Holding Tight To

Hey there!  "Holding Tight To..." was the prompt for this art journal page:

I hold to art because it keeps me sane!  It helps me de-stress and when I have something that is upsetting to me I get it out in my journal and I feel better.  I actually was doing very good at the time I made this, but it reflects those times when I am not doing so great.  Its quite different from the type of journaling I normally do, but I like it!  those blue cutout shapes were part of the prompt too.  My first attempt did not turn out how I anticipated so now I have other cutouts on my desk... I don't want to waste them so I am trying to figure out how to use them!!

Well friends that is all for now.  Hope you are doing good!  "See" you soon!!

WOYWW 30 JAN

Hey there - happy WOYWW!  Today I am working on:

Finally doing the cover to an art journal that I started working in a few weeks ago.  I still need to add to it, this is just the background!

If you want to check out more desks/projects, go on over to Stamping Ground and click on the links!!

Beautiful Girl

As part of my training at my new job I spent one day following/observing the speech therapist!  I think I mentioned that last week, but I did not show you this art journal page that I made in response to my time with the speech therapist.  Here it is:

I put the running girl there because that my time with the speech therapist taught me is how interconnected everything is!  Your brain, your muscles, etc.  You need to be physical and mentally healthy.  Seeing patients that need so much help made me think how tough it must be for them mentally - they were once independent and doing everything on their own and now they need so much assistance.  It is easy for me to relate because of how I felt after my hip surgery.  I am very glad that my internship site is one that has a multidisciplinary approach because I can see how important it is to treat every aspect of a person!!

We are supposed to keep a visual journal as part of our practicum class - the one where we go and discuss any issues/triumphs that we have at our internship.  So, when appropriate, I will share my entries with you!!!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Sideways

Another art journal page...

She's looking sideways - like that sort of look that says "really?"  It was certainly how I felt at the time I made it.  Its very simple but I think it works!

Liberate Your Art!!!

Hi!  I'm writing a special weekend post to let you know about the 2013 Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap.

I think this is the third year that I have done this swap!  Its great because you get art from all over the world!!!

You make 5 postcards and send them in to Kat, the lovely woman in charge of this swap, so that she receives them no later than 6 April.  You will receive 6 postcards in return!

If you want more information - or to sign up! - go to the swap page.  The page also shows a video that shows one postcard from each of last years participants.  My postcard is shown at the 5:00 mark.

Also, go check out Kat's blog, Kat Eye Studio!

That is it for now friends!  Thanks for stopping by, "see" you soon.

Group Contract Collage

One our of classes this semester is about group therapy.  We are learning how to lead groups!  On our first day of class we had a discussion and then we had our own experiential group - class will be like this for the rest of the semester.  During our experiential (essentially us being members of a group for learning purposes) we talked about group rules (such as confidentiality) and what we wanted to get out of taking part in the group.  Then we each made a collage to represent what we wanted to get out of the group - our group contract.  Here is mine:

I made this because I feel like I am still kinda straddling the line between military and civilian culture.  Not surprising since I was in the military for 10.5 years  - when you are used to a certain culture for that long it is hard to change and go into a completely different culture.  So, my contract collage represents my desire to learn more about how my behaviors/actions are interpreted by the others in my class - my cohort, civilian ladies.   Hopefully the group experience can help me with this!

So far I find it very interesting to learn about groups.  I've been a member of a group for all of my life! Consider these groups: band, flag line, sorority, volleyball, clubs, the military, the collegiate veterans association, the FSU Art Therapy Association, etc.  Lots of group experience for me to look back on and give meaning to the things we are learning.

Anyways, I will continue to share art from group class with you throughout the semester!  Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day.

Travel

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day about my summer break and vacations and we were kinda throwing out ideas of what we might want to do this summer.  I made an art journal page about it:

I still don't know what we are going to do.  I wont know my summer schedule until mid-March!  That is not much time to plan something if my break ends up being in the begging of May.  I am thinking that we will just go hang out at the beach for a few days - we all love the beach and non of us has really been to the beach here in Florida.  So, that is in an option.  Also another option is to try to catch a last minute deal for a cruise!  You know they end up being cheap if you get them at the last minute.  So, I guess we wont know until its happening and that is a hard thing for me to deal with because I like to plan!!

WOYWW 23 JAN 13

Hi there and welcome to my late-in-the-day WOYWW post.  Most of the time I show you this "desk" that is my art table:

And occasionally I show you this bed...

Why by the way (some of you have asked) is an extra bed so it does not need  get cleaned off!

But today I wanted to show you my real desk:

And where I often end up working:

I often work at the kitchen table because the height is perfect and I can also have the TV playing while I work.  I like background noise!

Well that is my work area re-cap for today.  Thanks for visiting and head on over to Stamping Ground if you want to see more desks!  Come back soon!!

What Grounds Me...

Hello there!  I've got another art journal piece for you today!! The prompt was "what grounds me," so here it is:

That circle paper in the upper right is one I painted quite a while ago.  The small circles are page reinforcers that I colored with markers so that they would match the page!  and the turquoise on the bottom of the page is a paint sample!  I really like how this one turned out!!

I hope you guys enjoyed the page!  Thanks for visiting and have a great day!!

Marvel Day 8 & Internship Site

I really did got in a different direction than the worksheet on this particular day.  I started off going along with the worksheet but when I got to the journaling part I just wanted to glue down appropriate cut outs out of magazines... so that's what I did.

The thing I love most about art journaling is that there are no rules - no right or wrong.  Its absolutely freeing to think of your art like that!  It makes it much more enjoyable.

I am really hoping that I can get this across to my clients this semester!  Speaking of my clients, I wanted to share what I will be doing.  I am working as an Art Therapy Intern at a local rehab hospital.  I am very excited about this.  I get to work with patients that are there to receive physical therapy, occupational therapy and/or speech therapy.  Patients may have had surgery or been in an car accident. Also some patients may have suffered from a stroke or be dealing with dementia or Parkinson's disease.    Its exciting to me to be in this setting because it mirrors a lot of things I would be doing while working in a VA Hospital which is my goal after graduation!  Friday I shadowed a speech therapist and got to see her treat and evaluate patients.  I learned so much and I am super excited to start working one on one with patients!  So, while I cannot share patient information or artwork with you I will try to keep you somewhat informed about things that I learn/experience - those things that I am able to share without violating patient privacy!

Well friends, that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed the art and the intro to my internship site!  Thanks for visiting.  "See" you soon!!  

Marvel Day 7

My response to the day 7 worksheet:

I absolutely love this one.  The orange is so bright and then that photo is great too!  I'm pretty sure I took this worksheet in a completely different direction than other people did, but whatever!

I've been holding onto that photo for at least 6 months... never knew what to use it on, but it fits great here I think.

Thanks for stopping by!  "See" you soon.

Marvel Day 6

Initially my plan in taking Kelly Kilmer's online class, Marvel: Your Precious Life, was to do a prompt a day!  She sends you one worksheet a day, so I was going to try to stick with that.  Then life happened, so while this art journal piece was done in response to the day 6 worksheet, I did it on day 9 I think!  So, just know that from now on.. the day refers to the worksheet number, not necessarily when I did them!

Anyways, onto the art because that's what you want to see, right?

I am happy that this class is getting me to do different things that what I typically do!  Its good to change things up sometimes!!

Well friends, that is all I have for you, for now.  I hope to "see" you again soon!

WOYWW 16 JAN 13

Hi there!!  Happy WOYWW!  Here is my desk this week:

And the bed:

art stuff explosion!

If you want to check out more desks, head on over to Stamping Ground!

Today was a rough do so that is it for me for now!  Thanks for stopping by!

SVA Conference Day 4

The last day of the conference was a "Day of Fun."  Until a few day before we left, that was all we knew.  It turned out that Universal Studios gave us all free tickets to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!  I was absolutely pumped!  Just like 2 days before, when it was my first time to ever visit Disney, this was my first time to go to Universal!

I am a big kid and thankfully I had several other people in my group that are big kids too!  We had a blast!!!  Here are the pictures:

First thing in the morning!  

All of the conference attendees that went to Universal... can you see me?  (hint: on the left!)  Source

Woody Woodpecker

Harry Potter Castle

Drinking Butterbeer waiting for Hogwarts Express

Back to the Future - no kids around this guy & it was kinda sad that they didn't know him! 

outside of Atlantis

Super Awesome Pink Car

Final Group Photo before leaving! 

It was an awesome day.  I LOVED it.  I was completely exhausted after we left too!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the pics!!  Have a great day.

SVA Conference Day 1-3

Right before schools started, Jan 3-6, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Student Veterans of America National Conference in Orlando, FL.  I got to hear some great speakers including the Honorable Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary, U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs and George W. Casey, Jr., GEN, U.S. Army (Ret.)  I got to meet a lot of great people including other student veterans, business supporters of veterans, and representatives from veteran friendly organizations.  I learned a lot about what is happening with student veterans across the U.S. and came away with many ideas that I hope to implement here at FSU.

I told you all of that because I wanted to share some photos with you!!  These photos are from the first three days of the conference.  Here they are....

After the meet in greet

me!! 

Friday night they took some of us to Disney....

 They gave us a free dinner and then we got to watch the fire works display...

They boys always think its funny to take picture where it looks like they are proposing to me.

 At first someone thought he actually was proposing.

Saturday night we had a formal banquet, so we got all dressed up nice:

Our University president, the guy right in the middle, spoke at the banquet!

Hope you enjoyed my short recap!  Please come back tomorrow for some extra special pictures from the last day of the conference!!

Marvel Day 5

I found a picture a long time ago that I really liked and knew that I would use someday in some piece of art, but it took me quite a while to actually use it.  I think I had this picture for at least a year, but probably around two years.  I finally got to use it for the 5th day of my online class!!  So, here is the finished art journal page:

I love the page, not my own handwriting at the bottom so much but the rest of it I adore.  Overall I am happy with it.  I realize that things wont always some out as I desire - that is part of the process.  I just move on - its better to not get hung up on it because then art making wont be as enjoyable!

Marvel Day 4

The 4th day of the online class I am taking fell on a Friday and I was out of town for a conference.  So, I made the background ahead of time and left the journaling to do while traveling.  Here is my 4th page:

I have been very happy with my previous pages and this one is no exception.  It's very simple but it works quite well.  I put "yearning for home" because I was kinda missing home.  Spending so much time with my family over the holidays was great but that just makes me miss them more when I have to go back to life.  Hopefully one day I can actually live nearby so that I won't have to miss them!!

Marvel Day 3

I am REALLY enjoying Kelly's class!  Today I wanted to share the piece I made for the third prompt in the class.  I actually did some of the collage on the 2nd day since I was taking my art journal with me on a weekend trip.  Then, the next day I got a migraine so I didn't work on it at all.  I finished it on the 4th of January.  Here it is:

I like how it turned out!!  It's intended to reflect how sometimes I allow myself to do whatever my hear desires and to be truly free, and someones I am more restrained and I hold back.  I need to be free more often!!

My weekend trip and migraine threw off my plan to stay on track with doing each collage for the day of class that the prompt is given.  Also now that school has started, today will be day number 3 that I have not even attempted to do any art journaling.  Yikes!  Its day 8 and I am only done with day 5!  Oh well.  I am hoping that this weekend I will catch up!  Wish me luck!!

Dabblings: Call for Mail Art!

Just wanted to share this bit of information with you! I am going to participate in this!

Dabblings: Call for Mail Art!: Featuring Magazine Issue #3 is being shipped out now!  It's not too late to order your very own copy. We are having a MAIL ART CALL for I...

WOYWW 9 JAN 13

Hello and happy WOYWW!  My work desk has many piles of things I need to get to but have not yet found the time.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

I am taking an online art journal class and I am now 5 days behind on prompts/collages!  Also I need to finish a collage for one of my classes and do TONS of homework.  I am hoping to get back on track this weekend!  Hopefully your week has not felt as crazy as mine has.

If you want to check out more desks then hop on over to Stamping Ground and click on some of the links!   Thanks for stopping by and have a great Wednesday!!

School Started

School started yesterday and I feel like I am a bit behind the power curve right now!  I just got back at midnight Sun/Mon and so my body was all out of whack.  I managed to get to a doctors appointment at 930 and then buy groceries for the week before eating lunch and passing out in my chair!  I woke up in time to get to my first class of the semester.  After class I had a Congress of Graduate Students meeting.  So, all I did after getting home last night was to eat dinner and go to bed.  

Today I just couldn't get my lazy behind out of the bed.  So, now I am running late again!  I just wanted to say that I have not forgotten about you and I should be back on schedule here in the next few days!  "See" you soon! 

Marvel Day 2

The Day 2 prompt for the Marvel class I am doing was "What good ghosts do you live with every day?"  Thinking of the prompt and the directives for the collage and the pictures I had available I came up with this:

I like how it came out.  It really interests me to see how several archetypes came out in this piece.  You can see the twins, the self and the shadow are all in this piece.  Sometimes I wonder how my teachers would interpret my art journal.


This weekend I will be in Orlando, for the Student Veterans of American National Conference.  So, I will "see" you guys again on Monday.  Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend.

Marvel: Your Precious Life Day 1

One of my favorite arty ladies is currently leading an online workshop.  Its called Marvel: Your Precious Life. The woman in charge is Kelly Kilmer.

I took 2 workshops with Kelly at Art Unraveled this past summer in Arizona.  I loved her classes!  Her style is quite different from my typical style, but changing things up takes creativity and its fun to do things different sometimes.  This is my first online class.  It is a good price - only $25 - and you get a lot of support with it.  There is a facebook group, a yahoo group, sample journal pages (made by Kelly), daily worksheets that have a collage template and journal prompt.

I started the class on JAN 1st, but I am pretty sure it is still open and since its go at your own pace, it doesn't matter when you join.

Here is my first page from the class:

I really like how it turned out!  I am looking forward to doing more pages in this class.  I will be posting them as I finish them!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

WOYWW 2 JAN 13

Hello and happy WOYWW!  My work desk is somewhat crazy right now.  I just got back to Tallahassee from my Christmas travel to Texas.  So, I kinda just threw all my art journal supplies down and this is the result:

Some of it even landed on the bed:

I am hoping to have a chance later today to organize it a bit.

Hope you enjoyed the peek!  If you want to see more desks then head on over to Stamping Ground and check out the links!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

FW Museum of Science and History

This past Sunday my parents and I went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and we saw the Titanic exhibit. No pictures were allowed there either. It was pretty cool, but the cost to see it is $26. Inside you get to see how the ship was built, what the inside of the ship looked like, dishes and furnishings, personal belongings of the passengers, etc.  You even get to touch a real iceberg!  At the start they give you a boarding pass:

It lists your name and information. The information is that of a real passenger on the boat. At the end you scan the list of names and see if your person survived or not. 

I was a 15 year old girl from Lebanon who had been married for 50 days. The girl survived but her husband did not. My mom's person survived. My dad was the preacher who stayed on the boat leading people in prayer as the boat sank. He did not survive. Overall this is an informative and interesting exhibit and if you are able to go see it, I recommend it.

After we finished the Titanic exhibit, we went through the cowboy area.

This area was pretty neat.  You get to learn about brands, barbed wire, cattle, railroads, etc. 

I really enjoyed our time at the Museum, but it was a lot of walking and standing so by the time we left we were all exhausted.  We came home and had dinner and then went to see Les Miserables.  I liked the movie.  I cried.  It was VERY long.  If you have any desire to see it, I think you should!! 

Lastly, I wanted to show you the journal page I created about the Titanic exhibit:

Its nothing too fancy since I was traveling.

That's all for now, friends.  Have a great day!  See you tomorrow!!

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!!

Hello and Happy New Year!!!  I actually stayed up until midnight last night - its probably the first time I have done that in at least 5 or 6 years (maybe more!)  Today we had pancakes for breakfast and were having ham and black eyed peas for lunch!! 

I wanted to show you my last page of 2012:

And my first pages of 2013:

I am contemplating doing a word for the year.  The word is mindful.  We shall see how that goes. 

Later today I am flying back to Tallahassee.  I will certainly miss my mom and dad a lot.  I love spending time with them, so its kinda sad that I have to leave. 

Wishing you all a VERY wonderful new year!!