Gratitude, Textures and Making Connections (instagram round-up)
Here's my Instagram round-up pics from the last couple of weeks...
December 5:
Loosening up on top of a drawing from the other night. Oh, gesso and charcoal... I love how you play.
#inmybliss #paintedworld #dreamscape #portraitstudy #mixedmedia
December 6:
Evening pages.
December 8:
People often wonder how we do it... how we make ends meet and manage the uncertainty of being a household supported by two self-employed artists. This photo in our single bathroom hangs as a reminder... To keep it all in perspective, our blessings in our vision, and our needs addressed with clarity about how simple they really are, that we are just humans making our way one step at a time. We make choices in alignment with what really matters (which, most days, requires little to no cost), and we practice courage, faith and devotion to kindness, growth and creativity. Nothing is certain about it, and sometimes we forget... but after midwiving hundreds of deaths for so many families, I can tell you that so many things we think we are securing in this culture are really just finite, worldly matters that mean little to our spirit and the depths of our relations. We have running water, whole foods, warmth, lots of love, laughter, good people in our lives, curiosity and... choices, with a dash of structure, about how to spend our time, resources and energy. Maybe the answer is that we don't pretend it's all in our control, and we are aware that most things are finite, but our resolve and spirit is strong... So we work and say thanks and live with our whole hearts, as best we can in the face of what comes, and what we do not know. Because, if anything, we both know we are here to be artists, working with vision and sound, and that is enough. Simplicity can be such a rich gift. Though some days i think remembering who you are, at your core, and living it unapologetically, is the greatest gift of all.
"Life Cycles" There is a lot of grief that surfaces this time of year. All the ways grief shows up or doesn't are perfectly OK. Be gentle with your hearts. [detail shots of this freshly finished spread inspired by a painting by Millais + musings on grief are posted at the blog, link in profile]
December 11:
About to lunch with friends. Eat your colors.
December 12:
Making herbal blends. Tis the season...
December 14:
Creativity + Curiosity in how we are present is the key to *feeling* Alive and engaged, as far as I can tell.
Right now. Cool wind. Soft sunshine. Lots of green. Ordinary moments, breathing, exploring the yard with my pup, noticing.
December 16:
I've been moving color and squeezing in my creative play this week by just painting messy backgrounds on pages in a new altered book, since it's a super busy prep time for 2016 courses and we're getting ready for our holiday trip next week on top of it. Love that this gets to be part of my practice, my joy and my work...
December 17:
Evening + morning pages.
For some reason, this little woodpecker was always one of my favorites from the bird studies I did last year. He's heading off to his purchaser today.
Love the textured layers and quote on this page by @kialagives as part of her daily #artjournaling challenge blog-hop with all the guest teachers for The Journey Within! My challenge goes live next week... And you can play along with the prompts, too, over at her site (see her profile).
December 18:
{gratitude}. What a lovely surprise in my mailbox today... This beautiful print of the design by artist #davidhale for @birthingourselvesintobeing and @holdingwomanspace ... Got me teary for a moment, for all the ways 2015 brought me to my knees and asked me to be present less for things I had planned to be, and more for heart-healing and space-holding... and the ways all the parts of our lives eventually change and release to make way for the new... So much gratitude for the kindred sisters in my life, in close AND wider circles who knowingly and unknowingly help me stay centered in my truth and shape-shifting journey by living graciously and courageously in theirs. (Birthing Ourselves into Being is a soul-shifting annual circle and process, online again in 2016, and led by two compassionate and powerful wise women - and my #visualjournaling content is back for a second round to help jump start the journey in January. Learn more by following my link trail or