Mixed media journaling class w/ Judy Wise

"My Perfect Day", paperbag journal, acrylics, pencil, pen, watercolor

My online class with Judy Wise started yesterday and WOW is all I have to say! Judy had us off and running right away with background work yesterday and then today a prompt to journal what our 'perfect day' would be. I really could have added a few more 'oh yeah' things to my list if I didn't have to sleep, lol. And let's not even go the 'dream day/ fantasy' route - that would be a separate spread altogether :)

I highly recommend this online avenue to anyone who has wanted to take a class with Judy but can't make it to any of the art retreats she teaches at. The group has a private place where they share their work on Facebook and Flickr so it keeps it nice + intimate not to mention the feedback and support - I recommend it for everyone from beginner to intermediate - and beyond. There's also a private link to view daily videos (peeking into her many journals was a visual treat!) her exclusive tips + tricks, tutorials and resources.

Keep checking back for more as I work through this class - journal on!

Summer days & nights

Hello again, finally. I cannot believe it's been two months since I posted anything here(!) Life has been a strange mix of many things for me this summer: lots of travelling (car & air travel), preparing for a move (again), trying to fit in time for art, even if it's only to journal (yet not feeling inspired to do more than take photos of everything) and trying to get thru the heat here in Texas (108 degrees here yesterday ok? pass the sweet tea please)

I've been very introspective as a result of all the above - when I find the time that is - and so opened up my paper bag journal yesterday and completed the spread below. In the second pic I placed a deck of cards that I purchased on my latest trip, "Healing With the Angels" by Doreen Virtue, PH.D. (yes that's her last name) and they were sitting nearby unopened, I had been waiting for the right moment to experience them. I read the little book that came with it and picked out a few cards before I made this piece. These Oracle cards are said to help you communicate with your guardian angels, that they have messages to deliver to us and are ready to guide us if we open our hearts & minds and just listen:





How did you spend your summer? Hopefully it was filled with many, many wonderful things to look back on and also things to look forward to.

Before I forget, I wanted to mention that the 100 Illustrations 2011 Annual, featuring my work and 49 other illustrators, is now available from Barnes & Noble. The pink arrow points to my cover piece:


Thank you to all those on the book design team and of course to the lovely Diana Evans, for the opportunity to be a part of this project.

Will try to post more as things get done & free up my time to do so, enjoy these last few days of August friends - be well.

Inspire Me Thursday - 'petals'

What a fun, carefree prompt this was. I love drawing & painting flowers and can't get enough of the color yellow lately (not sure why, it has never been a fave of mine) but it's definitely good to paint outside your 'comfort' color zone now and than :>

This was done in my handmade paperbag journal which I'm sad to say is almost full! I need to scout out some of those large, thick paper grocery bags next time I head out of town as no one here carries them, at least from what I've seen.


artist crayons, acrylic, white pen, charcoal, decorative paper, letter mini-stamps on Fabriano w/c paper in handmade paperbag journal


closeup for detail....

Thanks for stopping by and I do hope your weekend is a good one!

Back home from ConvenZioNE 2008!!

I really don't know where to begin to describe what a fantastic, soulful and wonderous experience I had in Pleasanton, CA last weekend at ZNE's inaugural event! I have a ton of pictures to share but haven't went through them all yet - I promise to share as soon as I can. OMG I met sooooo many amazing & talented creative souls!!!

I will quickly mention that I finally got to meet the talented and lovely Susan Tuttle and was fortunate enough to spend Friday & Saturday with her - sweet girl you are a beautiful person inside and out!! :>

Will post more when I come back down to earth! Until then, please enjoy a quick spread I did in my paperbag journal which incorporates some of the ephemera I collected from the trip. I added a pocket so I could tuck in ticket stubs, receipts, and the many biz & moo cards I received during the weekend.

Inspire Me Thursday - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Here is my offering for Inspire Me Thursday's theme this week: 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' for Earth Day 2008 honoring precious Mother Earth.

Fresh paint in my paper bag journal that I made after seeing a tutorial on one of my favorite artists blog, Judy Wise. The woman is insanely creative & talented - I would love to make it to one of her classes some day, her journals are so real and unbelievable, honestly :) These journals are fairly easy to make, the only thing I would maybe do differently with my next one is not crumple the bags and simply cut them to size /stitch together. Either that or alternate wrinkled pages with smooth ones for more options.

As some of you may know I'm relocating to the Southwest in a few weeks, so not much else has been on my mind - packing & purging are on my daily to-do list. I think the folks at Goodwill are starting to expect to see me just about every day lately! This entry reflects how I've been feeling lately. The butterfly you see (taken from my growing stash of magazine clippings for collage work) is only one of many that are fluttering around in my stomach these days as I prepare our family for the.big.move.

I took a trip to the Southwest recently to check out some new digs - here are some of my fave photos. I loaded them up in this cool little [paperless] photo album and added some music , a spin on the Rolling Stones' 1971 song, 'Wild Horses', as I was feeling quite moody & nostalgic putting this together. The story behind the original song can be found here.

Enjoy...

Make a slideshow - it's easy!