Time to Heal

This top image is perhaps one of the most powerful and beautiful journal pages that I have made in quite some time, possibly all year. It is certainly the most important for me. This last year and a half of dealing with the combined effects of Adrenal Fatigue, Hypothyroid, painful and limiting Plantar Fasciitis, as well as a move and many other life questions and uncertainties has been a hard road.

I have found that these issues have featured in my work prominently over the last couple of years. When my journalling relates to my health and my body, it falls into one of two categories, pain or healing. There are the "I'm so frustrated, when is this gonna get better" pages, but lately a new kind of grace has entered my work. Gratitude, acceptance and healing. It can be a long road to recovery, but what has changed most for me is my appreciation of this time. No longer angry and frustrated I am starting to see the gifts that being unwell has given me. It far outweighs the pain and frustration. Murkiness and stuckness begin to clear and with limitations comes new intentions. I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and that we can all be grateful for where we are, no matter what it looks like!

Where I Work

This is where I work, seek refuge and find inspiration. This photo is of my well used cutting station, where I crop photos and cut pages for making books. Above is a pin board filled with photos of friends, family, and tidbits of inspiration.

 Another, larger pin board that at the moment holds my collection of all things piratey and of the sea! I love looking up and being inspired by the beautiful art of others.

This is where the journaling happens! I sew here as well as paint and collage in my books. On the opposite wall is wire shelving and across the room there is more studio space. It's a peaceful place for me and I am grateful to have this expanded space to work in!

I'm back from a wonderful Birthday weekend celebration! We headed to Denver for the weekend to cram in as many fun things as I could think of.

This birthday included a stop at the Holiday Handmade Craft Fair, yummy food, fun shops, a matinee of The Nutcracker, and the cherry on top of the whole shebang, strolling with hot cider in hand to see the Denver Zoolights. This is just a glimpse of what was a truly full and magically unforgettable weekend!

Pirate Friday

A little pirate love for ya this Friday!

Fall NME

Here's a little of where I've been and what I've been up to. I swear, if it weren't for my NME journal I would forget all that I have done and accomplished. It's blank pages, staring at me daily hold me accountable, and my completed pages remind me that I am not frittering my days away, but rather that something is getting done. I SWEAR by this process created by Gina Armfield, it had added so much to my daily life in the form of life record as well as creative testing ground. If you haven't listened to me yet, NOW is a great time to start. The BEST time. Gina's 2013 program is ready to download and there is plenty  of time to get your book set up. Which is such a fun process!

Chad and I recently celebrated our 10 year wedding nniversary. So lucky and so proud!

Halloween. We went as Suzy Bishop and Sam Shakusky from Moonrise Kingdom of course!

A Little Bit of Birding...

I've been dabbling in Gina Armfield's Creativity in Flight watercolor class as of late. Here's a little example of how the image starts as a simple sketch and then gets layered with paint. This pice isn't quite done yet, I plan on adding some journaling to the background. It's super fun and relaxing. I hope to get in some more paintings while on vacation in Hawaii soon!

It's Been a Wes Anderson Sort of Summer

It's Been a Wes Anderson sort of Summer. Here are some recent pages from my NME journal. The top spread I did after I saw Moonrise Kingdom and had the inexplicable urge to draw each of the characters. Now I have the same desire to illustrate all the characters from each of his films. I attribute this to Scott C. Campbell who draws brilliant showdowns of movie heroes and villains. I am waiting for his rendition from the movie, which SURELY will come. I am deeply in love with Scott's book Amazing Anything, and I'm chompin' at the bit for his next release, The Great Showdowns.

 The bottom spread is a sort of tribute to The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom. In typical Wes fashion I slammed the title over the images in Futura. There are general tidbits and things that remind me of MK and TRT. The lighthouse card on the left is by artist Becca Stadtlander and found a comfy spot on the page. For more info on the NME process, take a look here, and there is a cool video of it here as well.