Join Me On The Playground

If you ask any child, recess is their favorite part of the school day. It is because there is complete freedom in an otherwise structured environment. As adults we are surrounded by structure and need to remember the playground.  

As an artist, I found a way to recreate that playground.  Art journals for me, brings me back to that time on the playground.  A time when I created art authentically without any preconceived notions.  A time of innocent intent and no judgement.  A time of using pure imagination and the Creative Spirit I was born to use! 

This past weekend I surely felt the wind of that same Creative Spirit blowing like a welcome breeze on a hot summer day as it touched each participant's face at my Spiritual Awakenings Art Journal Workshop in Tipp City.  So I will share this magical experience...and maybe - just maybe - it will make you want to start your own playground of imagination in the form of an art journal....

I can never know the hearts of each and every student.  But God knows why they have been provincially placed for such a time as this.  One such student, I sensed, needed to be alone with her thoughts.  I had no idea how tender her spirit was until I read her words posted on her blog.  
I am touched by her inspirational words and it is a reminder to us all that God does not shine in the comfortable areas of our life, but in the struggles.

Here are her own words about her experience:  http://myunswervinghope.blogspot.com/2012/08/fight-or-flight.html

This is one of the pages from her book.

I love when students think outside of the box and ask "what if?" - this student  used a very unusual book - an old record album (how fun is that?!) - and asked, "what if I painted the record and journal a private message to myself on the surface?".  How clever and imaginative!  I immensely enjoyed this woman's joyfulness which I see in these pages.

One of the great experiences of this workshop was that mothers and daughters got to share the experience together.  We had 3 sets of mothers and daughters.  One of the youngest participants (a high school student), shared  that she got to see another side to her mom, as her mom is usually very quiet.  It was very touching and I sensed their bond had been strengthened even more.  Here are their favorite journal pages.  I was only later, I noticed that both had used the same colors, but in an entirely unique way. 

I thought of this as a metaphor for my own relationship with my mother, we are the same colors, but used in an entirely unique way!

Another joy was getting to know one of the older participants.  She had been an artist all of her life - I enjoyed the freedom of brush strokes and the wisdom of her words - these are her pages.

 

I admire the quiet people in the world - I'm fascinated by them.  Mostly because I am not one of them!  In the same way I admire and I'm fascinated by the tranquil colors this quiet participant chose and the simplicity of her composition on these pages below.  I had observed this artist's quiet, capable spirit throughout the class.  I watched her take care of her elderly mother with a kind, gentle intuitiveness.  Then when I saw her pages, I saw all of these things qualities about her, that I had observed! These pages are authentically her.

One of my primary goals was to have each participant make a connection between creating in their journals and the Creative Spirit that lives inside all believers - to awaken the creative spirit within.  

This artist shared that she had made such a connection - these are her pages.

 I love the softness of these pages - the words are special too.  This artist had a sweet, sweet spirit and so do her pages.

I enjoyed getting to know all of the participants - that is always the best part for me.  I spent  a lot of time with one participant that traveled all the way from British Columbia to take this class!  Because of the circumstances surrounding how she found out about the workshop, I feel that it was providence she was placed in my life.  I feel that way about all of the participants in my workshops.

She was so delightful to get to know and her pages reflect her personality much better than I could ever write about!
I see joy and wonder when looking at her pages.

Though the workshop may be over,  the joy, experiences, and connections still remain with me. 

I enjoyed playing on the playground with all of these delightful women. 

And I smile in remembrance at our time together.