Thoughts that are illuminated visually through images or that are captured in words through text?
Thoughts that, if read or shared would divulge a deeper side of you, your dreams perhaps or a side of you that is bursting with YES!Yes, I can do that or YES, this is an excellent idea! Or perhaps your book isn't a book of YES or dreamsbut rather a secret place to share your frustrations in confidence and with an admirable confidant - the blank page.
I have books that contain all of the above. The image above right is a page from one of my many YES notebooks. To date, my house and studio is scattered with over six notebooks actively holding inspiring messages, concepts, poems, goals, blessings and to-do-lists. Each notebook has
a different personality and holds a theme - is a portal into another world awaiting to be made real. The page above and drawing below holds a special message I wanted to share straight from the page-
EXPAND INTO DREAMS
- Dreams are another word for beginning.
Grow the roots of heart.
Choose, to allow, your innate talent to Bloom into Stars.
Let those Stars guide you into living the answers calling within,
calling to nurture ideas with the kindling of heart, urging you to step across the thresholds that bind - with someday or can’t or soon or how.
Reach courageously into the nutrients of soul.
Follow each step, that blossom Smiles awake upon the face.
Accompany your bliss, allow it to usher you into the orchard of fulfillment.
Where the moon shines full – Illuminating Dreams Come True
This message inspired me so much that I created a series of about eight various pendants entitled "Ode to Dreams." Each carry various inspirational messages intended to uplift the spirits of the wearer in expanding into their dreams come true.*First, I created molds out of polymer clay to construct the tree, juuuust right (see below), but none of them worked as well as carving into the clay itself. The back is stamped with the word - "expand" *Fine silver is slightly oxidized and treated with a sealant so as to maintain patina, pendant is hung from either silver chain or woven silk ribbon, each is hand made with joy. *For a print visit my etsy shop
I'd love to know how you're expanding into your dreams? What amazing ideas are awaiting you in one of your notebooks or mind or heart? Please share your inspirations by leaving a comment below!
36 Comments | What are your creative thoughts?:
wow this is lovely Stephey! I love all the blue colors and that pendant is gorgeous. Oh boy I have so many thoughts...I am blessed with the opportunity to pursue my creativity to its fullest and so I work hard, I play, I dance, I sleep, I dream — I take my dreams, my vision(s) and create – from within. My heart swells, I love what I do, I love who I've become as a woman, a creator and a wife. Thank you for your post and for helping stop, think and reflect ♥
Hi IVY! Thanks so much for stopping by. You are so blessed! mama talk about an abundance of creativity and inspiration - dance, family, doing what you love, wife, creator - the list goes on, reading your insights made me smile and reflect more on the many ways I too am living the dream- A dream of a life filled with loving friends and family! I sometimes get caught up in what my creative dreams look like that I miss the ones all ready being lived. Thanks again for sharing your reflections!
Hello Stephey! I have a journal page somewhere way back with a very similar tree - stars for leaves! Lovely that you've made it into a pendant.
Lately my sketchbooks & dreams have been filled with a return to childhood type dreams. Peter pan lost boy like adventures and imagery of ponder-some creatures. I sense a new series brewing!
stephey, what a lovely post. it was so beautiful to see the progression of thoughts in your journal to actual pieces of art. i just started art journaling and i am finding that often it is a jumping off point for the rest of my art. i feel like i am expanding every day and growing in new ways. thanks for sharing!
What a lovely image Stephey. I love the blues and the stars. I am so with you that my sketchbook is a sacred little place for me to explore my thoughts/dreams/hopes. I have very teeny sketchbooks that I carry in my purse and I have giant sketchbooks for when my thoughts get big and bold. :)
Really enjoyed this post. I never thought of using a sketchbook in that way. Thanks for sharing.
such a lovely post, I am at a loss for words of the beauty you have created here ... Thanks for your thoughts on the notebooks as well. Wal-Mart just had those blk/wht comp books for a mere .25 and I just blew $10 on em. Now what great ideas you have shared for them.
Hi Wendy @agirlandherbrush SO glad you enjoyed the post. I know what you mean about expanding everyday...I wonder if a tree feels a bit of growing pains as it expands and gets its rings? Everyday I have some word or sentiment or moment open me right up and touch me heart. SO much so that I look for it and these are what often get filled in my sketchbooks. I want to create art and wearables that really showcase those heart moments -with the hope that the collector will feel it too. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Patsy
That is so funny. I too have a variety of sketchbooks that travel with me depending on where and what size purse. I am not biased to the book, it only needs to capture me in some way.
I've purchased books and made my own with watercolor paper, brown craft paper and rag paper (my favorite). When each is complete it goes into a special box with the other completed books. When I am having a bad day, all I have to do is open one of those books and VIOLA! I'm touched all over again by the sacred magic and inspiration in each.
I resonated with what you wrote "...giant sketchbooks for when my thoughts get big and bold." That is a wonderfull sentiment!
Hi Sara!
That's awesome you have a similar tree with stars in your sketchbook. I'd love for you to post a link in the comments. Any one else have a similar vision? There is a REAL TREE with stars in the center for blooms. It found me back in 2005, you can read and see the pictures here in a post called listening to trees.
I'm always amazed how the creative forces that be cycle among creatives. I too have had ideas that I've seen others share and or promote, almost the exact same as in my work at various times and each time that happens I always feel connected to something bigger - it reminds me that the various creations really do not come from me, in the me, me, me sense but more in the artistic channel of inspiration sense. Ideas just want to be be born - again and again and they'll come through anyone who is willing to create them. I LOVE READING about your new series, sounds sparkly. Please keep me informed, I'd love to see what you create. much luv stephey
Dearest Stephey, you always always inspire me each time i visit you here! You are so taleneted! I do keep a journal of my doodles and dreams and just about every inspiration that come my way! I love your pandent and the process it took you to create it! It's soo beautiful and very inspiring! I am off to heart your lovely esty shop!! Love to you!
Hi Jacqueline Thank you so much for sharing such generous words - it really touched me to know you find the pendant inspiring and that you went by etsy. I'm in transition with the etsy shop into a custom one that will air here in the next month. Thank you so much for stopping by and many inspirations to you and all your notebooks! All My Best,
Stephey
Hi Stephey!
OMG!!!!! This print is beautiful, and I love to see how it started out in your journal. And the pendent? Amazing!!!! Are you going to sell those in your store?
Beautiful, wonderful, inspiring, and soulful. More, more more! Make more!
xoxox
Kristen
Hi Kristen!
YOU MADE MY DAY! Thanks for such a heart felt comments it had me smiling and laughing out loud! I so needed a touch of enthusiasm. I am going to sell these in my store. Thanks for asking. I'm in the process of building a custom store that is designed to echo this space. That's where I'm going to sell the pendants and other inspiring wearables + LTD prints. In the meantime, I've placed a few prints on etsy. Thanks again for stopping by and leaving such a cheery sentiment!
Much luv,
Stephey
Your writing is so beautiful! I enjoyed this glimpse of your creative process, from books of dreams and ideas to pendants.
I'm holding on to this "Where the moon shines full – Illuminating Dreams Come True", and it reminds me that there are two more nights of Perseid meteor showers! Maybe I'll catch a glimpse of them tonight!
Hi Kate! OOO! I so hope you do get to catch some of the meteor showers! That would be amazingly beautiful and inspiring. Ralph Waldo Emerson has a piece of literature that talks about how the stars having the power to change man - for the good. He says something along the lines that if we could see all the stars at once we'd marvel and know that we're connected to something greater in us - that something that calls inside for us to be and live our dreams (something like that). You making reference to the meteor showers reminded me of it. So glad you enjoyed the post and thank you for your kind words!
This is a great post, I have never seen your blog before but now I subscribe, looks right up my ally,full of inspiration, creativity and spirituality! I have several notebooks and journals ( I have a LOT of empty ones waiting to be filled up! ) I have several going, but a few more I think I will start, I am going to start a dream ( like life dreams one!) I have an art journal and a written journal as well as a notebook that holds my random thoughts and notes , one for to do's and things like that and an inspiration journal! I love that you have a bunch too!
Hi Heather @toliveinspired I stopped by your blog and love what you have under your empowered category. Totally love the tea tag wisdom! Is that your creation or an actual tea brand that comes w/lovely wisdom? love lil'details like that.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I too have a few empty notebooks waiting to be filled up, though those too are slowly making their way filled. Thanks for sharing the topics waiting to be make their way onto the blank page - mama they are good!
The silver tree pendant is lovely.
Looking forward to seeing your new shop.
I like to trade notebooks back and forth with friends.... we can riff on each other's ideas, shapes, moods, etc
I enjoyed your post and your starry tree image and story resonated with me, as I too have a special tree in my life that constantly inspires and comforts me. Paying homage to it is something I have been planning to do and your post today has inspired me to record it in my 'ideas notebook'.
I have two, one for my visual inspirations and one for my writing projects.
Being a newcomer to the blogging world and to online creative communities, I am amused at how popular keeping a creative journal has become. You see, when I was in Design School many years ago, we had to keep a gigantic creative journal for a few of our courses, in which were recorded our inspirations and processes leading up to our finished pieces. In fact, these journals oftentimes were what the instructors were more interested in and made up the bulk of our final mark, more so than the completed artworks themselves. I remember at the time how odd, most non-artists found them.
Although the concept is not new, I am glad to see these notebooks are now more mainstream; they are a testament to people wanting to have more spirituality and creativity in their lives, something that is sorely missing in our fast-tracking world of instant gratification.
Having seen some of the creative notebooks out there, I think they they are art pieces in themselves; a reflection of a soul's journey and of how a heart and mind 'expands' and dreams.
At the moment there is a wonderful project open to everyone world wide that is interested in making creative journals and it's called "The Sketchbook Project". Perhaps you have heard of it, if not here is the link, I'm sure you will find it interesting:
http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject
I am looking forward to seeing your pendants when you put them for sale online. They are a great idea.
Oops! I just visited your FB page and I saw that of course you already know about "The Sketchbook Project. I guess being summertime with everyone on vacation here, it is not so easy for me to keep up with my online readings on a timely basis. Looking forward to the Fall when I can dedicate more time tome and my Mac.
Hi Orianne! Yes, I am participating in the sketchbook project. I decided on the theme, Lights in the distance (so glad you found the Facebook group cuz I'll be posting there). Would for you to join in and share your musings as well! Thank you so much for this thoughtful comment and taking time to stop by and say hello! I love your writing! and how the new site is shaping - mama it's ridiculously inspiring!
You know, I too was introduced to the sketchbook when in art school, thumbnail drawings were the "must practice" form of the day. I had a heard time devoting myself to that daily practice. I rarely kept notebooks or sketchbooks. I felt way to busy exploring the world and jumping in rain puddles with friends for that! But as I got older the blank page became my best friend Because it was there I found salvation; It was there I realized I was doing anything - it was being done to me. It's like that quote from Van Gogh, "Art is something which, although produced by human hands, is not created by these hands alone, but by something which wells up from a deeper source in our souls." (Letter R43) My friend Kristen Walker recently spoke of this very thing on her blog please visit her to read her take. I'd love to hear yours as well - hell this could be a post in and of itself constructed with a paragraph from each of us...hmmm. Wonder how many feel the same and how'd they express it in 500 words or less!
stephey, like you, I have sketch book scattered about the house. Some are almost full--the ones I seem to favor, for whatever reason. others I pass by daily and ignore. I am hoping to become a little more dedicated to sketching and recording whatever resonates. I can't tell you how many times I have been "stuck" on ideas, flipped through an old sketchbook and "found" a solution.
Your necklace is beautiful, thanks for sharing what wet into it.
I don't use a sealant on my oxidized silver...but I think it's a good idea. I'll have to look into that.
Hi Amy @AG Ambroult
Yeah, don't quite understand what it is with the "full" sketchbooks. Like you, I seem to find margins and half inch spaces to write and fill up even more. i don't reach for the blank ones that are waiting and eager to hold what ever inspiration is wanting to come through.
It makes me smile to read you too will graze your sketchbooks and VIOLA! find inspiration or a solution - that is the beauty of tending to a sketchbook - opening it when searching for a solution or uplift and BAM! you're tapped right back into the universal creation of it all. You're on your way through "stuck" into fabulously inspired and creating. I think creating an archive of inspiration that I can go to is a great secret to moving forward with ease when I find myself stuck - opens me right up when visiting those cramped pages of insight!
So glad you like the necklace. I got the idea to place a thin, i mean thin layer of sealant on my oxidized pieces from a friend. She says it really helps keep the patina and saves the clients skin from getting a lil'dirty from the oxidized silver. I used a sealant by rio grande - check it out. WOuld love to hear any insights about using it...Thank you for stopping by! Hope you have an inspiring day!
I have 6 of these journals. I have been building my dreams but it's so scary to put them out there. I want to have a solo show of my art, maybe an outside installation, I want to have an art workshop in my home... I'm inspired by your blog and others, books, friends and my own growing creativity.
Hello @Odd Chick You too have many journals - we should start a club! You know, it is a bit scary to put your dreams out there. For what seemed liked the longest time, I thought, what if I put my Dreams out there and nothing happens but disappointment - what I would I Dream if it was dead? Then I slowly realized that Dreams are doorways to beginnings - we are meant to live them come true, follow our passion, share what stirs deep inside us! It's why we're here. Why we contain such inspirations inside - to share them - to create them! To live them! The other thing I realized, the only way to get over fear is to meet it face on - pow! Engage that courageous heart and take Van Gogh's advice to heart as well,"If you hear a voice within you saying, ''You are not a painter,'' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced" You can have that solo art show, that workshop, create that outside installation - you can do all this, else you wouldn't have the idea! You're the only one who can create those ideas into reality - the only one. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing! Stop by and leave a link to when you start taking steps to make these visions come true or what ever else inspires you!
All My Best,
Stephey
Thanks for sharing your notebook! I've kept notebooks like this in the past and you've inspired me to begin again!
HI Ladaisi So glad to hear you've been inspired to start, restart, jotting down your inspirations! Jotting down our ideas is the first step to bring them into fruition - it's like our creative recipe book. This would be a great place to sketch out those BIG dreams for loft living! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi Stephy, just wanted to give a shout out to my fellow coconut and say that I love, love, love this post. You are talking my language:)Thanks for sharing!
Hi Dyan! So glad you stopped by for a lil'shout out! Good to meet new people that speak the same language - makes it that much more fun to Dream BIg together! Checked out your site and love that you draw angels! Have an inspiring day. All My Best, Stephey ;)
Hi Stephy, I'm another fellow Creative Coconut stopping by to say 'hello' an take a peek at your blog but that turned into so much more than a peek! I'm completely glomming every image and word - I see many hours of reading ahead of me. Your blog header has to be the most stunning, creative and illuminating one I've had the pleasure to see.
I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your art through the Coconuts. See you there!
--Kimberly
Journaling definitely helps me keep my life in perspective. I have been going through a huge transition in my life and for some reason I stopped journaling for a few months. I was feeling very out of balance. A return to journaling brought a return to balance. Thanks for your post. It was inspiring to see your creative process.
I wrote about my return to journaling here -
http://trailblazingmylife.blogspot.com/2010/09/balance.html
Hi Stephy, Just stopping by to say hello. I love your blog and your beautiful inspirations. I would love to take an E course from you next time you offer one.
Your fellow coconut, Stacie
Hi Stephy, Just stopped by to say hello. I love your blog and your beautiful inspirations. I would love to take one of your E courses the next time you offer one.
Your fellow coconut, Stacie
Hi Stacie Thanks for saying hello! SO glad you like the blog and various creations.
Would love to have you in an e-class. I've been teaching workshops locally but plan to have some more ecourses in the fall - End of Oct. Stopped by your blog - love your jewelry designs!
Have a great day!
Hi! I am sorry I didin't ever respond to your question about the Tea Tags, it's from a a brand of tea called Yogi tea they have lots of different kinds of it. And each one has a saying on it. I have a collection going of them now! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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