Weekend Journal

Well, it's the week before Christmas and all of the final preparations and festivities have been kicked into high gear.  The tree is up, the lights are lit, and somewhere the aroma of cookies baking in the oven fill the air with that holiday aroma.  Personally, I haven't baked one cookie yet, but the tree is up and the lights are lit, so in the words of Meatloaf,  2 out of 3 ain't bad!

I've been working feverishly on a painting that needs to be finished before Christmas Eve, so there hasn't been a lot of art journaling.  I have, however, gotten a good start in my 2012 daily art journal, by prepping some pages with left over paint.  Here are some of the pages that I have prepped with paint.

I just chose pages randomly throughout my journal and using a one inch brush, I randomly smeared my left over paint across the pages in no particular fashion.  I don't know why or how it works, but I do know that when I get to each of these pages, they will be perfect for what I want to express that day.  Synchronicity and intuition are marvelous creative tools!

I did find a few minutes to play with some backgrounds that I had in a smaller journal that I've been working on the last couple months.  I finished the backgrounds intuitively using left over paint from the painting I've been working on and a couple markers.  They were a lot of fun after a tiring, structured day.

I'm teaching myself piano, so it's no wonder to me that I see musical notes wherever I look!  These journal spreads are nothing to write home about, but when you're creating at an intuitive level, the outcome isn't the goal.  The goal is to let your inner child come out and play.  Have you let yourself create some pages in this fashion?  Do you let your inner child just play with your paints, markers, and inks?  

2010

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at what I was doing this time last year, so I took a look through all the images I have stored on my computer.  I noticed immediately that it looks like we already had some significant snow.  We really haven't had any significant snowfall this year although it is lightly snowing as I type this.

I was doing a lot of walking at the beach, and I have to say I really missed it this year.  I was so devoted to walking in 2010.  It's sad that it only took four cold, snowy months to get out of the habit and loose the devotion.  We'll see what 2012 brings.

Here's an intuitive painting from this time last year.  Apparently, "intuitive" is popular with me this time of year!

I did find some time for experimentation though.  I noticed a lot of birds in my pages from last year.  It seems like there were many more birds here then.  I'm realizing that I haven't seen any birds in a couple weeks now, and I miss them.

Take a look at what you created in 2010.  How does it make you feel to look back at what you were creating a year ago?  What new techniques have you tried since then?  Do you feel like you've grown artistically?

I hope this post finds you in the holiday spirit, and I hope you're on your way to making lots of cherished memories with your friends and loved ones.  I hope you're feeling happy and healthy, and I hope you're finding plenty of opportunity to "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

TODAY'S PHOTO

A snow covered Headlands Beach - December 2010