"The Universe is filled with Magic!"
Many close to me have often heard me say: "The Universe is filled with magical things, all you have to do is believe!" This concept is part of the basis of how I feel and see things.
There is just so much magic out there, from the first blooms of spring, the sounds of a summer surf at the seashore, the smell of cotton candy and funnel cakes on the boardwalk or at a carnival, the view from the top of a ferris wheel, the birth of a child or furry companion, a glowing sunset or glowing full moon, these things can all spark the magic we feel inside.
I get questions all the time asking me: "What motivates you?","What inspires you?" or "Where do you get your imagination from?" These questions can simply be answered from deep within. I know that is hard to believe, "How do you get that from within?"
The world inside my head is like a galaxy in space, where each star can represent one of my many un-tapped wishes, waiting for me to call upon and have answered. Where planets represent my different imaginary worlds, waiting to come alive.
Several years ago I began to cut out the fog surrounding my life, the dis-belief, the negative energy (from people and things), the heavy weight I allowed to manifest from all the years that I entertained negativity, self-doubt, disbelief, and the lack of confidence. Loosing that excess weight wasn't easy to do, but I had to do it, in order to get back in touch with who I was and allow myself to grow as a person, achieving the things I wanted in this world.
For the longest time, I lost my imagination, and was trying to get it back. My imagination is the key to my creative life. Once I let the nay-sayers go, and started to tune out the negative waves from others, I began to get my imagination back, slowly developing my artistic side once again with my artful muse which takes over when I create, allowing me to believe in myself again.
I offer some workshops called: The Artful Imagination/The Artful Spirit and Expressive Illustration, these classes share a similar bond, with exercises to channel your artistic side, bringing you on the path or artful enlightenment and allowing you to begin the belief that the universe is filled with magical things. Each of these classes require you to bring a sketch book style journal for various art workouts, and help you to develope your artful nitch tapping on what's inside you.
Depending on the class, students will either create mixed media journals which represent their artistic selves, in others, the student will create a mixed media painting of themselves using liquid canvas and learning a variety of collage and illustrative techniques.Some things I recommend:1.I strongly urge one to let criticism roll off your back, if someone can take time to write things about you whether it be 3 words or 3 paragraphs, then they have interest in you, they took time to criticize you, take it as a compliment, that you consumed their moment with your world.
2.I recommend that before you start creating artwork, whether new mediums or for the first time, that you create for yourself first, appreciate it, analyze it, cradle it, understand it and believe in it. When you believe in yourself, others will believe in you.
3.Don't hold back when drawing, and don't erase what you just drew, you can learn from it, add to it and create more from it, Accidents are:
"Serendipity" and become the best masterpieces.
4.Work out of your comfort zone. If you love pinks and creams, work with aquas and creams, slowly working through the pastel color palette. Next work with pastels and darks like pink and black, lilac and brown, move into a mix pink, cream, brown and black. Start working with colors that normally don't work: orange, blue and purple, or orange, pink and aqua. Now you are slowly breaking out of your comfort zones, playing with colors and finding new ones you never thought to work with. This can lead to a world of endless posibilities. The same can be said for papers and patterns.
5.If you know how to knit, crochette and quilt, but want to start collage and work with paints, do it. You are already creating magical masterpieces for all to enjoy, why not break out into another world, you will learn so much and discover new things, challenging and evolving your artistic self.
6. Never ever think you know it all, well because you don't! We learn every second of the day, experiencing new things, places and smells which can lead to inspiration. Today I read an excerp from a friends book which will fuel my day, I learned others share my beliefs and my cats can dream like us. Everyday I try something new like a new paint brush, new project, new coffee, revisit a forgotton shirt turning it into something new with different accessories. I recommend you buy a cheapie calender and turn it into an art calender, randomly writing down different things you want to try on it and do it the day you wrote it down.
Example:
Sunday: Try Buckwheat Pancakes
Monday: Learn a sentence in French: Un Bonne Vin Blanc ( A Good White Wine)
Tuesday: Draw a lioness while wearing a crown, and be Queen of your artful jungle.
Wednesday: Don't collage with Marie Antoinette, read a chapter about her, then collage with her, you might learn something more.
Thursday: Eat Fresh Coconut, save the shell and make a project, now you have contributed to your inner "Green".
Friday: Treat yourself to an ice cream sundae and sing along to the Nutcracker.
Saturday: Wear a pink shirt, for breast cancer awareness and feel good about supporting it, create with pink all day as a tribute.Now start the next week with something with 7 days of something new. Like roasting peanuts in the oven and envision a day at the circus, Wear a cute dress with a cardigan and loads of pearls feel like a spring princess. Go on a date with your mate to the movies or to the book store and share ideas. Go to the beach after a storm, and search for unusual shells, bring home and turn into a project or place into a memory jar. Light a Sugar cookie candle conjur up a new cookie recipe. Go to the museum and see what speaks to you. The possibilities are endless, and soon you will see your inspiration soar, finding out even more about yourself and your new likes and dislikes.
ARE YOU READY TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW YET?
The above is another digital image I made called Henry the Spider Fairy, he's walking around town with a candy box of wishes, waiting for you to pick out and have granted......
Caldwell College book signing
There is a large back room at my store which was formally the stage, this is where I have begun the makings of transforming my studio. A few weeks back I salvaged a vintage cabinet from destruction and turned it into my cabinet of magic and all things spooky such as ephemera, cabinet cards, cigar boxes, rusty things, old bottles, doll heads, items from friends and swaps, all things eclectic.
