Exploration #2 - Scare Yourself

For this exploration you just need to be bold. Meaning that you have to do something that you've probably been postponing, something you've been putting off because it's scares you,m and you may think you're not going to get a good result from it.

To me that thing was encaustic paint.

Too many fears:

• I'm going to burn the kitchen,
• it will look ugly,

• I don't really know how to do it,

• it's too expensive,

• what if it doesn't look pretty... yada, yada ya...

I said to myself "let go of the outcome" and I repeated it in my head many times. It feels pretty good :)


What would I do without you, bee...


I prepared my space,

and went to the stove and prepared my encaustic medium :

• 50% beeswax

• 25% Damar Resin

• 25% Paraffin Wax

• heat

and applied it the best I could... Voila!

Exploration # 1

I'm going to start doing some creative explorations to open up creativity. This isn't really the first time I do this exploration, but I'll call this one # 1 to start a series of explorations, to see the progress of my creative process starting here. This is also a way of inviting you to participate and share your explorations.

Feel free to use this ideas as an exercise for your own creative process.

Exploration instructions:

Make 10 mini paintings (including drawings, collages, or anything else) with the first thing that crosses your mind. So you sit down with all your materials on hand, a glass of water, music, and maybe some snack, and hands on work!



Note: don't stop until you finish the 10 paintings, maybe a 10 minute break after the 5th one

Suggestion: make mini paintings, so you can work fast and ideas can flow easily.

Another Note: feel free to change, modify or ignore this exploration and make something else.


Here are my 10 mini paints

Trying something new

We got to the store, but we went on a little detour to checkout the scraps. I don't think I would buy wood anyways.
We picked up the best ones...
But before we went home we stopped by the hardware store (to please Dani, of course)
We got home, yay!

I covered my new boards with gesso. I can't wait to start making art on them! :)

Thoughts about the future

Sometimes I find myself thinking too much about the future. I get a little anxious, since I'm a very inpatient sometimes. I need things to happen right now...

But then I meditate or do yoga, or paint, and that brings me back to the present. Those activities are like a time machine, where time does not exist!

I want to be an illustrator, and be able to do it every day, as my business. I get stressed out when I think that I don't know where to start, but the truth is that I DO know, and the way is by trusting in the process, in the Universe. So this is my way of working on it and being happy where I am right now, in this very moment :)

Do you get anxious about the future too?

About

I'm a 26 year old self taught artist/illustrator living in WA-USA with my husband Dani trying to make life as simple and beautiful as it can be, and sharing it for the sake of LOVE.

During the day I work at the childcare center from the YMCA with the best artists, superheroes, and singers of the entire world, the toddlers :) (they do everything because they want to, and they don't really care what anyone think. I learn from them everyday); and by night, well, by night I rest. So when do I do art? whenever I feel like, or if I have a specific project, then I'll work on it all day and all night, since my brain is always thinking about it.

Right now I'm in the search for a good story to tell and illustrate, so I'm thinking about it 24/7, I even have ideas when I'm sleeping (total geek!) Maybe I'll end up doing something completely different, who knows...

I meditate, do yoga at home, go for long walks, and make mandalas. I also do magic with my thoughts, cook my favorite dishes form Venezuela (arepas) and spend time with Dani, so you may find any of this subjects in this blog, or any other!


Enjoy yourself and have a wonderful day :)



Claudia Horsey