Orange Spiral Arts

Art Journal Pages-Love Is . . .

Tonight for 21 Secrets Live, I made these two journal pages. The prompt was Love Is. I used acrylic paint, oil pastels, punchinella, a bottle cap, and a black ballpoint pen.
I did not have a plan ahead of time. Hali Karla and Rachel Whetzel were leading the conversation. Have you used Creative PaperClay? Rachel uses it a lot in her art, and it sounds versatile and fun.
I hope you all are enjoying some creative time in your life.
Blessings and Peace,
Briana

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Hello and welcome to another Words of Wisdom Wednesday post on Orange Spiral Arts.

This year, I have decided that I might try to focus on creativity, the expressive arts, and spirituality.  

Most of my books are on these topics because these subjects ignite me, they fill my soul, they make me think, and they get me taking action toward the things that I really want in my life.  

About Words of Wisdom Wednesday

My intention with this project is to touch and use the superb printed resources that I have at my fingertips in my personal library.  I also wish to share joy, positivity, wisdom, and inspiration.  Finally, I love books, and I hope to help spread the word about some wonderful books and the authors who wrote them.  

 

Today's words of wisdom come from Daria Halprin's book The Expressive Body in Life, Art and Therapy:  Working with Movement, Metaphor and Meaning.

One of the best ways to engage the creative process, the unconscious, and the imagination is through art making.  Looking at the process of making art as we have looked at the creative process, we find psychological principles and messages from the psyche at work.  The process of making art and the artifact itself are both the means and the messages through which we encounter ourselves.  Daria Halprin (2003) p. 90

For more information about creative movement in relation to art making, watch the video below.  

 

If you are interested in the process of making art, I will be teaching a few live workshops this spring in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.  I will have details posted on my blog, Orange Spiral Arts, early next week. I hope you will come back and find out the details for the class offerings.  

Many blessings to you,

Briana 

Sketchbook Skool by Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene

 

Hello and Happy Day (or Night) to You!

I just learned of a really great online learning opportunity that I would like to share with you.  It is called Sketching Skool brought to you by Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene.  Danny Gregory is the author of several of my favorite books on keeping a sketchbook.  And from Googling Koosje Koene, it looks like this woman from the Netherlands has quite a bit to offer on the subject of drawing, as well.  

I learned about Sketching Skool from an announcement on Roz Stendahl's blog, Roz Wound Up.  Roz and I have known each other for years, as she was one of my first teachers in the world of the book arts, including visual journaling, altered books, and book binding.  I took several classes from Roz at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.  Today, Roz and I see each other on a monthly basis at the Visual Journal Collective meetings.  Roz keeps amazing journals, and she is one of the instructors for the first semester of Sketchbook Skool.  

The first semester of Sketchbook Skool starts in April 2014.  You can see the rest of the amazing instructors and their bios here.

I love to help spread the word about artists, their work, and online classes that promote personal expression and growth.  I believe this new program by Danny and Koosje is going to be really helpful to people of all skill levels.  You will get six lessons for less than $20 a piece from some of the most amazing sketchbook artists in the world.  That is a huge value, if you ask me.  I hope that you will stop by the Sketchbook Skool site and learn more.  

Here is a video from Danny explaining a little more about Sketchbook Skool

 

Sketchbook Skool Update #1 from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Expressive Arts Workshops Survey

Hello and Welcome to Orange Spiral Arts.  I am expanding my offerings into having more live art workshops, as well as more online classes.  If you would be so kind, would you please take a few minutes to fill out the following survey?  If you would like to receive more information about upcoming events, please subscribe to the mailing list in the right hand sidebar.  I appreciate your time and interest.  

Many Thanks and Blessings to you,

Briana

 

Oil Pastel Mandala from Start to Finish

I am about to share some process pictures of a mandala I created today.  I used  oil pastels and watercolor paint.  I love to see process pictures by other artists, so I hope you will enjoy seeing these pictures of my artwork, too.  By the way, the oil pastels I used are new to me, and I LOVE them.  The clear plastic box says, "SUPER MIX", and you can find them online here and here.

I am taking Misty Mawn's Full Circle online class.  Today we had a lesson on creating mandalas.  I adore, admire, and swoon over Misty's style and color palette, but alas, it isn't very "me".  When learning from an instructor, I am sometimes torn between creating work like them, or making something more like me. Alisa Burke, who I have been "studying" with online lately, is a big advocate of her students doing their own thing.  I would say that Misty would say something similar.  Misty and Alisa both have very different, yet compelling artistic styles.  I can see why students, including myself, would want to copy what they are doing in order to learn how to make great art like they make.  I am still a little undecided.  On one hand, I would be proud to hang up a piece that I made that looked like a "Misty Mawn".  However, what really gets me excited is being able to support women artists by buying their art, online classes, or taking live workshops with them.  I think I will try to stick to developing my own style while learning from these amazing art teachers.  What's your take?  Leave your thoughts in the comments below.  

HAPPY CREATING!

Briana

 

The Evolution of a Journal Page (with 21 Secrets LIVE, session 1=Beginnings)

Tonight was the first Spreecast for 21 Secrets LIVE.  Hosts Connie Hozvicka, Lisa Wilson, and Hali Karla took us through their process of art journaling.  The theme for the night was "beginnings".

The idea of 21 Secrets LIVE is to get people art journaling, as well as to feel like they are hanging out with friends, while art journaling.  There is a video of the hosts and/or the guest art journaler.  There is also a chat happening next to the video area.  The chat room is for asking questions about the process, supplies, etc.  

Next week, the lovely Jane Davenport will be sharing her art journaling skills.  The weekly Spreecasts are not art journaling lessons per se, but you do get to "hang out" with a fellow art journaling enthusiast and ask questions while you are together online.  Sound fun?  I thought so.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the theme for tonight was "beginnings".

I really enjoy seeing the stages that go into other people's art, so I decided to snap a few photos as I worked on my art journal page tonight.  Pictured below are the stages that my art journal page took throughout the 21 Secrets LIVE Spreecast.

It is interesting to me to reflect back on the art journaling process.  At the beginning, sometimes I think I am close to being "done", yet I know adding more layers will add a lot of depth.  So, I add more paint or lines or scribbles.  Eventually, when I am into adding layers, I find it hard to know when to stop.  Since I was taking pictures of my process, I could see from a different view what the page was looking like.  That helped me know which parts needed more attention, and which ones were fine already.

There is almost always more that could be added, but I chose to stop when the LIVE session ended.  I wanted to share what I created with you here, as well as in the 21 Secrets LIVE community online.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you have any questions or encouraging comments, I would love to hear from you!

Blessings and Peace,

Briana

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Hello and welcome to another Words of Wisdom Wednesday post on Orange Spiral Arts.

This year, I have decided that I might try to focus on creativity, the expressive arts, and spirituality.  

Most of my books are on these topics because these subjects ignite me, they fill my soul, they make me think, and they get me taking action toward the things that I really want in my life.  

About Words of Wisdom Wednesday

My intention with this project is to touch and use the superb printed resources that I have at my fingertips in my personal library.  I also wish to share joy, positivity, wisdom, and inspiration.  Finally, I love books, and I hope to help spread the word about some wonderful books and the authors who wrote them.  

Today's Words of Wisdom are from Eric Maisel's Fearless Creating:

Ideas you had a decade ago may still be the richest ones, the ones still worth pursuing. Where do those ideas reside?  In your finished works, in your unfinished works, in your notes, diaries, and journals, in your sketchbooks, in the recesses of your mind.

Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel, PhD (1995) p. 47

 

Speaking of journals and sketchbooks, tonight is the first session of 21 Secrets LIVE!  Have you heard about 21 Secrets?  It is an online art journaling workshop where 21 different teachers share their art journaling techniques.  Connie Hozvicka of Dirty Footprints Studio is the mastermind behind the program.  This is the fifth year of 21 Secrets, and Connie has decided to switch things up a bit.  There is a 21 Secrets LIVE, which starts today, Wednesday, January 15th.  There is also a 21 Secrets Spring, and there will be a 21 Secrets Fall.  To get more information, visit Connie's site Dirty Footprints Studio.

 

Sketchbooks also make me think of Lisa Sonora Beam who is running a 30 day FREE journaling project called ROOT.  
 

 

Now back to the quote by Eric Maisel.  What has been on your mind for ten years or more?  I've heard that your dreams do not go away; they come up again and again until you really pay attention and start moving toward living a life of your dreams.  What's your dream?  What do you wish to be, do, or have in your life?

Sometimes it takes some work to figure out what we truly want out of life.  That's okay.  Do the work and you will blossom.  

Many Blessings to you,

Briana
 

Sabrina Ward Harrison is Coming to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2014

In the year 2000, Sabrina Ward Harrison released her book Spilling Open.  

It was such an eye opening book to read.  It was like having an inside look into an artist's journal, as well as the mind of a twenty-something year old American woman.  Her words and images inspired me to no end.  I own many of Sabrina's other books and products made with her artwork.  She is passionate about so many of the same things that I am, such as art, photography, writing, personal expression, and COLOR!

Sabrina is going to be traveling to teach workshops all over the United States in 2014.  I believe the focus is on COLOR.  Sabrina is stopping in the midwest, and I cannot wait to spend a weekend with her.  In March, she will be in Chicago, IL, then Madison, WI, and in Minneapolis, MN near the end of March. How lucky are we?!  

This is the photo of Sabrina's map that she posted on her Facebook Page.

Here are her photos announcing the Minneapolis, Minnesota workshop:

If you hope to attend a workshop with Sabrina this year, keep your eye out on her Tumblr site, as well as her Facebook Page.  

I sold a painting that I wasn't planning to sell, in order to attend this weekend with Sabrina.  If you would like to see what other art and classes I have available, please visit my Orange Spiral Arts Etsy shop, or click the LEARN and SHOP tabs at the top of this page.

By the way, I believe that the magical way that I connected with Sabrina about this workshop has everything to do with my vision board.  Vision Board the E-course is open for registration, and it only costs $12.50.  The class is packed with videos, tutorials, and photos on making vision boards.  Vision boards are powerful tools, and to me, this interaction with Sabrina Ward Harrison that I recently had, is proof of their power.  You can make really good things happen in your life, too.

And to round out this post, I will end with a few more photos of Sabrina's lovely art:

                  (I have this one hanging in my office).