I am spending the holidays at my Mom’s lovely abode in Basalt, Colorado this year. It is truly a winter wonderland out there as I sit here and write this by the fire.
I met yesterday with my rock star graphic designer/web designer and all around badass human, Reina Katzenberger of max.ink, who also happens to live here. We are OH so close to launching my big re-brand and new website. It is so exciting!
One of the things we she brought up yesterday as we pored through the layers of my new website, was my long history with art journaling. It got me thinking about that rich path today…..
Reina’s mom, Deb Jones is the amazing teacher that actually introduced the practice to me over fifteen years ago. I had been dabbling in all kinds of art at that point, and then found my way into Deb’s journaling with images class at The Wyly Community Art Center.
I felt like I had come home, not only into the guidance of an amazing mentor and friend, but to the practice of art journaling.
My practice has taken on a life of its own these past fifteen years, and every phase has peeled back another layer of awareness and depth in my relationship with myself.
These days the term art journaling is fairly common (at least in art and mixed media circles), but back then, I actually did not know one other person besides Deb that had a regular visual journaling practice.
The whole online world had not become a huge deal yet (at least to me), so the blogs and brave artists that I have since found there, and to whom I turn today for collaboration, inspiration and food for thought were not on my radar yet.
I was blindly feeling my way through it all once I left the safety of Deb’s classroom walls.
I would not trade that journey for anything, because although it was really scary at times, I forged a path that has become the root of my own creative practice, and have been blessed to find other amazing teachers and fellow artists along the way.
This post is dedicated to those amazing artists and teachers who so bravely put themselves out into the world and inspire me to dig deeper and stay true to my artistic path (whether they know it or not).
Here are a few of my absolute favorites, some have been inspiring me for years, and some are new treasures in my life. I hope that you will find their work in this world as moving as I do. Please click their names to find your way to their websites….
