Love & Glitter

You Don't Have To Be An Expert To Begin

I started mucking about in late 2009 with some Mod Podge and scrap paper and a box of chalk pastels. In Spring of 2010, I went ga-ga over art journaling, and my life blossomed in ways I would never have expected, but the fact remains:

I am an art newb. 

I am still in that phase where there is a huge gap between my taste and what I actually create. I am *still* surprised when I create something that really pleases me aesthetically. I mean, I'm always pleased to be creating, but the end product often leaves something to be desired. I have confidence that I'm improving, and I know I work at it, but I have no illusions about becoming a 'great artist' any time soon. I still don't feel I've found my 'voice'. I still struggle with basic applications of various mediums. I suck at collage and I often struggle with composition. But none of this matters. 

I just love journal art. 

I have a passion and an enthusiasm that is infectious. What I lack in skill, I make up for in sheer willingness to try. 

I am well aware that I'm surrounded by people who are *way* more skilled than I am. I only have to skim the threads in my Book of Days Facebook group to see that. I have little to teach by way of technique that any one of these gorgeous women couldn't teach themselves. They are *awesome* and I find myself having to pick my jaw up off the floor on a regular basis because the stuff they're posting? Leagues ahead of me.

It makes me laugh.
And I admit, it causes the occasional bout of extreme self-doubt. What the hell am I doing faciliating this amazing group? Who the hell am I to think I have anything to offer these amazingly talented people?

But, when I start thinking that way, I stop myself. Because you don't have to be an expert to begin. You don't have to be DaVinci to sit across from someone and risk trying something new. You don't have to be an adept to fling glitter and encourage people. 

What I have to offer is my love for this practice. What I have to offer is my optimism and my enthusiasm. What I have to offer is a lot of knowledge around developing self-awareness and intuition. What I have to offer has more to do with the spirituality of the practice and less about the end product.

What I have to offer is a sense of PLAY. 

That's as valuable as a lesson in cross-hatching or gel transfers. That's as valuable as color theory or human anatomy for artists. That's as valuable as expertise. 

Know how I know? 

My sisters tell me so. 

Love and Glitter,

Effy

Wednesday Dispatch #4 ~ Intention, Ritual & Art As Spiritual Practice

Hello lovely. :)

It's Wednesday, and that means Dispatch Day! I have decided to crosspost all the dispatches I write for Book of Days to my blog for fear that nothing else will get written, I'm that busy! If you want the videos and other goodies, go here to sign up. It's free!

Today, I want to talk to you a little bit about setting intentions, creating rituals, and art as spiritual practice.

My spiritual practice and my art practice are integral to one another. 

This may not be the case for all of you, and I totally get that, so feel free to roll your eyes at me when I talk about the woo woo. :) What I want to express to you, though is how journal keeping (either written or art) can be a red phone to the Source. 

When I sit down to art, I generally set an intention. This is something I learned in shamanic training ~ you don't do a shamanic journey without setting an intention. It's a little like setting out in a forest without a map, compass or box of matches. When I sit down to art, I make a statement, be that out loud, in writing, or just a mental note, about what I intend to explore. I might say "I intend to explore complimentary colour" or "I want to explore why my feelings are hurt." Sometimes, the intention is playful (I wanna play with bubble wrap) and sometimes it's very serious (I need to heal this long open wound). Whatever it is, stating it before hand is a little like dialing in to Source. It gives your subconscious instructions about what symbols, colours, or images to access during your arting session.  

If you are not a spiritual person and there is no such thing as "God" or "Source" or "Divine" in your vocabulary, you can think of this practice in purely psychological terms. When you set the intention, you are communicating to your superego what your ego needs. As you art, your younger self or subconscious goes to work on representing that on the page. 

Woo woo, right? But really darned powerful.  

A lot of us have abandoned the spiritual teachings our our childhoods. While I'm all for leaving oppressive teachings behind, I think that if you *are* a spiritual person by nature but you lack a spiritual practice, you can feel really cut adrift. Creating your own rituals around arting can fill the void your abandoned spiritual path has left behind. 

Some things you can do to imbue your art practice with spirit are: 

*Set an intention for your session. 
Have a way to open the session and then close the session. Example: Light a candle when you begin and extinguish when you finish. Say a prayer to be an open channel and then say a prayer to close the channel down. Get quiet for a minute before beginning, and get quiet for a moment as you finish up. These are all 'triggers' that will put in the arting frame of mind whenever you enact them. This creates a container for your creativity and allows you to access it more readily on demand.  

*Create rituals around the seasons of the year (solar) or phases of the moon (lunar) that are really meaningful to you. 

For example, I wrote about my New Moon practice in Facebook recently. When the moon is dark, (commonly known as "new moon"), I take an hour to reflect in my journal about the moon cycle that's just passed. When I know the moon is a crescent (about 2% waxing), I make what I fondly call my New Moon Vow. This is a promise to myself to do something during the next moon cycle. I might vow to take better care of my teeth, get a manicure, start a sketching practice, or walk. Whatever it is, it is made lightheartedly with full knowledge that I might struggle with it. There is no dire consequence for failing to follow through. But to better ensure that I do follow through, I art about it in my journal, taking the vow from words to something more tangible. Again, you can see this as woo woo or you can see this as a really effective psychological tool. I see it as both.  

Love & Glitter,
 

Effy

Getting The Hang Of Things

When I started BOD I had no idea that it would become a full time job, but that's what's happened and I couldn't be more thrilled. 1010 souls have joined me on this year long adventure in journal art and self-awareness. That's one thousand and ten! And January isn't even over yet! *Gobsmacked!*

My week looks like this: 

Monday, I scramble to get the full spread done, recorded, edited and uploaded, shots of the journal photographed and uploaded, and then the newsletter written and sent out. Then I build the archive page over here, and add the video embed to the the 'videos only' archive. 

Then I wait for the half dozen or so emails requesting the password (that is right in the newsletter, but I get it! Excitement has often led me to skimming and totally missing pertinent information!), answer those, and THEN I commune with my sisters in our Facebook group as images of their Monday spreads come in. By eight p.m., I collapse in a heap of Idunwannadoanything and relax for the evening. 

Tuesday, I take it a little easier. I sit down and record part I of my 'multi-day spread' and set that that to transfer from the camera to the computer, take photographs of what I did that day, and then, I putter, commune in the Facebook group, answer emails, and do whatever else my little heart desires (for example, work on The Red Madonna, classes I'm teaching or taking this year, sketch, watch crap on Netflix, etc. etc.)

Wednesday, I record part II of the multi-day spread, set that to transfer, photograph what I did that day, and write the Wednesday Dispatch, send that off, create the page for it in the archive, answer emails about passwords, and work on other projects for the rest of the day.

Thursday, I record part III, set that to transfer, photograph it, and FORGET THE ENTIRE WORLD for a while. 

Friday, I record part IV, set it to transfer, photograph the entire spread, edit the video and add music and captions  (two - three hours), save and optimize (another hour), upload (a half hour), upload the photographs, write the newsletter, prepare the archive, prepare the video archive, answer emails about passwords, and COLLAPSE.

Saturday, I work on other things, spend time with the family, and maybe do a little laundry. (My house is not happy with this BOD thing. It is feeling sorely neglected!)

Sunday, I stream live from 1 p.m. EST 'till anwhere between 3 and 4 p.m. EST, and then do little else until I get up on Monday to do it all over again. 

Most days of the week, I check in with the Facebook group ~ oh ~ two hundred times? Because I LOVE IT! And I'm a little bit crazy. 

I need a housekeeper and a personal assistant. Who can work for free. 

Thankfully, my husbandly person has been picking up a lot of slack!

We're in week four, and this has become as firmly ingrained as any routine I've ever had. It feels like a kind of 'bondage that sets you free'. I know exactly what I'm doing on any given day and as a result, I manage my time better, get way more done, and feel incredibly accomplished *each and every day*.

I'm getting the hang of it. :)

xo

Effy

The State of The Studio

An Open Letter To Members of Wild Precious Studio:

You may have noticed that it is incredibly quiet around here. I have wandered off to do Book of Days (with almost 1000 members signed up) and Jeanette has wandered off to do Creative POP. We are both completely unsure what to do with this space, and we've been talking a lot about letting the subscription run out in November 2012. We are paid up until then, and we would rather not waste our investment in this place, but it seems participation here has just up and died.

A lot of that, I think, is due to the fact that there is really nothing going on here *at all*. We have a scheduled encounter with Life Is A Verb by Patti Digh and spaces for Mixed Media Boot Camp and Elements Self-Guided, but listen...can you hear the crickets? Yeah...me, too.

So here's what's going to happen:

Life Is A Verb will be run on a private blog beginning on February 1st and syndicated on Book Of Days. If you are already a BOD member, you need to nothing. You will get all the information automatically. If you are *not* a member of BOD, and you'd rather not sign up, you will receive a member broadcast closer to the end of this month with a link to the private blog. It will *NOT* be hosted here, since the last attempt to run it here resulted in very little participation. 

Mixed Media and Journal Art Boot Camp will remain available to those of you who have purchased it until November 2012 and then the group (and this site) will shut down. The PDFs provided contain all the information you need to continue your work with the programme, so the materials are yours to keep for life. If you need our assistance, we will always be available on our personal blogs, Facebook accounts, etc. to answer your questions. 

Elements: Self-Guided will be moved to a private blog before Spring Equinox and you will receive the link to that before the spring equinox lesson goes out. 

We will be closing our doors to new members effective immediately, and the site (and all content) will come down in November 2012. We will probably not be very present here between now and then. 

Jeanette can be found on her blog here, and if you want to keep up with what she's up to, that's a great way to do it. 

I (Effy) can be found here, and I'd love to maintain contact with all of you.

Church of Art has been renamed Wild Soul Art Stream and is now available here. This has been the most enduring part of our programme, and it will continue indefinitely. 

I have learned so much from this experience with all of you, and though both Jeanette and I have had our ups and downs running Wild Precious, it has been an invaluable journey and one we will cherish.

I appreciate all the goodness that happened here, but I feel very strongly, given the lack of anything much happening here even when we introduce new programmes, that it is time to try a new venue. (Book of Days for Effy and Creative POP for Jeanette).  

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me.

Love & Glitter,

Effy

 

Gloomy Weather

It's January and it's RAINING. And foggy. And cloudy. This does not in any way resemble any Canadian winter I've ever experienced and while you're not going to hear me complaining about NOT having to scrape the car, shovel the walk, or walk in knee-high snow, you are going to hear me complain about having no good light to record video in or photograph art in!

Because I have things to share! And record! And photograph!

But I've been thwarted by this moody weather we're having.

*Temporarily and only slightly bummed*

So, I did a little retail therapy, and you might be interested to note that Michael's has the fun Tulip fabric spray paint that Traci Bautista has been using in her class at Strathmore this month. Score! I got a party pack for $29.99 without a coupon. If you have a coupon? Bonus score! I had no idea you could use this stuff on paper, but it makes sense. Cotton paper? Might as well be cloth. Why not! *Happy Effy*

I'm also very stoked about this workshop by Shilo Sophia McCloud, Canvas Create with Donna Downey, and Way of the Wild Woman by the gorgeous Mellisa. These aren't affiliate links. I'm just flinging glitter because these offerings are rocking my socks off.

Also? I was PUBLISHED! In Cosmic Cowgirl Magazine! And I'm teaching in Angels In My Studio this year!

*Big happy whoop for joy*

That is all. Hopefully, tomorrow, there will be LIGHT so I write the post I really want to write! 

xo

Effy

 

Some Goddess Glitter

You'd prefer HD video, right? Right! So, I'm trying to win this contest by referring the most sales of the Goddess Year Guidebook. If I win, I will get a bonus of $500 and buy an HD camera to record our videos with! If I don't win, I'll still buy one! It will just take longer. Thanks for your help! xo Here's the link: http://www.goddessguidebook.com/affiliate-redirect/?p=effythewild&w=2012cygy

via effythewild.typepad.com

P.S. I already bought the camera on faith! xo

Clearly, I Need Practice!

So, I watch Inspiration Wednesdays pretty much without fail, and as most of you know, it was in part due to Donna's never failing to produce a video for her readership every single Wednesday that inspired our Monday 'full spreads' in Book of Days. I already had a very regular art practice, but sharing it...well, I sucked at that, but the more I watched Donna, the more I realized that I *really wanted to share*. 

So, now I do. Yay!

Donna recently announced a year long subscription program called Canvas Create. I had to sign up because what inspires me about Donna is how intuitively she makes the things she makes. She plays in a way that I resonate with and want to embrace. 

Clearly, I need practice. 

Gooooooood Day

This image was floating around Facebook the other day and I have no idea who to credit it to, but it makes me so flipping happy that I thought I'd share it here. I can't get over that look in her eyes! It looks to me like she's saying "I made dis. See?" with a heart bursting with pride and love. 

I know how she feels. :)

Today has been incredibly productive. I finished moving the archives from the old blog for BOD2012 over here to the new private blog I have set up for it. So far, I've only heard from one person that they couldn't get in, so I'm assuming the issue is on her side. (Totally bummer for her, but I'm sure she'll get it figured out!)

I bought an HD video camera!! No, I haven't won the contest I was trying to win (yet). It closes on the 28th so I won't know until then, but I bought the camera on faith knowing that whatever happens, I will replace the money from my savings. (So if you want to help out with that, could you buy a Goddess Year Guidebook using this link? Whoever sells the most gets a $500 bonus!) 

It's a Panasonic and I don't know all the specs because while I am a geek, I'm a different kind of geek than the kind that knows all the tech specs on tech toys. What I can tell you is that there is a huge improvement in the quality of video even when I save it small enough so it doesn't eat up my member's bandwidth. It's crisp, clear, and gorgeous and I could not be happy with it. I gave it a test run today for the latter half of our Week 2 Multi-spread video and yowza. Gorjwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I am stoked!

In Other News

I'm knackered. I did something to my back yesterday for which it is taking revenge on me. I have a solid knot right between my shoulder blades. 

Still, despite a limited range of motion, I managed to get today's video recorded, and all the archives moved over (though I have to prettify it yet and fix formatting on some of the posts), fed the dogs (we make our own dog food), played with the puppies, (Blossom, at 5 weeks, is already paper trained! Puck is...well...a little slow on the uptake yet.), composed a newsletter, answered all my e-mails, rinsed and stacked the dishes, cleaned the studio, and then edited the video to be sent out with the newsletter.

Yes, I'm bragging. :)

Goooooooooood Day. 

Tonight is for...

Bagging out. Totally and utterly. I've got a case of Brava (a Corona knock off) and limes to stick in the bottle neck. I've got a happy husband and warm puppies. I am kid-free. I am required to do *nothing*.

And that, folks, is exactly what I'm fixin' to do.

 

Love & Glitter

Effy

P.S. I am in the process of registering Book of Days as a trade-mark. For now, it's: Book of Days™ but in the not so distant future it will be Book of Days®. I figured since I named it, I should claim it. I also bought bookofdays.org and will be redirecting that to our private blog shortly. Woo!

All Kinds Of Wonderful

So...I've been busy.

BOD, which I imagined would capture the affection and imagination of a few dozen people has turned into a ginormous undertaking with over 800 sign-up.  I'm blown away by the response and humbled and grateful for every single person who takes the time to open my thrice weekly newsletter, read my dispatches, watch my videos and then post what they did in response on Facebook or Flickr. 

It's been amazing, but it also means that I have had time for little else. The Studio? Languishing. My own work on classes I'm taking? Non-existant. Housework?

I can has a maid now please kthnxbai!

All the same, this is living. I wake up every morning excited to see what's been posted. I get the loveliest e-mails and private messages. I am encouraged and supported beyond belief.

Your patience here has been appreciated as well. 

I've come up against a problem. I have too many things happening in too many places and it's time to consolidate to the best of my ability. I want my blog, BOD, and the e-courses I produce to live in one handily accessible spot, so I will be moving things here to this new spot over the next days and weeks.

What Does That Mean For Wild Precious Studio?

Well, Jeanette is running Creative POP on a private blog to see how that venue works for her. She has very limited energy due to her ME/Fibro and can't be looking after WPS and her own income generating affairs. I am running BOD via newsletter, Facebook and a (soon to be) private blog. I am starting to feel torn in too many directions.

I'm doing To See Us Through The Long Dark: Life Is A Verb in February of this year. I will be syndicating the content in both Wild Precious and the BOD newsletter (in slightly different formats to accomodate each venue). We'll see how that goes. If there is oodles of interaction in Facebook/Private Blog/E-mail and little in the Studio (as there was last time we tried to run this program) then I'll have my answer. The site will remain up until the end of October 2012, but at that point we will let it lapse. All purchased content will be archived on private blogs, so you will lose *nothing* and I will gain the almost $300 a year it costs to run a NING. 

I'm already leaning heavily toward letting it go, but the LIAV programme will be our final attempt to make it go vroom vroom. I have come to dislike the way it's organized, and I'm not too keen on our prospects should SOPA pass, either. The thought of being responsible for all that content - content I can't possibly keep track of - scares the beejeebers out of me. I'd rather have places that limit what people can post to links to their own blogs than face having my entire site taken down because someone posted copyrighted content.

So, that's where I'm at with it. Jeanette and I talked about it for a long time today and we can both see that our interests are taking us elsewhere: outside of a NING, into our own individual projects that we can run according to our own energy levels, personal styles, budgetary concerns, and tastes. I love that girl like she's my sister, though, so please do not think for a second that this is a personal rift between us. I know some of you will look for the drama, so I'll save you the work. There is none!

Unless You Count Excitement.

There is plenty of *that* kind of drama. There is so much going on in my life right now and all of it worth flinging glitter over. My husband remarked the other day that he has never seen me so happy in Winter. He's seen me in the grip of seasonal affective disorder for seven winters since we met. It doesn't look anything like this bouncy, happy, glitter encrusted, organized, BUSY girl he's having dinner with every night.

We're both eternally grateful. 

Thank you for rocking my ever loving poptarts. I will keep you posted on all fronts.

Love & Glitter,

Effy The Wild

 

 

Negative People?

Whenever I hear about people ditching the 'negative' people in their lives, my head goes all math-y. I see a minus sign. I giggle a little at how my idiotically literal mind works sometimes.

And then I wonder if it isn't more honest to say "I'm ditching the people in my life who I don't like" or "I'm ditching the people in my life who don't like me" or "I'm ditching that biatch who pissed me off."

That's what I'd say. But then, I'm pretty sure I have Asperger's. *laughs*