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Before I create an Etsy and/or ArtFire shop, I propose you to buy some customized items made with some of my artworks and photographs.

I recently discovered Zazzle, and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it too. They’re currently working on a French version, I’ll keep you updated about that (I know many of my family and friends don’t understand english as well).

Bags, postal cards, prints and posters, shoes (how lovely is that: shoes !), and a lot of other items such as stickers and magnets for examples. Their prices are affordable.

For US people, I also created some gorgeous stamps. They follow the US norm so they can be used for your snailmail without any problem.

If you are interested in an item with one of my design, but that is not on the shop: don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll make it for you with a great pleasure.

Here is a sneak peak:

make custom gifts at Zazzle

And here is the direct link to the shop: Behind the Mirror

This is a new page made in my Moleskine (I shoud find him a sweety name ;))

I was inspired by a song by Michael Franti called “Stay Human”, that my friend Popy reminded me of with a page she created in her journal.

This spread matches perfectly an other page I made yesterday, but in my other Journal; regarding my duality (I’ll show you that as soon as possible).

I loved using my palette knife for the background, creating textures, thickness…

It’s really a tool that I appreciate.

Around my picture, it’s one sentence of the song that says “All the Freaky People make the Beauty of the World“.

Wow what a catchy title, doesn’t it ? 😉

I bought my Moleskine about a year ago, I was still in France. But I kept it blank, fearing to waste its beautiful pages.

I finally took the leap and started to fill it inch-by-inch. I even find it a focus, something to hold all the pages together: the discovery of my Self. It’s not a small subject *sigh* !

I feel my Moleskine will be my ally on a long and tortuous road, but full of discoveries. More or less pleasant.

My Moleskin perfectly fits the July theme of July in Creative Every Day, which is “Self”; as this Journal is integraly focused on this subject. I decided to let my Self speaks without any taboo nor censorship: I accept myself as I am and not as people would like me to be. Too bad if I don’t like these sides, they are me. Or… was.

I still have to make the outside cover, I don’t exactly know what I want it to look like, I’m looking for a door handle and things like that. I’m not in a urge, it will be done later.

This is the introduction spread, right behin the cover (so the left page is hard).

I played with a credit cart and fluid paint. I love the result. The blops are simple made by water splashes applied while the paint was still wet.

Some or white paint.

Now that Cheridoo (my husband) offered me a big protective sheet, I won’t be affraid of puting paint everywhere (on the table, the chair, the floor, not to tell that my clothes where full of paint too).

It’s a little bit… too much, but I like it like that !

Then, it was important for me to define a little bit who I am.

I struggle so much to make a Trollette colored-skin (yeaaaah I finally found a name for my Girls. It was so obvious that it blinded me. For those who don’t know, my husband and I use to call our two daughters “Trollettes”). So it’s evident that her skin is kinda messed up !

Obviously, the list is incomplete. So I’ll need a few more pages to continue the definitions.

When I look at this page, it brings a smile on my face: I tried to dress her up with a top I love in real life.

This spread is actually the last one. I love it. It came in my mind after thinking of one of my Mark Ryden‘s favorite picture, called Wound. This picture used to be my avatar on forums for soooo long, some years ago.

I love it so much that I made it again, but bigger and on a canvas paper. I changed some details because I don’t like to do the exact same thing twice.

For once, I don’t add some journaling. It speaks to me as it is.

The water wasn’t meant to look like that, this black area shouldn’t stand out. But it gives an impression that I enjoy so it does not bother me that much. Indeed, it’s pretty funny how it turned to be totally different.

However, I’ve got a huuuuuuge issue that I encounter only a few times: my pages stick together. It’s awful because when I try to split them out, it tears apart and destroy it.

Should I put wax paper between EVERY spread ?! is it because I use mostly acrylic paint and sometimes polymer medium (which is really sticky) ?

To be continued…

Tonight, the Moon is Full and Whole. Which means that I try to take the time to make a DreamBoard to focus and wishcast what I want for the cycle to come.

July Full Moon is usually called Full Buck Moon, because it’s the time when the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur (source: space.com). This Moon brings enchantment, health, renewal, success and strenghth (source: Chroniques d’Acturius).

For the first time, Cheridoo (my husband) and I created together, we looked for images and words through my big pile of magazines to gather them for our shared goals. After all, what’s about him is generally about me and vice-versa.
It was nice, even if he couldn’t help reading ALL the newspaper articles instead of really focusing ;). I enjoyed doing this personal thing with him and hope we’ll do it again.

I have a few more details to add with pens, but it’s late so I’ll do it tomorrow (wednesday).

I am very pleased by the result !:

Click to enlarge

Each Month, I love seeing what others create to celebrate the Full Moon and cast their wishes to the Universe for the cycle that begins; thanks to Jamie and her DreamBoard Circle. Ahlala she started a real circle in Toronto, lucky them !

It inspires me and so I’d like to create a DreamCircle with people who would be interested in gathering each month before the Full Moon in order to make our DreamBoards. If you are settled in Vancouver (BC, Canada) area and would like to know more about the process and how we can manage a group, don’t hesitate: contact me !

For months now I’m wondering about my artistic style. You know, this touch that makes people recognize your work immediately. This thing that you can play with but is always here as “you”.

I don’t have a style. At all. I mean… when I look at my journal for examples, all my girls are totally different from one to the other, it’s stunning. None look like the others.

Searching my own voice. I know what I like, I know what I dislike. I have so many sources of inspiration, and it’s very ecectic.

Many years ago, I fell in love with Mark Ryden work. I know why, it’s only my Spleeny me that speaks through it. And it’s a part of me, I don’t ignore it at all now. That’s surely why I also like Anne-Julie Aubry‘s work so much. And Gorjuss‘s one as well, and Benjamin Lacombe who makes awsome books’ illustrations.

They all reflect a big part of who I am, you know, deep inside of me. This part I fought against for so many years before accepting it. Acceptance is a hard thing. But now, I got it and deal with that better than ever.

BUT I also love Bright. Do you know Lindy Longhurst ? I LOVE her work. So rich in symbolism. And Mara Friedman too, I knew her thanks to her illustrations for the Triple Goddess Tarot (purely awsome).

It’s like I’m torn between two opposites. They used to fight a lot, not so long ago. Today, they just almost peacefully coexist together.

But I can see it in my arty work. Light versus Darkness. Always. But it makes me wonder: is that a bad thing to create in such different styles ? How extern people see this fact ? Bad or okay ? If you see that an artist makes creations that do not look like each others, how do you feel ?

I absolutely don’t want to copycat others work, even when I like something sooooo much; it’s not me to copy.

I look at what I create and begin to find a kind of coherence, but just in my recent paintings. I continue to sketch, to do what my Heart & Soul tell me to get out of me. I like it, after all: it’s all that matter, isn’t it ?
BUT I won’t lie: I’d like to make people heart giggle and resonnate when they see my Universe (not everybody of course, we’re all different and what speaks to someone does not necesseraly speak to the neighbour ;)).

What do you think ? Did you struggle to find your style ? Do you always create the same kind of things (some cohesion in your art) ?