dancing, doodles, and the boogie man... ;-)

And those who were seen dancing

were thought to be insane 

by those who could not hear the music.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

a bit of drawing from last night...
dry pastel on paper.

pastels are messy, but fun.
i love adding white to the tinted paper...

 Then a bit of journaling in cooler colors...

Found the image in a magazine,
painted & wrote the rest.

then a bit of doodling
with micron pens and Sharpies.
(this girls' all over the place!)

Mark Twain was a wise man,

with sage advice.

I also believe our brains need trampling on now & then.

Some of the ways i trample on mine:

- reading books for more than just entertainment

- writing whatever comes to mind without thinking too much about it

- crossword puzzles or sudoku

- doodling or painting with no particular goal in mind

- meditating

- avoiding TV, facebook, twitter - basically, bubble gum for the brain.

- going out in nature & pondering a leaf. (yes, a leaf)

- watching TED talks

- learning what i can and sharing with others

And here's a little creature...

in the name of Halloween

and Illustrated Friday. ;-)

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

xox

Here's to 2012...

Hello everyone! Happy new year... 

When i said i was taking a break from blogging, i was serious. :-)
 i must admit it's good to be back, although i still feel like i'm stuck in slow speed and don't quite know where to start - or when.  

The holidays were great, but like most people, i overdid everything and too much of a good thing is never good, so i'm happy to get back to the routine of moderation. Last night, for the first time in weeks, i went into my blue room (photo above) and took out some paper & coloured pencils & just played for a bit.

Just as we often realize the extent of our love for something (or someone) only after it's gone, i often only realize how much i missed drawing or painting after i sit myself down in my chair... and put on some music, and calm myself enough to hear my own breathing. It felt good to be back.

I don't do resolutions. But with each new year, i take the time to reflect on the year passed,

and to look forward to the year ahead.

Even when that year may include the fucking Kardashians. :-)

We make the best of it, right? The good with the bad. Yin & Yang. 

I took this photo on December 27th, when i was visiting my parents. 

A double winter rainbow... ranks right up there with seeing a unicorn. 

My wish for you all in the new year:

that you ALL take baby steps towards your dreams & live the life that allows you to SHINE!

It's time. I said so.  :-)

xoxo