change – creativity in motion

In Words & Images: Self Expression and Healing

This past Friday & Saturday, I attended Ohio’s Buckeye Art Therapy Association Annual Symposium, Self Expression and Healing. Since I’ve returned home, I continue to work on art that I started over these two days:

One is a small wooden chest that was given to our group after the paper, Grace, Creativity and Breakthrough: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, presented by Ursuline College’s Master of Art Therapy Program Founder Sister Kathleen Burke Ph.D, OSU, as a takeaway art-making experience to celebrate awakening moments, our creative gifts, and honor our dreams. I painted and stained my treasure chest with lots of green: a color symbolizing life, growth, and vitality that St. Hildegard defined with the word viriditas. Inside the chest I added tissue paper with a variety of gems, seaglass, and some of my previously created fragments. We were prompted to write down/about our own dreams and awakenings to also include inside this special chest.

Another art-making experience from the Symposium I am continuing to work on is inspired by Art Therapist and Author Dr. Harriet Wadeson‘s keynote. Dr. Wadeson’s keynote address and workshop focused on using creative self-expression in the face of illness. Her own personal experience and journey with cancer and described in her book Journaling Cancer in Words and Images: Caught in the Clutch of the Crab, was the foundation for what she presented over the Symposium’s two days. It was very powerful to see and learn more about the altered book pages and emotional expression Dr. Wadeson created in response to and cope with her cancer.

During Dr. Wadeson’s workshop, we were prompted to reflect on illness or a major crisis/time in our life and how this experience impacted or perhaps changed our sense of who we are. The suggested prompt was to create a “before” and “after” self image to represent this reflection.

As I worked in my smashbook in response to this art directive, I was humbled by the power of art (again) to help sustain us through difficult and challenging times. The making of altered books or working within a journal has been a particularly safe space for me to do this, using both written words and images, to provide a container for those emotions, thoughts, and moments hard to put into verbal language.

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“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” ~Georgia O’Keeffe

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MRI Digital Art for My Own Beautiful, but Altered Brain

My Beautiful, but Altered Brain

ready for revolution twentytwelve

“You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke

It’s here! I’m ready to reveal and share my revolution for twentytwelve— Take a look:

I am so grateful that I take time to do this process. I find it so valuable. Identifying my intentions and creating a revolution book each year (this is #4) has helped me take purposeful and meaningful time to reflect on what I want to focus on within myself, as well as invite and attract into my life during the upcoming new year.

This year I also added a “2012 Revolution” Board on Pinterest to help further inspire my intentions. I still need to finish the book’s cover and back, but I look forward to this revolution book serving as a visual reminder, affirmation, and guide throughout 2012 for each of the intentions I’ve chosen:

Paying attention to one aspect of the environment while ignoring others.

A particular way of dealing with the external world, being faithful to internal rather than external ideas.

The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships to create meaningful new ideas and forms.

A state of happiness or felicity, a source or cause of delight.

Attention to the choices of a context for opinions, beliefs and experiences.

Reconnection — Re-Connection: Strong. Hope. Inside

To link or be linked together again.

Acting truly about feelings, thoughts, and desires.

The practice or quality of being kind.

Sooo..Bring on 2012! Wishing you all happiness, creativity, & goodness for your own revolution making & in the New Year…

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Want to discover what your twentytwelve revolution looks like? Learn more here.

my 2011 revo’lution reflection!

This week I have started to take an end of the year look at my 2011 revo’lution. For the last few years I have been practicing a year end tradition of creating my “revo’lution”, a process where I identify intentions that I want to focus more on and strengthen throughout the upcoming year. I then create images in response to these concepts and make an annual revo’lution book as a visual reminder, as well as take a look back at the end of the year.

This year’s intentions were Truth, Choice, Nurture, Imagine, Inspire, Change, Freedom, and Passion:

My revo’lution intentions throughout 2011 invited lots of activity that I am excited to reflect on! This year’s revo’lution helped me with discovering where to spend worthwhile energy, work on maintaining balance, and how to create meaningful use of my time. Being mindful throughout this year to engage in activities that empowered me to spend thoughtful time and focus related to art-making, community organizing, strengthening my gratitude practice and embracing activities that nurtured my relationships, creativity and work thrive with good vibes were all very important. This year’s revo’lution also helped me honor the parts of myself that enjoys having fun, independence, and remembering to value my individuality, ideas, and motivation without the need to seek permission.

I am grateful for inspiring friends, colleagues, kind creative souls, new inspirations, ideas, travels, unconditional support, and loads of positive energy that helped contribute to making this year’s revo’lution rewarding and fullfilling! A slideshow of faces and places highlighting some of my 2011 revo’lution fun can be seen here.

In the works: Creating my 2012’s revolution book with the intentions Sincerity, Re-Connection, Authenticity, Creativity, Perspective, Kindness, Attention, and Joy. Look for the reveal of this coming soon!

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What does your revolution look like?

Ready for Revolution Art Journaling eBook

prepare. intent. create. transform.

Ready for Revolution Art Journaling Workshop Trailer

In celebration of last week’s news from Dirty Footprints Studio about 21 SECRETS‘ registration being extended until October 1 and that this art journaling playground will now be open until January 1, 2012, I had some fun updating the trailer for my workshop ready for revo’lution. Check it out and enjoy!

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21 SECRETS is an ONLINE, self guided, art journaling workshop where participants will receive the opportunity to learn different techniques, methods, and approaches to art journaling from a group of 21 artists through January 1, 2012. Registration is open until October 1, 2011.

My workshop ready for revo’lution will empower you to use art journaling to explore concepts of transformation, creating change, and invite intentions of new possibilities through the power of collage, mixed media, journaling prompts & more. Embrace your revo’lutionary spirit to imagine, create or reclaim your ideas into action!

Become an Ambassador of Peace: Priority Boxes Project on Kickstarter

Back in March I posted about receiving my box of hope (above) from Franck de las Mercedes’ Priority Box Project. This global community arts project dedicated to spreading hope, peace, and change through painted mail art boxes celebrates its 5th anniversary this week, having mailed 9500+ boxes all around the world during this time.

The Priority Boxes is currently being featured on the creative funding platform Kickstarter to help support this self-funded initiative. Funding will go toward getting boxes currently on the project’s wait list out and help financially support the project for another year with shipping and supply costs.

This week Franck posted a short film that I remember watching when I first discovered the project last year and requested my box. It reminds me again why I love this project and why I find it important:

As of this writing, over $3,300 has been pledged via Kickstarter, but for the project to receive any funding, the $5,000 pledge goal must be met. There’s still time! You can be an Ambassador of Peace through becoming a Kickstarter backer today and also help spread the word to others during this final week of pledging. Pledging ends June 2, 2011 at 8:58 P.M. EST.

Exposing & Altering Vulnerability

Creativity | Authenticity | Humility | Responsiblity

I created a mini-altered board book to spend time reflecting on four concepts that have been challenging for me lately. I usually think of Creativity, Authenticity, Humility, & Responsibility as strengths I can call on, but in these pages they are exposed to vulnerability, question, and weakness.

Working on each page helped me put some of the internal and external struggles I was experiencing into perspective. The safe space of the book helped me to reflect more on my positive and negative judgments associated with each these concepts. This process and the finished pages left me feeling better connected (and accepting) to the role of Creativity, Authenticity, Humility, & Responsibility in my life.

Handmade Revolution Making Continues @ 21 SECRETS Art Journaling Workshop

Ready for Revolution @ 21 SECRETS — Ready for Revo'lution @ 21 SECRETS

I continue to really enjoy seeing, reading, and learning about the revo’lution making happening in my workshop over at Dirty Footprints Studio’s 21 SECRETS. What I am noticing so far is that many are not incorporating ready for revo’lution into just one art journaling page, but are creating entire revo’lution books, which is really exciting to see unfold!

Check out some of the intentions and revo’lution pages created during the last couple of weeks:

Balance

Mindfulness

Nature

Savour

Serenity

Thanks to Amanda, Jane, and Janet for letting me share their revo’lution art and for all the thoughtful, inspiring work they have been doing with this concept. It has been much fun to be part of this group and enjoy what is happening! I look forward to seeing what future revo’lutions will be made!

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21 SECRETS is an ONLINE, self guided, art journaling workshop where participants will receive the opportunity to learn different techniques, methods, and approaches to art journaling from a group of 21 artists. Update: 21 SECRETS has been extended to January 1, 2012. Woo hoo!

My workshop ready for revo’lution will empower you to use art journaling to create your very own revo’lution! Explore concepts of transformation, creating change, and invite intentions of new possibilities through the power of collage, mixed media, journaling prompts & more. Embrace your revo’lutionary spirit to imagine, create or reclaim your ideas into action!

Registration for 21 SECRETS is now open until October 1, 2011.

Revolution Making Begins @ 21 SECRETS

Last week Dirty Footprints Studio’s 21 SECRETS opened with lots of interest and creative energy! Throughout the last seven days, it has been a lot of fun to see the 21 SECRETS community building, members joining, and many starting to take in what this art journal playground has to offer.

My 21 SECRETS class ready for revolution has started to have some activity with art journalers beginning to create their own revolutions with words, intentions, and images that they want to invite and attract into their life. Witnessing participants’ processes, shared reflections, comments, and art journal pages has been very inspiring!

Below are some revolutions created this week @ 21 SECRETS:

Jeniffer Hutchi ns (Fayetteville, North Carolina) created her revolution to focus around the intention LIGHT and included one of her favorite quotes by Marianne Williamson’s book A Return to Love. Jeniffer is also an instructor for 21 SECRETS teaching the class Emotional Evolution, where she encourages your art journaling as a space to “turn fear into opportunity, doubt into joy, and frustration into anticipation”.

Eva Miller (Raleigh, North Carolina) picked up a children’s board book at a local Goodwill this week to deconstruct it for making her revolution book. Great! Stripping board books is something I looove to do as part of my own revolution making process. In the class, I make mention of this as an altered book technique idea for participants to experiment with as an art journal. Above is Eva’s finished book cover ready for more revolution making inside!

Janet McLeod (Auckland, New Zealand) is finishing her post graduate studies in art therapy and dedicated her first revolution page to the intention HOPE as a means to invite and add more positive emotion into her life.

I thank Jeniffer, Eva, and Janet for allowing me share their awesome revolution making here- I look forward to seeing the many other intentions and images that develop from this community of art journalers ready for some revolution! The creativity, ideas, and and connection happening all around 21 SECRETS is something I am proud and excited to be a part of. Thank you again to Dirty Footprints Studio’s Connie Hozvicka for inviting me to be part of this experience!

If you are interested in joining us, you can still check out 21 SECRETS and learn how to register here:

Registration is open until May 31

21 SECRETS Art Journaling Workshop: On Sale Now!

Today is the day that 21 SECRETS goes on sale at Dirty Footprints Studio! As posted here over the last couple of months with much excitement & anticipation, 21 SECRETS is an online, self guided, art journaling workshop where participants will receive the opportunity to learn different techniques, methods, and approaches to art journaling from a group of 21 artists from April 1- July 31, 2011. This means you can enjoy 21 SECRETS and experience the art journaling fun from anywhere, anytime, on your schedule, and at your own pace throughout these four months. How nice is that?

For only $59 you can enjoy the entire art journaling playground and come play with us! Registration for 21 SECRETS starts today and runs until May 31, 2011. To learn more about 21 SECRETS and to register, go here.

In case you missed my secret reveal, I’ll be teaching ready for revo’lution which will empower you to use art journaling to create your very own revo’lution! Explore concepts of transformation, creating change, and invite intentions of new possibilities through the power of collage, mixed media, journaling prompts & more. Embrace your revo’lutionary spirit to imagine, create or reclaim your ideas into action!

I hope you’ll be able to join me, the other instructors, and awesome creative offerings that this art journaling event has to provide! Register today!

Come Play with Me! My Reveal for 21 SECRETS [VIDEO]

It’s time!! Introducing…my art journaling class for this round of 21 SECRETS… I am excited to reveal my secret with the video preview below and to invite you to make plans to come play with me!!

Join me to discover what your revo’lution looks like!

The entire group of 21 SECRETS will be revealed on March 14 when the workshop goes on sale through Dirty Footprints Studio. Registration will be available here on Creativity in Motion and through my website www.gretchen-miller.com when everything is up and ready to go next week! Until then, you can learn more about 21 SECRETS here!

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