Art Journaling at Daniel Smith

Art Journaling at Daniel Smith

I went to the free art journaling demo at Daniel Smith Art in Seattle on Saturday and it was a total blast. Liesel Lund lead the demo and she showed us how to make our own journal. Then she talked about some of her favorite products and showed us a few techniques for art journaling. She even shared some of her art journals — all of which were amazing. My favorite was an underwater-themed art journal with cut-away pages that reminded me of books I had when I was a kid. The kind with holes in the middle that slowly reveal more of the picture. Very cool.

I’m definitely signing up for the hands-on workshop in August that she’s teaching there – Intro to Art Journaling. It seems right up my alley since I’m pretty new to the format as an actual genre (though I’ve been collaging for a hundred years). Liesel also hosts workshops at her home in Phinney Ridge and several of them looks fabulous. Can’t wait to dig in.

So I was going to take photos of the event to share, but there was a big “NO PHOTOGRAPHY” sign at the front of the room when we arrived. Not sure why, but I didn’t want to get kicked out so I obeyed. (For the most part.) But the set-up reminded me of a cooking class, with Liesel at the front working at a big counter, with an enormous mirror overhead so we could watch her work.
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The Art of Paying Attention

The Art of Paying Attention

A coworker brought me a Peace Lily this morning. At least, I guessed it was a Peace Lily, based on the two remaining leaves that were curling crisply around a swiftly browning stalk. She was despondent. “I tried everything but it’s dying. I heard you’re the plant lady. Can you save it?” she asked me urgently.

“What did you do, put it in the window?” She nodded slowly, looking guilty without knowing why. I stuck my finger into the soil, which was dense and wet. “These guys don’t like direct light,” I told her. Never mind baking it the oven of a West-facing window. “And you need different soil.”

I took out my first aid kit and we went to work on the plant in ER mode. I knew we’d save the Lily; it just needed a little attention.
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#7: Are you asking the right question?

#7: Are you asking the right question?

When I’m going through a rough spot, I journal more. My morning writing sessions stretch out and I often add an evening session. This isn’t because I have so many answers to explore.

It’s because I have so many questions.

So many times, I’ve written a weighty, important question in my journal, and followed it with, I don’t have the answer to this. Please show me the way. And in the spirit of What the #$*! Do We Know!?, I ask the Universe to make the answer super obvious because I’m a little dense.

Asking big questions is an act of bravery. It’s one of the hardest things we can do as humans. Humans like the status quo: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But there’s a big difference between “not broken” and “working sublimely.”

The opposite of love is not hate – it’s apathy.
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