karenika

Art Journaling – Fabriano Roma Set 9

Here are more pages I did during November:

The full text reads: You can do anything you want, give yourself benefit of the doubt.

And here’s the next page:

The full text reads: You have so much to offer the world. Don’t cage yourself in. Go for it.

And here’s the next page:

The full text reads: Don’t be scared to be exactly who you are. Embrace everything about yourself.

here’s a side shot to see the glimmer of the gold:

And here’s the next page:

The full text reads: Spread joy everywhere you go.

And here’s the next page:

The full text reads: The fastest way to get inspired is to start creating.

Well here we go. More coming next week.

I am creating multiple art journaling pages a week for now. You can read more about this project here. This set uses the Fabriano Roma papers.

Doing It Anyway

I was reading this wonderful post by Karen Russell this morning and though several parts of the post spoke to me deeply, the part that resonated the most with me was when she wrote this:

So it really doesn’t matter what I feel, it only matters what I do.

Even though her context is different, I work hard to apply this way of thinking to my life regularly. (By the way, I loved her context too but she already talks about that beautifully so I didn’t think it needed repeating.) I am a big proponent of doing things. In one of the Soul Restoration classes, there’s a whole session called “She did it anyway” and I remember it being my very favorite week.

When we don’t feel like doing things, we tend to think that others are doing it because they “feel” better about doing it. When I didn’t exercise at all, I used to look at others and say “Well she loves running.” or “She’s so good at it, I could never do that.” on and on. I didn’t, for a second, imagine that they didn’t want to do the activity either. I can apply this to practically anything in my life. Scrapping, working, exercising, eating a good meal, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the yard, reading to my kids, playing with my kids, spending time with those I love, etc, etc.

There are certain activities I pretty much never feel like doing. Like exercising. Having done it for quite a while now, I can confidently say that exercise will not be something I look forward to or feel like doing. But it will always be something I do anyway. I won’t wait until I feel like doing it. I will just do it. Just like cleaning up the dishes or picking up a mess. It’s something I don’t like to do but I appreciate the outcome so I deal with the process. I do it for the rewards that come from having done it per se.

(I want to mention that there are other areas where the rewards are not worthwhile to me and the doing is also dreadful so I don’t do those. For example, I don’t like cooking and I do believe I can provide nutritious meals for my family without having to cook, so I don’t cook. I just wanted to make sure to highlight that there are cases when neither the work nor the outcome are desirable and it’s important to recognize those too so we can stop doing them and use our time more effectively. These items are clearly personal. A tidy house might be less important to you than a home-made meal so you spend your time cooking and I spend mine putting the dishes away. There’s no right or wrong here, just knowing what your personal preferences are and using them to make yourself happy.)

Anyhow, back to my point. I also have a list of things that I do enjoy most of the time, but only after I begin. As I’ve mentioned here before, I feel a strong sense of inertia. When I am reading, I rarely want to stop reading so I can draw. When I am scrapping, I rarely want to sit with my kids instead. There’s a strong pull to continue whatever it is I am currently doing. It doesn’t matter what the current activity is (as long as it’s something I tend to enjoy), I just don’t want to transition to another one. But I’ve learned over time that, for me, doing a variety of things each day makes me feel more fulfilled at the end of the day. I have several projects and I like to move them all forward frequently. So there are many days where I don’t feel like sketching. Or art journaling. Or sometimes even hanging out with my kids. But I don’t wait for that feeling to pass. I don’t wait to feel like doing art.

I just do it.

I tell myself it’s time to sketch. I stop what I am doing and start sketching. Invariably, about ten minutes in, I am lost in the activity and grateful I’m doing it. So much so that when I am done, I don’t tend to want to move to the next activity but just continue what I am doing. But I move on. And at the end of the day, I am always grateful.

So, I’ve learned to never wait for the feeling to be there. There are times I really feel like creating or reading, and I work hard to honor those times. But more often than not, it’s just about doing it anyway.

This applies to being kind too. And not participating in the gossip. Making healthy food choices. Not yelling. Not being sarcastic or passive aggressive. Calling someone you’ve been meaning to call. Doing something when you said you would do it. It applies to the areas of doing your share in the world like Karen’s story in her post. Being a kinder, helpful member of a family, of a society. Lending a hand when you can. Not because you’re feeling like it but because it’s the right thing to do.

I’ve learned over time that many other people don’t feel like doing it either. Do you think most writers feel like writing every single day? When you look at others without the cloudy glasses on, you can clearly see that the reason others get things done is because they are dedicated to their goal and focused on the outcome. And they certainly don’t feel like doing it all the time either. But they don’t wait until they feel up to it.

They just do.

The Savor Project – Week 3

And here’s the spread for week three. I had too many stories this week so I added an extra page and then cut off half of it. This gave me a place to put two more stories and I also restricted some stories to one 4×6 pocket while spreading others over two like usual:

and here it is with the middle flap on the other side.

here’s the little extra page I added:

so here’s the left side:

two stories on this page. The first is nathaniel working on his letters book and then the next is about how the kids are having fun together doing science projects.

then the right side of the middle addition:

this has a little story about Nathaniel and daddy and then one on my new bracelets. I made it so the flap of the card that came with the bracelets sticks out:

back of the flap:

two stories here, too. One on David working on his Book of Good Memories and one on Nathaniel learning to read letters.

And finally, here’s the right side:

Three stories here. One on my book club night and what book we discussed (The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet) and then one on the Michael Jackson Cirque de Soleil I went to (those tickets stick out of the patch too.) And then one on David’s play date with his best friend. (Blurred his friend for the post just in case.)

As usual, the bottom has my art and our weekly family photo along the bottom. Even if the art is sideways, it doesn’t bother me. I like having a record of it.

So there we go. That’s week three. So far, so good. Loving getting to savor these memories again and again.

Happy Savoring.

The Savor Project was supposed to be a weekly project for 2012. You can read about my setup here.

A Book a Week – Beautiful Disaster

I can’t even tell you why I picked up Beautiful Disaster. Something about it pulled me in and once I started it, I did not stop for a minute. Every second I put the book down, I wanted to pick it up and read more. Even though the story is simple, the characters intolerable in their own ways, and there isn’t much of a plot, I still felt completely pulled in and did not want to stop reading it.

There were parts of the story that felt a little too close to home from some of my own college years but other than that, I really just felt pulled into their story. I’ve never read this author before and looks like she’s not in print but digital only. However she does have two other books (albeit they’re YA and dystopian – when this one wasn’t) but I think I might venture and get one of her other books just to see if it’s her ability to create characters that grabs me or if it was particular to this one book.

Spending Time At the Surface

I spent the weekend at the Craft and Hobby Association’s Trade Show at Anaheim, CA. I’ve been going to this show for about six years now. In the beginning, I went with my friend Michelle as one of her design team members and then, for the last few years, I’ve been going with Maya Road so I can help them out during the show. Since I have a job and the show is during the week, I only tend to go for about 36 hours.

The interesting thing about the show, for me, is that I always look forward to going and then after the first day, I always look forward to coming home. At the end of a full show day, I often feel drained, overwhelmed and worn out. So 36 hours is just about the right amount of time for me. I need to go home and recharge.

Which is odd because if you meet me in person, you’ll quickly notice that I talk a lot.

A lot.

Quickly, nonstop, a lot, and animatedly. I am Mediterranean after all.

So most people make the assumption that I am extroverted. I’ve come to understand that while, in certain situations, I am not shy (though in others I am that, too), I am most certainly introverted. And the show is the opposite of that. You end up running into a ton of people you know, mostly from online communities. You each have only a few seconds so you have brief, ephemeral conversations. You might feel genuine, deep emotion for this person but there’s no time or chance to express it. And this happens all day long. There’s a ton of talking in groups and not a lot of content.

Exactly the opposite of what I like.

I’ve come to learn that I exclusively prefer tete-a-tete conversations. Even three people are too many for me. I find that the depth of genuineness is unparalleled when it’s just the two of you. When there’s no one to act for, no one to worry about, no one to look good for. You might not be able to achieve the deep connection even then but the only chance you have at it is when it’s just the two of you. This is strictly my opinion, of course.

So, for me, this show is a bit like torture because there are a lot of people whom I’d love to finally be able to sit down with and have a face to face conversation with but neither of us have the time for it. So it always ends up withering down to snippets of conversations that leave me even more unfulfilled than if I’d had nothing.

I often find that I come home with a sense of emptiness. A sense of missed opportunity. I often wish there were more one-on-one conversations and more time to deeply connect.

That’s the thing for me. I crave the deep connection. Everything else just eats at my soul and leaves me worn out. And the convention is rarely the setting for authentic connection.

This is not to say there isn’t anything good about the show, of course. I do get to hug the people I love and see their pretty faces. I get to express my gratitude in person. I get to see and touch wonderful new product. All of these things are great.

I just wish I could magically create the opportunity to make this rare occasion work more profoundly for me.

Daily Sketching – Week 43

Here are the sketches from last week:

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

I sketched the last one on the plane to CHA.

Daily Sketching is a weekly project for 2012. You can see a detailed post on my steps here.

Canvas Board

This is a little canvas board I made for the Maya Road booth in CHA.

I just used lots of acrylic paint and had fun with it.

details:

David’s BoGM – Week 3

Here are two more spreads from our book:

This is a butterfly he made in Spanish class. Since I love butterflies so much I thought it would be awesome to glue it down as is. This page makes me happy.

And the next spread:

This spread holds presents on both sides. The left side is a “remote” David’s friend Ari made for him and the right page is a drawing he made for him. He and Ari have become good friends this year which makes me happy just to think about it.

There we go. That’s all for this week. More coming soon.

David’s Book of Good Memories is a bi-weekly project for 2012 with my seven-year-old son David. You can read more about it here.

Weekly Diary – January 28 2012

This was another hectic week but I am grateful that everything went smoothly in the end. David had a trip to the San Francisco Symphony with his class which he enjoyed very much. He had no school Friday (and none Monday this coming week either) due to conferences. His report card came and he’s doing wonderfully. Reading at a third/fourth grade level in first grade. Overall everything was great and we’re so proud of him and grateful that he’s settling in ok to his new school. Nathaniel’s school did colors and shapes all week but he’s still not so great on his colors. He is however enjoying every minute of school for which I am very grateful. Jake had a fantastic week with new clients, meetings, social events, etc. I went to class on Monday and a parenting speech on Tuesday. Work and David’s school on Friday and had to do a bunch of prep for work as well as my trip to Orange County. I am at the Craft and Hobby Association Convention as you read this. If you’re coming there, make sure to visit me at the Maya Road booth.

I will say that I am grateful this week is over. And I look forward to a less hectic (but also stressful) week next week.

Anyhow, here are some highlights from last week:

Nathaniel loves this truck.

And gets in on it and pushes himself when there’s no one to do it for him.

I was trying to take a photo of David reading but each time Nathaniel sees me taking a photo of anyone but him, he runs right over and poses. So he interrupted this one, too.

but I squeezed a photo anyway.

Jake got the kids some footballs.

I love this photo because this is such a typical “I didn’t get my way” look for Nathaniel.

he’s still really into the fireman hat.

I got so few photos of David this week that I was sad.

but I did get a few of them together.

I love this one.

Nathaniel surrounds himself with his toys as he plays. He’s so much like me.

though much happier than I was as a kid.

showing me the funny faces and laughing and laughing.

love this boy.

he plays with david’s didj when david’s at school. he likes to invent his own sounds.

we just put batteries in this old train. He doesn’t like it to move but he does love the music it makes.

another one of my big boy.

showing some toys to daddy.

nathaniel loves playing peek-a-boo with my mom and dad over skype.

boy one.

and boy two.

david had to bring a teddy to school on Thursday and when he came home he wanted to sleep with it. At night I caught him reading to his teddy.

and here we go. Another wonderful week gone. So grateful for my family. Here’s to a great week next week!

Weekly Diary is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here.

Journey into Collage – Week 4

And the next page in the “collage” book:

This was all about playing with the gelatos. I know it’s not a lot of collage but I still like it.

Journey into Collage is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here.

Classes I’m Taking in 2012

A few months ago, I posted a list of classes I took in 2011. I thought it would be useful to share classes I’m signed up for, so far, in 2012 as well. So here’s what I have so far:

I Heart Drawing: I actually started this class at the end of 2011. I am a huge fan of Jane Davenport and a class on learning how to draw full figures (as opposed to just portraits) seemed very alluring. A class specifically designed for drawing and not mixed media was also something I really wanted. So even though it was the end of the year (and a really busy time) I just went for it. And I am so so glad I did. Jane is not only an excellent teacher but she’s kind, patient, sweet, and funny. And talented. She’s amazingly talented. Her videos are detailed, step-by-step and extremely well done. If you’re interested in drawing figures at all, I cannot recommend her class enough. I am still working my way through the very comprehensive lessons and enjoying every single minute of it.

One Little Word: I took Ali’s class last year but didn’t really do the work each month. This year, I am taking the class again and doing the work. My word this year (savor) is really important to me and I love how this class ensures that I keep it front and center all year round. In my opinion, a class with Ali never disappoints.

Move More Eat Well: Cathy’s journey and blog posts were the biggest reason I started my own health journey. Even though I did the work, I don’t know if I would be here without her and I will forever be grateful to her for it. At first I wasn’t going to take this class but as I thought about it, I decided I could use some encouragement and active attention as I maintain the weight loss, work on nutrition and strength this year. I’ve taken classes with Cathy before and I know she’s an attentive and dedicated teacher.

Body Restoration: This is Melody and Kathy’s new class. Last year, I took Soul Restoration 1 and 2 and they were two of the best classes I took all year. So when this class was posted, I didn’t even hesitate for a second. Even though I’ve lost a lot of weight and many of my body issues have improved a lot in the last year, I knew this class would be powerful and useful and one I was glad I took. And I was right. We’re three weeks into it and I already love every second of it. As it always works with Melody’s classes, I am discovering thoughts I didn’t know I had. I am learning, growing and doing art. What more can you ask from a class?

The Science of Willpower: This is a local class I am taking so I linked to the book that my teacher published that’s based on the class content. This year, I wanted make an effort to take more classes locally. When I looked at the Winter offerings, this class stood out to me. As someone who works on being organized and has a lot of daily tasks, willpower is a fascinating subject to me and I figured I’d love to learn more about it. So far, I’ve only had two sessions and it’s proven to be incredibly interesting and wildly useful. I really look forward to the rest of the classes. And I love leaving the house and going to a class at a university.

grafting happiness: I’ve taken several of Stephanie’s journaling courses and have found each of them to be profoundly moving. I have loved every minute of her lessons and when she announced (today) her new one, I didn’t even hesitate for a second. Stephanie is an amazing artist and an incredible soul. Her journaling classes are some of the best I’ve ever taken. I can’t wait for this one to start.

The Art of Wild Abandonment: I’ve already talked about how much Christy has affected my art journaling journey. So I tend to take all of her classes. I’m also a huge fan of Junelle as a person and as an artist, so when Christy announced that she’d be hosting Junelle’s first class, there was no way I was missing it. I would have taken this class just to support Junelle and Christy as the wonderful people they are, but I also happen to adore, admire, and am awed by Junelle’s art. So I have no doubt this class will be truly amazing.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction: I’m not actually taking this class until the summer but I am already signed up for it. It’s another local course offered at a nearby Medical Foundation. So I linked to the wikipedia page that explains the idea behind the class. One of my major goals this year is to learn to slow down and meditate and breathe. Here’s the short blurb about the class: These benefits include an increase in the body’s immune system’s ability to ward off disease, a shift from a disposition towards right prefrontal cortex, associated with anxiety, depression, and aversion, to the left prefrontal cortex, associated with happiness, flow, and enjoyment. Other benefits include a different and less invasive way of healing patients with chronic pain related illnesses, a reduction in debilitating stress and the hormones that come along with it,(such as cortisol,) and an improvement in one’s overall happiness and well-being in life. Doesn’t it sound worthwhile? I figure it might help with my TMJ. Or help me finally create a meditation practice. And if neither, well I certainly always welcome even more improvements in my overall happiness.

There we go. This is the list of classes I have for 2012 so far. I know it looks long, but, this year, I’m being a bit more mindful about the classes I am taking. Keeping in consideration cost, time commitment, and alignment with my goals. This allows me to make sure I give each class my full attention.

Added after this post:

Letter Love 101: Art Journaling: If you read here at all, you know that I am trying to get better at lettering so this class was absolutely perfect for me.