Have You Set Your Intentions?

DREAM TIME

OUR INTENTION CREATES OUR REALITY -WAYNE DYER

Time. It’s a commodity I am forever chasing.  Days melt into weeks. Rapidly weeks turn into months that segue into years.  How did I allow myself to become “so busy”? Are you the same?

Most of my daily activities are enjoyable. But sometimes I stop and wonder. Am I busy just to be busy?  Is my life just spiraling around me…or am I fully involved in the process of living? Am I still following my dreams, or is it just a happy accident when I do achieve them?

I needed time to think. And thinking is generated not only from my mind, but from my heart and hands.

I love designing with all of the Artistcellar stencils in my collection, but recently I find my Muse steering me to create using the Sacred Heart series. The traditional Sacred Heart design speaks to me. The Creative Words Pocket Stencils add the perfect accent. The words in the series are exceptional.  I took the stencils to my work table and started my collage. I wanted something I could use as a bookmark in my daily journal. I needed something to remind me to be an active part of this life that swirls around me.

My substrate is heavy drawing paper. I don’t use my watercolours as often as I should, so I decided now is the time. I splashed a wash of colours I found pleasing. When dried, I added stencil shapes and a ribbon of metallic acrylics. If you look closely you will also see a coffee wash…as I prefer to call my sometimes messy drinking. With the nib from the bottle of my liquid acrylics in hand I added the calligraphy…my intention…the start of truly living my dreams.

I may not always be able to achieve the mindfulness I strive for, but through my work I can move ahead to the place that brings me peace. And it is from a peaceful heart that I can travel in the direction of my intentions, to trust my way forward, to make my dreams a reality.

In the whirl of the day’s events, do you ever stop and ask yourself…am I making time for my dreams? Is now the time that you do?

MATERIALS USED:

Trust & Sacred Heart Artistcellar Stencils

Hand cut stencils

Art Paper

Drawing  paper

Metallic Acrylic Paint

Liquid Metallic Acrylic Paint

Winsor & Newton Watercolour Paint

Coffee Wash aka Being Messy

When You Follow Your Dreams...

Dreams - Digital Collage

Against all odds, have you ever followed a Dream? Have you, like the girl in the image, allowed yourself to drift into the night? Did you find a special place to rest and rejuvenate your creativity?

I am a new member of the Gecko Galz Design Team. Each month I will be issued a challenge. On the second day of the month, I will post my image using Gecko Galz products. And what's more, Gecko Galz have kindly allowed a Free Digi Stamp to accompany my post.

Please visit my Blog on February second. The topic, in the month of Romance, will be Hearts & Kisses.

This image is my Gecko Galz Avatar. The dreaming girl is from the Gecko Golden Splendour Collection. Part of the background is from their High Society Paper Pack. The Moon and clouds are from my own collection.

Will you follow your dreams and let creativity take you to your own place among the stars?

What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

WHEN I GROW UP - DIGITAL COLLAGE

When was the last time you let your nocturnal imagination drift, allowing it to go anywhere it pleased? As a child, the night and the Moon enchanted me. Looking out of my bedroom window in Brooklyn, the sounds of the day segued into a hushed, almost reverent, atmosphere conducive to thinking, to dreaming.

And times like this I wondered where my life would take me. I knew the path I wanted to follow...but would it happen? My parents encouraged me to always listen to my Muse and to find the best in any situation. Their New York values of  tolerance, generosity, and having an open mind always willing to learn, set me on the right course.

The Lunagirl Moonbeam challenge for January is to design using images from her lovely collection of Babies & Children. Although I'm not especially maternal, I drew from the memories of my childhood for the challenge.

The final image is a digital collage. It was easy for me to pick a photo to work with. I loved the way the two girls looked, as if they were sharing a secret. I added images of famous actresses and dancers to their skirts and a Verdi libretto to the bodice. What young girl doesn't want to be an actress, vocalist, or dancer when she grows up? I couldn't resist adding a benevolent face smiling down at the girls from the Moon...encouraging their dreams of an exhilarating future.

Childhood can be a magical time of wonder. But it doesn't have to end there. Each day is another chance to capture the effervescence of discovery. What will you be when you grow up?

What Inspires Your Heart?

Dreaming of the Moon - Digital Collage

What inspires your heart? The question posed by Unruly PaperArts was a delicious one. And one I could not resist.

January 31st is the day designated as "Inspire Your Heart With Art Day". The day encourages looking at Art of any discipline, making it a vital part of your life, and using today as a way of celebrating. Unruly PaperArts is doing just that by having an online Party!

For me, the Arts and my life are so intertwined I can't begin to see where one starts and the other ends. It is a seamless, comforting, coverlet triggered by my dreams.

I've enjoyed working digitally. Again, my Muse led me to my collection of Lunagirl Moonbeam image CDs. With dreaming on my mind I chose Sir Frederic Leighton's painting "Flaming June". The beauty of the woman deep in sleep inspired me. What were her dreams and hopes as she blissfully reclined in repose? Who did she see in her dreams?

The composition fell into place...first Leighton's woman, and the Moon and clouds. I added images from a conventional collage I put together a few years ago: the type, the rice paper, printed tissue paper.

My dreams inspire me. Following those dreams have taken me to places I have never thought possible. The Arts are the means...a soaring soul is my destination.

What inspires your heart...not only today, but every day?

Do You Dream?

Life Is A Dream - ATC

I like to dream. I like the word.

Dream.

It rolls, it meanders, it drips off the tongue with power and eloquence and the promise of mystery, moonlight, adventure. It's the name on the door we open to liberate us. It allows us to feel, to imagine what can be, if only we become fully aware.

"Life is a Dream...Realize it.", is a passage attributed to Mother Teresa I read in the Grand Circle Corporation book of quotes. It inspired this Artist Trading Card.

The substrate is illustration board. The background a mixture of Distress Ink and acrylic paint. I stencilled a Nouveau pattern in gold metallic paint. A strip of art paper, the vintage photo, and rubber stamping of various designs finished the card.

Do you dream? Do you close your eyes and allow your Muse to take you to a place your heart knows is flawless? Realize your dreams. Live the life you desire.