Doodle Your Day Away

I love to doodle. I have always doodled. Whenever there is a pen and scrap piece of paper I am doodling. It's just who I am. 

So when my friend was asking me about how to doodle I wasn't exactly sure what to say. How do you explain something that is just part of who you are?

She started asking questions about what pens or markers I use and how I know what to doodle. I decided that I would do a livestream on my Facebook Page all about doodling. Go on over there and check it out. 

Of course once I started that doodle I couldn't stop so I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing it. I paid attention to some of the things I was doing and thought I could go into a little more detail here. 

If you look at the top image you can see the very beginning stages of my leaf doodle. I was using some different colors in the background and it looks a bit messy. In the bottom photo I added a third color that kind of blended the two and added some depth and then added some little dashes all around to make the background look very deliberate. It feels a bit more cohesive to me even with all the crazy little detail.

Speaking of detail. If you look at the leaves themselves, you will notice that the bottom image has a lot more detail. I added dots, dashes and lines in a silver pen that really makes them pop.

You will also notice that the outline of the leaves is far from perfect. Making that outline a bit off center really gives it a casual look. I could have upped this even more by varying the size of that line. 

When you can manipulate the negative space and create shapes with the white paper you can get an interesting look. Add some lines and dots and everything pops and looks fun. 

Using different sized lines can really add interest to the page too. You can see the lines in the purple ripple starting very thick and getting thinner and thinner as they move up. There is also a variance in line thickness in the yellow section as well. 

This is a good spot to point out that there is no need for perfection in doodles. Wonky lines and imperfect circles add to the fun of the it. Leaving spots of white shining through can give it a fun, three dimensional feel instead of just being boring and flat so let go of any desire to be perfect and just have fun!

Using several colors in the same family will add a lot of depth to your doodles. In the leafy stem section there are at least 3 different shades of green mixed together to give it a nice feel. 

The truth is, you cannot go wrong with your doodles. Grab some markers and just start having a little fun. Experiment and play with different color combinations. You might just surprise yourself. 

It's a Middle School Wrap

The first Middle School Open House was a such big hit! We had a great time together and what a gift it was to be able to spend so much time together in creative play! 

We started off with some fun drawing. We taped up paper onto the wall put on some fun music and let loose with oil pastels. The girls were encouraged to pick a color they loved and just scribble and get their energy onto the page. Whatever felt good was what we did. 

We had a little fun mixing it up. They got to use their non dominant hand for a while, experiment with mixing by using a white oil pastel and they even got brave and added a color they thought was "ugly." It was fun to try out new things and just be surprised at what happened. 

After a quick snack break we brought out the paints. They got to use juicy tempera paints on big sheets of poster board taped up on the wall. Anything goes in Freedom Art and the girls had fun playing with all the different brushes and rollers and we even had fun with some stencils. 

I always like to add a little positivity to the creative process so we sat down and made some mind maps. The girls put their names in the middle and started writing all their positive qualities around. the center.  They helped each other think of things they were good at or things they liked about each other. Then we thought of some people we admired and their qualities that we aspired for ourselves and added that in. 

Once their mind maps were done I let them loose on some magazines and had them tear out any pictures that reminded them of themselves or their traits they wrote on the paper and they got busy gluing them onto the page. It was so fun and everyone's was unique. 

It was an amazing way to spend my Saturday. The girls had so much fun and said they wanted to come back tomorrow. One of the girls said she wished my studio was her bedroom because it felt so great in there. 

 I loved  it too. It was so fun to just let loose and have fun. We danced, we played, we laughed and we joked around. They uplifted me and left me feeling energized.  I can't wait for the next one!

How to Have an Awesome Art Party

What a great night! I could not be happier about the outcome of my first open house at The Creative Healing Studio! So many great people came out and had fun doodling, painting, and drawing. 

 Food was set out and drinks were prepared. 

Everyone had a chance to create a collaboration on a big piece of paper. 

I was so happy to have a great group of kids too.

Hours of doodling and painting left some fantastic art and gave the studio so much great energy.

The doodle table was a favorite of many.

In fact, the fun continued after midnight!

 And I even got some men in on the fun. 

Thank you to everyone who came out. My first Freedom Art Class is this Thursday and I am offering a 50% discount to all first timers who have signed up for my newsletter. You can sign up here and you get my free ebook, Take Back Your Life with Freedom Art™.

Product vs. Process Art

So many people think they aren’t artists. They have this idea that art has to look a certain way and that they weren’t trained in visual arts so they can’t possibly be artists. Many people are intimidated by the thought of creating art. I have watched women literally fall into anxiety at the thought of it. 

I think the problem is that they are focused on creating a finished product. They have an idea in their head for something that they want to make and either they don’t have the skills to create it or they think they can and somewhere in the middle of it they realize they cannot do it and they shut down. 

When you create art for product you find yourself in a world of rules; rules of composition, color, and line. These are the terms of art school and they are important in the world of design. They can help you create things that are pleasing to the eye but is that only aspect of art? I don’t think so. 

The field of product art is established around critiques and fitting your art into these rigid rules. There is so much time spent focusing on what is wrong with your creation that your soul can be deflated at best and crushed at worst. 

Process art throws all the rules out the window. It is the thing that sets you free from rules and critiques. There is no one there to tell you what you “should” have done or even what you “could” have done. You do not start with a preconceived idea about what you are making. You start with curiosity and experimentation. 

Process art is about following your intuition and doing what feels good in the moment no matter what it ends up looking like. It’s about playing with color, line and movement and seeing what emerges on the paper. Red feels exciting? Use it! You have an urge to add some dots? Go for it!

This is the foundation of Freedom Art™. Pure joy in the process of creativity, the way a child explores and plays with art supplies. It’s an opportunity to let go of rules and expectations and let your creativity flow no matter what the finished product looks like. This is the place where everyone is an artist. 

What are your experiences with art? Have you experienced either ends of this spectrum? I'd love to know!

Creative Framing for Process Art

When making process art the idea is not to be concerned with making a finished art piece. The idea is to get lost in the process of making something, to dive into the creative process with wild abandon, choosing colors that are calling you, making lines and shapes that want to be made. 

You can see that this drawing would be difficult to frame. It is uneven and strangely shaped with tears in the paper. 

Not every piece you make is going to be frame worthy and yet there is emotion and energy that was poured into the piece and you want to be able to save it. 

Of course you can crop it down to make it fit into a nice frame while keeping the image intact. 

How about a nice rectangle?

Or a Square

Another easy way to do it is to cut it up and frame parts of it. All you have to do is purchase a mat and move it around while looking for interesting parts that will make impactful art on their own.

I'm digging the beard

 I love how this part of the nose makes such a great abstract

The leaf really makes a statement

You can hang them in a series for maximum impact.

These would look amazing together 

So don't despair if your amazing process art experience leaves you with something you aren't happy with. 

Remember that the goal isn't to 

make "something." 

The goal is to 

"make" something. 

And with a little Creative Framing you can do both! 

;o)

2015 Art Journal

 I am organizationally challenged. I have like to think it is because my creative brain is firing so fast and furious that organization takes a back seat. I've tried many different ways to organize my ideas and my art and I have found that the K.I.S.S technique holds true for me.

Look at all those beautiful notebooks above. I went out and purchased all of them with the great idea that I would put all business ideas in one notebook, all blog ideas in another, all notes from things I learned in a third and so on.

One day I was on a Skype call with my awesome friend Kristi and I told her how I had misplaced the notes from our last talk in one of my notebooks. I had no idea what notebook it was in or where it was. She suggested I find a basket to keep them all in. Great idea! I did it and it really has helped.

But I have come to find out that I am an all in one kind of girl. I need to have one notebook to keep all my stuff in so I know where it is.

Here is what I have incorporated into my life:

Bullet Journal

I started a bullet journal last year and I absolutely love it! It makes keeping everything so organized. I use it for my to do lists, shopping, menu planning and general note taking. It is really for running the household.

I got a small journal that I can bring with me in my purse and at any moment I can write down anything and everything I need. Here are some of the pages from my bullet journal.

 One Art Journal

 


There are some amazing journals out there. I have some really nice mixed media ones that have thick pages and hold the paint really well. But, if I'm being honest, I have to tell you that my favorite journal is a cheap, student grade journal I get at Michael's Craft Store.

The pages are thin and they buckle with paint. Sometimes what I write shines through on the other side and sometimes I have to glue two pages together but I have to tell you I love it. As you can see, my old journal was well loved which just adds to the charm as far as I'm concerned.

It's a simple, non intimidating place to play and have fun. I don't have to worry about messing anything up. I can put everything in there...collage, paint, writing, crayon drawings, sketches...it all goes in the same journal. Easy peasy!

OK, I must confess, I still have a few of those spiral notebooks lying around because who doesn't need a spiral notebook?!

I would love to know how you organize your life and your art.

Follow the Juice

Have you seen this video by Ken Robert?

Connie over at Dirty Footprints Studio shared it a while back and it's been on my mind. I think it is amazing to see his abilities change and grow over the three years.

 I used to love to draw and attempt to improve my technique but like a lot of things, when you don't do it for a while (or like 20 years) you lose your touch. Of course in my mind that always seems to doubt my abilities at just about everything, I think I'm not able to draw anymore or I've lost my touch.

What this video showed me is that it is a lie! I can draw, I just haven't done much of it so I am out of practice. How many times have I talked to my kids about the importance of practice? I need to practice what I preach.

So when I was in Florida I sat down at the pool and decided to sketch the pool house. While I was doing it there was really no juice in it for me.  I was rushing through it and just wanted to get it done. I wasn't happy with it of course because it was as if I could have cared less about it. I had to question this. Do I really want to sketch? It didn't seem like it. I let it go and just played and had fun in my sketchbook for the rest of the time.

The other night I sat down to watch Oprah's Master Class. She had Laird Hamilton on and he was talking about some pretty deep and spiritual things. His words and his attitude were inspiring me so I got out my Smash Journal to write them down.

I also decided to sketch him which wasn't that easy since I didn't stop the show from playing and only sketched him while he was currently on the screen. I was totally jazzed by this. I loved every minute of it. The juice was definitely there!

This morning I was leafing through the March issue of the O Magazine (hmmm, I'm seeing an Oprah theme here) and I was struck by this picture of an African woman and knew immediately that I wanted to do a quick sketch. I had some small index cards at hand so I started to do a couple quick sketches.

Again, I loved it. It only took a short time to do and while they are far from perfect they were amazing to help me see the lines in the face and to help me simplify the forms.

What I learned most of all with this is that we need to follow the juice! We need to be inspired and do the things that get us into the flow and uplift us. If that means that we smear colors all over the canvas, so be it. If that means we draw buildings in excruciating detail, excellent. If it means we doodle on a sheet of notebook paper, rock on!

Follow the juice today and do what inspires you even if it's for 5 minutes!