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what does not serve you anymore.

Samhain, October 31st, is my favorite celebration of the year. I cook magical food, we light candles outside to help the Spirits find their way, we write our burdens and put them into flame. Of course, we go trick or treating as well (which we did not before coming to Canada, as Halloween is not much celebrated in France).

Samhain, in the Wheel of the Year, is the end of the year; it marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter time. 
If not too tired, I’ll do myself a reading for the year to come and ask my ancestors for guidance.

Today, I feel the warmth of Hope that seems to always fill me on this specific day. Getting anew. Shedding what does not belong to my life anymore, becoming a bit more who I am each year that passes.

From my family to yours, happy Halloween !

You know I love sharing what I’m into.

Learning has always been something dear to me. Even as a kid, teenager and now as an adult. In our era, it is a blessing to be able to learn from the comfort of your home so I decided to share with you the few online classes I am currently loving and why.

True Free Spirit

It’s the 3rd online class I’m taking from Mindy Lacefield. This is one is different as it’s a project oriented year long class. Meaning: each month, she shares a specific project with us, learning new techniques, working on a different surface etc. We also often have a bonus video mid-month.

Watching Mindy create is a pleasure. One of these thing I am always looking forward to. Always.

We don’t paint characters only, animals invite themselves, we play as much in our art journal than we do paintings outside.

As usual, I love the community, some of the women I met through Mindy’s classes are now friends.

It’s not too late to join ! Learn more here: True Free Spirit.

Behind The Art

Christy Tomlinson’s new class is all about what she uses in her creative process, and why, and how. She spills the beans like she never did before.

Surfaces, paints, gels and things you would not even think about but that Christy loves and uses.

She poured her heart into it, there is TONS of content. And it is not a only-for-beginner oriented workshop, even I learn new things, and can’t wait to get to it and try it for myself.

I am one of the three guest artists (along with Danielle Daniel and Junelle Jacobson), so if you’re in the workshop, you’ll see me create some art along. Lots of fun.

More info right here: Behind The Art.

Mermaid Circus

This is a collaborative workshop between online class extraordinaire Jane Davenport, and the amazing Teesha Moore. They combine two worlds: the circus, and mermaids.

I have been waiting for Teesha to make her online teaching debuts for a long time, and I am very blessed to be in this class (thank you so much to my angel friend for making this happen, thank you).

It is an 8-week class, so lots of things will be learned as well. I am very excited because Mermaids are fascinating, they are creatures Koala (my 6 years old daughter) keeps drawing again and again, and it will touch creative areas I am not comfortable doing (like drawing for example).

Art journaling, journal making, story telling… so much juiciness ahead in this class !

You can learn more about the workshop here: Mermaid Circus.

Creative Goddess

Ahhh Leonie Dawson is a gem in this world.

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I am facing, now and then, some creative blocks. I am aware that growth always eventually comes out of them, but on the moment they’re riding along with me, I get afraid that it will last forever.

I signed up last year to Leonie’s «Goddess Circle», which gives me access to ALL her past classes and all the new ones she releases for 12 months. And to forums filled with other creative women from all over the world. It allows me to do the classes at my own pace, but also to sign up for the live-versions if I want to.

There is SO much, really.

Right now, because I really really am looking for help about how not to stay in that hole that seems deeper and longer each time I fall into it, I am taking the «Creative Goddess» class again. It contains videos, e books (yes, plural), and even meditations !

Are you currently taking classes ? which one(s) are you loving ?? Please, share away, I’d love to know

Ooooh there are such amazing and inspiring stuff out there. I wish I’d have a huuuuuge cork board to print and pin images so I could have an inspiration board at eye sight.

So I thought I would share with you a bit of what is inspiring me right now 🙂

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer‘s Stamp Carving 101 class started today. I’ve just watched the first video and it is awesome ! I will try to carve my first rubber stamp today (will post about it later).
And Julie is a fellow 21 Secrets teacher, yaaaaay !

Tim Holtz is currently sharing his CHA products and I am very excited about this set of stamps. I was waiting since forever for a company to create stamps like that. Now, I asked my local scrapbook store’s ladies if they will grab them while they are at CHA in a few weeks 😉

I am the proud and happy owner of a Fujifilm Instax 210. The instant camera that prints larger pictures (Fujifilm has several instant cameras, the most popular ones print credit card sized pics). I just love the instant gratification of it. And the feel in the photos that brings me back to my childhood, the pics of us my mom has in her albums, the Polaroid camera my grandpa let me used when I was in vacations with them.

I love browsing through Pinterest. So many inspiration happening out there. You can find me under my name, simply, Nolwenn Petitbois. I have a fascination for faces (and for hands, but that is another stories), I have a board dedicated to portraits. This man… well, I have no word for it (It’s a shame I don’t know his name etc). It combines my obsession of faces and of Native Americans’ culture.

We are currently dreaming of our future home. The one that will be ours (well, it will be the bank’s lol). And of course, I am planning how it will be decorated. I want colors. Not an overdose of it, but nice touches here and there. I know it may take time to build our interior style, but I know we will get there eventually. Here are stuff I love:

I am struggling defining my personal style. There are lots of things I love, and I don’t find the clothes that match (or very expensively). And I don’t want to wear stuff my husband really dislikes (even if I am the one wearing it, his opinion matters). I love layered clothes. The Spleen girl I was is still resonating when it comes to style. I want colors because I wore black only for way too long. I want something that shows who I am inside. Gosh this is hard, isn’t it ? And it is even harder with my current body shape (but I am working on it). And all these also inspire me for my Nixies’s clothes as well 😉 Here are some I really love:

And speaking of style… how is your hair cut ? I have afro hair; so I feel kinda limited in what I can do with it. I dream litterally of color. You know, Manic Panic kind of colors… Like this:

And what would I be without music. I can’t get tired of Florence + The Machine (I know, I mention her for weeks and weeks…). Her songs bring a lot of imagery in me. They make me feel kinda better about myself, like I am not alone to feel what I sometimes feel, like it will get better and better because you know… dog days are over 😉

I think that’s it for today. What is currently inspiring you ?

Note: this post contains a LOT of pictures, be warned 😉

As you know if you are a faithful reader of Inner Voices (blink blink), I was in Seattle last week-end to attend Flora Bowley‘s workshop called Bloom True, organized by and at Teesha Moore‘s ArtFest Annex.
Remember how I sent the intention to attend her workshop a few months ago ? Sometimes the Universe listens closer to your whispers than you think…

To be honest, I am still processing it all, all that I have started to unravel during these two days. Because it was more than painting to me. Way way more.
First of all, I really believe that like-minded Souls gather around the teacher in this kind of workshop; the twenty-ish ladies that came arrived with their stories, their background and a good reason to be there. So yes, it all begins with the “I fell in love with Flora’s art” but I’m pretty sure there is something more than just that…

Flora is passionate about what she teaches. Bloom True has more than painting techniques (but don’t worry, it IS the heart of it all). We stretch (and not only our bodies), we laugh, we connect (with others, with ourselves, with the Creative Source), we cover and uncover, we paint with our hands (l.o.v.e.)….

We painted big, which i am not used to anymore for several reasons, learning to let go, not to get too attached but to enjoy the process (ringing a bell ? Yep. A good one).. The ending creation was not what mattered the most.

To be honest, it was hard sometimes for me to stick to acrylic paint only as I am a Mixed Media artist, but it was so good. I went in and out of my comfort zone. It felt good to paint bigger again, 30×30″ was the perfect size for me: large but not making me feel like I could not achieve it all. It happened that I actually finished a painting by the end of the first day and bought another one that night so I could still juggle between two canvases the day after.

Very attentive students, drinking every techniques and explanation given to us. The class was filled with demos by Flora.

Flora filled the room with music, very different kind of styles and it was very inspiring. Just grooving on the flow, letting it guiding me, my movements, not affraid to do little happy dance while I was painting. Zero fear of judgement. My classmates on my table were happy dancing as well 😉 It just felt so natural, I am amazed.
I think I could work like that, in a studio with other artists.

I can’t wait to have my own art space (Universe…… i am talking to you there), and both my girls at school full time so I will have real long hours by myself to just let my Spirit create whatever may come.
It was amazing to be surrounded by ladies having fun (sometimes with frustration though) and be able to paint and paint and paint.

I loved making marks. Creating backgrounds (that usually become a big part of the finished painting) is something I really enjoy. Click the thumbnails to enlarge:

Can you believe that the painting Flora created over the two days developed from what you see above on the right…..to that ?:

It is just stunning !!!

Do you want to see what the canvases looked like when I left Seattle on Sunday afternoon ?:

Please, go to my flickR portfolio to see more pictures of this awesome workshop.

I loved how Flora closed the class, and the little Show & Tell by everyone, simply showing our paintings as they were, telling what we enjoyed, sharing our struggles and encouraging each other to go on.

Here are some links to what some of my classmates are saying about our experience during Bloom True (please, if you were there and have a link to share, contact me and I will add you with pleasure):

Julie Hamilton “Still inspired by… Flora Bowley”
Teesha Moore shares her thoughts & pictures
Kathie also shares her experience

Hello there !

How are you doing ?

I just wanted to share with a bit of inspiration found in my flickR contacts recently (or not that recently).

1. make the most of yourself…, 2. A lovely dream cover journal, 3. My current view (painting in progress ), 4. Art Journal – Moleskine – Dylusions blog hop, 5. Moment of Saturday, 6. altar, 7. Owl (atc), 8. Alice, 9. Four of Cups