Monday, June 21, 2010

Mark it as DONE!

So I set out to complete every day of the two week Creativity Boot Camp that Maegan so graciously prepared for us.

And guess what ?

The Queen of Getting Things Half Done actually completed something right to the end !!!

Yay for me !!!
What was the number one thing I learned through the process ?

To :


Especially for my Self.

I actually completed the prompts two days later than Maegan, which was completely fine with me, as I was having a sweet visit from my friend Suzanne from Montreal and I didn't feel like sacrificing my time with her to complete the class.

I had to be compassionate with the part of me that felt "guilty" because I wasn't quite sticking to the two week time frame.

A little compassion and a little "shut the hell up!" did the trick ! ;)


I will share some of the work I did in the last 3 days of the prompt for the class.

(you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them)

This is Day 10 where Maegan suggested that we spend a day getting in touch with our senses as much as possible. The word prompt was "Full-Bodied."

I was lucky enough to spend that day hanging out at my friend Patti's pool. I love love love the water and the wonderful floating sensation came out in my journal page a little too.

Spending a day looking, tasting, feeling, hearing and smelling consciously is an inspiring activity. Made me feel pretty filled up !


On Day 11, we were asked to create a time line of our lives and look for events that were turning points or crossroads on our path. The word prompt was "hush".

This is the first page I did, with my windy time line...



Maegan also asked us to think about those turning point moments in terms of where they had brought us, as in "If I had never been deeply depressed, I would never have known how much my art is intrinsic to my well-being."

I wrote about these kinds of realizations on this page but kind of covered it up after. Some of them were a little hard to revisit, but it was a great activity to see how far you have come and why...


Day 12 was the hardest prompt for me. I am still figuring out why.

On this day, Maegan asked us to look at our dreams, big and small and think of little ways we can start working towards them more. The word prompt was "smooth".

I wrote a lot about how I have a hard time giving a name to my dreams right now. I have some large, unrealistic ones like having my own art retreat/studio located on the ocean somewhere, where artists will come and be free to create and play the days away with me, and even have scholarships available for those who can't pay the whole price, etc...

I know, I know, you can make your dreams come true...

But I am not sure if I really want to or if it is more of a fantasy than a dream...

Maybe I am just not there yet...

As for my little dreams, I have been working on them, baby steps, which when I look at the big picture and how I am actually making them happen, I have a real sense of accomplishment and also a lot of gratitude...

Here is my page for day 12:

I actually found quite a few sweet spots in this spread too, so while the prompt was hard, I love the way the page turned out...


And now we arrive at Day 13 - The Finale !!!

Maegan asked us to look back at the work we had done over the past two weeks and to celebrate what we had accomplished. She also suggested that we make ourselves some promises of concrete steps we can take to continue the process and nurture our creative process.

This photo doesn't quite do the page justice but I created this "In Bloom" page with Portfolio water based oil pastels. I love the vibrant colors of them. I have also learned that if I seal them with a coat of gel medium after they are dry, I can use most of my pens on top of the oiled surface.

In each of the petals, I included a promise to my Artist Self, like avoiding the critic and the green-eyed monster and to spend time with other artist who "get" it !

I think this page looks like the celebration I wanted it to!

So there you have it !

I can mark it DONE !!!!

With some compassion for that procrastinator, on the fence, Libra part of me, a little kick in the pants from the part of me that really wants to improve, and a whole lot of inspiration from the talented and supportive, Maegan and the Boot Camp Community, the Queen got it saw something through to the end !

Brava for me !

Good, Queenie, good...

Happy Monday and Happy Summer Solstice to all of us in the Northern Hemisphere ! Let the frolicking begin !

18 comments:

Luna Art said...

Fab journal pages, especially like the 'in bloom' one. Your work is stunning! I also completed but have not posted the last two days yet.

Cheri said...

Yeah for you! Your pages are fabulous and I like how you incorporated your promises into your bloom page. I have a lot of catching up to do. I spent all last week sick, and didn't feel the least bit creative.

Suzanne said...

Your work is really wonderful and I love that you share some of your technique. I agree that dreams sometimes could be fantasy but it is also true that they can help move you in the right direction...thank you for sharing all of it :)

Anonymous said...

Great work and I love the new banner! Wonderful prompts to get you really thinking and working through the hard stuff that comes up for us all.
Your finale is fantastic as always.xox Corrine

jgr said...

Great job! Congrats on finishing! I love the first pages with figure being filled up--brilliant my friend--brilliant.

Hey guess what? An (local) friend of mine saw my blog post about your rocks and she sent it on to the Mayor!! woohoo Your rocks are gonna be (even more) famous.

Sueann said...

Congrats! That is super that you completed the tasks at hand. Loved the outcome too!! Beautiful!
Hugs
SueAnn

LuLu Kellogg said...

I love all your pages Kim! I am a Libra and I too have a hard time seeing things through sometime!

LuLu♥

Tammy Lee Bradley said...

I truly loved every single journal page. I have forwarded your blog link to my cousin in NY that also does art journaling. I know she will love it too. I hope you will be doing more since I will be watching. :)

Paula said...

Hurray for the queen! She rocks. (Ugh...sorry about that pun!) I love all the pages, but I really love how you carried over the water to become part of the lady's swim suit. Clever girl, this queen!

henrysmom said...

love love love! Linda

The Bodhi Chicklet said...

Yay for you, that's an accomplishment to see this through. Who cares if it took a little longer. Love the new banner and the clean white look of the site too. Eep! Change is afoot and it's all good, baby! Forward!

feather said...

hello, you beautiful artist! i'm cruising the cbc pages catching up on some of the entries and journals. i've been scanning for other non-photographers! i loved the journal pages you showed! especially smile! you did great. and i've been looking at your rocks...very very cool

Elena said...

Whoo Hooo! Awesome work and what powerful journal pages. Thank you for sharing the process so openly. Again and again thank you for sharing your rocks. I can't wait to go see if they're still there among my trails. You rock lady!

Jennifer said...

Kim this is amazing...I know I say that a lot but I mean it! I get you you mean about deciding if your dream is a dream or a fantasy. I'm soooo there! Congrats on getting it done!!

Kate Robertson said...

Kim,

Congrats on making it through boot camp, it was so much fun going on this journey with you. You've done some amazing work here. I love all your pages.

Kate

A Miraculous Meliss said...

Thank you for sharing this journey. I love getting to know you better and better. You are so brave!

Your pages are gorgeous, but my favorite is the artistic pose you did in the last picture. You always take the most beautiful pictures of yourself!

YAY YOU for following through till the end!! But also for listening to your own self about how and when you'd do it!

I know what you mean about the retreat idea. I just had an idea about having a gallery on my property, so I'd never have to go begging someone else to put me in theirs. Is it something I'll actually do one day? Perhaps. But maybe it'll change into something else. Who knows. At least we are open enough to even come up with the idea. YAY for PROGRESS!

~magick~
Melissa

Karin Bartimole said...

Congratulations for seeing it through, and for delving in so deeply. You've put a lot of thought and soul into your exploration. I think I can understand how the dream day was hardest - I have a very hard time concretizing my dreams; putting specifics to them. I don't think I know what they are - like 'whatcha wanna be when you grow up?!?'
I love all the blues you've used in these pages, and just adore that beautiful expression on your face for day 12.
Thanks for sharing your boot camp experience you gorgeous Queen you!! Brava indeed ❤

Unknown said...

Found your blog today and love, love, love your pages. Your art is great.