working on their 365 projects or daily creative practice through social media… 🙂

2016 also brought a couple of opportunities to share my 365 projects, which I enjoyed contributing to:

• In the spring, I was interviewed by Australian Art Therapist Jade Herriman for her blog about last year’s and this year’s 365 projects.
• This summer Ohio’s Buckeye Art Therapy Association featured my 365 projects as part of their Featured Artist/Art Therapist interview series.

I thank everyone for their support and encouragement with this process over the last four years! It has definitely helped– ❤  I am looking forward to launching another 365 project for the new year ahead. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Happy creating in 2017- What are some of your creative goals to focus on in the next 12 months?

 

 

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Creative Deeding in Action

This past month has seen much creative deeding!  The Hope-filled Postcard Art Exchange that Nancy Lautenbach and I organized went super well with almost 100 participants swapping art across the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia— You can check out some of the postcard art submitted on the 6 Degrees of Creativity Facebook page and on Instagram — So much hopeful energy and positive vibes shared through the handcrafted images made specifically for this collaborative effort! These blog posts from art therapists who participated in the exchange described more about their process: Carolyn Mehlomakulu’s  The Power of Hope-filled Art  and Sally Swain’s Clouds of Hope.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to this project!

I also recently received word that undergraduate art therapy students at Millikin University implemented their own creative deed project for their Materials and Methods class, inspired by last year’s 365 project.  It was awesome to learn about their efforts from their instructor, art therapist Serena Duckrow and to see the art and creative goodness they were spreading to others on their campus.

In addition to the art that was made for the project, the students also used photography, video, and video editing to document the experience. They really valued the role that digital media played in their process. I love the idea of video being part of the project and seeing the different locations creative deeds were released. Below is a video that the students made to showcase their project, which they called #MUCreativeDeed. Enjoy this dose of uplifting art and messages of encouragement, self care, and support….

What is great about creative deeding is that anyone, anywhere, anytime can do it! Creative deed on! 🙂

 

 

 

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