Creating Happiness
This weekend I had a little getaway with some friends. Every year a group of us gather to adventure around different spots in Ontario on our bikes. This time we stayed at someone’s cottage near Georgian Bay. It was lovely to be out in nature though the first day there was still a chill in […]
Discovery Through Art Process
Over the years I have dabbled in this and that when it comes to implementing art-making for my own creative self-care practice. I love to be able to try new modes of expression, pushing my creative edge and make new discoveries about myself. What I notice is that there is always a lesson in the […]
Adventures in Art Journaling
Well Spring is finally here in Toronto with warm weather, sunshine and spring showers. Though I am outdoors more, I still turn to my art journaling as my main mode for inner solace. You may be wondering why I am such a big art journaling fan. It all started back even before I was training […]
Creativity Thaw
Winter brings a coldness that is meant to allow things to prepare for the spring, for new beginnings. It is the cycle of life. It is also the cycle of creativity: the deep sleep that creativity sometimes falls into, often when we least want it to, is an essential part of the process. We need […]
Reflections on Doodle Journey Part Two
It has been amazing seeing all the different interpretations and expressions of the Doodle Journey course. Once a year I offer this course free to those willing to take the time to explore through doodles, while setting judgement aside. Because doodling is so process based, it is a simple and easy way to allow […]
Growing Your Creative Practice
Every spring and summer I spend a lot of time in my garden; in the spring I am planting seeds, nurturing seedlings and watching them grow. In the summer, I watch my garden more closely, with my guard up because of past experiences with pests wiping out what I have created and grown on my […]
Creative Mythology
This weekend I had the pleasure of running two arts based workshops where the focus was on self-exploration through creative process. In both the question came up- as often it does at these workshops: how are you able to keep your creative practice going? I must admit one of the reasons I began doing these […]
Tapping into Creativity
When I was much younger, less cares, or so it seems in retrospect (but its all relative really) I use to just naturally gravitate toward activities which I enjoyed. I never carved out time for self-care, I just did it. Yes, I scheduled in massage appointments (even more than I do now) and went to […]
The Journey of Art
December is here and my Doodle Journey e-course has finished. As I worked through the course myself, my inner critic tried to interfere with my doodle journey discouraging my loose and somewhat “messy” style. It was a practice in letting go of judgement, though even as I write this post and prepare to upload some of […]
Making Room for Creative Expression
One of the main things that I hear over and over that gets in the way of maintaining a creative practice is not having the space. First there is the literal and practical question of a physical environment for art making. And then there is the question of motivation, or perhaps more accurately put, what may be […]