Orange Spiral Arts

Self-Portraits from Today

Today, I could feel myself starting to lose **cough cough** my shit **cough cough**.
I went for a walk by myself. The sun was shining and it felt good, even though it was only 18 degrees out.
I needed some fresh air. I was reminded how important self-care is to our everyday happiness. There can be a lot going on at once, which makes the practice of self-care even more necessary. What is it that they say, the one thing that you can count on in life is change? It goes something like that, I think.

I sent out several prayers today.

May your heart be light and your mind be clear.

Blessings and Peace,
Briana

An Artist to Admire-Sarah Hand

For a year or two, I have been admiring an artist whom I met through an online class.  This artist's name is Sarah Hand.  She is making an effort to give more love to her blog called "hearts and needles", and I am thrilled to help spread the word about her fantastic art and illustrations!  In order to help increase her readership, Sarah has been doing a few giveaways.  In fact, if you visit her blog today or tomorrow (3/12/13 or 3/13/13), you have a chance to win this adorable paper maché bunny!

I was thrilled to pieces when I checked her blog and saw that I won this paper maché girl!  Thank you Sarah!!!

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I love learning about smart, creative, and interesting women. That is one of the main reasons I find e-courses so fantastic.  We are all given the opportunity to connect with amazing women from all around the globe!  Thank you internet technologies!  You are awesome!

Another thing I am grateful for is Google.  I learned something new tonight.  I have wondered for a long, long time how to get the correct accents above letters, as in "paper maché".  Well, tonight, I finally Googled, "how to get accent marks on a mac".  Guess what?  I found the answer to my question that has been on my mind for years!  Thank you Google! The answer is on the site Macintosh Accent Codes.

Desire to Inspire by Christine Mason Miller

There are certain things in life that get the creative juices flowing.  For me, some of those are art, photography, writing, and poetry.  In addition to the aforementioned list, there is also discovering smart, creative, and expressive women.  In Christine Mason Miller's book, Desire to Inspire:  Using Creative Passion to Transform the World, you get all of the above; smart, creative women, sharing their art, photography, writing, and poetry.  Christine has done an excellent job of choosing a list of contributors who are sure to inspire her readers.  Each contributor has gotten to where they are today by trusting themselves, listening to their creative voice, by making mistakes and moving forward anyway.  Throughout the book are quotes from the contributors that are meant to inspire and encourage.  There are also exercises for the readers to try.  

Overall, the book is encouraging readers to find their unique angle on their creative passion, so there can be more "light workers" in the world.  The world needs all of us; we are all special, unique, creative, and have gifts to share that can help make the world a better place.

Won't you please share yours?

Blessings,

Briana

PS

Here is a list of the contributors:

Pixie Campbell

Anne Carmack

Christine Castro Hughes

Tracey Clark

Penelope Dullaghan

Marianne Elliott

Liz Kalloch

Andrea Kreuzhage

Jennifer Lee

Vineeta Nair

Christen Olivarez

Mary Ann Radmacher

Jamie Ridler

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Carolyn Rubenstein

McCabe Russell

Kate Swodoba

Carmen Torbus

Mindy Tsonas

Instagram for You

Just thought we would give you a little smile tonight. Warm and cozy jammies are the best!

Art Journal Page Demo by Roben-Marie Smith

Roben-Marie Smith has done a great job of demonstrating the use of a variety of mixed media materials and techniques.  In her video below, she shows the process of creating an art journal page.

Watch the Process - I GET TO art journal page from Roben-Marie Smith on Vimeo.

Since I have company over this weekend, I thought I would share the art journaling video of someone else in the field.  I really like how Roben-Marie has shared the supplies that she is using as she goes along in the video.  

One of the supplies she uses, that I highly recommend is the UHU glue stick.

You can purchase UHU glue sticks at most craft and art supply stores.  They are by far superior to other brands of glue stick.  I know that Roz Stendahl (the founder of The Visual Journal Collective at MCBA) is a fan of them, as well, which says a lot, if you know her. Let's just say that she isn't shy about stating her preferences for art materials. (wink)

I noticed that Roben-Marie also used some of Pam Garrison's stamps on her page.  Pam is someone to look up for her artwork and journals, as well.  I am drooling over her stamps, aren't you?  Chevron is hot right now!

As you can see from Roben-Marie's demonstration, layering is the key to creating an interesting art journal page.  I love how Roben-Marie shows how to integrate the use of everyday ephemera on her page. The trick is to cover the edges with paint or caran d'ache crayons, or something else, so that the piece can blend into the background, rather than stand on top of it.

What are some supplies you've experimented with lately?  What have you been interested in trying?

I will leave you with a link to an upcoming series of online classes called 21 Secrets.  Connie Hozvicka of Dirty Footprints Studio is the originator of 21 Secrets. 21 Secrets begins in April 2013 and ends at the end of December 2013.  The workshops, which are all about art journaling, are through Ning.  I don't love the structure of Ning, but the information in 21 Secrets is awesome!  This year's line up of instructors is really exciting, too. In fact, Roben-Marie Smith is teaching a class in 21 Secrets 2013.  You can find out more information on Connie's blog, Dirty Footprints Studio.

Happy Journaling!

Blessings,

Briana 

Photo Friday-Beauty

There are days when it is hard to see the beauty around us.  I had one of those days today.  However, if I really stop and take a few cleansing breaths, I can find it.  I can find the beauty.  I can find the peace.  I can find the calm.

This photo was taken at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Art is beauty.  Love is beauty.  A sweet baby is beauty.  The sun is beauty.  Kindness is beauty.

What did you find beauty in today?

Blessings and Peace,

Briana

Journals and Blank Books VIDEO

Hi Everybody,

I created my first video where I actually show myself and speak to the camera!!!  This is a BIG thing for me.  It isn't perfect, but I am okay with that.  My hope is that the video will entertain you and encourage you to keep a written or visual journal.  

 

Here is a reference list for the things I mentioned in the above video:

Strathmore Visual Journals

1000 Journals Project

Flexi-Sketch by Global Art

Gina Rossi Armfield

Pentalic Drawing Book

Painted Fish Studio

Minnesota Center for Book Arts Shop

Lisa Sonora Beam's Creative + Practice Online Class

Morning Pages with Julia Cameron

If you liked this video, please let me know so that I am encouraged to create more for you!!!!

Thanks for visiting and watching my FIRST EVER video where I am on screen!

Blessings and Peace,

Briana

I made my first video tonight. It is "finalizing" right now for the next 2 hours, according to iMovie. I am scared, but super excited to share it with you tomorrow on the blog!
Peace and Blessings,
Briana

Baby Pictures

It must be time to share a few photos of the baby, right? Our son is growing so fast. Today he gave me some really good laughs when I was playing with him. What better sound to a mother's ears than her baby's laughter?
Cherishing these moments as much as I can.
How about you? What are you cherishing right now?
Blessings and Peace,
Briana

Art Journals and Personal Expression

I was in my personal library today, and a book that I hadn't looked at for awhile jumped out at me.  It was Sharon Soneff's Art Journals & Creative Healing:  Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression.  

Sharon is better known in the scrapbooking world, than in the art journaling world, but the content in this book is useful, moving, and inspiring.  The two contributors in this book that I am familiar with are Emily Falconbridge and Rachel Denbow.  However, many other brave souls share their stories and glimpses into their art journals. All of the personal stories are worth spending time with.  

This life is a journey, and it is often challenging. Journaling is a great way to process your thoughts, ideas, and feelings.  Then, when you add art with your writing, you take your personal expression to another level.  You can convey even more through the colors and images that you choose to put with your words.

Sharon's book reminded me to look back at some journals that I used to keep.  Below is a page spread from 2003.  I painted the background ahead of time, then did my journaling on top of these pre-prepped pages. The backgrounds were created using liquid watercolor paint.  So in this case, my art and images were not related.  How you work in your journal is always up to you.  It can even change from day to day. Experiment with various supplies, and see what feels best.  

 

Below is another style of art journaling.  This page is about remembering my grandfather who passed away.

 I painted the background with acrylic paint.  I glued down an image of interest.  I believe the image is what brought up the memories of my grandfather.  I didn't intend to journal about that loss, but that is just what came about in the art journaling process.  That is the beauty of art journaling, or visual journaling. Images can spark thoughts or memories that have been buried for awhile.  Sometimes these memories are painful. IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET THE SUPPORT YOU NEED TO PROCESS YOUR PAIN.  Professional help from a therapist is often a good idea if you have suffered from trauma, abuse, eating disorders or severe depression. Professional help is also a good idea if you just need someone to listen to you and help you through some kind of life transition.  THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GETTING PROFESSIONAL HELP.  I have seen a therapist off and on in my adult life, and I admit, I LOVE THERAPY!  Therapy has helped me to be a healthy and whole human being.  As we all know, life can be extremely challenging.  Yet, life is truly amazing, wonderful, and beautiful.  

I wonder, how has keeping a visual journal helped you through personal challenges?  Do you have a favorite method of journaling?  Do you have favorite supplies?  I would love to hear all about it!

Or, if you haven't kept an art or visual journal before, what would help you in getting started?  Feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I will do my best to answer them.

You can see more of my visual journal pages on Flickr in my "visual journal" set here. 

Blessings,

Briana