Book of Days and other such things...

Ah, well... i'm finding my groove with Book of Days... making the time to make some art a few days a week and to journal... to touch base with me. Taxes are filed... don't hate me because me I'm fast and ahead, know that I've only done it this quickly because of the ever looming threat of loosing my house...

I've had some fun experimenting with some new techniques and playing around. The good thing about art journals is that when your attempt fails, you can keep it to see what went wrong or just cover right over it with something not so "mistake-ish"-- Me, I keep the mistakes, because I'm a firm believer in learning from failure. But here are some of the pages that have really turned out the way I hoped...

What a blast. If you haven't taken a look at Effy Wild's Book of Days project, I encourage you to take a look. It is a no pressure art journaling project that will last for a full year. Effy provides you with videos, feedback via a facebook page and emails. She's a ton of fun to learn with. I've paired up with her to offer a HUGE discount on The Planet You workshops as well as at the Planet You Shop. For access to the discounts, you just have to register for Book of Days (which is totally free.)

Life has been the same kind of crazy for me.. too much going on at work, too much drama at home and a general sense of malaise. I know that once the tree finally finishes shaking and I figure out if I'll be able to keep my house the rest of my world will also settle down. Until then, I'm just hanging on and doing my best to enjoy the ride-- though I'd be lying if I didn't say that some days, all this shaking makes me really unhappy and uncomfortable. As I work on my process of "coming back up" I am reminding myself to be gentle with my failures, to try not to lash out when I am feeling threatened and cornered, and to do the best I can with what I've got. It is not always easy to have those days when the best I've got is really not so good. But that's part of the art of surfacing... coming back up is hard work, and long. I'm not a patient person, so the "long" part is not my favorite. But here on Planet Kaere, I know that the way things are are the way I choose to see them... so I keep choosing to see them as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Make something beautiful with your heart and your hands,
Kaere