Is this steamy enough for you? Or too steamy? The beauty of visual journaling is that you tailor it to your needs. Be as bold or as cautious as you like. But why not take a chance……be bold…..dare to dream……….

Join me in my upcoming sexy journaling class. And don’t worry, I won’t make you read your poems in class………..unless you want to.

Over the years, so many people have asked me where I got my creativity and why I make the kind of art I do. So, finally I’m writing it all down. I invite you to follow my journey from its roots to where I am now.

Although I was always doodling and dabbling at creative projects, I never really took art seriously as a child or in high school or college. I thought it was much more sensible to take Biology and Calculus and Physics so I could “get ahead” in the world. It wasn’t until 2001, when I realized that I needed more in my life than being a stay home mom, that I discovered the magical world of watercolors. I created a small sampling of paintings of women done in a geometric segmented style that I called “Fractured Women”.

Those early paintings led me to a class, then a workshop, then private lessons. Eventually, watercolor painting evolved into acrylics and mixed media collage and finally three dimensional figures called the Grimsicals. The Grimsicals were a creepy group of little people and animals with lots of character. At the time I didn’t know why I was making them, I just knew that they were inside of me and had to come out. These were followed by hand-made journals and sketchbooks, a few purses, some jewelry here and there, and a collection of altered cigar boxes.

Eventually I had more paintings and creepy little creations than I could display in my home, so I got into the gallery scene for a few years and found new homes for my art “babies”.  While all this was going on, I raised two boys and taught art to hundreds of people in local art stores and in my studio.

I’m telling you all this because of the “back to your roots” thingy. Guess what I’m doing now? Yep, I’ve come back home to the paintings of women. New and improved, wiser, kinder, more grounded women; women that I feel more like today than I did back then. The new girls aren’t the “Fractured Women” of the past, they’re now appropriately called “Faceted Women” – symbolic of all the parts that make up a whole woman.

I am so very excited to share the unveiling of this new collection of work with you. The central piece around which all the others orbit is called Finding My Much-ness and is inspired by Tim Burton’s “Alice”. As I finish each painting, I’ll be posting “sneak peaks” on my blog. When they’re complete, I’ll announce the unveiling and you’ll be invited to celebrate their birth and the birth of a new and improved Margaret.

I hope you’ll stick with me through the development of my new work. Please COMMENT on the paintings. I love what I am seeing so far, and I hope you will too.

I haven’t quite decided on the activities yet, but I’m planning on a soulful, healing art theme. We’ll have a meet-and-greet on Friday night, art all day Saturday and half of Sunday and maybe some gallery tours. You’ll have time to explore and relax on the beach or maybe visit a spa.

I’ll keep you posted.

Vision Boards is a great class for teens, adults, mom, professionals because it includes the areas of life that are important to YOU no matter your age or position in life.

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
- Jim Rohn author of One Year Success Plan

“By using this Vision Board you will be able to put the Law of Attraction into use in the most powerful way! ”
- Joe Vitale self-improvement author

Two days later I got a call from a lovely lady who works with a group of women who, although not in crisis or strife, wanted to incorporate art into their monthly meetings. We talked, they voted and I got the job! I LOVE IT when the Law of Attraction shows up in my life. I am now so grateful to be working with this amazing group doing visual journaling. In fact, it has inspired me to create a few new classes related to listening to your heart and following your dreams.

Visual Journaling is a class I already teach, but this one has a twist — a theme. Starting in two weeks, I will be offering a six-week journaling class in which we explore the night time dreams we have. We’ll work with personal and archetypal symbols to decode dreams. And, we’ll work with the daytime dreams we call goals and create visual representations of them that help to draw them into reality.

In Visual Journaling you will mix your inner feelings with cool art techniques to make your journal pages pop. The first class will be spent creating your own hand-stitched journal. Then you’ll track your dream memories and explore their meanings in class with dream analysis and interpretation of personal symbols. You’ll also bring your daydreams to life by creating beautiful pages that give attention to your desires and help make them into realities. Use poetry, quotes and writing with images and art to bring your dreams to life.

By now you know that I am always pushing the importance of creative expression in the lives of both kids and adults. For me, creating art on a daily basis is a goal that I try hard to maintain because when I make the time to do it, I feel happy. Making art calms my nerves, quiets the chatter in my mind and brings new insights and ideas forward. It helps me stay relaxed and be nicer to people in my life. I feel like I’ve done something productive and restorative at the same time.
I came across this little list in Legacy Studio’s website and I want to share it with you.
Did you know that by doing creative activities you will be…

Integrating the body, mind and spirit.
Providing opportunity for self-expression by bringing your inner world into the outer world of concrete reality.
Tapping into personal strengths in meaningful ways.
Developing a higher order of thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, evaluation and problem solving.
Connecting with your subconscious mind to discover, nurture and befriend your spirit.

I hope this inspires you to doodle on a napkin at Starbucks or make a sculpture in your mashed potatoes or take a class or start an art journal. It’s fun!

I love, love, love that creating SoulCollage(R) cards can ALWAYS bring a room full of women together. That’s what happened in today’s class. Eight women from different cities, different walks of life with diverse backgrounds and beliefs put all that aside and tuned into their intuition to create the most amazing cards.SoulCollage(R) is the most amazingly simple collage process in which you can create a deck of cards that represent facets of your personality. They can be used for reflection or daily meditation. They can answer life’s little questions and remind you that the answers are always inside. SoulCollage(R) can open your mind and free your spirit. And, judging by today’s class, they can make you smile, touch you deeply and send powerful messages.

View more of the great cards created in today’s class.

I am so thankful for all the changes. Just to name a few — I moved into a perfect new home, got my first dog, started my older boy in middle school (sheesh!), got serious about my art career, vacationed in Carmel and Mendocino, met wonderfully inspiring new students, met the bone marrow donor who saved my friend’s son’s life, made tons of changes in my personal life, and enjoyed friends and family. In 2011 I was surrounded almost daily by people who were so supportive of me personally and professionally and for that I am so very grateful. It’s all changed my life for the better.

In 2012, I am looking forward to a year filled with teaching, selling at art shows, creating lots of art and selling it at the perfect retail outlet for my style of work (anyone know a place?), and meeting the right people at the right time. It’s so exciting to start each day and wait to see what new opportunity comes my way. 2012 is the year of new beginnings, new hope, fun and exciting jobs and unexpected wonderful opportunities. Thank you in advance for making this a great year!

Paverpol is a wonderful fabric hardener that can be used to create just about anything — indoor art, outside sculpture, with canvas or mixed media projects, as a glue, and as a sealant for outside pieces. You can color it or paint it after your work dries. I shared some of the techniques for creating and draping a beautiful angel figurine with Paverpol stiffener. I’ll be teaching a class on Saturday, December 17, 1011 from 10am to 5pm. It’s $95 for the whole day. We’ll be making holiday figures — elves, Santas, agnels, fairies, etc. You’ll learn to make an armature (skeleton) for your figure, how to add form to it, how to drape fabric over the piece and then finish it off with paint and embellishment.

I hope to see you there.

http://www.stampington.com/artdollquarterly/

Anyway………isn’t this the coolest? The cover artist this month is Scott Smith and the article about him is called “The Ivory Hue of Bones”. His work is so creepy — reminds me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.