Welcome to My Studio!

Do any of you remember the HGTV show called That's Clever? They toured different artist studios around the country.  I used to love that show and taped every episode. They always seemed to start every segment with the words,

"Welcome to my studio."

I used to hit the 6 second rewind button when my husband walked through the room so he would hear that phrase over and over again. You know, hint, hint. He used to laugh but we both knew there was no way I was getting a studio any time soon.

Well, over a decade later and I'm finally getting my studio! Honestly, I am so excited about it!

We are turning my living room and dining room into one big studio for me. It's a pretty big job that involves electric work, new doors and walls, painting, and floors but the work has begun!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Full Moon Painting

One of the assignments we did in the Ignite program was to paint under the full moon every month. It's funny that I never really paid attention to the cycles of the moon before. I am a Leo you know so I am all about the sun. But I have to say there is a softness that emerges when you tune into the moon. It's a different energy...a feminine energy.  I know I can use more of that in my life so I have decided to continue this practice in my 2015 journal. 

When I paint I don't go into it with any idea of what I am doing. I have no preconceived plans for what I am painting. It is a total mystery. I usually just start with a few colors that are calling my name and get them on the page. There is nothing worse than staring at a boring white page so I get some color on!

From there I just start playing. I tend to like a nice flowing line. I like to feel like I am fluid when I paint...like my paintbrush is floating over the surface, leading me where it wants to go.

Again, I have no idea if "something" will emerge. Oftentimes I will see a face or some kind of image but today it looks like I am just creating shapes and line and it feels so good.

When I finished with the paint I decided I wanted to go back in with crayons and pens to add some fun little details. I don't over think it. It's just easy breezy.

One of the things I learned about this process is that I enjoy adding words to my journal pages. It is nice to go back and look at what I was thinking or feeling at the time I created the page.

The page felt a bit chaotic and all over the place and yet there was this quiet and serene space left an it gave me this feeling of inner peace. 

Enjoy the full moon! Maybe you will want to get out your journals and have a little fun playing!

xo
Michelle

Be Here Now.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram (I LOVE Instagram! Come on over and follow me!) you know that I am in the process of getting an art studio...well, OK, my husband is in the process of making me an art studio. Hee hee.

I have always wanted my own art studio. My husband has spent the last two years toiling away in the basement to create an awesome space for my boys so I decided it was my turn. The idea is to turn my living room and dining room into my space.

The hardest part is running the electric for overhead lights and putting up a wall to give me some much needed privacy. I got a glass door for the entryway to allow light to pour through. I am so excited to see it when it is up.

As you can see, things are in a bit of disarray. I will spare you what the dining room on the right looks like. OMG, it is piled with stuff. Needless to say, this makes it rather difficult to access my paints and my art supplies. So I have been crocheting...A LOT.

At first I was kind of disappointed in myself. I love crocheting and it is a big part of my life but this was my year to paint and to create and it hasn't really happened.

But then I looked around and realized that there is no way I can really give myself to the creative process 100% at this point. It is the reality that is my life right now so why beat myself up? What good does that do?

And I surrendered to where I am and I focused on what I can do and how I want to feel and let me tell you, it has been wonderful. I have enjoyed myself so much this month. I have created so many fun pieces and I have shared my work with people all over the world and it feels good.

I think that it is so easy to get caught up in the idea of what we "should" be doing and allowing that critical voice inside to run rampant on our hearts. We want to DO everything and BE everyone but sometimes that is just not possible.

I encourage you to be where you are right now. Don't wish for something different. Stay in the moment and work with what you've got. Make THIS moment the best it can be. Focus on how you can be your best RIGHT NOW and see how things shift.

xo
Michelle

Midwest Beauty

 As I mentioned in my Embrace Winter post, I have spent a great many years of my life wishing I lived somewhere else. From the first time I traveled to Hawaii I thought for sure that was the place for me.Then I just KNEW I had to live in Northern California! That was the place for me!

I even tried out a few places in my mind...Costa Rica...Asheville, NC,... Tennessee... the all sounded so great. Anywhere had to be better than the MIDWEST!

When I started shifting my perspective and changing the way I looked at things I suddenly started seeing beauty all around me. Even in my own boring backyard. 

The colors of the sky are of course my absolute favorite . Blue, purple, orange, yellow and pink...oh, it's so divine!

 .

Waking up early enough to see the full moon shining above as the sun rises is like a precious gift. 

Even the stark and desolate mood of a white landscape has begun to appeal to me. 

It is truly Midwest Beauty. 

I'd love to hear how shifting your perspective has changed things for you. 

Vision Pages

My very first pages in my new 2015 journal are vision pages. I wanted to keep it simple and just create a vision for what I want 2015 to feel like. 

 As I browsed through some magazines I really kept the thought of how I want to FEEL. That is an important part of the process. When you can zone into your feelings you end up with something very powerful. 

 As you can see from the pages, I have quite a few different feelings going on. There is the serenity and spiritual connection from the beauty of nature, the alive and vibrancy of green veggies, the sassiness and confidence exuded from the ladies. 

This picture of the boy in boxing gloves doesn't quite seem to fit but I assure you, it is one of the most powerful parts for me. 

I had decided to write just a little bit around each photo to express what it was that I was wanting and here is what I wrote about this boy:

I want to live with the gentle innocence of a child, the strength of a fighter and the confidence of an Ali. 

Whoo, love it!

 Have you created any vision pages for how you want your 2015 to feel?

I invite you to DO IT!

xo

Michelle

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.

Embrace Wnter

I posted this picture on Instagram yesterday and it got me thinking about my Embrace Winter campaign and how it got started. I decided to go back into 2013 and find my original post that I wrote when I was in Inner Alignment Mandalas. This was written for our Winter Harmony series. I hope you enjoy it!

For most of my life I have not been a fan of winter! Even as a kid I was the one who walked a half a block to go sledding and decided it was too cold and I would be better off just going home.

Living in the Midwest where the winters can be brutal, I always felt like a fish out of water and the majority of this unrest happened in the winter months. Of course I never had a problem with it until the holidays ended and true, boring winter set in.

I tried to come up with ways to escape the darkness and the cold by going on vacation to Florida, Hawaii, and California and while that worked for the time I was there, I would inevitably come back and feel even more miserable then when I left!

I would whine and complain about my plight in life. Poor me! How could I stand to be living in this dark, cold, windy, God forsaken place when there were parts of the world that were so warm and beautiful?! I'm surprised my husband didn't want to muzzle me and lock me up until spring.

And then I decided ENOUGH! I had enough of the pity party I was throwing for myself every year. I had enough of the whining and complaining and the constant uneasiness that took over my world for a good portion of the year.

I launched my "Embrace Winter" campaign. It was a small campaign since I was the only person in it but it was the beginning of my attitude shift.

I started using the affirmation, "I embrace winter" every chance I got. I had pictures printed with that phrase on them and posted them up around my house.

I started looking out my window at the beautiful sunsets that could only be seen in the winter months. Because the sun was so low on the horizon the colors were even more vibrant.

I noticed that the same low riding rays of sunshine could reach into my house and warm it up, making it feel warm and cozy.

I gave up trying to eat salads that made me feel icky when it was cold and embraced the Ayurvedic tradition of eating with the seasons. I ate more cooked, warm, heavy foods and I felt so grounded and warmed from the inside.

I drank more tea and took more baths.

I purchased a full length parka, hat, gloves and super warm boots and I bundled up every time I ventured out.

I stopped ruining the autumn months with my negative attitude. While Mother Nature was putting on a beautiful show, I wasn't present enough to notice. I was always going into the future and dreading winter before it even got here.

I started being grateful for everything!

The dreary gray days,

the thousands of geese that swarmed my yard with their noise that was loud enough to wake us up,

the snow on the branches,

 the fog as it froze on the trees,

the laughter of my children as they played in the snow.

I realized that as is everything in life, my disdain for winter was not about what was happening around me, but how I was reacting to it on the INSIDE.

As I shifted my focus I could begin to see things with new eyes.

I noticed the beauty in the stark landscapes.

I saw the patterns the wind left in the snow.

I felt the silence of a blistery winter day.

By changing my thoughts on the INSIDE I opened up a whole new world.

I am happier...

I am more content...

I am grateful...

I have a deeper relationship with myself...

I have lost my yearning to escape where I am...

And it all started with a shift in my thinking.