I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The end of the year can get a little busier than usual which can mean less time to create (sometimes it's hard to just keep up!) If you have time for art, great! If you don't, that's OK too. While I believe we need to make creating a priority, I also believe it should be fun and relaxing, not add to a long list of to-dos that is stressing you out!

 

I encourage you to check in with yourself and see how you feel about it. Maybe 10, 15, 30 minutes is totally doable. Maybe you want to leave your sketchbook open and add a little to it when you have a few minutes to spare. Maybe this is a time of sorting through ideas in your head and brainstorming until you have more time to get them down on paper. Maybe you can incorporate your creativity into your gift wrapping or other tasks that need to be done. There are lots of different and flexible ways to approach this--do what feels right for you (which is what this newsletter is all about :))

 

I can't believe it but we only have 2 more prompts left! Here's a heads up on what the rest of the year will look like:

 

Dec 1 - First Prompt

Dec 5 - Check-In

Dec 8 - Second Prompt

Dec 12 - Check-In

Dec 15 - Wrap Up Email

 

I hope this schedule keeps you inspired while making space and time for you to create and celebrate as we wrap up 2023 :) And below are some recent creations you've been working on!

Gratitude 4 ways by Vanesa.

"So this was one that felt like it was a mess without purpose..which has been the feel since I got my studio up honestly. It had been around 6 weeks with my shoulder surgery and move without painting..and it still feels like I’m shaking off the creative cobwebs.

But then I saw an Angel in it, kneeling down in prayer, seen from the side.

And that reminded me of the many blessings that I have in my life.

Which reminded me of the @atiliay Creative Spark Newsletter prompt of Gratitude, how I wasn’t sure how I’d visually represent gratitude.

And yet here was the visual representation of gratitude from my soul without my mind needing to interpret it.

Sometimes things work out that way..

I’m so grateful..for so so much.

And I could list it all out, but will simply share my personal mantra with you.

It encompasses for me a gratitude for it all - the simple and the special, the things I used to take for granted forgetting that others don’t have their basic needs met, the things I work hard for and the things that come easy, the things I love and the things I don’t like.

I wrote it about 5 years ago and it’s stuck with me since. May it bring you the same feeling that it brings me 💗

It’s simple yet powerful for me:

I am grateful and thankful for all that I have and all that I am 🙏" - Melissa

Mitzi created salt watercolor for the fall season and ornaments for dark: “Gouache black and grey circles (painted the rim of a small jar and used it as a stamp and then filled in). Background acrylic silver and threads of gold acrylic. I was going for dark ornaments with a spot of light in red. I always dread the holidays, especially Christmas, so it seemed fitting.”

Things have been a little busier on my end so this last week I've been brainstorming and will spend some time putting ideas on paper tomorrow. I have an idea for “gratitude” that I want to try as well as an idea for “metamorphosis”. I want to get a start on both but if I don't finish, I am telling myself that is OK! With a base down I will be able to keep on adding to it.

 

Enjoy the rest of November and your weekend! Talk to you soon,

PS: If your inbox is anything like mine, you've been getting lots of Black Friday emails today. I'm sending this check-in a little bit later in hopes it doesn't get lost in the mix!

I'd love to continue our creative explorations! Sign ups for 2024 are now open.