Creativity: Week 15 2024 - Showing Up

Week 15: Journey - I am on my own journey. I don't need to compare myself to others. 

(SoulSistersToo - Living)
Intention Setting: When you go in a new direction your path is unknown, there will be new experiences and things to learn. Keep going on this journey, look forward and over come any new obstacles.

Showing Up...

I am on a journey of showing up. I have a bundle of artworks that have not been shared and so I am holding an exhibition 31 May - 6 June 2024.

While on this journey, I remind myself that my exhibition does not have to look like other people's exhibitions. I am curating it, organising every aspect of it and I will be hosting during the opening hours.

I can choose what I artwork I want to showcase.

I can choose my exhibition theme and name.

I can choose to follow the conventions of exhibitions or not. 

I can choose to do as little or as much as I want. 

I will choose to follow the rules laid out by the exhibition space  manager so I can exhibit with them again eg. using white tack to add labels to the walls.

In the process of organising my first solo exhibition I am on a new journey; learning lots and overcoming all kinds of obstacles. And I am showing up.

Creativity: Week 10 2024 - Discovering Through Play

Week 10: Discovery - Today I will take the time to discover something new. (SoulSistersToo - Creative)

Intention Setting: Spirit please assist me to be open to discovering something new.

Discovering Through Play...

This week I've been discovering or rediscovering a range of different things; new music, re-tasting food and new creative explorations.

New Music: I listened to the Oscar nominated songs I have not heard before and I went down a rabbit hole listening to a music style called Bardcore. Bardcore is revamped popular songs using medieval style  music. I listened to quite a few songs by an artist known as the Canadian Hildegard von Blingin' eg. Jolene, Painted Black, Wicked Game, Holding out for a Hero and Bad Romance.

Re-tasting Food: I am in the process of feeding my gut biome a larger range of foods. This week I re-tasted sardines and artichoke hearts after years of not eating them.

Creative Explorations: I also took some time for intuitive creative play in my sketch book, while listening to bardcore music. Drawing lines and shapes with a gel pen*. Trying washes of light coloured acrylic paint. And playing with a red fineliner^ pen and unactivated Scribble Sticks*^, a water-soluble pigment, like a woodless pencil or crayon.

I hope that you too can discover something new this week or something you haven't done for a long time. 

* Uni-ball Signo Line Gel Pen 0.7 black

^ Staedtler triplus fineliner brilliant colours

*^ Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks, water-soluble pigments by rangerink 

Intention Setting for 2021

I have chosen several ways to set my intentions for this year.

Word of the Year: Nurture

My wish for 2021: Nurturing and Creativity. I choose to nurture myself by living a creative life in 2021.

Dream list for 2021: Some of my dreams this year are centred around our new part-time home (apartment) in the NSW South Coast town, Gerringong. I am deep in the creativity flow of decor; choosing furniture, crockery, curtains, pillows, rugs and right down to the type of light bulbs we will use in the lamps. Some items chosen will be new and others will be secondhand. 

Oracle cards: I randomly chose cards from the Wisdom Oracle deck, one card for the year and a card for each month. The over arching card for 2021 is 'Treasure Island'.

Affirmation cards: Several years ago I wrote a list of affirmations using the wisdom I had learnt up to that moment in my life. Like the oracle cards I randomly selected one card for the year and each month. The over arching card for 2021 is: I am happier and stronger when I follow my dreams.

I would love to hear what is your word of the year, wish, oracle card or affirmation is for 2021? 

How are you growing?

At the begging of each year I spend some time dream visioning and creating a time line to achieve my goals. My main focus for 2020 was to;

• form habits to maintain a healthier lifestyle,
• support, connect and inspire creatives to live their dream life and
• create art to share, exhibit and sell.

When COVID arrived I realised that I would need support from a creative coach whose energy would help keep me focused and feeling positive. 

This week I have been reflecting on how have I grown during 2020.

• This year is the first time I’ve truly said yes to support from a coach, accountability sisters and from other wise women.
• I am learning how to not listen to my inner critic and create new stories to listen to. 
• I am embracing my perfectly imperfect life because forming new habits is hard. 
• I am listening more to the knowledge and wisdom that is already inside me. 
• I am learning to be vulnerable and put my artwork into exhibitions and competitions. 
• I have learnt to consistently do activities that I know will raise my energy levels when I feel low.
• I now recognise which days I need to go gently on myself and I give myself permission to take this time to rest and recover, especially at the beginning of my menstruation cycle. 
• I have grown spiritually. Finding peace within the energy of nature and meditation.
• I also have learnt to pause between activities and celebrate all of my small wins. 

How have you grown this year?

Dream Nourishing: Taking a time out of your regular life

Taking a time out of your regular life can be as small as taking an afternoon off work or something longer like a two week holiday. 

It is important to schedule these breaks into your calendar. The intention behind this is to ensure that you have opportunities to relax, recharge, do something you enjoy and to get away from the normalcy of your daily life.

I like to call this time, Dream Nourishing. It is time to do things that are on your dream/bucket list and time to nourish your body, mind and soul.

The Inspiration of a New Calendar

The festive season is over, I've opened a new calendar and January 2020 is here. 

Questions and thoughts begin to flow around the topic of goals, the word of the year, what my calling is and most importantly what marks will I make on that blank page.

The first week or two of January have been about planning.

• Participating in the Woman Unleashed (Amber Kuileimaijai Bonnici) online retreat Solstice and the Schulman Art (Miriam Schulman) workshop about The Art of Art Journaling. 
• Brainstorming goals of 2020.
• Refining the goals list into actionable, bite sized goals.
• Selection of my word of the year. MOTIVATED
• Reading and journaling about My Dream Life with the kikki.K (Kristina Karlsson) book Your Dream Life Starts Here. 

Now I'm feeling more focused and ready to paint with watercolour again. But as always after a break in creating with a specific medium (I'd been using acrylic paint in my art journal not watercolours) the fear of the blank page hits me.