Blog

As I was writing yesterday in my Gratitude Friday blogpost, creating is currently more than ever my safety valve, my way of screaming my pain, of doing like nothing was going on, my way of trying to balance the physical pain. Wether it is in my art journal or on canvas. I am not expecting anything  anymore from my artwork, I don’t expect it to look good for example. I just let it flow and usually, it is quite surprisingly amazing to me. It seems like I am less attached to it (at least, I try to convince myself with that) so I can go on and create again and again. And again.

I am what I would call a skinned alive person, even if I am so aware that some had/have a way sorst life than mine, it does not dimish it. And I notice it shows in my artwork, despite the bright colors and fluffy bunny style my pieces can seem to be. Maybe I am good at camouflage ?

This portrait is the closer one to be a self-portrait. Kind of. Not a 100% one, obviously. Can you believe this is absolutely not what I thought this artwork will end as ?

When I was a kid, and struggling with who i am and being brown in a white family (where I was born, not adopted), I was dreaming of being blue eyed. Maybe because at least, this will be something people were expecting regarding my first name («Nolwenn» is a name from Britanny, the celtic part of France where people are blonde and pale and blue eyed).

This mixed media portrait is full of texture, the hair are really pretty (in my opinion) as you can touch the three dimensions, the face is not flat at all and the lotus transfer on her shirt pulled some part of the plaster away (makes me think of peeled paint on walls).

I feel naked. But creating this artwork taught me a lot about me: I finally am more in peace with my origins, and what I am (half and half, not really black not totally white); I have to accept that sometimes the outside does not meet the inside but I can work on it; going forward, as simply as that.
Creatively speaking, she taught me that errors happen and can be fixed. Her skin tone was horrible, now she is not realistic but kind of reminds me of the first characters I created a few years ago, with their greyish skin.

I feel like this painting is filled with character, this je ne sais quoi that makes me smile. A happy content smile.

Gratitude Friday is a weekly ritual I started in order to focus on all the small and big positive things that happened during my week. I invite you to join me, you’ll see how much being thankful can change your life. If you want to know more about it, read my introduction post.

Hello !

I am sorry this Gratitude Friday won’t be a long tchat but I am still dealing with constant pain and typing on the computer hurts my shoulder(s), but I really do not want to miss it.

I really hope life is sweet with you.

This week, I am grateful for:

• The help of my husband while I can’t do much because of this stupid pain that decides to stick with me.
• I ordered the plane tickets for my mom visit, so now this is becoming real. Can’t wait to hug her.
• My Art Journal is my savior.
• I noticed how many paintings i am creating and just how the creative juice is just flowing through me. Experimenting, having fun with plaster, speaking my Truth through my Art.
• My friend Anu, always listening and helping. Even when I am so much in psychological and physical pain that being around me is no fun at all. She sticks around and it means the world to me.
• Pixie Campbell‘s kindness.
• Tracey, the owner of Lindy Stamp Gang, believing in my crazy ideas. And making me a refund on my order because I order the day before they shared a coupon for their products. A lot of shop owner would have just said «too bad for you, you’ll get the next coupon». She is so nice.
• What people share on Pinterest. You can find me right there.
• It’s Friday.
• The tv show «River Monsters» we watch at night.
• My body seems not to like me much but as Suzie Ridler told me: «it is important you listen to your pain», so this is what I try to do.
• I am happy to soon be listing new originals paintings in my Etsy shop. You can see the pretty widget with my items in my right sidebar =========>
• Next week, I hope the doc will tell me what’s wrong with me. I am ready to hear what it is, but not ready to be told «we have no idea of what the problem is» So I am praying to be diagnosed with something. I know how crazy this sounds but when all your life the doctors just check and do stuff for a final answer being always the same «we don’t know», I am tired of this.

I wish you a wonderful week-end, stay safe if you are hit by the heat wave (just so you know, of course we are not, here in Vancouver, where it is like November all over again).

Take care

NOTE: I had to share this video and this message with you Lovelies. Because even if I am not gay nor transgender or whatever, but my life was not easy either. And I can say: It gets better.

If you wrote your Gratitude Friday on your blog, don’t forget to enter your NAME and URL below so I’m notified and can come to read you (you can also join by commenting this post):
[linkme]

OK… I am so far away from my original plan of posting once a week about what inspires me. But I am okay with it. Here and there is good too.

Right now, I have to deal with severe pain in my body and sometimes it is too much I can’t do anything, even sketching or painting hurt. BUT I keep track of what fuels my creativity so I won’t forget.

So here is, unsorted, what is currently filling my inspiration pool:

• This version of the song «Where is my mind», first sang by The Pixies, but the version by Placebo is the one that rocked my world when I was in high school. This version by Yoav & Emily Browning was discovered thanks to the movie Sucker Punch.

• Kate Crane (from the blog The Kathryn Wheel)’s DVD about Art Journaling. I love love love Kate’s style and was wondering how was she achieving these great backgrounds and collages in her journals. When I found out she was releasing a set of 2 DVDs about her techniques, I was over the moon and to me, it is definately worth the money.

• Judy Wise & Stephanie Lee‘s book «Plaster Studio: Mixed-Media Techniques for Painting, Casting and Carving». I love texture and am always looking for new ways to create some in my artworks. Plaster is a very good way to achieve plenty of different texture and this book is very well done. I am currently playing with compound joint and just found some plaster of Paris to play with as well.

• The new book from Misty Mawn, «Unfurling». It is filled with plenty of mixed media ideas. Not just journaling or painting. Here is her blog.

• Danielle Fraser (from Her painted word)’s art and journey. We have the same goal of sharing our story through art, I think.

That’s it for now.

What is currently inspiring you to create ? Would love to discover 😉

Gratitude Friday is a weekly ritual I started in order to focus on all the small and big positive things that happened during my week. I invite you to join me, you’ll see how much being thankful can change your life. If you want to know more about it, read my introduction post.

Hello !

I won’t lie to you, I am not really in the mood of writing a Gratitude Friday right now. But I decided to do it anyway, because it is important to me and I hope it will help me shift my mood a bit.

This week, I am grateful for:

• My mom’s surgery that went well. Now waiting for the results in a few weeks.
• My body is a mess, it hurts and i can’t help but hating it right now. But at least I can feel it.
• My husband who is supportive and trying to help.
• My mom received what we sent her for her birthday and she loved it
• His job, thanks to whom we’ve been to the movie for free watch Harry Potter yesterday, and his colleague who accepted to look after the girls for a few hours.
• I am happy to grow as an artist and to refine my voice.
• I am happy to sort out who is my friend, and who is fake. Surprised that it does not hurt that much anymore.
• I took a selfportrait picture I really like (still doing my 365 selfportrait challenge)
• I’m watching and enjoying great movies at home with my husband
• I am about to order the plane tickets for my mom’s visit at the end of the year (yaaaaaay !!!!!!!!)
• Nori snacks
• I ordered some paint and spray ink in England, costs an arm but gets me excited (can you believe i am more more more happy to have new art supply than new shoes ?)
• I am alive

If you wrote your Gratitude Friday on your blog, don’t forget to enter your NAME and URL below so I’m notified and can come to read you (you can also join by commenting this post):
[linkme]

You may know that I was one of the hundreds (or more) of people who signed up for the first e-class Kelly Rae Roberts offered last year. At the time, she was becoming a mama and had no idea if she would run the course again.

It is called “Flying Lessons” and is packed with advices, tricks, tips help you overcome the fears and blocks of making your passion your business. During 5 weeks, you will connect with amazing artists who are also in the class, read interviews filled with things you maybe had no idea about before.

It was a real investment, a step to myself saying “I am serious and I am ready to show the world what I create, who I am“. And this class changed everything. I talked about it several times on the blog already. Like here in my review for example.

I know this is a lot of money.
The chance you have and I did not have is that you get the ebook included in the package 😉 200 pages ! SO this is more than okay if you need time to digest, because you’ll have everything in the ebook.

So, are you ready to spread your wings and finally fly ? (click on the image to learn more about it on Kelly’s website).