On Gratitude

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. “ —Marcel Proust

It’s easy to see what we’re lacking. It’s much more difficult to find the gifts in all of life’s moments and challenges. I’ve recently been focusing on shifting my perspective away from scarcity and towards gratitude and abundance. While there are many things big and small to pause and feel grateful for, here are the two on my mind most often lately:

Receiving. Support. It takes courage to ask for and receive support. I’m fiercely independent and self-reliant. But this year I need it. And I asked. Serendipitously, the right people and opportunities have started surfacing where I need them in my business and personal worlds. Beautiful, talented and caring people are organically forming this circle that is holding me. Building me up. Truly seeing me. And opportunities have arrived that are nudging me to expand. I am stretching myself to embrace receiving, to say yes and welcome what it brings. This simple act leaves me feeling more grateful and open to what the universe has to offer.

Finding hope and strength in the most difficult moments. These are the moments I really just want to curl up in a ball and hibernate from life. These moments knock you down and it would be so easy to just stay there. But instead you get up, brush off and find the opportunity for growth. I feel grateful for this spirit of hope and perseverance that naturally springs from me when needed. I sometimes think it has come from experiencing adversity in life.

I am putting my focus on gratitude, and sending a thank you from my whole heart out into the winds to be scattered far and wide.

This post is part of the Flying Lessons monthly blog circle. Hop to the next blog to read what my creative sister Laly Mille is feeling grateful for.

xo 

Guest Post On Laly Mille's Blog!

I am so excited and honoured to share with you that today I am featured on the blog of  a wonderful mixed media artist & soul sister across the ocean in France – Laly Mille. Laly is doing a series called Once Upon a Time… where she features chosen artists and gives a little window into their process and spirit. In today's post I share the journey of creating a cherished painting of mine called Breathe, and in it my own growth and awakening. Wander on over and see the guest post on Laly's blog. 

Laly's art is soulful and beautiful, so I know you will fall in love with it while you're there too!

With gratitude. xo

Creative DNA

I'm reading Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit. There are so many nuggets of brilliance in this book, but one in particular stuck with me recently.

We have creative DNA. When we are in tune with our creative DNA we see patterns and qualities span our work across media, specific qualities that make our work uniquely ours. These aren't taught or developed, they are a natural reflection of our way of being in the world, our way of seeing and experiencing life. Our creative DNA.

It's true.

[ late night scribbles ]

Part of the learning process is that we try on everything we see and like, but after awhile our own true voice starts to shine through and we define our own style. This kept me up a little while ago, my mind alive with thoughts and questions. Soon I was up out of bed, sitting at our kitchen table, pouring over my thoughts in the middle of the night. Here is what I found:

Who I am as a person and an artist has always been there. When I was a dance student I was busy making paintings with typography elements and moving bodies to accompany my choreography work. When I was a design student I was busy making my designs a hybrid of digital art filled with falling letters and typographic experiments. To this day I am yearning to integrate my art and design in new ways that feel right to me, and it sometimes feels a little elusive. I love the art I'm making and it feels right, but there's definitely more waiting to be realized (always will be). Here's what I distilled as I burned the midnight oil…

[ exploring my creative dna with late night journaling ]

Here's the core of my Creative DNA:

1. Movement - a feeling of energy and elements swirling and moving
2. Type
3. Organic and feminine lines and shapes/ intricate patterns
4. Rich saturated colour (not necessarily bright, but rich)
5. Tells a story, often a personal one
6. Touches a personal and human note
7. Uses graphic design principles (tension, lock, hierarchy, clusters, contrast, grid, white space, asymmetry)
8. Layers that fluidly blend into each other
9. Beautiful moments of messiness and incompleteness (juxtaposing tidy and raw)

If I'm working on a project or painting, and all of these elements are present, it feels right. That's how I know I'm being true in my process. There's endless room for my style to evolve, and it will, but my creative DNA will continue to be my guidepost. And so, my head is swimming with visions of tumbling type, intricate patterns, raw mixed media and emotive elements. It's all there, and it always has been. My studio awaits me!

Isn't learning about ourselves the most amazing and challenging life-long journey? xo

Little Inspirations

Here are some of my favourite inspirations from Pinterest lately. Spaciousness and richness. Intensity and softness. Complexity and simplicity.

 

[ credit: http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/picture/679267/ ]

 

[ credit: image found here ]

 

[ credit: image pinned from etsy shop InArtStudio ]

 

[credit: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/224898575113876268/ ]

All these little inspirations have a place in the creative's process. It's about taking a moment to breathe in the beauty and meaning it holds for you.

xo

Easy Holiday Shopping: PreOrder Greeting Card Gift Sets

Hello dear friends,

Give your friends a way to wrap their words in beauty. Using my most loved and most recent artwork, I've created six greeting card collections, packaged with all the beauty of a gift. Order by November 15 and have them in hand by December 9 – for hostess gifts, friends and colleagues, and family gift giving.

Here's How:
- View all six collections here (including additional images of one packaged collection).
- Simply email me the order form by November 15.
- Send payment via PayPal or e-transfer.
- Discounts for five sets or more. Full details on the order form.
- Email me if you have any questions.

*Note, I have also made my cards available for pre-order in my etsy shop in case you prefer to purchase online (though the list price will be higher, so take advantage of the good old fashioned order form if you can).
 
What better gift than one that reminds us how to connect with each other – inspiring us to reclaim the art of the written word.

I wish you all the best this holiday season.

xo

Solo Retreat

[ harmony, winter, surfacing — solo retreat 2013 ]

I've been doubting who I am lately. Feeling stuck in fear, and holding back. After a challenging stretch I decided to embark on a 3 day intensive solo retreat (thank you generous husband for making the space for me to do this). I didn't find all the answers, but I (re) learned that everything I need is within me. I journaled, read, and spent most of my time in the studio. I practiced following my art curiosities to see where they would take me, and worked on letting go of the rules and dialogues that keep me working only in the safe zone.

Here is some of the creativity that tumbled and bumped and poured out of me. I'm fragile, but my heart is open.

[ birds & harmony — solo retreat 2013 ] 

[ pair of birds — solo retreat 2013 ] 

[ winter – solo retreat 2013 ] 

[ surfacing - solo retreat 2013 ]

[ treasure boxes, crackle paint experiment — solo retreat 2013 ]

[ typpography paper experiment, using words from my bio ]

[ geli print-making experiment, using only found materials from around the house and my own hand-carved stamps to create textures ]

[ considering sketches from throughout the year, and pairing with backgrounds already in progress or making new backgrounds ]

[ using up my in-progress backgrounds – making room for fresh starts! ]

[ this is the card I drew on the first eve of my solo retreat. the universe answered my call ]

Fixated on the need to have something to show for our labors, we often deny our curiosities. Every time we do this, we are blocked.
—Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

with love,

p.s. New series Evolving Art starting soon – I'll share pictures of the evolution of paintings from beginning to end. These new pieces will be the first ones shown. I hope you'll come back to see.

Autumn

When the seasons change I feel a sense of renewal and upheaval. Routines change, moods shift, new priorities start and end. I get thrown a little and I'm ready for change all at the same time. I tend to take lots of little walks through our neighbourhood when autumn arrives. The landscape is alive with beauty and transformation. Can you believe this is my neighbourhood? (so lucky!)

Autumn brings with it all my favourite things. The air smells different. It's crisper and somehow fresher. There are hints of wood smoke mixed in here and there from all the wood stoves coming alive for the season. The leaves change to glorious oranges, reds and yellows, a favourite colour palette of mine for most of my life. I love being outdoors. The temperature is just right for hikes, brisk walks and sitting on the back deck. I start to get ready to hunker down and hibernate, stay closer to home, do less in a day, go to bed earlier, sleep more, read more. And I simply take in the beauty all around me. 

[ all photos taken by me, ginger deverell ]

I'm in New Westminster, BC (west coast of Canada). This post is part of the flying sisters blog circle - take a peek at what's happening for these wonderful creatives this autumn (or spring for some):

Amy Riddle (Asheville, NC)

Sandy King

Vickie Martin (Atlanta)

Robin Heim (Southern California) 

Naz Laila (Australia)


Hoping you are absorbing the beauty of autumn too. xo

 

New Greeting Cards!

My first batch of greeting cards arrived. Hip hip hooray!

 

Get yours here! And watch for more sets with different designs coming. I hope they'll be ready in time for Christmas shopping.

With gratitude and a happy heart,

In My Sketchbook

Some of my favourite sketches from this fall so far, and the start of a new painting. Birds, tumbling type, florals and nature-infused big hair... this is what's inspiring me these days.

Sadness, reflection, elegance, vulnerability, playful festive joy. It's all here. That's the beauty of being human isn't it?