Can you believe that it has been three months since we started The Artist's Way journey?! Speaking frankly, I'm delighted to be done with the book. If not for Book Club, I would have chucked the book ages ago. But, I'm glad I kept up. Here are the final three chapters of the book and a wrap-up: And after three months I can say...I don't feel like a better artist. I do feel a bit burned out by the book. Julia Cameron asks for a 1-2 hour commitment every day for twelve weeks. That's a lot. And I didn't fulfill... Read more →

We are about 2/3 of the way through The Artist's Way journey! Hooray! Julia Cameron's book provides a roadmap for unlocking and exploring creative potential. Through 12 weeks of practices, the book challenges writers, musicians, designers, and other creatives to quiet their inner critic, take risks, and ultimately practice living a more creative life. Week 8: Recovering a Sense of Strength In Week 8, we’re talking about recovering a sense of strength and building resilience in the face of failure and loss. We’ll talk about the importance of taking small, but consistent action towards our creative goals. Week 9: Recovering... Read more →

The Artist's Way journey continues! Here are the replays of weeks 6 and 7 for you to watch. Week 6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance and Week 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection: As you know, I wasn't a big fan of this book in the beginning. I'm mellowing a bit as I get further into the journey. I'm less hostile and more open. I feel less like I need to take every word in the book to heart and more like I can pick and choose what works for me. As a recovering "good girl perfectionist," it's always difficult... Read more →

The Artist's Way journey continues! The community that has gathered around this journey has been my favorite part. So many thoughtful people. I love it! Here are the replays of weeks 4 and 5 for you to watch. Week 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity and Week 5: Recovering a Sense of Possibility: Here are links to the little bit of stationery porn I shared in the video: Transparent Sticky Notes: https://amzn.to/43cR0wu Cornell Notebook: https://amzn.to/3KhmHMe Personally, I feel like I'm starting to find my way with this book. It's still not a great fit, but I do feel very hopeful... Read more →

I am continuing my 12-week journey through The Artist's Way. It's a bit of a bumpy ride, but I've developed a personal motto for the journey: take anything that will make me 1% better. There have been some outstandingly fabulous conversations along the way. Here are the replays of weeks 2&3 for you to watch: At the end of week three, I feel like I have a grasp on the big picture -- at least from an intellectual perspective. Here is my very type-A personality "what's the point" analysis of the book: Morning Pages are a path towards Meditation and... Read more →

I wasn't sure what to expect from Book Club yesterday. I went in feeling kind of blah about the book and the next twelve weeks, but I came away super energized by the wonderful group of artists who came to chat about the book. I appreciated each of us having a unique take on the book and our own ideas to share. Not one person shied away from speaking their mind, each one of us felt comfortable and confident enough to express our views. It was a real treat to listen to the perspectives of those around me and to... Read more →

Yesterday's Book Club was super fun, as always! We discussed Modern Block Printing by Rowan Sivyer. You can listen to my Adventures in Arting podcast interview with Rowan from 2020, HERE. And if you didn't get a chance to catch Book Club live, here's the replay: Here is the stamp I carved during Book Club: If you're interested in learning more about printmaking, I hope you'll consider coming to Printmakers Party in June. You can find all of my in-person classes HERE. And all of my online stamp carving classes HERE. The March-April Book Clubs are going to be a... Read more →

Yesterday's Book Club was fantastic! We discussed The Joy of Acrylic Painting by Annie O'Brien Gonzales. This book is **packed** with great content and thoughtful encouragement. You can watch the replay for all the details: Here is the color chart I shared during Book Club: If you're interested in learning more about color and color mixing, I hope you'll consider coming to Color Camp in March. And here are the five canvases I made based on exercises in the book: All five of these pieces are in my online shop. There will be no Book Club in January. In February,... Read more →

As it turns out, "Creative Stamping with Mixed Media Techniques" is not really a stamping book. And it's very similar to the other Sherrill Kahn book we explored back in April. Nonetheless, I had some fun exploring some of her ideas for surface design and layering. If you missed the replay, I hope you'll check it out: By far, my favorite thing from the whole book was the glazing samples. I'm so glad that I made my own. Swatching can feel like busy work, especially if you don't regularly use your swatches. But I find them to be enormous time... Read more →

Yesterday was Book Club! We discussed Lynn Whipple's book, Expressive Flower Painting. You can watch the replay below: For the paint along portion of the video I used Golden Fluid Acrylics. And here are some of the pieces I made inspired by the techniques and ideas in the book: The next Book Club is on October 13 at 12:15pm EST. We will be discussing Creative Stamping with Mixed Media Techniques by Sherrill Kahn. Click this link to set a reminder for yourself. Book Club is free and open to all whether or not you've read the book. Visit the Book... Read more →