one step at a time

Do you ever find that everything you're reading, all your thoughts, everything you come across is telling you the same thing?

One step at a time. Take each small opportunity that moves you in the right direction and watch how growth happens almost imperceptibly.

Short run children's book

A few posts ago I mentioned that I was doing some illustrations for a children's book. I can now show you some pics as the books have gone to England with my husband as gifts for some friends. Before, I have made single copies of my stories for my own amusement. This time I made a short run of four copies of a short story written by our daughter (who has just won first prize in a poetry competition - so proud!). Time was tight so I was looking for something that would come together quickly and be easy to reproduce, so I went for collage.

Here are some photos:

Journal Fodder 365 - Prompt #14

This week's prompt is Wants and Needs.

When I started to think about my needs, I found that they are those deep things within me as well as the things my body requires to survive. They are basic - love, faith, food, exercise, oxygen, self-control, grace, hope, mercy, solitude. Putting things in the balance, these I need. I would not survive without them.

So what about wants? When I examined these things they seemed petty next to my needs - a bigger studio, to be more successful (whatever that means!), to earn some money, more art materials, chocolate. Will I survive if I don't have these things? Of course!

So the question becomes, "Why do I want them?"

Knowing the difference between my wants and needs helps me to be content. By the grace of God I have everything I need. And often I get the things I want as well.

What do you want and need? Can you tell the difference?

Caterpillar to butterfly

Just like the caterpillar within the cocoon, 

the most change can be going on on the inside 

when all seems quiet without.

Sticky-back film transfer

Gelli beads

I needed to make a gift for someone this week and the gelli-prints were just sitting there calling to me. So here they are - gelli beads. 

I had fun looking at all the different textures and subtle colour changes as I rolled each one.

A pleasant hour was spent and now I have enough beads to make several necklaces or bracelets.

And just in case you missed it in the last-but-one post, I'm trying to get a group together to do a circle journal/round robin. A few people have expressed an interest but we could always use a few more to join in the fun. If you're up for it, email me at tracywoodsford@gmail.com

Linking up with A Colourful Gelli Print Party over at Carolyn Dube's blog (button in the sidebar)

Journal Fodder 365 - Prompt #13

Solitude. Do you dread it or look forward to it?

For me, solitude is absolutely esesential. If I go too long without time to myself I start to wither. I am energised by solitude and endeavour to make sure I have at least half an hour each day all to myself. In our house we each have a space that is our own. Other people come into it from time to time, but there are also times where we all disappear to our own spaces to recharge.

My space is my art room. This is where I pray and read the Bible each morning. It's where I journal, sew, knit, make books, write stories and retreat material, make jewellery, plan, dream, study, reflect. It is my haven and I embrace the solitude.

A challenge...

Have you ever delved into something and then wondered why you ever did it? And how you might possibly put it all back in the box and forget about it? It's like when you buy a new duvet. As soon as you pull it out of the bag you know for sure that it's never going back in there. It just expands as if it has a life of its own.

Sometimes we step out and take a risk... and it runs away with us. You take one little step in faith and the whole thing snowballs. And sometimes it's scary.

Well, I'd like to take one of those little steps and ask if there is anybody out there who would like to join in a circle journal? It's something I've wanted to do for a long time but you know how it is - who will I ask? What if no-one wants to join in? If you're wondering what I mean by circle journal, you might also know it as a round robin. Each person provides a journal and they all travel around the group, each person adding their own page/s until it arrives back at the originator full of wonderful creativity. It will be a long term project because I would want everyone to have plenty of time to complete their pages. Plus there will be postal charges. If none of that has put you off and you're interested, email me at tracywoodsford@gmail.com

Let's see if we can have an adventure...

As I actually painted something, I think I'll link up with Paint Party Friday as well as Art Journal Every Day, Creative Every Day, and Art Journal Journey (see the links in the side-bar).

Art Journal Journey - Squares

It's taken a little time to get round to the Art Journal Journey challenge for August as I've been working on some story books. More of those in the next post. 

So here is my take on squares. 

And now I have two more illustrations to finish off...

Journal Fodder 365 - Prompt #12

I've not really loved this chapter in Journal Fodder 365. I suppose I've found a lot of the prompts didn't necessarily speak to me on the deeper level that the previous chapters did. Or perhaps it's that I've been a little busier this past month. Who knows. 

Anyway, this prompt was embracing imperfection. Most of the questions were to do with control and letting go of control to embrace imperfections. I think I was a little sidetracked by the control issue rather than the imperfection. I was thinking about how I'm a contained person. I like to be in control of myself. I think a lot of it comes from having been bullied at school. Letting go and possibly making a fool of myself is something I find difficult. I've been laughed at just for being me - how much more so if I actually did something stupid? So I'm fairly controlled. 

On the other hand, in art I can be free and try new things and not be in control of the outcome. That's fun and if I don't like the result, well, it's only paint and paper. 

So how about you? Do you embrace imperfection?

Seize the day!

'Seize the day' is the colour-this-quote challenge over on Artists in Blogland for this month. I decided to seize the opportunity to make another video. I find the pressure to keep going and complete the whole page within a short period causes me to make more pared down pages. I only use what's around on the desk and don't really have time to think about what I'm doing. Sometimes that can be fun!

Journal Fodder 365 - prompt #11

Most of the way through chapter 3 now and the prompt for this week is change.

How does change affect you? Do you embrace it or resist it?

I found that I'm ambivalent about change. There are times when I embrace it; when it means that I'm growing and moving into new adventures. At other times it throws me out completely and I greet it with irritability. The latter is usually when I have something planned and someone or something breaks in and forces a change I wasn't ready for. More than that, not just that I wasn't ready but there is too little time for me to accommodate the change adequately. 

Let's put it like this - when we changed plans about having people come over for dinner and brought it forward a week so that it was happening in only two days, I was put out. I hadn't bought the things I needed when I was shopping because it wasn't going to be happening that week. I had to do the extra shopping, cook on the Saturday morning when I had planned a lazy day, generally just shift my schedule. It's not that I minded having people come over, I just wasn't as prepared as I'd like to have been.

But contrast that with moving to the other side of the world, to a place I had never even visited. Although it took about two years to really adapt, I was able to cope with the move because it took about 18 months to accomplish. I had time to get used to the idea. 

I guess the change I find hardest to cope with is sudden. I like to be prepared and get my head around what's going to happen. I need to plan and know I'm ready to face the change as best I can. 

How about you?