AEDM 2011 Waves Are High

This year's  Art Every Day Month 2011 feels very disjointed for me for some reason. I feel like I am jumping all around creatively right now...a little bit here, a little bit there. I am trying to work all of this around the other things that are going on with my Master's of Art Therapy degree so I guess I should not be so hard on myself and just ride the waves of creativity wherever they take me. So, here go the posts...hold on for the wavy ride!

Cocoa loves his blue ball!

Little Cocoa waiting patiently.

Day Seven:
I did not really do too much creatively this day, though I did try and take advantage of one of the last lovely fall days that we had before the snow started in today. I began reading The Validation Breakdown which is feeding my soul and helping me to better understand and help the elderly with dementia that I work with every day, so they are not so frightened and angry. Understanding their situation and learning how to better my compassion for them helps to make me feel good inside and that leads to positive energy coming in that can later be put back out in my art or art for healing. Playing ball with my little buddy, Cocoa also helps feed my soul!

Day Eight:
I went back to work on my website design. I started importing photographs in of my artwork and then I worked on adding all the titles, sizes, medium listings etc. That was very time consuming and it is still is not done. That did me in for the evening, but I am making progress toward my goal. I just have to breathe.

©InnerSpirit/Diane M. McKnight

Day Nine:
I decided to start working on collecting collage elements to add to the painting that I started earlier this month at my friends studio. I started collecting images that just "called out to me" while flipping through magazines and I started ripping them out. This is a way of working that I often use with clients since it allows free association and a bit of the "serendipity of the moment", and it also allows people to get away from their cognitive side for a while. After I got a good pile of images, I cut some out and started playing around with the composition without trying to do much processing of what the imagery might mean to me. That will be the other part of this project, where I will explore what I feel may be hidden messages or meanings that my art might be trying to tell me. More on that as this artwork progresses (sorry about the glare from the overhead light on the glossy magazine cutout pieces). I will be refining the images and composition and then adhering them to the canvas with acrylic matte medium.

Day Ten
I signed up to take Reiki training Classes. I have wanted to take lessons in this forever, but I kept putting it off for various reasons (money, timing, etc.). Today I decided that I was just going to have to dive in and sign up! This really is a creative move since I have often found that when I am moving forward on my spiritual journey which is directly tied into my journey toward helping others to heal, I am overcome with creative potential and ideas that I can record and come back to later.

Everyone is doing some fantastic artwork for Art Every Day Month 2011. Go to the main website and click on the participants posts for each day to see some other terrific artists works. Are you participating in AEDM or have you ever considered taking the plunge and trying it?

Blessings and Love,
D.