Using Art Explorations To Relax My Anxiety

Feminine Mystique ©InnerSpirit

Creative Play With Technology

I have been playing for the past year and a half with the various art and painting apps that have come out for the iPhone. Every time something new comes out I have downloaded it and played to see which of the apps out there work the best, are the most versatile, and which ones can be combined by importing and exporting into each other to create further creative options, etc. I have been creating drawings and paintings on the iPhone for a while now, as I have been testing these new apps out. Up until now, I have posted most of these art explorations on my InnerSpirit facebook page in a photo album called "iPhone and iPad experiments" (see the link to the right of this post) if you would like to check out more of the artwork I am working on at this time. 

It has really been a lot of fun playing around with these apps and it has been therapeutic for me at the same time. Since I have not had a lot of time this past year, doing small projects such as these, have really helped me to feel creative without having to make a really long time commitment to a larger scale art project. I have also found that these new art apps have gotten me to explore and to play a bit more than normal and in the process, I think that I have gotten some pretty cool art out of the deal, along with helping to maintain my own sanity in a very trying time professionally and personally.

Untitled Work In-Progress ©Innerspirit

My Tax Refund Treat To Myself

I recently bought an iPad so that I could work with a little larger canvas (well, in reality, the canvas SIZE is not actually bigger since it is the same pixel dimensions in both the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2, but I don't have to enlarge it and reduce it as frequently in the iPad 2 as I do in the iPhone 4, so it FEELS larger). I also purchased the iPad 2 to explore using it for art therapy interventions with my hospice patients since I don't have a long visit time for setting up and tearing down of traditional media. I am in the process of getting together some initial interventions that will meet the goals of my patients using this medium, so it is a new adventure all the way around. 

I thought it might be interesting to post some of my iPad/iPhone work here on my blog and future updates on how things are going with my patients as I introduce some of these apps to them. I usually draw on the screen with my fingers, but I purchased a Pogo Sketch Stylus and two different Nomad Brushes (a long hair and short hair) to give my patients some personal preference options in addition to the fingerpainting option).

The first art piece on this page is titled "Feminine Mystique" and it was created on the iPad 2 in two different apps. I love the mystery of this female figure and it's apparent vulnerability . The second art piece is a "work in progress", so it is untitled currently. I imported a photo that I took on my iphone into one of the art apps and created and added some textures to it. I have recently moved this art into another app and I am currently adding some handrawn effects to it that I will post in another blog...stay tuned for more of this second one as it evolves.

Do you have any new art experiments you are working on? I would love to hear about them.

Much Love And Blessings,

D.

 

High Tech Easter Egg Dying: No Colored Fingers!

Creative Fingerpainting

I was thinking today about coloring Easter eggs with my daughter in "Days Gone By". I was reminiscing a bit and thinking how I missed doing that, but in the course of my memories I also remembered the mess that those eggs caused. In our house, "the house of an artist", of course...the plain old solid colored eggs, or even two toned eggs "just did not fly"!  We ended up using our hands and fingers to dip and dye in many angles with overlapping stripes and then using our fingers to put dots on the eggs, etc. The sky was the limits to our creativity. We always ended up with "dyed fingers" in the process of creating such beautifully colored eggs!

An Easter Egg Fix Without The Mess
Wanting to foster my fixation with Easter eggs today, I went online to see if anyone else had posted any eggs that they had made with their family and in my google search I came upon a wonderful little electronic Easter Egg Maker. Oh Yes, I had found my "egg dealer" to get my "Egg Fix" and I submerged myself in this new endeavor! I set off playing with several variations and even sent a few off as little Easter cards to some family members and friends via the email option that the website gave. These little personalize eggs were put in a cute little basket and then sent out to the people you selected to share them with. What a cool idea!

I've included a few of my little egg creations that I made here, just to show off. I should be ALL SET if I ever become a grandma. These designs seem more refined than the ones that my daughter and I created, but it did allow me to have a little fun today and to go down memory lane. My daughter is 20 now, she is in college and she lives in Chicago. She has her own apartment now and when I talked to her last, her and her roommate were making Easter Eggs together. I hope she thought of me when she was doing them with her friend Amy, much like I thought of our sweet, cherished memories today when I was creating my eggs.

Did you do Easter Eggs with anyone this year? Do you have a great Easter Egg making memory that you are willing to share? I would love to hear of others that miss this process...AND if you aren't able to do the old fashioned "dying" way try this online version and let me know how it went for you.

Much Love and Blessings,

D.

Christmas Season Is Unfolding And My Gifts Are Naked

It's the night before Christmas Eve and not a creature is stirring...not even a mouse...though I hope I don't have mice! My dog Cocoa is crashed soundly in his bed after suffering through a much needed bath, a combing and then his "special" treat for putting up with all that whole ordeal. My daughter, who just arrived home from driving in from her apartment in Chicago, rushed in, gave me a quick kiss and hug, changed her clothes and zoomed out the door to meet friends who were also home visiting their families for the holidays. Such is the empty nest life I guess. So here I sit...alone with my dog and cat, listening to Christmas carols and wrapping a few gifts. 

I started out fully engaged in this gift wrapping extravaganza until I decided that I needed some photos for this blog, being a "past life" graphic designer, I know these things are way more enticing if there are some photos to draw visual interest of the reader. That's when I got diverted!...and MUCH more interested in playing with my iphone camera — using some of the cool photo apps that I don't always get to play with as much as I would like to. Off I went, the artist in me at play...the next thing I knew an hour had gone by and no gifts were wrapped! I did get these photos from Hipstamatic that I liked the gritty edge filter and the film that I was playing with though. As you can see, I have candles burning to go with my Christmas music wrapping mode.

As I am contemplating the stack of naked gifts yet to be wrapped, I am reminded of the "upscale" client of my mother's that allowed me to spend 3 days at her house wrapping Christmas presents one year in high school for a pretty good income! Her whole living room was stacked high with extravagant gifts and I got paid well to wrap them and make them look gorgeous. They made my little grouping of gifts for my daughter and other family members dwarf in comparison to volume and expense. But, Christmas is not about the commercialism that our economy tries to dazzle us with...it's about love, grace, and a miracle! 

As far as miracles go...I am hoping one comes my way and helps me get these gifts wrapped! I could use some help myself right about now. If you are crashing and burning yourself trying to get last minute shopping done and all the gifts wrapped in time, consider "downsizing Christmas"  and focusing on the love and intention behind each gift and not on the volume of the gifts. Take a minute to reflect on the true meaning of this season and don't let the "advertising group" convince you that you have to buy, buy, buy. Simplify your holiday season and lower your stress. Take it from an artist who was an art director for 25 years, it is all about creating "want" in the consumer, no matter how unneeded the item is! 

Have a safe, happy and blessed Christmas! If you do take time to ponder the real meaning of this holiday season or you decide to actually "downsize" it this year...I would be interested in hearing what your thoughts and/or actions were with this. I really am curious.

Blessings and Love,
D.

Relaxing, Mindless Doodling: Day 27

Just Going With The Flow

Trying to get a little bit of Art Every Day Month done in between homework. This is my last full weekend that I have available for homework, otherwise it is just evenings this week after work and everything is due December 4th at noon, so I am just doodling a bit to possibly get some backgrounds that I can use later for some additional art pieces. (Click on any image to see a larger view)

This is what I got today, which is more than I had before I started, so yeh! Art Every Day Month is still allowing me to create more art than when I wasn't doing it, even with my homework demands. I know a lot of us are probably tired with all the holiday things going on right now, but it amazing what some of the the other artists are still creating. Click on the Art Every Day Month link above to see what they are doing. It seems that everyone is having a great time with this months fun and a lot of GREAT artwork is being produced!

Blessings and Much Love,

D.

Thanksgiving Day: Day 25

Giving thanks... for my family and my cute little dog buddy, Cocoa! I did not have time this day to do anything too creative, but I did take a picture of my daughter and my dog cocoa. He was very tired after a long day of seeing all his human relatives and his "brother" from another litter that my mom adopted from the same breeder. I couldn't resist capturing this photo since Cocoa was looking so cute as he was trying to sleep in my daughters arms. I have a photo that includes my daughters face along with Cocoa, which I did not think was bad, but my daughter made a "face" when I showed it to her on my phone after shooting it and I know if she ever knew that I posted it anywhere on the internet she would "hate me", so I am being respectful...thus why she is cut off.
 
This is my contribution to Art Every Day Month, a cute dog photo, and my resting and enjoying family. This will enhance my creativity the rest of the week by taking some down time. Did everyone else have a great holiday? What did you do that was restful? 

See you soon, Much Love and Blessings,

D.

Standing Resolute And Waiting: Day 24

Breathing Deep And Holding My Ground

I started this art piece from another background that I created in Fluid Painter, working much like I did when I created the blob art on Day 22. The original image can be seen on my blog post from Day 8 (the second image in the post) if anyone is interested. I played with several layer effects on top of each other until finally this image seemed to speak to me and I knew it was complete. I will tell you what I saw in this in a moment. (Click on the image to see a larger more detailed view).

I know everyone sees different things in abstract work, which is probably why I have become so intrigued by it the last few years. I used to only do high realism when I created art. That was what I was taught in art school, and that was what I thought the majority of society thought good art was. Sure, there were abstract works in museums, rich collectors who bought them at high prices, and we studied all the great abstract artists in my art history courses in college, but somehow I still walked away from my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree feeling like good art was very representational and needed to look like the subject you were seeing, either directly before you, or in your minds eye. Most of my immediate family, friends, and other artists I knew at the time also seemed to validate that belief for me. It wasn't until a few years ago when I just started playing with art and trying to have fun all over again that I discovered how wonderful and freeing abstract work can be for the soul.

Moving The Soul To Connect With My True Self
I guess the connection that abstract work made with my soul is what got me hooked. I was not about selling my art at the time as much as about freeing my soul to run and play and feel safe to explore. That is what I found when I let myself go with this new way of creating. I still like to do a realistic drawing now and then just to keep my hand in and to hone my drawing skills, but that is for another purpose entirely. It still feeds my soul, but it feeds the part of it that dwells in regiment, control, safety and wanting to understanding another thing well enough be able to draw it meticulously. This is something that my artist soul also needs at times, but the FREEDOM to PLAY is what lights up my InnerSpirit and connects me with my spiritual realm.

In this image I saw a bold, solid megalith of a man or woman (reminding me of the androgynous megaliths that stand on Easter Island) forming itself out of the rolling waves at the right and becoming larger than life against the blue, vast, swirling sky. It stands resolutely and almost defiantly against the bold landscape with a large mushroom behind him/her on their left. The mushroom was a curious image for me to see and I saw it very distinctly, so I wondered if it had any significance for me. I did a little research into some of the symbolic meanings that have been attributed to mushrooms just for fun. 

In the Chinese culture, Shitake mushrooms have long been a symbol of longevity. I don't know if this mushroom is Shitake, but longevity would blend with the resolute and strong image of the megalith. (This photo was taken by Yamanaka Tamaki) When I searched for other mushroom symbolism, most of the resources for interpreting your dream symbols suggest that mushrooms signify unhealthy pleasures and unwise decisions in your waking life. The dream resources suggest that a mushroom shows up to warn you that things that come too quickly have a tendency to disappear just as quick and that you should learn to appreciate the things you have. Hmm...something to ponder here. 

I am not sure what it all means yet. I usually like to sit with some images for a few days and let them roll around in my mind and heart until the message comes through clearly. Just on the fly, I feel it has something definitely to do with being dedicated and standing by what I believe in...in my case I feel that it might be telling me that I am stronger than I sometimes feel and that I can weather the storms, after all, the statues still stand on Easter Island and the megaliths at Stonehedge have stood the test of time and elements quite well (I have even seen these first hand, which if you ever travel there you must go...they are awesome). This message appears to be more of the message that I got from my conversation with my blind contour drawing on my Day 22 blog post. Hmm...someone is trying to tell me something and they are afraid that I might not be listening so the message appears to be getting louder and stronger. Maybe I better start paying attention or I am going to be having lots of megaliths in my art!

I better get back to my homework and stand resolute to get the last of it done so that I will have one more semester out of the way! Next semester I finish my final thesis/research course and all my actual classes will be done in April. I will then just be an internship away from completion of my Master of Arts in Art Therapy. That will be a celebration for sure! Maybe I will even travel to see a Megalith again just to say thank you in person!  

Do you have symbols that have been coming up for you lately in your artwork. Have you ever taken the time to think about what their meaning might be to you? Do you believe that art can speak metaphorically to you? Please share some of your symbolism and experiences you have had with this with me. I would love to hear about it. 

Blessings and Much Love,

D.

Playing With Blobs: Day 22

Still Playing With Photoshop

I got out my Wacom Tablet today to do a little playing since I have not used it in quite sometime. I started out with one of the drawings that I posted at the beginning of the month that I did in Fluid Painter and used that as the original background. Then I started playing with drawing various brush strokes, but I quickly decided that I did not like what was happening and switched gears. I ran the poster edges filter over the background and I got a cool effect that I liked and then I started just playing around with hues, saturation and layer effects until I got something that spoke to me today. I added some simple shapes and found a pleasing composition that was kind of fun! (click on the image to view a larger version)

I hope everyone will forgive me for not writing a lot today, I have been up since 4:00 a.m. to finish a 20 page research paper before starting work, on adolescent suicide and the art therapy interventions that can be used to help them with depression and other feelings and behaviors that increase the likelihood of suicide. My brain is now mush, but I wanted to do a little art and to at least post. More "verbage" tomorrow I hope when my brain gels back together and I can think again.  

I hope everyone is still having fun with Art Every Day Month! 

Blessings and Much Love,

D.

Feeling A Little Rough: Day 20

Revising A Blind Contour I Posted Last Year During AEDM. 

I am feeling a little "rough around the edges this morning". I slept in a bit, but I am still not feeling quite right. I started drinking my morning java in hopes of feeling a little more up "to par"...but it has not really helped. My head feels foggy and I am still quite groggy. I started thinking about this self portrait that I did last year and I thought I wanted to reacquaint myself with it. It seemed to be calling to me. Do you ever have art pieces that speak to you? I try to be sensitive to that with my art therapy work and I have come to believe that sometimes when you create something it has one message for you at the time and it can later come up in your consciousness that it is wanting to tell you more about yourself...this is what is going on with this piece today. (I have included both images here, the original one that I posted last year is the first one shown and the second one is the adjustments that I did this morning while I had my conversation with the piece)


Upon opening the piece...I was struck by the fact that it really does capture how I am feeling today, but my hair is much longer now...so I probably look a bit different. If you take that away and just focus on the face and the haggard feelings that are represented there...it captures my morning very accurately. I feel drawn, tired, and like I just want to go back to bed, cuddle under the covers and watch movies all day. Those days have long gone by the wayside when I had lots of time on the weekends to just hang out with my daughter, who was young then and just have a "movie day". Sometimes I long for those days, but the committments of school have temporarily consummed most of my weekend times. Of course, my daughter is also not small and she is away on her own now going to college in Chicago. I am looking forward to her being here for the holiday season and maybe we can watch a couple of movies together like we used to. We have a holiday tradition of hot cocoa, cinnamon rolls, and watching a few favorites like Christmas Vacation and A Charlie Brown's Christmas among others. 

I ask the drawing what else it wished to share with me other than making me painfully aware of the fact that I am tired...weary...and wanting to just be done with school. She stares back at me and boldly says "You have a resolve to complete what you started, you fear not finishing, you fear failure, yet you always resolve to move forward and reach the other side". I reply to her, "You are not telling me anything that I don't already know. Why was it so important for you speak to me today? Why did you tap, tap, tap into my conscious thoughts today?" She took a minute to just stare at me...I looked deep into the images eyes...they stared blatantly back at me, almost challenging me.

After several minutes of silence had passed, her voice took on a very serious tone as she spoke, "You are allowing your weariness to take over, and it will spoil your celebration that is soon come. Rest...replenish...and know that this hill is only as high as you allow it to become. Don't allow the berating voices you carry with you from your childhood to win. You have courage, resolve and resources that will carry you through until the end. Search within, and remember that you are following the path that has been laid before you by God's hand and this truth has been revealed in many ways over the years...trust him, lean into him...seek strength from him...and keep stepping forward."

Well, I guess she told me.

My day begins, as I see this image in my head and I try and tune into the "innerspirt" of God's plan for me and I will try and remember the many ways that this art therapy path has been laid out before me. I forget sometimes the "signs" of something bigger than myself when I don't see them tangibly visible before me every day. So my image came to remind me today. Funny how that works. 

Do your images that you create ever talk to you? Have you ever tried to ask your artwork a question as simple as "Why were you created today" or "What do you want to share with me today"? Try it if you haven't...you might be surprised when the image speaks back to you. Let me know your experiences with this in the past, or if you try this after reading this post...I would love to hear about your experiences with this.

Blessings and Much Love,

D.

Lilies Gone Wild: Day 18

Well, it is Day 18 and I am still playing with texture and abstract images. What fun it has been. I have really been surprised by some of the images that are happening while I am just playing around and letting my mind wander, trying this and that...not really having any sort of cognitive plan prior to just diving in and working very intuitively. I have noticed quite a few others this year are working on the "intuitive" level and having great results. One of them is the organizer of this great Art Every Day Month event, Leah Piken Kolidas. My thanks go out to her for continuing to host this event every year! I know that it must be hard work to get everything set up for signing up and signing in every day. She also manages to make it around to everyone at least a few times during the event to offer them kind words and encouragement since not everyone always feels what they are creating is worth posting. Myself included. Signing up is the easy part, then comes the "TERROR" that you are committing to create art and that you are going to maybe share that art with the world via the internet!

But you know what? I have come to know that the world will receive it as it was intended. I have come to believe that those who are intended to see, respond, and feel connected in some way with the art that is produced during this month WILL see it and it's purpose will be played out in their heart. This creative, sustaining energy will in turn come out in another creative creation of theirs whether that is art, music, dance, writing or just how they creatively respond to the world and to the relationships that they have in their lives. 
I fear no more! Well...I can't guarantee that a little fear won't creep back in, but for now I am trusting in the process.

Do you work intuitively when you are creating art? I am curious about how you have experienced working intuitively and if you have been pleasantly surprised by the results. How does working intuitively contrast to when you work in a more planned or structured way?

Blessings and Much Love,
D.

Sometime In The Wee Hours: Day 17

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch...the stress of the end of the semester has been upon me for the past week. I have skipped out of Art Every Day Month the last few days to focus on my huge case study review for my Clinical III class. It was an important "gateway" to the approval process for my internship to begin next fall. I did pass that, so the crunching paid off, but now I still have a few more assignments to get in by the end of the month. I took some time in the wee hours of the night/early morning today to play a little bit with this abstract piece just to clear my head after typing for several hours straight. I could not even think anymore, so I enjoyed some relaxing play time creating this and now I can refocus with a clear head. (Click on the image for a larger view)

I should be used to this time of year after being in grad school for close to 8 years now with this double major. It sure seemed like a good idea back when I started this art therapy masters degree 3 years ago. It is still a good idea, it has just been harder and LONGER than I originally envisioned it to be. I was originally told that I would only need 21 credits of a 45 credit Masters in Art Therapy because all of my psychology credits and both of my research courses would all transfer into this Master's program from my Master of Social Work degree. I naively thought...WOW...with 4 credits a semester that would be about two and a half years and I would be done. So I went for it. Well...working full-time, not all the classes being offered when I was able to take them and the art therapy credentialing board changing the requirements midstream for how many credits must be done within the actual art therapy program, put me a little behind the original plan. But, plans sometimes have to be flexible if you want to succeed I am learning. Slowly but surely, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Holiday Is Around The Corner
. .. but it always takes me by surprise each year with how crazy it gets during this time. The semester before the holidays is always the worst, because just as everyone else it getting ready for relaxed time with family and friends, I am still usually functioning on little sleep and void of any social interactions other than work. Everyone is asking me, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving I think...I can't think that far out...though it is really only next week. For me I am only able to focus on one day at time and doing what I can to get all my assignments in, then I come up for air and wonder..."Yes, what AM I doing for the holiday?" It is about that same time that I am also craving a few glasses of holiday cheer to celebrate another semesters end.

Save a bottle of "cheer" for me PLEASE I say to friends and family...or maybe two this year! A nice "oaky, robust" Merlot sounds good about now or a nice "buttery and oaky", Chardonnay. What's your holiday drink of choice? It doesn't have to be alcoholic, just yummy and festive. I also LOVE to try nice new flavors of hot cocoa and coffee this time of the year.

Blessings and much love,

D.