February Vision Portrait

February's Vision Portrait started with an image I already had. I was leading a class and needed a new portrait and this one seemed like a good fit. 

I started out with some chalk pastels on the face and then added some oil pastel flames on the forehead. Then I moved onto magazines for collage. 

The class I was leading was a shortened class and only had 40 minutes of art time. The above picture is what I completed at the end of that class. 

Here is another progress shot. Adding more and more color and texture was so fun and the time seemed to fly by.

I couldn't stop. Eventually I was left with just my eyes and a riot of bursting color. So fun!

Here is a little close up of the hot side. So much goodness going on. 

And here is a close up of the cool side. 

I am loving these Vision Portraits. 

January Witness

One of the things I learned through taking the Facilitator Training at Open Studio Project is to do an overall witness to a group of work you do. When we spend a weekend at the studio we put all of our work together and witness it as a whole. It is amazing how even things that don't seem to go together weave themselves into a powerful story.

I have decided to incorporate this practice into my work at home. As I complete a piece I tape it up onto a blank wall in my home and continually add to it. At the end of the month I can witness it all and then take it down and start fresh.

I always start with an intention and this month's intention was:

I see who I am through my art and I use what I learn to improve my life. 

I look at what is there. I write my impressions, what I learned, and what I need to learn. I ask questions and scribble the answers.

Here is some of what I learned:

• Finger painting is fun
• I love oil pastels more than I ever thought I could
• Playing is fun
• I love color
• Perfect is overrated 
• Darkness isn't always bad and sometimes you have to go through the dark to get to the light
• The journey is better than the destination
• I always get what I need
• When I am fueled by self love and worthiness I make wise choices in my life. 
• I love my life and my family

A Year of Vision Portraits

I love it when I am working on something and I get into the flow. It feels so good to have the energy rushing and things that come together effortlessly. That is why I love Freedom Art so much. It isn't about making something that has to look a certain way. It is about expressing yourself, playing and having fun. 

That is what I am doing with my new Vision Portraits. I took a picture of myself, turned it black and white and blew it up to 18" x 24" and then let loose on it with collage, chalk markers and chalk pastels. It was so much fun and the coolest thing about it is that it really ended up feeling like a bit of a vision board for where I was at that point in my life. 

The interesting twist is to use your own image as the canvas. OMG, at first I thought I might die. I did not enjoy looking at myself blown up to that size and yet I know that there is so much healing to be done around my own ideas of self worth and self acceptance through facing myself in this way. 

The amazing thing is that once I got started I almost forgot I was working on...well me. LOL. I had such a blast and go so many great insights that I decided to keep going and make more. One for each month of the year is my goal. This one is January's.