Being my own good friend-

One of my intentions this year is to really focus on health, I want to regain my fitness and strength and lose some weight. I know setting new habits is challenging and I also know once they are routine for me I will do them a whole lot easier- so I have a few secret weapons to help me be the best friend I can to me :)

1- is my walking buddies - C and V they are great friends and over the years we have shared many walks, by making arrangements to walk together every weekday morning at 7am we will be less inclined to stay in bed and let down out friends. 

2- is my  new found freedom- my kids are growing up, not so long ago I could not go out and leave them alone for an hour, let alone an hour every morning, so by making my walk - Me Time- adult time I share with my friends I am turning it into more of a treat than anything else.

3- is my pooch- Indi my toy poodle loves his walks and for the last 6 months I have been unwell and spending so much time in bed, accompanied by my Indi, once he gets into the routine of walking with his best mate - C and V have a dog too, he will be a great motivator to get me out and walking as well. I also feel a bit guilty that he has been so idle for so long and I want to be a good doggy mama and take him for walks.

4- is my river- The mighty mighty Clarence river is one of my greatest loves, to walk along it every morning is the best way to get motivated and happy and set my intentions for each day- it is a great thinking place and so grounding for my soul.

5- is my added bonus- I am in a bad habit of switching on my laptop and catching up online with my early morning coffee, it can them be on all day and it is a time vampire- by getting out into the fresh air and moving my body I think I will reprogram my thinking. I am going to try to get through our morning routines before I catch up on facebook, email, blogs etc.

6- is what I put into my body- I am pretty good in what I eat I don't do processed foods really and make most things from scratch so I need to focus on portion control and drink more water.

7- is what I put into my mind- I have not been a good friend to me ever I think I have always been my own harshest critic so its time to reprogram my thinking on that and I am following Louise

Soul Food

I am so, so, so, lucky
I was gifted a place in Soul Food 
and it is amazing
http://communitythrive.com/

It is hosted over on Mystele's ning, Community Thrive- it is a really lovely online community, with free classes and regular art challenges as well as the more indepth classes and  the year long extravaganza feast- Soul Food.

The teachers are amazing, I have loved every class so far they are fresh and all so different

and all classes are available all year so if you are after some real artistic nourishment have a look at soul food.

Classes are posted twice a week and there is a wonderful discussion afterwards and a very lively facebook page for sharing and peeking at all of the amazing work being done by everyone.

We all benefit from art
and from new idea's and sharing inspiration.

Oh and did I mention recipes?
We get yummy recipes every week as well,
so nourishing the body as well.

Thank you so much Maisy, Mystelle and Heather 

Inspiration and teaching yourself

Isn't the internet wonderful?

How lucky are we that we can just log on and feast our eyes on so much art, fill our ears with endless music and answer almost any question we can imagine.

I love to sample things from all across the board online, I have eclectic tastes and I tend to indulge deeply in a certain band or a certain artist, I really get into their art and feel it.

 If it is a band or a singer the lyrics that stay in my mind often form a journal page. 

If it is an artist I will often do my own take on their style, I am not trying to copy their work and I only do this in my journal what I am trying to do is soak up some of their artistic language, 

so I can add it to my own vocabulary and better myself as an artist.

I have been very inspired by Shiloh Sophia McCloud 

lately and was really moved by this piece 

It comes from here and the imagery and the words really touched me.

I was feeling sick and down ( again) the new year was starting with me in bed ( again) but I did have some beautiful new art tools to play with and I was feeling inspired so I played in my transformation journal and my art therapy took away all my pain for a little while :)

Family Album

We have a precious little soul in our family and he is a foster baby.

Because he cant live with family at this stage, and he may never live with family I wanted to create something filled with  love and memories to stay with him through his life.

My mum helped me out with photo's that go back 7 generations and I have been asking her lots and lots of questions to bring back family memories that are far beyond my time. Together she and I are bringing this little book to life.

The Art of Transformation, my new traveling art journal from the AAJS

I finally the time and space today to make my new traveling journal this afternoon.

I am doing Soul Food this year 

and just watched Grace Howe's beautiful journal making class.

We have only just started this fantastic art course that is covering so many creative possibilities, in 2 weeks we have done a beautiful mixed media piece, some fabulous drawings, a really groovy collage and the journal making- all of the "Sous-Chefs" are sharing some delicious recipes to feed our bellies as well as our souls, so if you want to join us its certainly not too late.

 I combined some of Grace's techniques with my own.

- writing intentions for my journal on the first layer of the outside cover

and using stencils,

I am so into stencils lately that they would have been in there anyway

adding the layers to the outside cover

 and the inside cover is coming along 

my traveling art journal, ready for me to do some work inside now.

Youth Art Classes Term 1 2014

Making art is fun and relaxing and in a life where we can so often get it wrong, there are no wrongs in my art classes just wonderful experiments we can learn from.

 I am offering a colourful, creative and nurturing space for kids from 7 up. 

 Classes will be limited to only 10 students so everyone will get lots of personal attention.

The materials we use we will play with, but they will learn as much from the art materials themselves as they will from me. I am aiming for your children to find success and pleasure in our art time and at the end of our 8 week terms they will have gained  new skills and ideas  and come home with something uniquely their own.

Next term we will be focusing on mixed media and drawing

You can have a peek at me working with another young artist on my facebook page
River Girl Art in the Art with Kids folder.
 Please like my page to keep in touch with what I am doing and where I am.
  I offer many different classes in different places locally and afar.

Classes will be held at the Grafton Art Club
between 3:30 pm and 4:45 pm on Wednesday afternoons.

Dates for the next term are Wed Feb 5^th – Wed March 26^th.

 Cost for the full term is $150 per student 

this will cover all of your materials and hall fees, 

plus annual art club membership of $10.

 If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me

email rivergirlart@bigpond.com  

Wooli Out of the Box

One of the places I work is in an altered shipping container, its is converted into and 'Art Box' and it is mobile. It is one of a set of three- the 'Tech Box' is set up for computer activities and the 'Cafe Box' for catering. These boxes get loaded onto the back of a truck and moved around the beautiful Clarence Valley where I live.

The boxes are part of a council initiative to get activities out into the communities for youth to have some great things to do. You can see what is on offer in the boxes at the Eyes Wide website.

The Art Box has been moved to Wooli.

A gorgeous spot on the Wooli River and
I have the privilege of going out there to work this summer.

 I am offering a range of free workshops - print making,

artist trading cards,

funky felt mini me's and stamp making.



 There are workshops for 5 - 11 and 12 - 18s.

There are plenty of other artists offering workshops in this space as well, so make sure you drop in and have some fun. The Tech box is at Yamba and its shaping up to be a great summer.

Wooli is a very beautiful little village between the ocean and the river and surrounded by national parks and you find out more and see some lovely pictures here
While you are there you can check out the annual 'goanna pulling ' competition.

Setting Intentions

I love the idea of using new years eve as a stepping off point to bring some new change into my life and have some pretty memorable times that has happened when I have harnessed that power of new, that fresh energy and used it to drive and manifest what I wanted in my life.

I have also had other years when I have set intentions, or words or goals and they have not been fully realised. I do still think it is a worthwhile practice to ponder what the passing year has bought and what the coming year may offer.

What you might want to focus on to help bring it into your life, what direction you want to head.

This year I have used a combination of my own ponderings, a new sparkly art journal and the New Year Revolution planner.

2014 is going to be a big one for me- I am undergoing a massive transformation and hope to emerge as a beautiful butterfly over the next year or so.

I wish you a happy new year
and hope your own intentions bring your goals to fruition.