only words will do....

The weekend has been physically tiring and I've decided to sit in the garden to enjoy the evening breeze and listen to the call of the birds before sundown. With my camera and moleskine weekly notebook in hand, I headed straight to our little sanctuary....

It felt really good to just write my thoughts in my moleskine everytime....particularly today, where i felt physically tired and a little low in my "creative quotient". One of the reasons why  I keep both a visual journal and another one which allows me to only write.

The scent from the frangipani flowers around me  (an example above), the gentle breeze and the call of the birds, proved to be just about what I needed to revitalize. And of course these beautiful works of nature......

ginger flower

 jasmine species

Stay Happy!

steph

Courage

"I am the being, who in spite of my miry surroundings, have remained untouched and stood up to be the exemplar of beauty and purity."  Anonymous

Happy Weekend!!

A Good Heart....

"The true essence of humankind is kindness. There are other qualities which come from education or knowledge, but it is essential, if one wishes to be a genuine human being and impart satisfying meaning to one's existence, to have a good heart"

The 14th Dalai Lama

Acrylic on cold press paper with collage 

and color blending.

This painting is one of my husband's favourite and I chose the quote on kindness for this post because I am so thankful for a wonderful husband whose heart is filled with kindness for others and have given much joy and hope in their lives and in return we are blessed by their gratefulness.   

Happy Anniversary!!

Be Still....

and LISTEN to our inner voice.....
be still and LISTEN to others around you...
be still and discover yourself....

Acrylic on cold press paper, textured with modge podge 

and collaged with scraps from the table.

I love this verse from the bible "..... in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength". We lead busy lives which may rob us from listening to ourselves, spending quiet moments to reflect and recharge...

Have you had your quiet moment today?

steph

The Joyful Child

Years ago, a good friend of mine recommended me a book aptly entitled "The Joyful Child". Although it says that it's a source book of activities and ideas for releasing children's natural joy, this book transformed my life. It gave me a new perspective in life and living. This is my "Joyful Child"...

Acylic on cold press paper, collaged and lots of blending

And here are some quotes from the book by Peggy Jenkins.

" Joy is you at the deepest level, and your joy is one with the infinite timeless joy of the unbound universe".  

Robert Ellwood

"The closer you come to your core, the greater is your joy".

Torkom Saraydarian

"The only obstacle to releasing joy is the unwillingness to express love for someone or something". 

Arnold Patent

"Joy is a state of oneness with the universe, it is an expression of love and a healing energy".

Peggy Jenkins

I hope you'll claim your healing energy, it is there awaiting our recognition and conscious awareness. Choose joy and create your "Joyful Child".....

steph

Art Heals

I'm sure many of us have experienced making art as a therapeutic process... have you ever felt "liberated" after a session of playing and experimenting with paints or the various mediums, where one is engaging her whole being, creating and as she creates, she gathers positive energy to keep going... The art piece below was created on sketch paper with acrylic paints coupled with collage papers and various textures incorporated, stitched and then pasted onto a book board. The words mounted on the bookplate reads:

 " I will go with thee and be thy guide".

This is now the front cover of my art journal.

  

Have you experienced healing through art lately? 

Take flight and create!!

Have a good week everyone!!

steph

09-09-09 here we go!!!

Well here it is, my art blog!! I thought I'll start my first post by sharing a book I bought 2 years ago, "The 1000 Journals Project" by "Someguy" and when i picked it up again recently i was transported back in time that perhaps two years ago, i had already started my journey into creating art. This fabulous journal is a journey into the lives of many individuals through their illustrated pages. "The journals had travelled far and wide, brought to remote mountain tops, abandoned at airports, and even stolen at gunpoint. It started as an experiment and and now have both body and mind" says Kevin Kelly. Truly an enriching experience poring through the pages of this book. And when I looked at it today, I thought about my own journey into mixed media art and how I am evolving.

I've found art journaling to be a wonderful avenue to express myself. Through experimenting with different mediums, paper , paints, crayons, found objects, etc. etc background pages are created from  building layers after layers of paints, collage materials and textures, up till the  final process of finding a spot to write. More on this in upcoming posts as I've found some lovely nooks where I journal.

This blog is also dedicated to sharing my artful journey as I've found that in the world of blogging about art, there are wonderful and creative artists who are both kind and generous in nurturing the creative spirit.

And so, in closing.... here's another page.....

Believe

Be...

Live Artfully

steph