Make & Do 365

Happy 2017!   I hope your year has gotten off on a creative start!

I wanted to introduce the 365 project I decided to work on this year: Make&Do 365.  Right now I am using a journal I have had for awhile now, Things to Make and Do by Nikki McClure.  My intention is to work in it everyday through art journaling, altered art, doodling, and whatever other creative inspiration happens.

The journal is divided into several themes: plan, wish, dream, build, explore, learn, make, grow, give, and find. Great prompts to help guide me this year. Since January 1 I have been working on the pages dedicated to planning.  Seems super appropriate with the beginning of a new year ahead and thinking about & getting ready for what the next 12 months hold!  Enjoy!

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My 3×5 365 Art Adventure …in Progress…

February’s 3×5 365 art adventure is half way through this month and the project is approaching the day 50 milestone later this week. Woo hoo!

Here are some random snapshots of Days 32 through 47:

I’ve been having fun mixing in some paint pens (metallic and white) along with distressed paint, stain, & ink.  I’ve also been adding a little more washi tape here and there.

Words included on these 3x5s have been a combination of dictionary pages/text, letter stamping, magazine collage,  word remnant rub transfer sheets & chitchat stickers. 

It is inspiring for me to see this month’s work (so far) all spread out as a group and witness what they have in common, their differences, and the energy that exists between each 3×5 space.

“We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity…We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.”  ~Max de Pree

 

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If you’re looking for some creative practice inspiration, this week’s post over at the 6 Degrees of Creativity blog features a sneak peek of the online offering Everyday Creativity, a virtual space opening on March 1 as part of this year’s 6 Degrees of Creativity workshops.

This space is committed to helping participants sustain an ongoing creative practice with ideas, resources, and a supportive community to keep encouraging our artsy spirit throughout this year.

Whether you are currently engaging in your own daily creative practice through 365 art-making, writing, photography, art journaling, doodling, or have an interest in kick starting or activating more/new art making, this workshop will offer a nurturing creative environment for this kind of inspiration!  Everyday Creativity will offer forum discussions, online community chats, and creative prompts to explore concepts and support one another related to creative practice, time, space, routine, materials, and more.

I look forward to sharing more of my 365 work and experiences in this space, as well as learning and being inspired by other participant ideas, practices, & projects!  🙂

Hooray to creative practice!

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Related Posts:

The Creative Deed Project

February Warm Up With Winter Fatigue Art

3×5 365 Begins

February Warm Up With Winter Fatigue Art

This month continues to be an active winter of lingering subzero coldness and a big dose of snowfall here this past week.

Despite feeling a little (or a lot on some days!) of winter fatigue, making my own art  (and a cup of hot chocolate or two) has been a great way for me to warm up the frozen day to day landscape surrounding me,  as well as inspire wishful thinking about warmer days ahead (40 degrees would be nice!).

February Winter

So here’s some of my winter weather fatigue art:

I’ve been working on my visual planning for February using pages from this 2014 Planner and some special extras I received this week in the mail from Theresa (thank you)….

February rpbing

….as well as just finished the first week of February’s 3x5s…

February 3×5 Beginnings

I’ve also been material shopping & prepping for the Artist Challenge Coin workshop I’ll be co-facilitating this week at Cuyahoga Community College. It’s been fun to bring together some of my favorite mixed media materials for making these special tokens….

Artist Challenge Coin Media Prep

I’ve also had Inchie Art on the brain this past week- starting the process to create more 1×1 inch love, as well as finishing the Inchie book that I started last week for an upcoming 6 Degrees of Creativity workshop featuring this teeny tiny creative goodness…

WIP: Inchie Art

My lil’ book of Inchie Treasure for 6 Degrees of Creativity

And finally, an inspiring artful happening to this week was art journaling along with Artsyville’s Aimee Myers Dolich‘s during 21 SECRETS LIVE!. We played with watercolors, old ink pads, and collage.  It was so much fun to virtually see Aimee in her creative space LIVE! and hear/see/learn more about the techniques she uses for art journaling, gluebooking, doodling, and more.

21 SECRETS LIVE! with AImee Myers Dolich

I’m super looking forward to my 21 SECRETS LIVE! experience happening at the end of this month with host Hali Karla and doing some art journaling with everyone. It’s getting close….So exciting!

What art happenings and activity have you been (or will be!) up to this month?

Here’s to warmer days ahead that continue to be art filled and full of creative goodness!

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Related Posts:

Creative Goodness Alert: Spotlight on 6 Degrees of Creativity Workshops

2014 Art Journaling Creative Goodness: 21 SECRETS LIVE!

2014 Creative Planning

In the Presence of Now: Creating One 3×5 At a Time

In the Presence of Now: Creating One 3×5 At a Time

[Things end because…. something else is ready to begin.]

The last 10 days of my 3×5 365 project has been an interesting transition from 2013’s 365 project. A mixture of loss (from the familiarity of what was) mixed in with much excitement (about what can be), along with a reminder (to just be present in the here and now).  A helpful, simple tool I’ve started to use for this gentle reminder into the “presence of now” is this handy (and free!) Gratitude and One Minute Meditation app.  For me, this added practice helps re-frame and create a moment of pause before beginning to work on the day’s 3×5.

As I’ve started to embark on this new 365 adventure, these beginning days have been spent getting to know and being present to this project’s new form, being, and structure…a building of rapport and flow connected to this project’s voice.

I’ve already noticed how much I really do enjoy having the 3×5 space to [breathe], create, and play in.

I am eager to see what develops in these sacred spaces over time.. remembering to embrace this process one 3×5 at a time.

[ “Tomorrow will always hold curiosities but it is the enchantment of today’s possibilities which has me true to the present.” ] ― Truth Devour, Wantin

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Related Posts:

3×5 365 Begins

Heart Space: 365 Days of revo’lution making

Revo’lution Bits: My 365 Project Begins

20 Reminders & Discoveries Inspired By My 365 Project

It’s Day 345 of 2013, which means  there’s only 20 days remaining in the 365 project I started on January 1…  Wow!  To kick off this bittersweet countdown, I’m sharing the 20 things I’ve learned, discovered, and re-visited so far from participating in this project and my revo’lution intentions this year:

1. I’m always amazed and astonished by the containment of small holding spaces in art making.

2. Remember to slow down.

3.  Appreciate each day.

4. Trust the process.

5. My favorite 365 making time: Mid-morning, before noon

6. I really do have 20-30 minutes everyday to create.

7. Keep it simple.

8. Most used revo’lution making tools: gluestick & hole puncher

9. Take time to honor the moment.

10. One day at a time.

11. All the pieces are part of the greater whole.

12. Stay in the light.

13. Most Seen Intention throughout the Project: Trust

14. This project helped me strengthen and deepen my connection to others and service.

15. Favorite place for revo’lution making: Home in my creative place

16. Biggest regret:  Not being able to regularly work on my 365 art first thing in the morning. (would be a great way to start the day!)

17. Most inspiring moment: When I reached my first 100 days.

18. Favorite material used: Collage, distressed ink & stain

19. Intentions that have taught me the most: Service & Honor

20. Intentions that have challenged me the most: Stillness & Trust

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In many ways embarking on this final 20 day journey is just the beginning as I start to craft my new revo’lution and intentions for 2014…. 🙂

I’ve also enjoyed reading the comments and responses to my 365 revo’lution collage sheet giveaway– Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far! A reminder that there’s still three more Fridays left to share your intention(s) and enter!

Past Posts: my 365 revo’lution project

273 days of revo’lution making | my 365 project

September

Here is September’s revo’lution making for my 365 project:

Days 244-249

Days 250-255

Days 256-261

Days 262-267

Days 268-273

Some revo’lution making and intention inspirations:

{stargardner’s} right brain planner

14 Secrets for a Happy Artist’s Life

Dirty Footprints Studio

Messy Canvas

Rebelle Society

daisy yellow

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Related Posts

365 revo’lution project archive

Twentythirteen Creating on the Go: My Mobile Art Stash

 In preparation for upcoming travel, I’ve started to think more thoughtfully about creating on the go again and what common art-making essentials I’ll need to bring with me…. especially in relationship to my daily 365 revo’lution making!

For my day to day art making out & about, I usually have a Ziploc baggie with me of papers, words, collage stuff, as well as a gluestick & scissors for cut & paste fun. This year I’ve also started to carry around a small paperback dictionary, ChitChat word stickers, and Label Letters inside the quart size bag to use with my 365 project.

Bits & Pieces

While it’s a very nice treasure hunt to use this method, I thought my mobile art stash required a little organization upgrade to make it easier to figure out what I’m really working with. To replace my Ziploc bag, I bought a small plastic accordion file folder (in the $1.00 bin at Target!) that fits everything really well, including the dictionary!

I also re-purposed this tin to nicely stash my Smash Stick (my favorite glue and pen combo!), scissors, paper cutter, ink pad, marker, and pen in:

I’m excited to put this new mobile art stash into practice!

Here are a few other inspiring ideas & examples for art-making on the go!

Create a Travel Art Kit | Daisy Yellow DPP #18

My Traveling Art Studio | Dirty Footprints Studio

Traveling Zendoodles | Positive Art Therapy

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Related Posts:

Art Therapy Happenings & Goings On: 2013 fall on the go

Daily Paper Prompt: Dictionary Inspiration

Twentytwelve On the Go Adventure Gluebook

212 days of revo’lution making | my 365 project

“Energy flows where intention goes” ~Unknown

212 days o’ revolution making

Month # 7 of revo’lution making has just come to an end…although in many ways when I reflect on the pieces created, the last 31 days also seem to be just starting!  This past month in particular really felt like my 2013 revo’lution intentions: simplicity, service, trust, honor, light, and stillness were really starting to come into their own beyond the small paper space I visit and create within everyday.  Definitely an on-going process in many ways! I am super grateful for these teaching moments of unfolding, abundance, growth, and challenge…inside & outside of this daily practice.

hotel revo’lution making on the go

This month I took a week of my revo’lution making on the road with me as I traveled to Michigan.  Spending time with the project each day away from home was a nice moment for centering.

At a glance: my 365 revo’lution | Days 182-193

 

my 365 revo’lution: Day 194: Trust

 

At a glance: my 365 revo’lution | Days 195-206

This month also celebrated the project’s 200th day milestone, which included this video montage , as well as welcomed a new intention (bloom) into the next five months of this journey.

At a glance: my 365 revo’lution | Days 207-212

I curiously await with wonder what new and familiar gifts develop during month #8 of this project!

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Related Posts:

Two hundred days of revo’lution making [VIDEO]

In Bloom: Glue It Tuesday

Revo’lution Bits: My 365 Project Begins

In Bloom: Glue It Tuesday

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin

Happy Glue It Tuesday! I started this mini collage, originally for gluing down as part of my smashbook… but after sitting with the image I’m going to transform it into an artist trading card and add the intention bloom to my 2013 revo’lution:

[flowering, blossoming, growing]

[glowing with healthful vigor, warmth, and freshness]

[flourishing, prospering, thriving]

Yes!!!

Be sure to check out what other Glue It Tuesday-ers inspired by Aimee at Artsyville are up to this week, here.

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Related Posts:

Two hundred days of revo’lution making [VIDEO]

I Like This: Glue It Tuesday Smashbooking

Twentythirteen Revo’lution Cards of Intention

Notes on The Fine Art of Elephant Training & The Happy Artist

Yay!  My copy of Lani Gerity’s Elephant Training and the Happy Artist arrived this week!

I was super excited to re-visit Lani’s Elephant Training lessons from her blog transformed into book form. This time I took notes while reading each chapter! 🙂 The 24 chapters include lots of Lani’s inspiring art, reflections,  links, and take aways from the teachings of Christine Carter, Christine Arylo, Rick Hanson, Kelly McGonigal and others.

Elephant Training and the Happy Artist focuses on many helpful and encouraging ways to develop or strengthen your creative (or overall well-being) practice from a positive psychology, reward driven and neuroscience lens. Reflections on self-compassion, mindfulness, willpower, and gentle ways to cultivate motivation & change are presented through Lani’s narrative, as well as creative prompts you can use to explore these concepts in your own art-making.

These writings from Lani have been a huge support for my revo’lution manifesting this year, including my 365 project, which continues to focus on the intentions simplicity, stillness, service, trust, honor, light, and simplicity.

Here are only a few of the Elephant Training and The Happy Artist gifts from Lani I found valuable to remember (and re-remember):

• The process of change– i.e. transformation of what we do (or what our brains do) takes time & practice (lots of practice sometimes) to re-wire- and it’s okay if it’s “super hard” and to appreciate that making even the smallest steps toward this change is just as important.  (small change –> leads to big change  (page 12)

• The act of rewarding yourself and creating a reward driven system to keep giving yourself a regular dose of motivation, dopamine and not to underestimate the power of simplicity when trying to create change…  for me, this has become visible in my 365 project… (page 12)

• Value your strengths and incorporate them into your reward system- Yes! (page 17)

• Simplify:  Let go of what creates distraction & spend your focus and energy freely on what contributes to what you love to do (page 36)

• Practice, practice practice: Learn from your mistakes, show patience with yourself, and find small ways to help strengthen your practice towards revo’lution making (page 23).

There is sooo much more!

You can order your own copy of Elephant Training and The Happy Artist here.  It’s available in paperback, as well as in an electronic format (easy to access to all the links!) via lulu.com.

Below is my daily practice of 365 revo’lution making: Day 117…. Dedicated to the fine art of Elephant Training!