Play feeds the Soul

The Art

This page is done in my recycled recipe book. I love this little book. It has thick coated pages that take wet mediums so well.   I started this page with no idea in mind except to use paint.  The need for paint was strong this day. The page already had big dots of paint on it because I used it to cleaned my brushes one day. The colors are mostly Distressed Paint by Tim Holtz and Adirondack paint by Ranger.  

I used a lid from a bottle and navy blue to make the big rings. I used a Mr. Huey Studio Calico Mister Huey's Mask Circle Graph in the background. It is one of my favorite masks. The dragonflies and flowers are from a stencil someone gave me. Sorry no brand name. The writing is from a stamp that Lori gave me. I think it's an unmounted Hero Arts stamp. It was stamped with Archival Ink.

When you are a collector of what other people are giving away, you often end up with supplies with no brand name on them.  I'm that person.... the one people think of when they don't want to throw something away but don't want it anymore.  Down the road, they call me and say... can I borrow that thing I gave you.  LOL... I'm the collector.  I come by it honestly. My dad has a wood shop full of nails that his company was getting rid of before he retired. He's been retired 20 years!

Thoughts and Feelings

I believe that playing feeds the soul.  This subject has been on my mind recently.  I have friends who don't know how to play. Everything they do has to have a purpose.  Even reading for one is for escape.   They don't know how to do things just for fun.

Just typing that made me feel tired.  I know that my mind, body and spirit need to relax and unwind. Life is sometimes stressful. That is unavoidable so I have things that help me. There are three things in my life that help me relax and remove the effects stress. 

The first is reading. I read novels. I have very eclectic tastes.  I might read a romance one day and an FBI thriller the next.  I don't read to improve my mind. I read totally for entertainment and relaxation.  If I go too many days without reading I get irritable and discontent.

The second is talking with a friend, usually about art. A friend who will listen when I'm down and rejoice with me when I happy is rare and wonderful thing.

The third thing I do is Art Journal.  I try to do something creative everyday. I don't always art journal and on days when I can't journal, I doodle or practice my lettering.  Art Journaling is the best form of play I've found.  I'm not a very physically active person so playing ball or exercising doesn't do it for me.  Art does.

I can arrive home tired and stressed and after an hour at my art table I feel so much better. I love to have painty fingers. Some days I get so involved in the process of creating that two or three hours will go by with me even realizing it.  That is the perfect form of play for me.  

Why Art Journaling?  NO RULES!!  That is why it a form of play for me.  I am totally free to do whatever I want.  I can just scribble if I want. It's my book and anything goes in it.  I feel totally free when I art journal.

I hope you will give art journaling a try.  Remember.... No rules... just fun.
Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me.  I'd love to hear what you think about art and play.

Feelings is Not A Dirty Word

Welcome to my new blog. This blog will be part art and part thought.. I will endeavor to explain how I made my art and what I was feeling. I hope you'll want to play along with me on this journey in how we feel and express those feelings through art.  

This is the first page in my new feelings art journal. The background is a coat of heavy body Liquitex blue paint. I used a bar-b-q rack as a stencil.  The white was made by removing some of the blue paint with a baby wipe.  The other colors were stenciled on using a child's paint brush as a stipple brush.

The blocks are pieces of background paper and the person was drawn with a black sharpie and cut out.

Off Center is how I've felt emotionally at different times in my life. Yesterday I actually felt off center physically.  I woke up ... almost dizzy, almost queasy... physically off center. Food and caffeine didn't help so I stayed at home and it took all day before it passed. I don't know what caused it. Maybe vertigo..maybe I was just tired and needed a day at home. The why is not as important to me as the fact that I listened to my body and spent a day doing nothing but reading and sleeping.  I let myself rest and today I'm feeling much better.

Why This Blog?
Many people think feelings is a dirty word. Ignore how I feel. Pretend I'm not sad or lonely. Pretend I'm someone I'm not. Don't be too happy or too unhappy... that makes me too much or not enough.  I did that for many years and now I say NO MORE. I'm not saying I tell everyone I meet exactly how I feel because I don't. I have learned to choose safe, caring people to talk to when I have something I really need to sort out.

I won't tell you I have all the answers because I don't.  I am not a therapist. I have gone to therapy and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I do know that acknowledging my feelings has helped me become healthier physically, mentally and spiritually. 

Feeling my feelings is very important. Stuffing my feelings in the past has lead to me being sad, depressed and very down on myself. Stuffed feelings are like a festering wound. Ignore them and they grow and get ugly inside of me. I have read that depression is anger turned inward. I found that to be true for me. Finding constructive ways to express my feelings has been a tremendous help.

One of ways I've learned to express myself is through Art Journaling. I have gained confidence in myself as a person and as an artist.The purpose of this blog will be to express and explore how we are feeling through visual art. That art might be painting, art journaling,water color, sculpture etc. I hope that you will share your art and your thoughts with me as we go along. 

Please feel free to post your art and thoughts on our Facebook page: Art Journal Feel