Category Archives: process

inspiration, life, motivational, process, self-care, skiing

Mortifying memories

July 31, 2017 Maria G

Mortifying memories remain very vivid in my mind. Isn’t it funny how we remember the “bad” things more than the good?

It’s about 90 degrees here today and I’m sitting at my computer sweating. It brought me back to some memories of snow. Let me tell you a funny story.

I grew up in Sweden and it was plenty cold, dark, and snowy for maaany months of the year. Think same latitude as Alaska.

Skiing was something everyone did in the winter. Sometimes the snow glistened like diamonds with a soft layer over packed snow. Perfect skiing surface, and gorgeous to boot.

Around age of sixteen I got interested in slalom. I was never into taking classes at the time, but I went with a friend’s family to ski a mountain.

It started out with my dad buying mountain skis that were too long for effective use. The downhill boots hurt my ankles, but being young and strong, I endured.

The first time I went up a ski lift I fell off as I tried to get on it. My pants ripped in the ass and filled with snow. A totally mortifying experience as everyone watched. My memory is a bit hazy, but I think I fell off three times before I got the hang of it.

Not only did that happen but I had to spend the whole DAY with my undies showing through the rip and being cold from wet snow.

It took a long time to get down the mountain and I fell plenty, replenishing the snow in my pants. I realized I would have to learn how to slalom if I was ever going to enjoy the downhill experience. My ass was close to frost bite that evening. To my delight, I did get the hang of the ski lift…

Needless to say, it was a trip of mixed joys…

My folks didn’t have a lot of money, so classes were out of the question, but during dark winter evenings, after school, I used to hoist my skis on my shoulder and stagger down to the local slalom hill (converted sand pits.)

There I started low to the bottom and practiced my slalom skills. No one ever showed me how, but by watching others, I got some kind of hang of it and ventured up steeper hills.

Chicken as I was, I never dared to try the highest ones but I got courageous some evenings and went down the medium hills. It was a thrill.

The ski lift there was rough. You had to hang on to a handle and the handle pulled you up on a thick wire. You needed to have your skis aligned or you’d fall off and then you had to move sideways on skis up the hill, which was tedious beyond belief.

I almost killed myself there when my scarf got rolled into the wire and as I got to the winch at the top I had to quickly untie the scarf or get strangled and mangled. (Another mortifying memory.) The scarf came out at the other end no worse for wear…

The point of this story:

I stuck to the routine of learning slalom, almost every night, and I was sad when the snow melted and I had to give it up.
I went alone every time. It showed me that I could take initiative and do things without others’ approval.
It was frickin’ cold but I did it anyway.
One time I did cross-country skiing every day to recover from a severe illness. I was fifteen and took that initiative. Sometimes slushy snow made things difficult but the skiing made me feel stronger every day.
Something inside me pushed me to do self-care and to grow my confidence.
That something has been with me all my life and urged me on. Learn more, be curious about life, always learn more. Be a student of life.

It’s always about self-care! What do you allow in your life that is not good for you? Can you quit doing it? What can you learn today? Is life an adventure or a drag? Sometimes it’s a drag, but if you have a good foundation, you can rise above and still move forward.

The point is, question your routine and see how you can make it better. Let the years get better, not like some fading lamp of old age.

For artists: Make art every day! Learn something new. Take risks. Be bold. Enjoy the process.

I had a delightful chat with artist Trisch Rosema about art journaling. My little gift to you today. 🙂 You can watch it HERE.

If you want some more motivation, read this blog post: The Dog Ate My Motivation.

Or this post: Trusting Yourself.

What pushes you to improve?

Maria

art, art journal, art journaling, mixed media, process

I had a discussion yesterday

April 20, 2017 Maria G 2 Comments

I had a discussion yesterday about art. Some days I paint perfectly recognizable art projects, like birds and things in nature (for example.)

Sometimes I make random art, which is so easy, but the pages don’t necessarily mean anything to me. The person I was talking to swore by random art.

It’s interesting because the art journal pages I don’t care much about get the most “likes” on Instagram and Facebook. Not that the likes matter much, but they are an indication of what speaks to the viewers.

People like random “loose” renderings. I feel very ambivalent about that kind of art. It doesn’t SAY anything to me. I like a good story or something recognizable.

Not that random stuff is ugly. Many times I’m drawn to the energy, and that’s enough.

To stretch myself I’m going to make art that doesn’t always sit well with me and see where it leads. If it’s easy, it flows, but there are no rules. Easy doesn’t mean fulfilling.

I had a sdiscussion — Flying into the sunset

I do like abstracts as long as they draw me in. I’m very ambivalent about my own art at this point. These art journal spreads have been painted, mostly, with a paint on a credit card edge. I like the texture, but I also like texture on house walls. 🙂

When is it decorative, and when is it art? Well, it doesn’t have to be labeled, but it’s an interesting question .

One time I painted walls that had a leather faux finish. It was a lot of fun experimentation to get it just right. In the end, it was a satisfying project. I wouldn’t call that art, but it needed skills.

The above spread was totally random painted with a credit card, except for the art picture that I glued on top. I can’t say that I like it, but it is what it is.

What is your opinion? What kind of art makes your breath catch in your throat and your eyes widen?

For me, I would say it’s some kind of mastery that shines through the art. I’ll never forget when I first saw some real Renoirs at the Met in New York. The light he had mastered! I’d say it was an awesome immersion experience.

As it is, we live one day at a time, and any creative endeavor brings us closer to the heart of who we are. Each piece of art brings us closer to more deeply express the essence.

I aspire to inspire, one step at a time. 🙂 What about your art?

Lots of love,

Maria

P.S. I have an e-course, FLY YOUR SOUL, coming up shortly. No link as yet, but I will add one once the offer is available. Meanwhile, you can always join my newsletter: LINK HERE.

art, craft, creativity, mixed media, mosaic, polymer clay mosaic, process

Polymer clay mosaic tutorial.

August 8, 2016 Maria G 2 Comments

People have been asking me about more polymer clay mosaic tutorials.

I have posted before on how to paint the baked tiles, and there is a YouTube video on how to paint them as well. CLICK HERE.

Here are some pictures on how to put the mosaic together with the finished tiles. Since this is a star box I had to fiddle with and cut some of the tiles, which is tricky since they break pretty easily. It’s much easier to make a square or rectangular design.

polymer clay mosaic tiles — painted tiles ready to be assembled

I paint the lids black to hide any gaps between the tiles. If the gap is too big I place some glue and drop some seed beads to fill the gap.

finished design — Tiles fitted and glued down

Here you can see some blue seed beads in the top two corners. The tiles were too big to cut for size. Seed beads are great and they lend some sparkle to the project as well. Choose a color that matches the main color(s) of your design.

I painted the box on the outside with acrylic paints.

I spray paint the bottom and the interior with gold paint before I paint the rest.

What do you think? Pretty colorful. I had fun making this, and so many others.

I made a mirror that promotes PEACE! I thought that was a worthy thing to be reminded of while looking into a mirror. Peace begins within and it’s a choice. I even had a Buddha charm I embedded in the clay and baked.

The mirror part distracts from the frame in the bright outdoors, but there it is. Polymer clay is so versatile you can make almost any design.

I use old buttons, rubber stamps, charms, found objects, and lettering to imprint the tiles. You can use anything that makes a nice imprint.

If you enjoyed the tutorial, please leave a comment.

Please visit my new etsy shop, Earth and Faery.

Have a great creative week!

Maria

art, counter-productive, doubt, motivational, process

Stop beating yourself up!

July 2, 2016 Maria G

Sometimes we set impossible goals, or goals we’re not quite ready for, and then we beat ourselves up for not accomplishing them.

It’s good to have a schedule or a plan and to stick with it, but if it’s totally overwhelming it’s going to be counter-productive.

If you discard a goal and feel bad about it, know that today is a new day. How can you modify the goal and feel more at ease? Life is not a race and what others accomplish has nothing to do with you.

I made a goal at the beginning of 2016 to offer something free or paid art-wise to my artist friends. I followed through until June and when six months were almost up I realized so many things had been counter productive.

I can just give up or beat myself up about it ad nauseam, but that is even more counter productive.

I learned something along the way about the process and that is priceless. If I hadn’t taken the action I would still be in the dark.

It’s not about discarding the dream, but to make it more streamlined to who YOU are, not what people might expect. Or even bigger still: what you expect of yourself.

Listen to your own drumbeat.

I have always been a doer and sometimes I forget to listen to my own drum. But it’s getting better. Nowadays, I don’t get as far away from myself as I used to do, and I truly want to offer the best me to the world.

I don’t compromise while creating my art, but how I bring it out to the world the best way is still somewhat of a mystery. All I can do is keep exploring and see what responses I get.

One thing I do know. Your dream is important and when you talk about it, you might help someone on the other side of the world as you pursue your own process.

I often get comments like, “oh, I really needed to hear that today, thank you.” Then, what I thought was a half-assed blog post or art offering, means something. It’s verification that I’m headed in the right direction, and that I inspire others.

That makes every step worth it.

To find the right way sometimes takes many tries, but there are no failures, only experiences.

Believe enough in yourself and keep the dream alive. There really is no other alternative!

So, STOP beating yourself up from now on. 🙂

Maria

P.S. If you’d like to try one of my evergreen art journaling e-courses, go HERE to check them out.

art, creativity, ecourse, free, process, self help

Andrea Schroeder on self love.

June 18, 2016 Maria G

I have never met Andrea Schroeder in “real” life but maybe I have met her in my dreams. She is the creator of the Creative Dream Incubator and the Creative Dream Circle. A Canadian with a vision that goes beyond the usual “fluff” we so often see on social media.

She’s an artist but also someone who delves deeply into the problems of being human. She helps you expand the possibilities of being a life artist. I was intrigued by her unique take on common problems / solutions so I promptly joined her Creative Dream Circle.

And I have had fun with it ever since! It’s full of creative courses and other awesome offerings. The yearly membership will not be enough to go through all the material, but I look forward to a long exploration on her site.

I will offer you links to her offerings at the end of this post. This excerpt is from her free guided journal + free coloring book.

What it is: 15 pages of journal prompts and hand-drawn mandala coloring pages to explore and color.

She writes:

It’s a beam of creativity & love, from my heart to yours.

This book is designed for people who want to lead creatively abundant lives — and do ‘impossible’ things, with ease & joy, every day.

Filled with journaling prompts, unique energy alchemy processes and hand-drawn healing mandala coloring pages, this book will lead you through the process of learning more about your (amazing!) self.

There is magic in this book.

You activate that magic by playing with it.

Play in whatever way you want to play. Use whatever art supplies are fun for you: glitter pens, crayons, collage, etc. There are no rules here.

The journaling prompts are tiny little diving boards, for you to dive off of into your own adventure – go off on tangents and explore whatever thoughts come up in the process. They will lead you to amazing places.

The healing power of the mandala coloring pages is activated when you color them in, lighting them up with your unique creative expression and ideas. (If you want to explore mandalas further and draw your own, I’ve got an easy-peasy anyone-can-do.

My hope is that this book helps you to fall more deeply in love with your amazing self.

To download this free inspirational how-to go HERE.

You don’t have to be an artist to create these mandalas.

To find a full length course of painting mandalas or to find out about the Creative Dream Circle go HERE.

All artists and LIFE artists need a shot of inspiration so I have added the link below. It’s really worth looking into.

To give Your Dream Wings, check out this full length e-course that is FREE!!! Click HERE.

You can also find Andrea on Facebook HERE.

We all need inspiration sometimes, and she’s great at offering new views and possibilities, and I like her laid back style.

I wish you a happy, creative weekend!

Maria

P.S. If you’re looking for a unique gift please check my etsy shop HERE.

art, creativity, ecourse, painting, process

Too little time

June 18, 2016 Maria G

Yes, there is too little time to attend to all the art e-courses I signed up for this spring. Some of them run weekly for a long time, and others are short-term courses. How do you manage those classes?

I love them all, but I don’t feel good when I fall behind and let some of the classes slip because other things, like “life” get in the way of my fun.

What makes it so fun is that I can explore other artists’ visions of what they practice and how they see life. It’s a great ongoing exploration.

Some of courses are waaay too long and then I have to figure out which classes to pursue of the offering. As with anything else, we have preferences.

Art is never a BAD practice even if the subject does not thrill you. It is always a learning experience and a new way of looking at things.

If time is short, make a decision to paint X amount of minutes every day and stick with it. That is the answer to “too little time.” It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in as little as 15 minutes a day.

I enjoy that there are e-courses available about all styles of art, and artists. I don’t even have to leave my house.

This was inspired by some abstract tutorial I found online.

I had seen flower mandalas online, and also classes on painting mandalas, so I wanted to try my own. My backyard does not have an abundance of flowers but these came from there. It was fun to make.

DSCN1971 — Awful still lives I painted in one course.

I definitely don’t like painting still lives…

I had never tried a self-portrait. I don’t care much for the exercise, but it was challenging. The things in the background are paint tubes. I think I mostly used colored pencils for this portrait. My hair is short now.

We were supposed to paint something upside down so I used a picture of my cat with his head upside down, and then collaged a couple of hands below with a fish.

My mom used to say that when cats sleep with their heads upside down it’s going to rain… I haven’t seen any evidence of that, but she lived closer to nature.

What new things are you trying? Are you involved in any art e-courses this spring? I think it’s worth the effort.

Have a great, creative weekend!!

Maria

P.S. You can always try my art journaling tutorial for free if you sign up for my newsletter. 🙂 Click image in the top right hand corner of this page.

Maria Greene @ Greeneearth

Category Archives: process

Mortifying memories

I had a discussion yesterday

Polymer clay mosaic tutorial.

Stop beating yourself up!

Andrea Schroeder on self love.

It’s a beam of creativity & love, from my heart to yours.

There is magic in this book.

Too little time

Artist and writer