Hello

Well, I sure have been absent. And to be honest I'm not sure if I should continue this blog. I've been here before, I've asked this same question. I'm not sure who it benefits. I don't even look at all the blogs I follow. I spend so much time on Instagram these days...it a feast for the eyes for sure, but I'm not quite sure it is for the soul. It's more about images, yes, many have more content but... I don't even know what I mean. I think I am going to try to update this ole space and maybe say a few more words...maybe...

I'll start here, with my new studio arrangement. Sorry for the pink cast, these are white walls. I was working on folding tables.  I am a visual person, surprise surprise. My studio is in the middle of my house and you walk by it to get to the kitchen, so it gets walked by a lot! I hated how it looked so I always kept the door shut. Which meant I've not been using it a whole heck of a lot. Wednesday evening at 10 pm I decided to scour my house for items I could use to make it more fitting with the rest of the house and more appealing to me. I'm really happy with the outcome. I'm not finished, but it's good enough. Eventually I want to replace all the plastic bins and containers with baskets or old wood draws or something natural. Nothing wrong with plastic, I'm just not a plastic kind of gal.  I like natural, old worn wood etc. I like to have visually beautiful (in my eyes) things surrounding me.  

deconstructing and reconstructing

I have been messing around with adding elements and images I like to my existing journal pages.

It's been a lot of fun to take things apart and rearrange them in new and different ways. 

 1.

 2.

 3.

 4.

5.

journal spread and layered images

see previous post for Instagram info.

When I complete a journal spread I often make a photo copy of it. It helps me see where I may need to add to or change areas. 

I have also taken one's I really like and have folded them into a little book. 

When I folded this one I had the desire to add additional images to it. I really like the result and has given me an idea to do more of these as larger collages. 

see previous post for Instagram info.

INSTAGRAM NAME

maryefreeman

also, on the right side of my blog you will find instagram photos that you can click on.

Journal spread

showing up

Hi friends! Yes, here I am posting two days in a row.

I really did not have anything specific to journal about this morning. I guess most times when I do journal that is the case, but or some reason I got out of practice...and I do think it's a practice...of daily or weekly journaling. Or even being in my studio. I have a bracelet that has a saying on it, "show up and live your art".  I haven't been showing up and I'm not sure what has kept me from doing so. So I showed up this morning. It felt good and strange at the same time. I wasn't exactly sure where to begin or what to do so I just put color on the page...small mark making...a little at a time. 

I have noticed that I am not necessarily finishing my journal pages, at least the last several I have done. I say that, but since there is no rule about when a spread is done (it's more a feeling) they in fact may be. I'm just stopping at a point where I don't have any more ideas or desire to add more. I would rather leave it a bit unfinished than overwork it like I have done in the past. I like giving it time to evolve without me rushing the finished product. Allowing myself to be okay with the tension of maybe not being completed. I think that is partly why I stopped painting big. I expected to create this great work of art in a day or two or three of painting, when really it can take weeks and months. 

I'm going to move more slowly and be with the process more than I think about the finished product. 

So, this spread may or may not be complete...

It's been so long...

Well hello there! Has it really been almost a year since I last posted...I even had to change my sign in password since I couldn't remember it. I suppose I could attribute that to my advancing age as well. I turned 60 since my last post...heading to 61. I have thought about closing this old dusty thing out, (the blog not me, lol) but something keeps me from actually doing that. I have been posting on Instagram regularly and it's been a great place to post photos and to find inspiration without a lot of words. But I think I miss those words, and feelings, and a place to connect with others on a little deeper level. 

I haven't been doing much journaling or painting. Something in me seems stalled. Below are a few that I have done. I'm not sure if the first one is finished, I may go back and add more...or not. I used a couple of Roxanne Coble's stencils in this piece.  

Oh, you can follow me on instagram @maryefreeman if you like.