In a cocoon

Every time I step out into the world

I need to take time to find myself

once I get back.

Back in the safety of my own little place.

I reconnect with my soul,

let go of all that has stuck with my during the day.

All of it needs to go back to where it belongs,

so I can be just me again.

Resting in the comfort of my safe place.

Home.

Have a safe, peaceful day.

XO 

Maureen

Finding Magic

"Magic" quote by Roald Dahl

Leaf on Fire

Fall has come to my town.

It sets the leafs on fire.

Their flaming colors warm my heart.

Today the autumn storm sends them flying.

Like bright confetti in the wind,

they come tumbling down. 

Down from the tall trees,

onto the pavement, 

where they again catch my eye.

I pick one up and bring it home to me,

to let it warm my heart, 

just a little longer.

Wishing you a bright day,

XO

Maureen

Happy to be me

Today there is a feeling of joy.

Last week I let go of my shadows.

Turned to what makes me happy once again.

I let go of pressure I put on myself.

Turned to the whispers of my soul.

Telling me: "If my creations are good enough for me,

they will at one point find their way into the world."

I let it go.

The seeds were sown.

I left it to the forces of the Universe.

Yesterday the first seed turned into a little flower.

One of my creations left my store.

What an amazing feeling.

Feeling happy and blessed.

Wishing you a happy day,

XO

Maureen

Inner peace

Today is a day of solitude, of turning inward. 

Recharging my battery.
Drawing a little owl.
Listening to beautiful music.
My headphones on.
Just me, my pens & paper, and the music.
My breathing slows down.
The turmoil in my head starts to fade away.
The soft whispers of my soul surface.
Tell me all is well.

Looking at the owl I realize: she is me...

Wishing you a peaceful day.

XO Maureen

Owl in the Clouds

Owl in the clouds

Isn't he cute? I was sort of amazed at how my owl turned out. You know, I have had absolutely no confidence in my own drawings trough out my life...
When I started with Zentangle, that started to change, although I still didn't really see myself draw figurative things.
But, you're never too old to learn, and certainly never to old to shake old habits, thoughts, insecurities.

Now I am so happy with this cute owl. It is a mixed media creation; the owl is hand drawn. The background is created on the computer, with pictures I took myself. See that sort of embossed effect, that's a texture I captures somewhere.
Anyway, I'm happy. Feel my soul singing, if just a quiet tune.

I'm certain there will be more owls after this one. I've fallen in love with them :-)

Happy sunday!

XO
Maureen

Brightening up my day

I thought I might share this with you. Since it is a feeling I'm sure most of you are familiar with. A feeling of being confused and a little stuck in my creativity. 

Maybe there are too many things I want to do... they jam inside my head. 

Maybe it's because I've looked at too many beautiful, gorgeous art other people make.... which gets me back at: How will I ever achieve that? Insecurity, my dear old friend and enemy. 

So, I'm trying to find my way today. 
Where shall I start? 
Do I dare to start, make something, when it might turn out 'awefull' or not what I want it to be.... 
Oh yes, letting go of that control...

Or give myself a rest. Turning inward completely, to find Me, deep inside of me. 
Washing clean of the expectations (my own) and high standards. 
Letting my light shine. 
Asking the Universe for a little sign and some energy.

I'm taking a deep breath. 
That is always the best start, that is something I've learned over the last years.

Thank you for being there, thank you for listening.


This is what I shared with a group of creative friends on Facebook this morning.

Just telling them about my feelings made me feel lighter.
Sharing is powerful.
That sign from the Universe, oh, it came. Almost immediately. Through the loving voice of one of the friends.
She said: "Take some time for you.. 
as much as you need and then delve right in. 
Create something that makes your soul sing. 
Do what makes YOU HAPPY each and every day"

My energy flow changed. I thought about what makes ME HAPPY? On my desktop sits a picture from a beautiful animation movie I watched last Saturday "The Secret of Kells".  
A fairytale like story of a boy called Brendan. 
That is what makes me Happy. 

So the cute little owls, that Brendan comes across on his journey, looked at me from my screen. 
I knew what to create. I had to draw them. 
So I did. And it felt GOOD.

That is what I wanted to share with you too.
I feel blessed that I could turn my weary feeling around, if only for a few moments. 
To a point where I can breathe again.

XO
Maureen

PS: curious about the movie? Here is a Youtube trailer.

Flowers, moss and wet slippers

When I was having my morning coffee, I noticed the flowers on the terrace outside.

A little wet with morning dew, rays of sunlight shining down on them, warming them up.

Lovely pinkish purple, or is it Mauve? It's a beautiful color, that I do know ;-)

Right next to it there is other beauty, in shades of green and yellow.

Almost an abstract painting if you get real close up. Painted by mother nature. I just love those cute tiny spouts that stick out.
The moss sits wrapped around the stem of an honeysuckle. Oh, their smell in summer...

Remember how I said the flower was wet with morning dew? Well, so were my slippers after my little adventure on the terrace. No time to get my shoes, my camera was right by my side. I had to capture the moment. For indeed that sunlight could have been hidden behind a cloud any minute...!

XO Maureen

Water color experiments

A happy little creation to start with. This is another experiment on how to use water color. I used a heavier paper, colored card stock.
 I am okay with this one :-) it is fun to try and see what comes of it.

Before I made this smiling flower I tried to do the Zentangle, then color it with the markers. Well, they don't mix well. The micron pen runs into the colors when I wet the spots were I applied the marker.

The bright color is where I only used the marker, no water. I'm sort of undecided on this, but I know that if I want that sort of brighter color, I will use my color micron pens instead.
To me personally, I like the black and white Zentangle better. Like this one, I made yesterday evening.

What do you prefer in you arts and crafts? Color? Black & White?

Have a nice day,

XO
Maureen

Full of color

These fields full of wild flowers are just around the corner of our home. The barren lands are intended for more house to be build, until that time they are beautiful patches of bright colors!
Equally beautiful: the leaves that have turned golden on the trees.

Wishing you a colorful day!

XO
Maureen

Finding Zen in a drawing

While my body and soul are recuperating, I found myself longing to create a little piece of art, without too much effort. No computer.
I turned to my paper and black micron pen. Drew this Zentangle©.
They tangles  or patterns, are inspired by the artwork of Sandy Steen Bartholomew, in 'Totally Tangled'.
It was fun to do, made me feel happy with my drawing.

image from "Totally Tangled" by Sandy Bartholomew

Now, on that same page I took as inspiration, there is this artwork by Sandy.
So, is the Universe sending me a sign by any chance? Opportunity to go and get my water color markers out maybe...?
I think it is.
To be continued... :-)

Put your heart in it

I am giving my body and soul the rest they so need at this moment. The cold I've come down with I take as a sign, which I take seriously. "Slow down, rest, get your energy back".
When I walked up to my little studio, the top room in our house, my eye was caught by the sign I put there. Isn't that just so true? So I made a picture to share this with you.
In the meantime I will drink lots of hot tea, listen to beautiful music, enjoy the sight of the old trees across from our house.

XO
Maureen

Key 2 - Inspiration

Inspiration hit me in the shower, this time. It happened after my first 'session' of using water color markers. Trying them out, getting a feel for what they do, how to use them. Taking baby steps, no rush, no pressure. That little corner of yellow and pink was the result.

First baby steps...

The next morning, while taking a shower, it was the shower curtain that caught my eye. Not that it is a new one... it's been hanging there for a little over two years. Having used the water colors, it occurred to me that, this was something I might be able to create too...?!

More baby steps...

Back to my markers, more babysteps, but no magic. I felt myself getting more frustrated by the minute. Not a good mood to be in. I stepped back from it for a while, retried, just experimenting again. Wetting the paper first, then applying the color. Even wetting the marker itself. The frustration level started to decline, I must say, yet I didn't feel that good either yet.

As it was dinner time that was a good moment to just let it be. Literally feeding myself with nice food got me over that bit of a cranky feeling that was lurking to get me.
There was time left for me to get back to it after dinner. Watching the paper with the water color experiment, fighting the urge to just throw it away, I took the middle way: I turned it over...
Then took a few minutes to breathe, get to that more peaceful state of mind, to listen to my inner whisper, looking for a little nudge in the 'right' creative direction. From this meditation I started all over again. About an hour later there were these: water color papers.

They are digital works, reminiscent of the water colors.
You see, the whisper from my inner voice was: "do what you love, use what you know, go back to where your heart lies".
In my case, that means I turn on the computer, fire up Photoshop, switch on my hard drive full of my pictures (flowers, clouds, trees, landscapes, rusty things, textures.....).
Using that, I can let go of everything. It's like taking out brushes, paints, stamps, papers, blending brushes, scissors. They are just not physical, they are in my computer.
So I flipped through the contents of my treasure chest, picking gorgeous blue hydrangea, soft pink tulips, deep pink peony. Added sunset pictures, with fluffy big clouds set on fire by the sun.
The flowers, clouds and scanned in papers I layer, rearrange, using different blend modes, so they eventually melt together, Soft brushes take away the harsh edges. Little by little the 'magic' then happens.

After this exercise I finally felt peace again. Filled with energy. Bubbling with ideas for more papers...
Isn't it beautiful how this all works? I mean, without the water color markers, without Bonita's e-course, these papers may very well have never come alive.

And the water color markers you may ask? Well, more baby steps to take. I'm sure that I will learn lots of new things from my friends in the e-course. I haven't given up on them, or should I say: I haven't given up on me?

Wishing you lots of inspiration for your creative undertakings

XO
Maureen

Key 1 - Solitude - being alone especially when it's pleasant

Today I went to one of my favorite stores in the Netherlands, Xenos. They have all kinds of pretty things for the home, it's inexpensive, a real treat. I almost never leave without having bought something.

In the card rack I spotted this postcard. Isn't it amazing? This says 'Solitude' to me.
"Being alone, especially when it's pleasant", that's what my dictionary says.

So I wanted to share that with you. Hoping you can feel like this tree. All alone, yet in a real beautiful, peaceful place. With it's roots deep into mother nature. Surrounded by the gorgeous colors of the rainbow.

XO
Maureen

ps: this is inspired by key 1 in the 'inspire your life in 12 days e-course by Bonita Rose.

Key 1: Solitude

 

 

These are images that go with the Key 1: Solitude 

in the Inspire your life in 12 days by Bonita Rose. 

Solitude evoked beach, my weekend by the North Sea in Zandvoort (Holland) last week, water, doodles.... That went through my mind as I made the doodle. On the inside of a paper bag (I love how that works out). Which by the way is from a store called 'Speelboek'... 'Playbook' a wonderful store filled with books and gifts for young people. Where I go at least once a month. To buy something... for myself :-)

The white feather I found a few days ago. Took it with me, 'cause it is beautiful, fragile, soft.