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YAY... I am soooo excited to share with you that I've been invited to guest teach on the Free Online Creative Weekend and ongoing Retreat.
A mixed media art online retreat organised by Galia Alena. I am a huge fan of everything Galia does and organises and I know you are going to love being part of this Free Weekend.
So delighted to be among such wonderful teachers. Really excited to learn from them.
On Wednesday my doc told me I had Shingles. I know right - I know that means my body is telling me what my mind already knows. I'm not quite sure what to say about that other than I am feeling a little annoyed by it. I do realise it probably goes deeper than a surface burn and skin irritation and I am exploring what it all means.
The good news is I am responding quickly to the medication and I'm already feeling the relief from the burning and discomfort. For that I am so grateful. For now, I'm going gently and listening to my body. The good news is that we are moving into winter and my work days will be less intense which means more time for studio play and to be really present in the class I'm taking.
Excited for the next few months.
As most of you know, I have been back in learning mode this year and I have to say I'm finding it quite emotional. I am not going to lie, at times I have even found myself in pain, emotionally and physically. This has surprised me. I'm working in Gillian's class and the class is specifically about building a Body of Works that is uniquely our own. It has been brilliant and rich. There is a huge amount of introspection work and it’s been bringing up a lot of things for me. Some of the art fundamentals have been hard for me to grasp and that’s really upset me. Understanding it’s my lack of knowlegdge and skill due to starting art late in my life that makes this challenging. My creative process has been limiting but I know I’m learning so much, even though I’m uncomfortable.
In terms of a body of works, I have a few ideas, but I am not 100% sure the direction I will be going yet and I am very much exploring, experimenting and expanding.
The work I'm currently doing has felt deeply personal and I'm still processing a lot of it. But something that keeps coming up, are my eyes and playing with them creatively is something I'm finding very interesting and I'm loving the outcome. The collage, textures and layers are also things I am exploring, loving and I hope to share more about it with you soon.
Have a brilliant weekend.
I'm loving taking a moment to see the beautiful in the intricate. I am humbled by the detail. I have been leaving my macro lens around for me to play with when I am lucky enough to find something to shoot.
I love the detail when you take a moment to seek. I am sad to see how much I miss with my naked eye. I wish I could always zoom in close.
I wanted to share this little video with you.
I was drawing a lot at the beginning of the year, almost everyday and I was recording some of them. I have started editing some and it’s been lovely having them in the background of my mind to draw on whenever I want to.
I put this video together for Tamara (LifeBook) earlier this year for my interview with Gracie and I wanted to share it here with you too. See the interview link below.
I hope to share more of these little video’s with you through the year.
Much love, always Jeanne-Marie
Oh Hello old creative play....
It’s been ages since I’ve had a desire to play with clay. After I got home from America and after my {Held}Captive class, I haven’t really gone there. I still have a lot of unfinished ClayWorks on my studio desk. So what happened... I’m not sure exactly. I think it’s the same thing that happened with art and lack of mojo - I wanted to do something new and more and I didn’t know how to move forward. I’m having a few ideas but regardless of the outcome I’m back to playing and experimenting...
I love making armatures as much as I love playing with clay. I love how quirky and a little bizarre they turn out. I can’t wait to play here. I have missed this.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautifulMoms in my life.
You know how much MotherLove means to me so I am offering a 30% discount on my Art Sling Bags for 2 days... Because you are worth it. ❤️❤️❤️ They are perfect for your artist dates, journals and art books. Coupon Code is BEAUTIFULMOM 😘
Wowser what a month so far...
I have been filming for two different creative platforms... eeck. My headspace was deeply challenged, my Mac completely full and my canvas wasn't playing nice. Plus I was in a full on battle in myself and my creativity, which usually happens when you are on a deadline, right. Only when I stopped fighting with myself could I surrender to the process.
The whole month has felt like that. It's been a real push and pull in letting go of the control, surrendering and feeling the relief.
Always tough lessons.
Today I submitted my second assignment for Gillian's workshop. The chapter was brilliant and challenging and I'm realising so much about my creative process.
graphite blocks with white conte - drawings in mini journal
Sorry I have been quiet on the social medias but it's been a head down kind of month. Besides teaching and filming and working during the day, I had to do written homework and artwork on my assignment. This chapter has been about exploration and experimentation and I'm in deep. We are working in sketchbooks and I am creatively playing and exploring and I'm loving it. I could do with another month in this section. It's been brilliant. I'm so grateful to be in this season of learning. It has been pretty exciting.
April was visually beautiful and the moments sweet....
Thank you sweet April.
I am still finding and capturing moments of beautiful wherever and whenever I can. When you seek, you always find. To me it's the beautiful gift that comes in the art of observation.
When the weeks are hard and they have been hard this year. I am needing these touchstones more and more to help me hang onto the moments of beautiful. They help me to stay connected, grounded and completely humble. I am grateful in the small moments when I forget this small tangible fact...
“Life is Beautiful...”
EveryDay, EveryMoment, EveryBeautiful.
My LifeBook lesson is finished.
I'm shifting into my editing and uploading mode and I'm trusting my filming is good. I am so excited to share my lesson with you and I hope you will love this as much as I did.
Thank you for the love, encouragement and support with my journey through this piece.
My lesson is about TheStudyofSelf - a self portrait lesson and how speaking words of life and love over our creative journey really matter.
I have been reading such great books this year and this one is just beautiful and deeply profound in it's simplicity. The Japanese Secret to a long and happy life. I feel this is so in line with me finding art late in my life. I'm so grateful for this gift and I want to read it again, immediately.
Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning. When we spend our days feeling connected to what is meaningful to us, we live more fully, when we lose the connection, we feel despair. Modern life estranges us more and more from our true nature, making it very easy for us to lead lives lacking in meaning. Powerful forces and incentives distract us on a daily basis, don't let them take over your life.
10 Rules of Ikigai:-
Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you.
I had been dragging my feet with my LifeBook lesson because I felt overwhelmed about my commitments. I am not sure how it happened exactly but I ended up with two lessons due on the same date for two different platforms. I have been fearful that I could actually come up with teaching ideas for either lessons and it completely sent me in a state of procrastination.
I know that sounds strange but I've been in a weird and different space this year. But like with all things that feel overwhelming, all that was required was to actually just start.
TheStudyofSelf - 16"x16" Stretched Canvas - Black gesso and Titanium Buff and brown Stabilo pencil.
Day one, I put my canvas down. Day two, I drew up and day three, I did my undertones and that was enough to give me the momentum I needed to start. I worked steadily everyday after work and I managed to film my lesson and I have to say, I loved the journey. I loved that I had a theme before I started and I loved the introspection work that went along with this piece. Working mindfully helped me think deeply and helped me find my way.
To me there is still a sacred quietness that comes out of the act of showing up everyday in spite of where my heart is at. Sometimes I forget that. When I have a week like this, I'm reminded that there is so much growth that happens in this place of daily work. I am encouraged.
“Small actions lead us to the larger movements in our creative lives...”
I moved my one Zen paved circle to another part of my garden, where grass just won't grow. Moving the pavers means there is less dirt for me to contend with. And for that I'm so grateful. This week we had 1-2 glorious days of on and off rain and each drop is a celebration, literally.
Considering we haven't had rain, my garden is gloriously green. The 100 year old trees that surround our property are evergreen and this definitely helps my survival and wellbeing.
I noticed this week that my succulents are actually growing and spreading between my pavers and I'm thrilled. Some of my lavender has bounced back from the heat and growing.
My star jasmine hedge in the making is doing well and my potted jasmine and frangipani are doing beautifully. In terms of occasional waterings during the hot no rain weeks, I am using grey water that we are catching from showers.
Cement will be thrown where the old zen circle used to be and the wooden wattle stick walls will go up and big green potted plants will move in. We will place wooden chairs and a moveable fire pit and this will be a bbq area. Then I will have just one zone left of dirt. That will be my final zone and I'm still working on a plan for that area. I have some ideas.
#wip
I am hoping the winter rains (when they eventually come) will settle everything down. I'm already seeing a shift with the small bit of rain we have had and I'm encouraged. What I am hoping is that by next Spring, we will be able to use this space outside instead of it being a derelict abandoned zone of nothingness. We can walk around and sit on the outside benches and enjoy the autumn days outside before the cold fully arrives.
That's already an improvement. I am encouraged.
This unfinished piece had been haunting me for months. It's a big canvas - 24"x24" and it had completely overwhelmed me. They were beckoning me for ages to finish them.
Part of why I couldn't move forward with this piece was because I wasn't sure what I was going to do to finish them. I decided to use an element of my daily life at the moment.
24"x24" - I'm busy editing this and it will be up in my class later this week.
With our lack of water and the dryness I see and feel all around me, I've become almost desperate in my need to see green all around me. So I keep buying green indoor plants with big green leaves so wherever I look I can see this beautiful color.
My soul feels parched and we are all feeling it as we patiently wait for our rain to arrive.
The nights are cold but the days are still so hot and dry.
I am afraid, we are afraid.
I am loving this so much.
Who knew something so delightfully simple would make me so happy. I continue to look around me for things to paint. I have two more indian stamps to paint and the matching saucer to my sweet little teacup (that I truly had no idea I could paint) and one or two other little things.
And then... who knows what I'll find.
For now my studio feels like a place of experimenting and testing little things. It feels like I have little pockets of this going on in one corner and that going on in another. I am still feeling a little all over the place and I'm trying to pull it altogether but mostly I'm just enjoying myself.
Gilly is away teaching in the USA so we are spending this time catching up on things we didn't finish and doing some exercises until she returns and then we dive back into class and schedule. For now I'm just showing up and getting used to set hours #inmystudio working on things.
And loving it.
Can I just tell you how much I loved this mini exercise.
I had no idea painting paint tubes would make me so ridiculously happy. This project isn't for anyone else, or for any particular reason. It's just something I have been wanting to do for myself for some time now. I think I silently needed to know if I could paint anything other than a face.
6"x6" Stretched Canvases - Primary colors in different brands
There is something about painting the mundane that hugely appeals to me for some or other reason. Maybe it's in line with my photographic project about finding a beautiful moment in each day and capturing it. Even the beauty of weathered tubes of paint.
So for now I'm playing here slowly and just enjoying the process.
It's been such a big week and I've been utterly overwhelmed.
News about our Orvieto class went live this week and within 3 days it had filled up. I have to say both Ivy Newport and myself were so utterly blown away and humbled in every way.
Thank you for the beautiful friends, new and old who signed up. No words can express what this means. Now we wait for that sacred special time. So much goodness to look forward to.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
If you were hoping to join us, we are looking to expand the spaces so please use our wait list in case more spaces become available.
I found this wooden stamp the other day and I'm particularly fond of it.
Visually, I find it beautiful but I know there is much history and messages to this hand in various faiths. I kind of love that. I remember seeing it in my brother-in-law's home once, he is Israeli and I was intrigued because I didn't realise it was an Israeli symbol, amongst others.
4.5" x 4.5" Stretched Canvas, The Study of Things #1
This is what I've found out...
I loved painting this wooden block. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it. I started slowly and procrastinated a bit. I worked in stages until it appeared and I was a little surprised when it turned out how I hoped. I am delighted.
xoxoxox
I've been waiting for this day to arrive so I could share this exciting news with you.
Next year September, I'll be returning to my Beautiful Orvieto but this time I will be returning to teach alongside my special friend and wonderful teacher, Ivette Newport.
I'm beyond honoured and thrilled to be working together with Ivette again.
Come weave a...
with us in September 2019
"Soul Ties" - to a hilltop village far far away 12"X16"x1.5" Stretched Canvas
This will be the 4th time returning to Orvieto and every time I go, it's a kind of private pilgrimage and I do highly recommend you taking this incredible journey for yourself. It has deeply and profoundly changed my life, my art and my soul in every way. It has captivated my every being and I don't think I'll never stop dreaming of creating in the upper room at the Monastery and taking in the incredible ancient world of Orvieto.
We are expecting the class to fill up quickly so be sure to get on the list because there will be limited spaces. We are both so excited and I couldn't think of a wonderful teacher to work alongside. Thank you Ivette and Michelle, Adventures in Italy for this incredible opportunity.