#AtoZChallenge, N is for Negative Space

I learned to draw (well, as some would say, I'm still learning . . . ) by looking at “negative space,” the space around an object, rather than concentrating on the object itself. It's one of the methods Betty Edwards teaches in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and it really works.

Having experimented with the technique many times, I’ve grown to love negative space, and frequently find myself on the look-out for new ways to express it. For instance, studying the gaps between the leaves on a plant, or taking note of the patterns created by shadows falling into a room--negative space can sometimes be the most interesting part of a painting.

In daily life, however, negative space can sound frightening. We work so hard to cultivate the light, to stay upbeat and positive that negativity is an emotional state to shy away from. But without the dark spaces in our lives, how can we ever know what, and where, the light is?

Your art journal (or any kind of journal for that matter) can be a useful and cathartic place to take your negative feelings. Everybody needs to vent, to rant, to whine, to cry over what hurts. Some ways I like to express my negativity in my journal are to:

• Paint or collage my feelings.
• List my grievances. 
• Let my Inner Critic have a field day.
• Sit in the dark with my journal.

Once it's all on paper, I'm free to:

• Write a gratitude list.
• Reply to my Inner Critic’s barbs with positive affirmations.
• Light a candle.
• Write a poem.
• Let it go.

And if I really want it out of my life, I tear out the page and burn it.

Something that has truly surprised me about working with my feelings this way is how powerful my "negative" artwork has been for others. Some of the pieces I've had the most positive feedback on have been created when I was at my lowest ebb. Just goes to show that a) the work we do isn't always for ourselves, and b) sadness can truly be transformed into joy with just a little dose of creativity. See you on Monday!  

Tip of the Day: The next time you're feeling down, don't turn away from negative space. Even the most trivial of incidents or slights can take on serious proportions if it's not addressed and/or examined for possible solutions. Don’t be afraid. Go into the shadows. Make your journal your friend--the one who listens and understands, no matter what you say.

#AtoZChallenge, M is for Morning Tea (and Other Small Pleasures)

It's Friday and here I still am: collaging, journaling, blogging my way through the alphabet, landing on M and thanking the heavens for my morning cup of tea. 

Ah, tea. Solves everything, in my opinion! It also makes a good subject for drawing and art journaling. For today's journal page I drew (during my morning tea break!) my office tea cup, adding, amongst other things, the tag from one of my favorite tea bag flavors: Jasmine Green, and a scrap of origami paper.

For me, my morning tea is a much-needed daily ritual and respite. I don’t like to hurry any aspect of it. It's also loaded with memories: tea shops in England and New Zealand as a child;  visiting an organic tea plantation in Taiwan last year; my parents receiving annual shipments of Murfee’s tea from Canada when we lived in California. I remember when we went together to Vancouver to place that first order. The building was from another century, dark and paneled in Tudor black oak, with all the bins of tea arranged in orderly rows that made me feel I was on board an old clipper ship. I really can't drink tea without thinking about it at least once!

Tea, writing, drawing, and "M is for memories" just all seem to go together. Some journal questions you might like to ask are:

• Did you ever play "tea party" as a child? You know, with a little tea-set and mud-pies?
• What morning rituals do you now follow every day? (Even making your bed can take on quiet significance).
• What's your favorite way to take a break from daily stress, e.g., daily blogging?
• If you are a tea-drinker, what are your favorite brands and flavors? (Fortnum and Mason’s Royal Blend for me!) 
• If you're not into tea, what makes a good morning for you?

Tip of the Day: Art journaling can be about the simplest things. Tomorrow morning, make yourself a cup of tea. Sit down with your journal. Watch the steam rise. Take a sip. Start writing.

#AtoZChallenge, L is for Let's Go!

One of my most beloved toys as a child was actually a greeting card. Sent to me when I was five years old and cooped up in bed with the chicken pox, it arrived in the form of a multi-page booklet telling the story of a paper doll named Ginger. Ginger and her wardrobe had perforated edges that allowed me to easily extract the whole kit and kaboodle as quickly as possible while I sat up in bed supported by a mountain of pillows.

The cover of the card was pink and decorated with iconic landmarks from various countries: the Eiffel Tower for France, a windmill for Holland, the leaning tower of Pisa for Italy. Ginger was a twenty-something flight attendant, or as we said back then, a stewardess. She had beautiful long red hair, a perky figure, and a sense of style straight out of Mad Men. I remember being particularly entranced with her white fencing outfit complete with netted helmet and mask. There were also evening gowns, a trench coat, and best of all, her suitcase. Brown cardboard "leather," it was covered in travel stickers from all around the world, stickers that matched many of the icons on the front of the card. As far as I was concerned, Ginger was the It Girl, putting all my other dolls and toys far back into a lowly second- and third-place.

Looking back, it's amazing how much pleasure I received from a flimsy little card, but from that moment on I was determined to travel. To me, Ginger signified much more than a toy; she was the real, adult world I couldn't wait to be a part of. As I waltzed her across my bedspread and blankets, I imagined myself traveling just like she did, wearing, of course, her white fencing outfit I was certain was de rigeur for foreign travel. Ginger became my childhood role model, and every time I pack my bag or board an airplane, I still think of her.

Today's journal page celebrates the spirit of adventure. Where do you want to go for your next holiday? What steps do you need to take to get there? Dream big. En garde!

Tip of the Day: Write it down, make it happen. Your art journal makes an excellent vision board or treasure map for creating your next vacation. Find images in travel magazines or travel agency brochures (that's where I found the printed stamps to cut out for today's page). Paste everything in place along with some positive affirmations, a list of wardrobe items to take and sights to see, and off you go. Send a postcard!

#AtoZChallenge, K is for Kid-Lit

Today's post celebrates Kid-Lit, all the wonderful children's books in the world and what a fantastic subject they make for art journaling. Besides the hundreds of fairy tales I read as a child: The Blue Fairy Tale Book, The Red Fairy Tale Book and on and on through the entire rainbow, some of my favorite titles were:

• Lona
• The Diamond in the Window
• The Door in the Wall
• Little Bear
• Little Women

Authors:

• Zilpha Keatley Snyder
• Edgar Eager
• Lloyd Alexander
• Laura Ingalls Wilder

Characters:

• Trixie Belden
• Donna Parker
• Madeline
• Babar

Of course there are hundreds more, far too many to list here, but I'm convinced that my early reading and love of picture books is what led me to become a writer, and what then later encouraged my deep interest in art. How about you? What were some of your favorites, and how did they help you become who you are today? Drop a line!

Tip of the Day: For today's journal page I started with a doodle of a frog, as in The Princess and the Frog. I'm a little rushed at the moment so I had to leave out the princess, as well as the kissing part, but it made me think how neat it would be to create an art journal based solely on fairy tales, myths, legends, or perhaps a children's story of your own. Who knows, it might even turn into a publishable picture book!

#AtoZChallenge, Just Show Up!

So much of creativity is really all about just showing up. You don't have to know what you're going to do once you get there, but you do need to get there: to your desk, your studio, your kitchen table. No big deal.

But just in case you do think it's such a big deal you'd rather clean your base-boards and check all your clothes for loose buttons rather than face your journal, here are my favorite tips for showing up with a free and easy attitude:

• Assemble what you need ahead of time. Give yourself as long as you need to find and collect collage and other papers, paints, pencils, stickers, etc. Set up a small but usable work-space that makes you want to go there to play.
• Having everything in place, including hand-wipes and other clean-up materials will help keep you in place without constantly having to get up and find yet another missing piece.
• Start a weekly or daily habit of going through magazines in search of images and word-prompts. Collating images when you don't have the energy or will to write or draw in your journal is a strong part of the process and will help ease you into a creative frame of mind.
• If the idea of an actual real-life journal is too intimidating at first, take time to play with the basics: some newsprint or old printed-out pages (back or front) from your printer you no longer need, and crayons or felt-tip markers. Just scribble, doodle, have fun and toss if you don't want to keep any of it.
• Another alternative to a journal is to start out with one of the thousands of adult coloring books currently available. Color in the designs then add your own words or other embellishments later on.
• Buy a "how-to" book on collage, art journaling, or other technique and follow along with the lessons. Choose one day a week to make your "class time" and don't be late!
• Sit down at your workspace and set a timer. It's amazing what you can achieve in 15-20 minutes. (I bet you stay long after the bell has rung!)
• Join or start an art journal group. There's nothing more motivating, or fun, than group creativity at a set time and a set place.

Tip of the Day: If you find that even after trying these methods you're still resisting showing up to work in your art journal, you might want to find out what's really stopping you. Dialogue with yourself, or perhaps with your journal. Ask what's going on. I know that when I first started out with art I could find dozens of other things to do other than finally sitting down to work. Looking back into my past, way back, I realized it all stemmed from kindergarten (seriously!) and being afraid of getting paint on my dress. I was terrified of that dripping paintbrush. Now I wear jeans and fling that paint like there's no tomorrow! (And if there is, I'll see you there with the letter K!)

#AtoZChallenge, I is for Inspiration

They say you can't wait around for inspiration to strike before you start writing or creating, but one of my big problems is trying to get away from inspiration. Maybe it's living in Albuquerque, or I read too much, or have too many creative friends, but sometimes it's all I can do to not have any new ideas.

A while back I wrote a post listing my main literary influences and inspirations. The list still holds true today and I enjoyed going over it before writing today. Making a list of your own in your art journal could include:

• Spiritual mentors.
• Authors.
• Artists.
• Teachers.
• Blogs you enjoy reading.
• Heroic historical figures.
• Colors.
• Places.
• Friends and family.

Besides listing your primary movers-and-shakers, you might like to explore questions about how you work with inspiration, for instance, when you're feeling down and defeated, how do you bring yourself back up? What kinds of activities or happenings actually un-inspire you? How can you detach yourself from their toxicity?

Tip of the Day: I'm a big fan of altars, especially the small, unassuming sort you make at home without really trying, such as a windowsill where you keep, say, a collection of stones and shells from a favorite beach, or a shelf filled with childhood memorabilia. Even the way you set up your art and journaling supplies can be considered a kind of altar to your creativity. 

In that spirit, why not set aside a few art journal pages to create a visual altar, a place where you can visit whenever the well seems a bit dry. Design and color it in a way that makes you want to return again and again for further inspiration!

#AtoZChallenge, H is for Hot (and Cold)

Happy Saturday! I've been at the zoo all day with Urban Sketchers, hence this very late post. When we first got there, it was freezing, but now, 5.30 PM, it's hotter than a New Mexico chili pepper, good weather for today's topic: Hot and Cold.

What I'm talking about here are hot and cold colors, or in other words, the backgrounds to your journal designs. When I sit down to create a collage or mixed media piece, I often don't know what will be in it, or what colors I'll choose. Sometimes I just let my hand wander over my supplies until I find something that feels right. 

For today's piece, I seemed to have needed hot, bright red, orange and yellow. Immediately the idea of "heat in the kitchen" came to mind, meaning, I think, "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen." I may have sub-consciously been thinking about the A-Z Challenge, i.e., if you can't handle blogging every day, out you go, LOL. 

But on a more serious level, I started to think about my grandmother's infamous goulash, so hot it quite literally brought tears to the eyes. And she made it all the time! In retrospect, I know I would probably enjoy it much better today than I did as a child, but back then, it was pure torture to eat. All the same, I loved watching her prepare the dish: getting out the big Dutch oven; tying up the spices and peppercorns in cheesecloth bags; the deep red of the gravy once it had simmered all day. I remember having a special fondness for the bay leaves, not quite believing that you could actually use real leaves to cook with.

Today's art page is rather simple, but the kitchen and cooking theme is one I could go on about forever. If the weather today had been a little warmer, I might have gone for a "cold" page of icy blue, leading me back to those long-ago summers when my best friend and I would ride our bikes to the closest 7-11 for electric-blue Slurpees. Or the time I experimented with blue food coloring for the frosting on a batch of cupcakes, and kind of overdid the color.

There is so much you can do in an art journal based on food, so much that I sometimes think it's one of my favorite themes! For instance:

• Beloved (and secret) family recipes.
• Special occasion and holiday meals.
• "Dream" meals and baked good you'd love to try making.
• Recalling when you learned (or didn't learn!) to cook or bake.
• Ethnic foods from various cultures.
• Our relationships to food; the good, the bad, the hopelessly tempting.
• Trying a new and healthier lifestyle: making better choices and celebrating the changes.
• Must-have ingredients, and why you rely upon them.
• 
  

The combination of food, art, and writing has always been special to me, starting with a workshop I took on the poetry of food, led by the poet and food diva extraordinaire, Denise Brennan Watson. Her book, The Undertow of Hunger showed me how eloquent, necessary, and astonishing food can be, from a simple clove of garlic to the satisfying feel of a warm eggplant held in one's hand. Which reminds me--I have to go make dinner! See you on Monday.

Tip of the Day: Art journals aren't always for ourselves. An illustrated journal based solely on recipes and kitchen memories makes a beautiful gift, especially for a younger friend, or  member of the family just starting out and learning there's more to life than the microwave. Bon appetit!