Get Ready to Fall Fearless and Fly!

In only 6 days, Carolyn Dube and I will launch an exciting challenge on Artists in Blogland.   know I've been talking about it a lot, but now that it's almost here, I am beyond excited.  Carolyn and I are getting the launch post ready, preparing our work for the first challenge, and touching base with all of the amazing artists who will be our guests during the challenge.  If this is your first time hearing about it, visit Artists in Blogland here to learn more.  Thinking about the first challenge has required me to delve deeply into my heart and mind.  Even though this has already brought up a lot of "stuff," I'm ready for the journey.   I know these challenges will help me enter 2013 with clarity and more trust in my intuition.

UPDATE! - Jane Davies, one of our FFF featured artists, still has room in the encaustic workshop she is teaching in CT the weekend of October 13-14.  If you're interested in learning about this medium from an absolutely amazing teacher, check it out here. 

Another UPDATE: Nathalie Kalbach, another of our FFF featured artists, has just launched an online workshop about Acrylic Ink that sounds fantastic - here's the link.

I have been taking Flora Bowley's online workshop called "Bloom True."  It is the beginning of week 3, and we are just moving beyond creating layers of paint to adding recognizable elements.  Here are some looks at the transformations one of my canvases has gone through as I've added 5 layers, alternating between warms, cools, black and whites, and translucent layers, letting each one dry before moving to the next:


Flora encourages us to keep turning the canvas around, so that there's never a clear top or bottom, left or right.  I feel like I've only just begun to relax into the process of adding layers, while staying unattached to the layer underneath.   Does this sound like yoga?  You betcha!  Today's assignment is to start to paint in some elements from a sketchbook we started keeping over the weekend.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's a peek inside my art journal:

I had paint leftover from doing the warm and cool colors exercises in Bloom True, so I smeared them on a spread in my journal -- randomly.  Who knows what it will be, but it's a nice, colorful background for the future:

Sometimes I have a lot to write -- so I write.  I write over what I've painted, or I paint over what I've written.  Sometimes I write my schedule for the day, or my list of things to do.  Notice how horrified that girl on the left side of the double spread looks about the size of the to-do list...

When I'm done working on something, I glue in whatever small pieces of paper or other stuff (like leaves!) that I have on my desk.  If they're too small to save, I glue them in.  This will form a basis for something...

This is a lady I painted years ago.  I glued her onto a spread of color and stencils from The Crafter's Workshop by Balzer Designs.  Not sure yet what she is contemplating...

Inspiration Avenue had a challenge to design something around the word "Friends."  I can't think of a better friend than my husband (collective "AWWW"), who I can tell everything to without fear of judgment, who is my biggest source of emotional support and encouragement, and who I just love spending time with.  So that page up there with the nasturtium leaf became this:  

And last but not least, you still have two whole days to link up to Scrapping the Music's current challenge.  Again, you don't have to be a scrapbooker - although you CAN be!  Anything goes.  The song lyrics to the current song, Rain Red Roses, are very cool, as is the other prompt - to design around a song your parent/s liked.  Check out the DT's amazing work.  Only one person has linked up work so far... what are you waiting for!!

And... drumroll please, the winner of my Fairy Tale water color is Diane, who wrote:

Diane ~September 23, 2012 2:24 PM

Hi Jessica, how sweet of you to invite me to your party. Your art work created a lovely party brimming over with delightful whimsy!

Please enter me in your give away and i am your newest follower.
And thank you for stopping by my party, it was wonderful meeting you there! :D 

I have already emailed Diane to get her snail mail address to send her her prize!

Linking up at Paint Party Friday, Creative Every Day and Art Journal Every Day (links on the sidebar.)
Thank you for visiting! If you are so moved, please leave a comment. Hearing from you means the world to me.