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!

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.

Personalized Journal for Girls

Remeber back in March when I told you about the journal I made for my friend Carrie? Well she has 2 beautiful daughters who were wanting to get creative too so I made each of them a journal.

This one was made for her youngest daughter Calli.

And this one was for her oldest daughter Skylar.

I've never met these girls but I went onto their mom's facebook page to look at pictures of them and I also checked out their pinterest pages to get an idea of who they are. I'm guessing I was able to intuitively connect with them as well because I've been told they are perfect for each of them. The colors, the subject matter, everything. Yay! It always feels good to make others happy!

I can't wait to see what they do in them!

Personalized Journal

My friend Carrie is is always telling me that she wants to be more creative. She wants to paint and she wants to create. Her word of the year is "fun" and while we were talking on the phone the other day I was telling her how much FUN I have taking notes and doodling with my gel pens. I could tell she was intrigued.

She just had herbirthday and I decided that I would help her along with her creative pursuits. I bought a journal for her and decorated the cover. I sent it along with a set of gel pens.

HAVE FUN CARRIE!

Redefining Responsiblity

I decided to add a page to my Smash Journal about my word for the year. There isn't much on it just yet as we are only in the second month of the year but I am intending on adding to it throughout the year.

I wrote: Taking ownership of your life. Getting done necessary things so you have time to enjoy life. Balance. Letting others be responsible for their lives.

The truth about this choice of words is that I need to redefine what the word means to me. I think I have some skewed ideas about responsibility that include negative beliefs on both ends of the spectrum.

On one hand I shirk responsibility because it is boring and confining...who wants to be a slave to responsibility? Additionally there seems to be this idea that if I am not responsible, nothing can be my fault...I am at the whim of others and live my life in reactionary mode. It is a bit of victim mentality that can only hold me back.

On the other hand I think there has become a murky line between responsibility and control for me. This really applies to my relationship with my children. If I'm "responsible" I am in control and if I am in control, everything is my responsibility. It's funny because this end of the spectrum is also tied to the whole victim thing. Poor me, I have to be responsible for EVERYTHING!

It is amazing to me how I can have beliefs that are so completely in opposition to each other and yet are so perfectly tied together. Our subconscious is an amazing thing don't ya think?

I love how things unfold when you focus on a word of the year. You never know what you're going to learn or how it will be revealed. I look forward to filling this page with all kinds of wonderful insights.

How are things going with your word of the year?

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!

Smashing Business

I am the queen of ideas. If anything comes easy to me it is coming up with ideas. I am also the queen of spiral notebooks. I buy them in bulk at the beginning of the school year and I always have one, two, OK, probably 3 or 4 of them lying around my house, my car, in my purse. I use them for everything from writing lists, recording ideas, doodling, making notes...you name it and it's in there.

There are many problems with this I must admit. Number one is that I lose them. I misplace them and can't find them or the precious material that is in them. Also, I never know which one has which thought in them and I am forever leafing through notebooks looking for lost tidbits of information. It really is most frustrating.

While I was on vacation I watched a video of a woman who was talking about the exact same problem except she uses Moleskines. You will have to forgive me, I wanted to share the video with you but I can't find it. I've searched my history and I've gone back to try to find out where I ran across it but I can't for the life of me find it.

My new red Smash Book!

Her solution to this problem was to purchase a Smash Journal to use for all her blog and business ideas to keep them in one place. Genius! I rushed right out and got myself a pretty new smash journal. It comes with a pen that attaches to the journal and has a glue stick on one side so you can glue things in or "smash" them in.

Recording my notes from my spiral

There are decorative pages in the book and little doodles and fun things that make it easy to make it look nice. It is spiral bound so it is easy to work in and really, it's just plain fun.

So many ideas

I just happened to have one of my spiral notebooks with me in Florida (imagine that) so I decided that I was going to transfer some of the notes I had in there to my new journal. I got busy on the airplane and worked furiously for 2 1/2 hours straight. I was so excited.

It was wonderful looking back at all the great stuff I had in that spiral that I hadn't seen in a while. I was shocked at all the good stuff I had in there.

I love my new Smash Journal so much that I catch myself looking at it and petting the pages. It's so me. It's simple and not too decorated but it feels so nice to look at.

So far it's helping me record ideas that I might have even lost before and it's helping me organize my thoughts for the blog too.

I even have a page started for inspiration. I write down quotes and kind words shared through my blog, email and Facebook. All you sweet people who have something uplifting to say about my work will have a place to live right here in my Smash Journal. I love that!

December Views 28

I've been playing around trying to decided on my word for the year. I always think about this as the year comes to an end but I never manage to continue it throughout the year. In fact, I can't even remember what my word was for last year.

This year I want to work with the word and embrace it throughout the year. I think it will be a great way to focus on growth throughout the year.

If you are thinking about your own word of the year, check out Christine Kane's resources to help you out.

I am a Living Dichotomy

Sometimes I wonder who I am. What makes me tick.

Some days I am fueled with the need to create in any way, shape, or form.
Other days I can't fathom the idea of putting art supply to paper.


Some days I am the best mom in the world, helping the kids with their homework, carting them to their next event, playing games with them and laughing.
Other days I wish they would just play quietly by themselves and leave me be.


Some days I am the most amazing and loving wife, showering my husband with loving caresses, kind words and passionate kisses.
Other days, I wish he would just leave me alone for God's sake.


Some days I am so motivated to clean and organize my house no matter how tired I am.
Other days, I walk right past the shoes, clothes, and toys that are strewn about.


Some days I think I can do anything and I am amazing.
Other days I look at the mirror and see the reflection staring back at me and I think, "why can't you get it right?"


I am a living dichotomy.

I wonder when I will ever merge these different aspects of who I am to create one whole being that knows how to just be.
Or is this just who I am, who I will always be, two different aspects pushing and pulling like a the great forces of the universe?


Can I learn to embrace the yin and the yang of who I am?
Can I harness the powers that each aspect brings to me?
Can I just allow who whatever aspect of me to emerge?
Can I trust that who I am in any given moment is enough?


I choose to be gentle with myself.
To strive to be better.
To allow myself to be less than perfect.
I am getting better at it every day.

21 Secrets

I have really been enjoying my time in my painting class BIG with Connie. She is amazing and the program she has created has been amazing. So I am super excited that she is offering a new program for art journalling called 21 Secrets because it's going to be the bomb.
Connie got together 21 awesome artists to share a secret about art journalling. That's 21 secrets...thus the name. The group is diverse and talented and I can't wait to see what kind of morsels of information they have for us.
I am especially excited about learning what Effy Wild has to teach. She is doing The Art Journal as Soul Mirror. Now that's my kind of art journalling. I love diving in deep and creating something from the soul.
Tami Chacon is doing something that intrigues me. She is doing Surreal Journal Fun. She is going to show us how to take images from magazines and turn them into works of art. Apparently it is a resist technique. Sounds new and cool.
Angelina Thompson is doing Letters From Your Inner Child. Again, right up my alley. It will be interesting to see how she encourages us to turn this into a journal page. So cool!
And of course Connie will be sharing her secrets with us. She is doing Get it Out, Get it Down. Secrets to face your journal fearlessly and paint like crazy. I can't say enough about Connie so I am psyched to see what she has in store for us.
I am thinking that while this is great for art journalling, I think it will also be great for anyone. You can use these tips for painting, writing, crafting, and healing.
21 Secrets goes on Sale on Monday. I can't wait!

Soul Whispers

I have been really enjoying the process of making the soul collage cards but I didn't necessarily like the fact that the cards were separate from each other and from the writing I was doing about them.

I decided to switch it up a little and create a journal. I bought a Moleskine journal which is the perfect size. I create my collage on the left page and then I can journal about it on the right side. It works perfectly! I love it.

The first page I created is I Can Do Anything

I am the one who can make anything happen. I am strong, soft, fun, serious. I am a perfect combination. Everything I do from inspiration works out for me.

Becoming Fearless

So it occurred to me after writing yesterday's post that part of my inability to take actions stems from fear...fear of not getting it right, looking stupid...failing. Without addressing the core issue, action will be difficult to take.

That brought me to create this journal page. I created it as fearlessly as I could. I began smearing gesso all over the page and then added straight watercolor from the tube. I was using the gesso as my water and my fingers as my brush. I wish you could see the intricacies of the background. It really is beautiful!

I cut the letters out of magazine pages. I love the juicy colors and textures that I can find in magazines. Then I fearlessly took my black pen and started drawing the flowers. Normally I would have been so worried I would "mess" it up but I was being fearless!

I went in search of more quotes that spoke to my heart and motivated me to face my fear. Here they are:

Fear: Thief of Dreams

Fear is just excitement without breath

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience you face...you must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Fearless minds climb soonest into crowns.
-William Shakespeare

To live in fear is the worst insult to ourselves
-Arianna Huffington

Fate loves the fearless.
-James Russell Lowell

and my favorite...

I must not fear. Fear is a mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
-Frank Herbert Dune

Taking Action

Here is my action orientated journal page. I took my own advice from the page to make the page. I just did it. I didn't mess around, I didn't try to make it perfect. I embraced the mistakes and kept moving.

I did the background with watercolor and then painted the words in gesso. I used my white paint pen and my new sharpie pen that I love. It doesn't bleed! Yay!

I found some great action quotes and added them to the page. I think this is going to be a great reminder and motivation for me to take action. You see, I am a thinker, a dreamer, a planner...not a do-er. Problem is, all this thinking and dreaming is getting me nowhere closer to reaching those dreams. I have to begin to take action!!!

Some of the quotes that really spoke to me are:

You cannot change anything in life with intention alone, which can become watered down, occasional hope that you'll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.
-Caroline Myss

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.
- Kahill Gibran

The self is not something ready made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.
- John Dewey

Start where you are, used what you have, Do what you can.
-Arthur Ashe

Bite of more than you can chew then chew it.
-Ella Williams

Been Busy But...

Still had time for making some fun in my journal!

I went to watch my son and hubby play a softball game on Friday and then I hit an art fair during the day on Saturday before I headed off to see the Counting Crows in concert at Ravinia. We brought the kids with us and have now decided that unless we are seeing a band they love, we will leave them home next time. They were good but I don't think they loved it...my 12 year old fell asleep on the blanket. :o)

Sunday I had brunch with 3 other ladies I met while going to school in NYC. It was great to catch up with them after not seeing each other for a year. We ended up sitting there for 3 hours! Later that night we headed out for a nice bike ride with the kids. It was a good weekend!

I did manage to play around in my new moleskin journal. I just bought it and hadn't done anything in it yet. This page was an attempt to play around a bit. I glued some petals down that I had cut out from magazine pages for another project I started and never finished. Then I took my new Sharpie pen and started doodling. I brought it with me to the concert and worked on it there. I like it. I want to play around with the background and maybe try it with a white gel pen to see how that looks.

Easy Peasy Flower

This was an interesting journal page. I decided to open it up and just start painting. I had no idea what I wanted to do, what colors I was going to use or what was going to happen. I started out just covering the page with paint and then going over it and over it and over it until I got something that I liked.

I ended up adding glitter which in person looks so fun but doesn't show up in the photo. I had fun with some lettering and just let the thing emerge.

It is rough and it is simple but it was the process that was so great.

Vacation Journal

I've been on a lot of vacations. I've been to Florida too many times to count. I've been to New York, California, Texas, Colorado, DC, Tennessee, Alabama, New Orleans, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Hawaii, and all over the Midwest. I've been to Italy and Australia twice. One thing I have never done on all of those vacations is keep a journal.

Oh how I wish I would have taken the time to write down the things I did and the way I was feeling at the time. I like to write but I've never been good at keeping a journal.

It seems to me that art journaling is so completely different. I find that when I am combining art with my writing I become more reflective and I go just a bit deeper.

On my vacation I kept it simple. Each day I did a quick sketch of something from the day and I quickly painted it with my watercolors. Once dry I would just free write the things we did and the fun we had. Every once in a while I was inspired to reflect on something but it was mainly just a record of my vacation.

The first photo is of one of the trees I saw while hiking. I am going to do a whole post just on the trees...the roots...I fell in love with them! Stay tuned for that.

The second one is some wildflowers I picked along the road while we walked back from a waterfall down the road from the house we rented. I put them in water on the kitchen table and I preserved them in my journal for a lifetime.

Art To Go

I am leaving for a family vacation tomorrow and I didn't want to go a whole week without doing anything in my journal. What fun would that be? I decided to put together a little to go art kit.

I bought everything I needed at Walmart. Ha, isn't that funny. I got this small pink backpack in the little girl's section. It is small enough to easily carry but big enough to fit plenty of stuff. I got these cute pencil bags and a large one for all my pens and pencils and I have this cheap watercolor set that fits right in the bag. I am ready to go!

My Goddess

I don't know about you but I always love the way I look after an evening in the bedroom with my hubby. When I go into the bathroom and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I am surprised how much I like what I see.

Usually I have this glow about me, my hair is a mess, I have a smile on my face and a deeper, inner smile. This is what this page represents for me.

I didn't mean for it to happen like this. I just started creating and in the end I knew who this turned out to be. I started off with an image from a magazine and painted over it. By the way, I love the fluid acrylics from Golden! Oh my goodness, I am in love!!!!

Doodle, Doodle, and More Doodles

I am taking an online doodle class from Traci Bautista. It's been lots of fun to just let loose and doodle de doodle. That is actually why I decided to take the class. I want to loosen up, to have fun, not to worry about making it perfect or making anything for that matter.

I have always loved to doodle. I do it constantly. I just never took it to the next level and added paint, markers, and colored pencils. So fun!

Freedom is...

When I first started on my path to healing myself emotionally and began doing emotional healing work on myself, I was overcome with the feeling of freedom I experienced in releasing the emotions that were weighing me down. I remember feeling as if I were floating on a bed of air, light and free, without a care in the world.

This journal page brought that back to me. I drew her there, floating and I knew she was my freedom girl! I wrote my feelings of freedom on her neck.

I haven't finished this page yet. I would like to add something to the background. I just don't know what yet. Probably some free writing and some doodling. I love the gold gel pen. That's glitter on her lips which in person looks delicious.