October review

I began October with my second week of school holidays and on my to do list was this challenge from school - we were given a blank canvas square and told to decorate it including a specific allocated letter. The letter had to stand out, and the way we did it could relate to our hobbies, career, identity in whatever way we chose. I covered the background with book pages and then cut out my letter from a piece of free-motion quilted fabric. Applied a thin layer of gesso to the paper background, and then hand stitched the letter on top. It's a great representation of me as librarian, reader, and creative combining paper and stitch.

These are going to be used to spell a well-known Whakatauki (Maori proverb) in our staffroom. Unfortunately not everyone has completed theirs yet. I will share when that happens.

Happy to share more cards created from my card bases

And a unique one for my brother's birthday - I just love the image

Fodder School 3 has begun. I know it's a big financial outlay, but since I've been in it from day 1 I get generous alumni discounts and always find several projects in the year that are worth the price of admission. Scroll back through all my fodder school posts HERE. Di Venter was a wonderful teacher for October (our first month for FS3) I didn't want to make a coptic bound book or to create with watercolours and ink but I watched all her lessons and they are forever access so there when I need them. I did have a moment where I got out some old painted fabric and sprayed through and then printed with a stencil to see if I would be inspired to take it further

It just wasn't exciting me enough, so back into the stash these pieces go but you never know when they may appear again! I did love her free challenge project from July which we now get to keep as part of our full enrolment. I didn't have time to do it then, but I am happy to be reminded of this...maybe in November. 

I've been reading good books and I recommend all of these

and these were my favourite movies seen last month

Watched "A man called Otto" on Neon, and went to see "Uproar" at Focal Point cinema with some workmates. It was a wonderful movie - a serious subject treated with a light hand. See the trailer here. 

I am currently thinking about whether to do a December Daily journal again, purely because Raspberry Blue Sky is already sharing info to sign up for #artjournaladvent2023 here and has a video here about how to make a journal for this project. 

Last year I was doing my monthly journal project and you can see my December journal here. In 2021 I made an accordian journal for a December Daily-ish project. I've also done them previous years and really love having that practice....

There may be other December options that come up later in the month and I will continue share here as I find free online art classes. 

I also managed to do a little more in my JIYA journal (online class with Megan Quinlan) 

The clear envelope on the right contains letters of appreciation from students from my new school about how I am making a difference to them as their new school librarian 💜

I have actually completed 1 of the 3 signatures. I would love to complete this this year...I'll keep you posted. 

When I started putting this post together I felt like I didn't have much to share from last month, but turns out I am still making progress, even if some of it is sorting out ideas in my head. I am trying to be kind to myself and hope you can give yourself some grace as well. Whatever we are managing to create in the midst of our busy lives and the sad news of the world is good enough. 

I post more regularly on my Instagram and Facebook Artist's page.

July review and what to look forward to in August

The photo above is of the art I've completed this past month ♥ Feeling the creative vibe again. The thing I'm most proud of is that all that art above came from me - no direct following of any lessons! I still want to continue to be inspired by lessons from my favourite teachers - it's how we all learn. But it's very satisfying to know that I have my own unique artistic voice. 
I had a nasty bout of flu last month which slowed me down and made me rest. It meant I wasn't able to teach as planned, but hopefully there'll be enough interest for me to teach my prepared class about journal construction next week. I'll be sharing ideas and links here on the blog after I've taught the class.

In the coming month I'm looking forward to creative inspiration with the arrival of Tam's new book : 

and the content presented by teachers in Book of Days 2019 : this is a peek at our preview of offerings for August : 

I'm also excited that there will be new supplies in my studio soon courtesy of some vouchers from Warehouse Stationery and the discovery of a wonderful expansion of their Ranger products in our local store ♥ 

On the strength of that discovery I've updated my post about where I shop for mixed media supplies too. You can always find that link up in the top right side bar. Warehouse Stationery continues to impress with their range of products and is now my first local destination of choice for art purchases.
I continued to write almost every day in my Inner Work Journal. 

Each tab is a new month in this journal and the bookmark shows where I am preparing August. Given the number of pages left, I think I will be looking for a new Inner Work journal to coincide with Spring in September and new beginnings ♥
I had some good viewing in July with some new discoveries and revisiting some old favourites. "Amelie" and "Bright Star" are two of my most favourite movies. My best read last month was "The Strawberry Thief" - it was a wonderful continuation of the series begun with "Chocolat"

I've just about completed my rose pruning and I've brought daphne inside to my table - I love that smell. 

We have another month to get through of our official Winter, but our days are already lengthening again after Winter Solstice. I look forward to August with wishes for warmth and creative joy. This is my current journal spread in progress : 

Hope to share with you again soon.

May review, welcome June, and FREE art lessons

The photo above is of the art I completed in May. Although I don't feel like I've been as creative as I would like, that's more than one piece a week so I'm happy with that. 
I also taught an intro to Gelli printing class

and took our first school electives session with 15 students beginning to make neo natal quilts - selecting fabric is such fun, and I've got some great extra adult support. 

I was creatively inspired by a couple of wonderful quilt exhibitions

and made a couple of small purchases which I am enjoying

I continued to write most days and my Inner Work journal now looks like this (each tab is the beginning of a new month) 

I also continue to take photos for my #arteveryday practice - although I've not been arting as much as I'd like, I would like to encourage you to keep a record of being creative every day. Last week was Week 26 of #arteveryday. That's a whole 6 months since I began! 

This is my record of what I was reading and watching - with darker evenings there's definitely been more watching..."Welcome to Marwen" was just okay and "Outside" is a teen read and not as good as "Room" which is similar subject, but I really enjoyed everything else here :  

And now it's June : Birthday month....and I don't just mean the Queen! ♥ Both my younger son and I celebrate birthdays in June and it's a good month to look at what else needs celebrating and what needs to be released as we approach the end of the first half of the year. I know there are challenges ahead - longer nights and more unsettled weather as we approach Winter Solstice and my gym has just closed so I'm looking for an alternative, but I know there are also joyful outings coming, and I begin this new month with hope for better energy and more creativity. I'm going to try and focus a bit more on my word SHINE : this month I'm back to concentrating on S for Self-care and I'll make sure Ease is in there too. A long weekend is a great way to begin a new month. And I'm setting intentions this month instead of a long to-do list to tick off. 

If you're looking for new art challenges, quite a lot comes up as the northern hemisphere heads into Summer. I always like to share FREE options. 
Marit's Quirky Dutch Summer 2019 Starts on June 10th - all the information including previous posts are HERE.

There's Daisy Yellow's ICAD challenge HERE : June 1-July 31, 2019

Also looking ahead to July is this free online weekend event. 

It's part of a larger year-long workshop and while I am at my limit with my online class inspiration, this coincides with the first weekend of our next school holidays... so even if I only manage to watch one or two things it's worth me signing up. Also a great way to discover artists that may be new inspiration to you. 
Happy June - hope you are blessed with sunshine and creativity this month. 

From April to May

The photo above is of the art I completed last month (top right is a pompom monster for craft club). April included 2 weeks of school holidays which means I didn't have to go into work but I did have quite the list of things to do - some work related, some housework related, some creativity related. 

In April I found myself grappling with overwhelm, despite school holidays, or perhaps because of them! I am not very good about keeping limits on my to do lists and I tend to dwell on what I am not getting done. Keeping up blog posts like this helps to remind me that I continue to art regularly. I dearly wish that I had more completed art to share, but I must remember that I also prepared for my Gelli printing class (sharing that on the blog tomorrow)

and began a quilt (to be shared when complete)

I also cleaned my oven, tidied my studio

swapped over my closet to winter clothes, continued to write in my Inner Work journal almost every day and took photos of my #arteveryday practice when I arted. 

With the chillier weather starting and being dark by 6pm, I have been been staying inside more at night instead of arting out in my studio. I need to make more of an effort to take my art inside in May. This is what I read and watched, and listened to the new P!nk album ♥

I especially loved reading "The Weight of Ink" and "After Life" was funny, sad and thought-provoking. A great watch.

In April, my focus for the month came from the N letter of my word Shine : Notice. I concentrated on trying to have balance, and to recognise when I needed rest and self-care. I wasn't always successful but I did increase my social events this month and re-connected with friends and wider family which was awesome ♥ 

I've mentioned in a couple of recent posts that I struggle with leaving Summer behind - Juliet Batten's writing HERE is a lovely reminder of the importance of the cycle of seasons and the blessings of Autumn and entering inner quiet. I think part of my struggle is that I know that I don't create as much in the cooler months - although there is always some fear around a "creative slump", in reality I need to remember that I am percolating/ absorbing/ processing and there will be a new season of creativity ahead for me ♥ Keeping this blog is invaluable for looking back and recognising these cycles and seasonal changes. 

In May, my focus from my word Shine is E : EASE. 

I will be sharing my creative energy with students at school for Electives (neonatal quilts again with a new group of students) and will be continuing to teach art journaling one evening a month. Preparing for those classes and getting creative energy back from the students' enthusiasm helps my motivation so I look forward to that. Part of ease is about doing things that call you and so I've been thinking about what I want to do next that excites me creatively. I am inspired by Rae Missigman's 100 Day Project - her focus is on stitched marks worked over canvas fabric 2 x 2 inch squares. 

Roben-Marie Smith is doing 100 days of working small and including stitch elements too. Click on the photo or follow that link to see larger.

Last year I attempted #100daysofstitch and it did get me stitching again. I especially loved the work I did inspired by the Stitch*bookery class with Mary Ann Moss. I have been enjoying my Klimt in the garden with Rumi project because I continue to include a stitching element.

I can feel excitement as I write about these projects so need to think more about these ideas going forward. I know this month is going to be busy, but I feel happy and ready for the challenges ahead. 
And finally, I had an email from someone who said they couldn't leave comments on my blog. I have changed a setting - please let me know if that makes a difference. Leave me a comment ;-)