1 month to go...

After my auction and packaging and shipping, I headed straight back into working on my online classroom.  Which means I'm back #inmystudio and straight back into filming and editing.

Can I just tell you how much I love being #inmystudio and how much I love filming.

That being said, I am a tad bit overwhelmed as I have 1 month to go until my new little class goes live... and I want it to be a precious and special place.

Eeeck - I am working full steam ahead and I'm also excited.  This will be my 4th little class that I've put together and I'm discovering that I'm a little in love with doing them.  To me they feel like their own blank canvas and I love the intuitiveness of them.

I already have some class ideas for next year, I'll share more soon.

In the meantime, there is still time to sign up for {Held}Captive.

Hope to see you there... can't wait!!!

Love 

Flashback Friday...

When I was in this remarkable city with my Love and my little Lomography camera.

I knew before I got to Venice that I would film my time there monochromatically... it feels like it's the only way to film Venice.  It's moody and old and Lomography captures the ancient in the best way.

I'm so in love with Lomography, how you don't have too much say in the outcome... you get just one shot to make your capture.  I might be completely smitten with the monochromatic film the most.  I can't wait to play more.

Sacred keepsakes of a precious time this year.

She's on her way...

I can't believe this BIG girl is on her way to San Fransisco.

This is not only the biggest piece I've ever done but she's the biggest piece I've sold or had to package up and ship.  I was nervous, understandably.  As luck would have it, in the middle of my packaging days, I stumbled across a new ArtShop and she said they do logistics.  When I asked them to clarify what that meant, they told me they do packaging of paintings.  I decided to let them professionally package her up.

Needle and Thread - 1.5m High and 1m Wide

When I collected her, her box was truly remarkable.  The edges and sides had all been steel reinforced and I am so hopeful that she will be safe in transit.  I just can't believe how life works out.  I love seeing synchronicity at play like that.  I'm so grateful.

I learnt so much about this shipment.

#ThankYou

Love

Sharing the love...

My beautiful soulful friend, Robin Laws has created a new mixed media workshop called...

Wild Whispers

It's filled to the brim with beautiful everything.... from painting, art journaling to creating jewellery around finding your animal guide, our faithful companion.

I love the tender theme so much and it is so in line with finding those tender connections in your artwork and allowing yourself to listen and hear for your companions gentle voice who is "wholeheartedly dedicated" to whispering the creative way to you.

I hope you join Robin in this beautiful creative time.

Love

Travel Mercies...

Each parcel is hand wrapped and the boxes are handmade for safe travels to you.

I am trusting they will travel over the seas and the many hours of transit safely to their new homes... they are sent with much love and care.

So I am happy to report they are officially on their way.

I wait until I know all of them are home safe and sound before I call this job complete.

After my post office journey, I took the afternoon off to recover from the backbreaking and leg aching packaging days but as of tomorrow I will be back up and running in my studio as I'm still deep in filming and editing for my new class.

Thank you once again.

Chat soon,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Wow the auction came and went and it was busy.  I can't thank YOU enough for being there to support me with incredible love and comments as well as bids.  To know I didn't walk alone was the best feeling in the world.  It was so daunting to put myself out there but to be {held} and supported... I'm humbled by it all and I'm utterly grateful.

Thank you.  Thank you. Thank you.

After auction wrapped up, I headed straight into 4 days of intense packaging.  I converted my dining room into my packaging area and I'm so grateful my family gave me the space to do that.    To me, my packages are as important as the painting itself.  I put a lot of effort into them.

As you carefully unwrap the papers to reveal your purchase... it's something deeply moving.  There is almost an old world sacredness to the act of receiving and unwrapping art.

I want you to feel the whole experience.

With much love, always...

*** BIG Week ahead... one more sleep

Tomorrow my auction goes live...

There were moments, I thought I would never get there.  It's been a massive year and I was nervous I wouldn't finish on time but I'm beyond excited.  I've been working steadily all year and have been packing pieces away especially for tomorrow.  I committed to Stephanie and this auction a year ago.  I had to plan carefully because I knew I had my TinyBagsofLove Exhibition and Auction and I knew I would be traveling this year.  Never mind the month I lost while I was caring for Digz after his accident.

My prep work was imperative.

I have 30 pieces of varying sizes, 1 journal, 4 SoulBearers and 10-20 TeaBagGirls.  There will literally be something for everyone - which is very important to me.  I'm feeling so proud and equally humbled by this body of works.  I'm getting more comfortable with being able to put a body of works together.  I used to believe I couldn't do it.  So each time I've done it, I am a little surprised.  There is cohesiveness when I see them altogether.  I know the days of auction are intense but I'll be 100% here with you! And I can't thank you enough for being there for me too.

Thank you for all the love and messages already.  I'm beyond touched.

Looking forward to tomorrow but for tonight, I'm going gently.

See you on the other side of tomorrow.

Much Love

Finished this little one...

I can't tell you how delighted I am to have finished this little soul.  I made her specifically for my Let's Face it Mini Lesson and I wanted to be finished before my class went live.

It's aways tricky because I never know in what direction they are going to take me.

Waiting for her to lead the way, sometimes takes longer than I expect.  They are a precious pair and I'm little smitten with her colouring and wings but more so, their connection.

I'm thrilled to have her ready in time for my auction too.

I can't wait to play more here in December.

Much Love always,

My Solo Auction page is up...

Nothing quite prepares my heart of auction.  It's 100% putting your heart and art out there.  It's exposing and vulnerable.  I wish I could say I find it easy but I really don't.  Most times I just want to hide behind the time zone differences and say wake me up when it's over.  That's a true story.

My greatest fear is no one will come or bid.  I create backdoors for myself to make sure I'll be okay so that my artist-self won't be wounded.  I know it's how it is for all of us who willingly choose to do this.  This is risky business stuff and it takes courage.

Even if it's just for 48 hours.

That being said I'm soooo grateful to be here and doing this with you.  I'm so grateful for the heart expansion that happens when I push myself to be this vulnerable and this exposed.  I know it is good for me otherwise I might hide forever.

Facebook Auction Page - HERE

Digby has a motto and we challenge ourselves to live that way ... "great things happen when you step out of the door".  Keeping up with a guy who lives like that has made for beautiful memories for us as a family.  Living life intentionally is a beautiful thing and I’ve bought into that wholeheartedly. 

And I do know that although sometimes I have upper limit issues, (you know... when I say "yes" but my body means "no").  I do know that it's always my heart to live fully engaged even in the scary moments... thank you for holding my hand through yet another adventure.

I am excited,  I am humbled and I am here!

Much love, Jeannie

This sweet loving soul...

I made her for my Let's Face It mini lesson and making her was a pure joy.  She totally lead me all the way and I just love that.  I hadn't planned that her face would be turned right up but it's so endearing and soulful and I just love that.  I hope to get to paint her soon. 

I hope you love my lesson as much as I did making it.

I'll keep you posted once she's all painted up.

Love, Jeanne-Marie

***EarlyBird ends soon....

Let's play with Conte...

I can't believe a whole month has passed already and we are down to the last few days for my {Held}Captive Early Bird special.

The full price will come into effect on the 1st October 2017.

Please don't miss out on the special, I've put that in place especially for YOU.

In the meantime, if you have already signed up, thank you a million times over for signing up and that we get to journey together.

Excited.  Love me...

Sneaking away... stealing quiet...

I quietly snuck away in the first week of September to go on an art retreat, just for myself and just for my own personal time and growth.  I didn't share too much about it online because it felt like sacred ground for me and I felt I needed to hold that close to my chest for a bit, that mixed in with struggling with my own worthiness of such a trip and a bit of shame I was carrying with that.

That has been something I've been working through this year.  I'll share more about it soon.

I have to tell you that stealing quiet away in Orvieto, Italy is always exceptionally healing for me and the longterm affect it has on me is something I tap into for a year or two to come.  I needed to hold that, feel it and allow it to minister to my soul.

What I didn't expect is how perfectly timed this trip was, because my {Held}Captive class was so big on my heart.  It honestly felt like I was on a field trip and having my heart and mind open to everything I was experiencing and feeling, feels like I've come home with so much for my new class and I'm beyond excited to share this with you.

For now I'm home and unpacking and catching up because come this weekend, I'm back to head down with my filming, editing and creating schedule.

Can't wait to share more of my journey with you, Love Jeanne-Marie

Congrats...

**Congratulations**

My LifeBook 2018 space giveaway goes to...

 Rose Sheridan

To all who entered and left beautiful heartfelt messages and took the time to sign up to my newsletter, thank you.  That was so much fun.

LifeBook 2018 BlogHop and GiveAway...

Hello beautiful friends!

I have some wonderful & exciting news! I am going to be teaching on Life Book 2018 next year! I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be part of this year long healing, creative journey with you.

The BEST news of all is that I can give away 1 space on this amazing year long art course! Keep reading to find out more about Life Book 2018 and to find out how you can win a spot! :)

  Let me tell you a bit more about Life Book in case you haven't heard about it yet!

“Life Book, a celebration and honouring of YOU”

It is a year-long mixed media art class organised by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts.

Tam is joined by 23 incredible art teachers who are all gearing up to share their mixed media techniques, tips and tricks with YOU! PLUS this year, Life Book is going to be bigger and better by including another 12 fantastic artists and wellness guides who will focus on additional personal development practices and other art modalities, like sculpting, photography & writing!

I am so honored to be joining these incredible teachers...

Themed around self-development and healing, you’ll be creating several loose mixed media art journal pages per month which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (a Life Book)! You will have a wonderful keepsake that you can treasure for the rest of your life! You will also be introduced to yoga, aromatherapy, dance and angel energy and other wellness exercises to help support your personal development journey more holistically and imagine the fun we will have getting introduced to and acquainted with some of the other wonderful art forms out there!

You can find out a lot more about this wildly popular course (it has been joined by over 16500+ people in the past!)

I am still busy developing my class idea, but I'm excited to be sharing about Nuturing your ArtistSelf/Child  - Practical weekly tools to do this and how to cope with your inner-critic.  How to gain ground and heal creative wounds, even the ones inflicted by and on ourselves.  Leading to creating an expressive self portrait starting in stabilo and building up into acrylic paints and lots of layers to help find yourself in the paint and brush strokes.

Registration opens tomorrow, the 12th September 2017 and the class begins on the 1st of January 2018.  Keep this page bookmarked so that you can sign up the moment it goes on sale.

**GiveAway - I am so delighted to give away 1 space on Life Book 2018 to 1 lucky WINNER and I will announce my winner in one weeks time, 18th September 2017, I will announce it on my Blog and on Facebook.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING.... 

 

1.  subscribe to my newsletter

2.  Follow me on Facebook and share my Facebook post regarding this bloghop.

3.  Leave a comment below sharing why you want to be a part of Life Book 2018. 

Here is the list of the other amazing teachers who will be teaching on Life Book – they too will be giving away a spot on Life Book so go check them out and enter their give-aways! :)

• Saturday 19 August 2017: Tamara Laporte
• Sunday 20 August 2017: Devorah Spilman
• Sunday 20 August 2017: Juna Biagioni
• Monday 21 August 2017: Christie Drahnak
• Tuesday 22 August 2017: Gabrielle J-C
• Tuesday 22 August 2017: Laura Horn
• Wednesday 23 August 2017: Marielle Stolp
• Wednesday 23 August 2017: Danielle Mack
• Thursday 24 August 2017: Lucy Brydon
• Friday 25 August 2017: Sarah Trumpp
• Friday 25 August 2017: Effy Wild
• Saturday 26 August 2017: Mystele Kirkeeng
• Sunday 27 August 2017: Deanna Jinjoe
• Sunday 27 August 2017: Alena Hennessy
• Monday 28 August 2017: Sharon Harkness-Dobler
• Tuesday 29 August 2017: Sophie Adamou
• Tuesday 29 August 2017:  Amanda Grace
• Wednesday 30 August 2017: Jane Spakowsky
• Thursday 31 August 2017: Nanda Boukes
• Thursday 31 August 2017: Flora Bowley
• Friday 1 September 2017: Andrea Gomoll
• Saturday 2 September 2017: Jo Klima
• Sunday 3 September 2017: S Rebecca Leigh
• Sunday 3 September 2017: Julie Gibbons
• Monday 4 September 2017: Ivy Newport
• Tuesday 5 September 2017: Tara Marie Jack
• Tuesday 5 September 2017: Annie Hamman
• Wednesday 6 September 2017: Joy Ting Charde
• Thursday 7 September 2017: Tara Morris
• Thursday 7 September 2017: Louise Gale
• Friday 8 September 2017: Wyanne
• Saturday 9 September 2017: Katrina Koltes
• Sunday 10 September 2017: Kathy Glynn

Have fun and good luck.

Much Love Jeanne-Marie

{Held}Captive... Lights, Camera, Action...

I have been playing #inmystudio and working everyday since I settled down from America and I have to say I'm in a good studio space.  I love my studio so much.   I have spent the better part of this year working on my technical kit (lighting, tripod and camera arm), my creative space practically and virtually.  I know it's a process and these things take time and I've been working and improving on this for around 2 years and I continue to do so.  I got advice from film industry/photographer friends as well as from Robin when I was in Oregon and Ivy and Chris Newport's class Lights, Camera, Art.  Thank you all for your invaluable info and advice.  Digz and my Dad will help me with some further rigging in October... but for now my lighting and set up has improved my filming process dramatically.

I'm one happy girl.

Having improved lighting and a beautiful space has made my painting time so much more enjoyable and I'm having a ball and I'm so excited to be filming and sharing more of my process, it seems to have released something inside.

I am still running my early bird special on my new class so don't forget to sign up.

"Finding and capturing emotional tenderness in your paint, clay and creative process."

Much love, always,

Jeanne-Marie xoxoxo

Painting Magnolias...

Every time I paint new flowers, I learn something new.

I used a reference here and it's a great way to learn this new flower.  Flowers aren't easy to do but I found after doing 6 of them, my last two were my favourite.  I might go back to the beginning and rework some of the ones that feel a little intense.  I had a beautiful painting week, even though life has been a little hectic and I'm feeling my energy levels fading a bit, showing up daily to paint and create has been good for my soul.  It's been good to find my quiet here painting beautiful Magnolias.

{Magnolia}... nobility, perseverance, love and Yin, the feminine side of life.

Look forward to sharing more...

We have a winner...

Congratulations Dianne Thompson...

I have dropped you an email for you to send me your shipping details.  Your package of beautiful paints are waiting and ready.

Thank you to you all for taking the time to visit my blog and enter this competition.

That was soooo fun!

Thank you all so much.

Love Jeanne-Marie xoxox

Finding togetherness...

I started this draw up the other day and I had some left over Olive Green, Paynes Gray and Warm Grey left on my palette and that started my background of this piece... it was enough to get me going and excited to start working here.  I am so glad I did.  I'm having the best time with these two.  I'm loving the play on the eyes... like the middle eye could belong to either of them for an instant, like they are one in the same but not either.  They feel deeply connected.

"Seeing through your eyes"

I'm not sure where we are heading quite yet but I'm enjoying the journey.  On my way home from work yesterday, I got some ideas of how I would like to finish this piece... let's hope I can do that.  

I am loving filming and editing as I go.  I can't wait to share more about that.

Now to just get through this work day so I can get back to my studio.

Have a beautiful day. xoxox

Let's Face It...

I've been editing and final filming for my main lesson for Let's Face It.  It's been 'head down' and 'deep' in the editing mode all week and I'm happy to say my lesson has been uploaded.  So I'm sorry I've been rather quiet this week.

Thank you Kara for this amazing experience and wonderful opportunity to teach with you and other incredible teachers on Let's Face it.

I did the bulk of my filming and painting before I left for America and I love that I shared this piece with you.  It being so much about what I hope to be sharing in my new class.  I didn't plan that at all and I just love the synergy in that.

I hope you love my lesson as much as I did sharing it.

I know my lesson goes live in about a week or so and I'm here if you need anything.

Much love, Me.

Finding and sharing vulnerability...

I have been so excited about my new class and sharing about it.  I have been receiving the most incredible email responses regarding the theme... {Held}Captive.  I can't tell you how much this means to me.  It's been on my heart to share for about a year and I have been doubting myself but the emails have been a sort of confirmation and I've been so overwhelmed by that.

That being said, I do believe things happen right when they are meant to and I guess I'm finally ready and perhaps now is more the right time.

My heart is overflowing with excitement!

I will continue to share parts of my filming journey with you over the next couple of months.  Thank you for sharing the love and for the sign ups this past week or so.  And of course... I'm excited to be painting and filming again.  My lesson plans are mapped out and filming has commenced.

I'm overjoyed.

My early bird special is still running for another month.

Much love Jeanne-Marie