Journal Questions to Discover, Uncover, and Recover

Questions to journal about, to question yourself with. Be honest and open with the answers.  

It's the only way to discover, uncover and recover-let alone move forward:





Are you interested or are you committed?

Are you passionate or are you purposeful?

Are you surviving or are you thriving?

Are you serving up crap or are you serving up value?

Are you questioning or are you hungry for knowledge?

Do you charge by the hour or do you charge what you are worth?

Are you apathetic or are you engaged?

Do you make excuses or do you take ownership and do the work?

Are you fearful or are you fear-LESS?

Are you helping yourself or are  you hoping others will help you?

Are you part of the problem or are you the answer?


Are you cutting edges or cutting corners?

Are you willing to take a risk or are you choosing only that which comforts you?

Are entrapped or are you empowered?

What have you done today to move forward?

Have you done the work or did you skip the lesson?


Why you? Why not?  Who else? What did you learn? What's next? How do we get there? 

What do you want? What do you need?


What keeps you up in at night? What are you searching for and why?

....Musings of the day. 

Until next time,

Jodi

A Soul Filled Interview: Jodi Ohl

Exciting news, I was recently interviewed by Sheree Keys who had some very thought provoking questions  for me, stop by her community blog and check it out. 

What advice would you give someone who wants to become an artist?

My advice is first and foremost, practice everyday. Don’t compare yourself to others but learn from others. There are no shortcuts to practice honestly. Know that you will have peaks and valleys but if you know in your heart, you are going to pick up the pieces and go back into the studio (or kitchen table, or nook in your office) tomorrow and try again…that is a success..... READ MORE HERE

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Some exciting news coming on Monday.......it's my Birthday and I'm going to have a little Arty Party with you!  :)  You don't have to bring anything unless you have a bottle of wine..haha. ;)  Seriously, if you were around the blog over the last few years, you might know what's going on....but if not, stay tuned, it's going to be a big happy ARTY Birthday celebration!!  Set your clocks for Monday morning, 12/14/15!  I'll have the post up by 11 if not sooner :)

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Looking for some last minute gifts?  Check out my Etsy shop for a wide variety of prints, cards, magnets,  original paintings, as well as several online classes!   I will accept a few commission orders for January so if you want some special, please let me know!

Looking to participate in something low pressure and lots of fun? Join us for Creative Jumpstart 2016!  Pre-registration begins now and you save 5.00 off the low price of 50.00 for the next couple of weeks!   Click on the image below to find out more information and to register!

My Favorite 2014 Journal Pages A Flip Through

Today I wanted to share some of my favorite pages from 2014 out of my journal (s) but when I started to compile my list, oh my goodness...I have a hard time editing anything so I figured why not make a short video featuring some of the pages.

It's always interesting looking back through some of your pages. You start to remember pieces of your life you might not have remembered had they not been documented.

Or you might say, what the hell was I thinking?? 

I have to admit, I am inconsistent when it comes to journaling but I'm glad I do it and will be doing much more of it in 2015, especially since I'm updating my journaling class and will be featuring a new one online.

I've found I try things I don't normally do in my regular paintings...

And it serves as a space to let go and just vent or lament every once in a while.

Take a peek at some of my fav's from the last year. If you haven't picked up your journal in a while (or ever),  today's a good day to start.  

New beginnings.  

I thought I'd write a New Year's post what my intentions are for the next 12 months but honestly, my eyes and back are tired from being at the computer for the last several days working on a project  & fixing a catastrophic computer program...so that post is going to have to wait a bit so I can focus a bit better.
I hope your first day of the New Year has been a grand one!  I'm excited for all the possibilities and can't wait to move forward.

Here's to all of us shining on our best selves in 2015.  Make every day count!

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LAST DAY---to take advantage of the special over at Icreateflix.com 

Save 25% off classes using code:  New Year 15

Less than a week left to save on the pre-registration special for my upcoming workshop, "Podtastic"

This class is chock full of exercises, ideas, techniques, tips, and of course lots of painting. I dare say you'll find it "Podtastic"!!!

Art Everyday Month Project 5: Where are all the Fish?

Holy Moly...it's Hump Day Already!

The week is moving swiftly as it usually does when you have a list a mile longer than the time to finish it all in. It's all good though if I weren't busy, I'd be even more worried.    Yesterday I worked on a lot of my class preparation (my new online class) with lessons going live each week on Fridays, the beginning of the week is spent on preparing all the creative goodness for the students.  After I was done with my prep work, I spent time (a lot of time)  cleaning a SMALL portion of my studio. I figure knocking out little chunks of chaos at a time is the way to go for me. Actually that's how I approach life, too. When there is too much coming at me, I try to just deal with what's right in front of me. One step at a time,

With the cleaning and class prep behind me, it was time to journal a bit, after all...when I was cleaning, it was almost like I was in a meditative state just thinking about life in general and clearing/cleaning out my brain and was finally ready to unload on to the page.

Like most of my journal pages, I had the base of it ready to go.  That's the way I like to roll. Prepare ahead of time then go back when I'm ready to add to it.
For this page, the base of it is painted with Silks Acrylics and the stencil designs where sprayed on with permanent acrylic inks that I mix up and make my own sprays.
The fish came from a National Geographic Magazine.



Fish. Hmm.  The theme just kinda spoke to me yesterday.  I've been down on myself lately, knowing that I needed to make some changes or at least the reason why I have been down, I'm attributing to how I feel about myself. If that makes sense.   Let's just put it out there. I'm tired of being alone. Most of the reason why I"m alone is that I've made myself unavailable for the last 7 or 8 years waiting for someone to change that never would.  Then when I thought I was ready to move on, I fell for a con artist that financially broke me and almost caused me to have to give up my dream of being a full time artist. (That story is a long one and one I'll save for another time).

There have been a few other options in between con men (I'm only half joking here)...but nothing that clicked either way. Most don't understand what it takes to do what I do full time, and the ones that do understand, well they aren't knocking on my studio doors and I haven't met them yet.
So then I'm thinking, it's really probably me. I'm at fault. It's my weight. I must look horrid. I obviously am not winning any pageants or contests or I wouldn't be in this solo situation.   My answer to that has to join a gym and I've been going almost everyday for the last month. And you know what, it feels really good no matter what the reason is that I first started to go, it gets me out of the house (which is really important considering for the large majority of the time I'm by myself here), and I feel much better and more relaxed after going.  

I even did 700 arm weight lifting repetitions and the about 1/2 the amount leg exercises. I'm working with water weights and aerobic activity which I love.   So far so good, I've lost about 5 lbs with my goal of 30 altogether in the next few months.  I'm not saying that that's going to change my facebook 'status'.lol  but at least I'll feel better about how I look.

But ya, thinking about being alone the rest of my life does keep me up at night from time to time.

I think about why I wasn't good enough for someone I did care about quite a bit not love me enough to stop the downward spiral he was going in. 

I think about why  I was such an IDIOT to fall for another con man right after that. 

I think about what it's going to be like when my boys move and have lives that are really their own.

I think that how much of life is timing. Why you meet someone at one point in time and it's not the right time, and then when it is...it's too late for one or both of us.  So I guess that's really not right or never was and never will be.

 

And then I think that maybe things just haven't worked out for me yet because of this new path I've chosen in my career. It takes so much out of me that there really isn't more to give to anyone. I barely have time to take a day off or go to sleep before 11:00 right now...building things up takes more than anyone can ever imagine.

And then I think, that's just an excuse. I do some of what I do because I purposely dive in and not make time.

Calling myself out here.

 Whatever it is.  At least I'll be alone with nice arms. HA!

It's actually not a bad thing to be alone. I can attest to that after living with HUGE, unbelievable, chaotic drama in my life, day in and day out. 

Until you live with or love someone who is an addict, it's hard to describe what that does to YOUR life.

Without that chaos, I have been able to move forward and pursue things I really wanted and I have so much less stress in that everyday pursuit without a noose around my neck and a 

train wreck crashing into our lives each and every day.

 

Flying solo does scare me.

I hope it's not forever.

 

Thinking that it will be forever is probably irrational, Right??

 All I'm asking for is a sign that it won't be forever.

That's all. 

Until then, I'll be working on my arm muscles and trying to fit into those now out of syle but benchmark jeans in my closet. I'll try not to be an idiot again and fall for anymore lifesuckers/moneysuckers/self suckers too while I'm at it.  You can't fix someone else, but you can fix YOU.

 

"Where Are All The Fish"

Artfully Yours,

Jodi

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Come get "Funky" with me!

Funky Little Cityscapes, an online class that   you don't want to miss!!

AEDM Project 2 Am I Worthy

AEDM Project 2

"Am I Worthy"

Hello friends..it's Sunday and a bit cold outside. The leaves are dancing around the yard carefree and congregating in places that I should be taking care of right now, but here I am warm and cozy inside hibernating on this fall morning. I will be out soon enough, taking care of my chores that I've been putting off all week.  One of these days I will have a full time yard boy:)

For yesterdays project I worked on a portrait on grey toned paper by Strathmore which I love. I've been using it quite frequently as you can build up the tones quicker and the face doesn't look as harsh as when you are sketching on white paper.

Normally I use a reference photo from a magazine and just change the pictures up. I avoid anyone who is smiling with their pearly whites showing at all costs.LOL   I haven't graduated to drawing teeth just yet. Or bodies for that matter.

I do love me some eyes though.

Lips are my next favorite.

I've even come to love and respect hair.  We often rush when it comes to drawing hair, or at least I used to.   Now I enjoy seeing it build up and come to life. I've learned some very valuable tricks along the way and am sure I will continue to learn the more I practice.

The more and more I glazed on the layers of pencil and charcoal, I thought that my girl looked a bit sad. Almost teary eyed.  She was not feeling strong or confidant, questioning herself in many ways.

It's funny how our own emotions can come out in our art even if that wasn't what we intended at first.

I finished off with building depth around the girl by doing some freestyle writing and even scribbles. It's  a good way to get your feelings out and it also gives the background an edgy look.

Am I Worthy.

I know I am, but it doesn't always feel that way..and so I art:)

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, stay warm and make time for YOU.

Artfully Yours,

Jodi

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Stop by my Etsy shop to see what's new!

Coastal Reverie and a Giveaway, too!!!

Think about the possibilities.  If the world is your canvas, then truly you can create it as you see it. Or as you choose to see it. Once you let go of the boundaries instilled in your mind,  there are no rules as  you unleash your creative heart.

 

This painting is a good example of just that. I  went into my painting session with an idea and a very loose color scheme, something that I changed up a bit as I went along. What I did have was a vision though...a vision of something I had seen many years ago but with time had faded to just a blurry haze of color and shapes.

Snorkeling.  Yep..that was the inspiration behind this painting,  a dive in the Caribbean waters many moons ago, About 15 years ago at least maybe more. While I don't remember much, what I do recall is much more than blue waters floating by, it was crayon box of color , texture and MOVEMENT,  underwater. Everything is moving with every wave that goes by.  Does it look like this exactly? No. But that's okay.  The painting doesn't have to even resemble the underwater scene I was envisioning, if someone wants to believe it's a explosion of fireworks...that's okay with me too.  It's just a canvas. It's a memory. It's a feeling.  It's going to elicit something different from everyone who views it. 

 Our individual canvases can go from one feeling to another rather quickly, at times it just may be simple and understated like the canvas above.  Still, the colors evoke a feeling...to me, they bring me back to a cottage I once knew well by the lake,  a little store nearby full of penny candy and freeze pops and a line up of boats anchored near the shore. I imagine this board nestled in a vignette of fisherman's net and starfish, maybe sitting on top of a treasure box full of memories of a summer not too long ago.

Art does that for you. It brings you back in time.

It retells the stories before they are forgotten.

The colors chosen can further remind us of that time when....

Or the time we wish we were a part of...

Art, like life, is a medley of memories, told in bits in pieces.  But put together, you begin to see the bigger picture.

I was recently interviewed by Mo of Artful Living Group about my upcoming exhibit at their gallery:

Coastal Reverie

..and as we were talking about the show, she picked up on the fact that I seem to use a lot of houses, communities, fun coastal themes and a lot of positive words or affirmations in my work.  We talked about overcoming odds and making a better life for ourselves,  and using art to tell our stories..and it was like an aha moment for me.  Consciously, I knew what I was going to do for the show yet in a lot of ways, I have been preparing for it for years.  Bits and pieces of all my influences have found their way into each of the pieces I will be showing.  Some tell color stories, some tell stories of summer love and taking chances, others are about surviving and regenerating,  flowing with what life hands you, staying positive while living each and every day to the best of our ability

A subliminal dream. 

From the shores of Lake Erie to the Coast of Carolina.  It's about where I grew up and where I have planted my roots now. It's all in there, and I hope you stop by to see it come together from June 6th-June 30th with an opening reception June 6th from 6:30 to 8:30 at Artful Living Group on Cape Fear Blvd, in Carolina Beach NC.

To celebrate my first ever solo exhibit,  I wanted to share some color inspiration with some of my favorite products from Splash of Color!!!  whoooohoooo! Who doesn't love a giveaway?!  Included in this goodie pack are some Silks Acrylics,  Small pots of Twinkling H20s and some larger pots of the Twinks, a jar of Inka Gold, and a black  Pearl Pen. That's what I have now, If I get over 100 entries (in the form of comments), I will add a few more goodies for you  (I'll update you with another picture if that happens).  **Fingers crossed it does because I want to bless you with even more goodies!!!!!

Oh heck....let's add one more thing right now to the package....I'm going to hand pick one of my One of a Kind   Sweet HeART magnets and throw it in to the goodie box.  Total mini fridge art that is uber cool!

UPDATE...we hit the over 100 mark of comments! Thank you everyone that stopped by! I swear, I've been reading every comment, shaking my head and just lovin' on your 'aha' moments. They are a great motivating read in and of themselves!

Well as promised, since we hit the 100 comment mark, I am adding a few more goodies: 

*mini print, a post card of my original art, bookmark with some of my funky houses, one of my fav pencils, a set of Turner Guache, texture material, and a sampler pack of awesome paper for collage!  Yay what a great prize this package is going to be!  Keep sharing!!
I really appreciate you helping get the word out about my show and the prizes you can win here!

Okay so how to enter?

Simply make a comment on THIS post and tell me if you care to share any "Aha" moments you've had in this first half of 2013, it can relate to life, art, career, family, love...whatever you want to share. And if you don't want to share, that's cool too...just make sure you leave a linky so I can get a hold of you if you win.

**Bonus Entries** 

I'd love if you shared this post to get the word out on my exhibit....and the freebie giveaway!

If you share this post, just simply come back here and make a second comment.

*One extra entry person please:))

Giveaway runs from today May 28-Sunday, June 2nd.   I'll announce the winner on Monday!!

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*If you happen to go to the show on June 6th, why not stay an extra day and take my class at Artful Living Group, "Lazy Days of Summer" journal making class.

When:  June 7th

Where:  Artful Living Group,  Carolina Beach , NC

Time:  10-1

*Most supplies are included but if you want to bring copies of pictures, any favorite papers or odds n ends to add to the journal, or favorite colors of paint, you are welcome to do so.

*Cost  49.00

Everyone will get come away with a journal that you can capture all of your summer memories as well as learn several journal page techniques during the course of this class!!

hey...it's early but if you want to bring a mimosa or a bloody mary to class, go for it! :)) Just bring me one, too!  jk

Seats are limited so be sure to call today and reserve your spot!

Phone	(910) 458-7822
Email	info@artfullivinggroup.com
Website	http://www.ArtfulLivingGroup.com

Just Do It! Free ART Friday :)

TGIF!  Or at least in some countries it's Friday!

I hope your week was magical and productive. I spent the week doing a lot of learning. We are never too old to learn, right? I've been taking a couple of creative business courses this month which I put a lot of effort into this week,  along with just simply sitting my butt down to figure out things I haven't done yet but have had on my 'to do list' for awhile.

For example, I sat down and created a skeleton of a website I hope to grow into something a lot more flourishing than it is right now. But it's there at least, right? It's farther along than it would be if I was just 'thinking about doing it it' . I actually did it.

Here it is if you want to see it. I mean I should hang my head by even posting it because it's not 'complete'  by any means, but by putting it out there, and I know you will be looking...it'll coax me into keep improving it.  :) I have to use reverse psychology on myself from time to time.

I also learned how to thread my sewing machine this week. HA! I know that's not a biggie but it's something I haven't done in almost a year so I totally forgot how to use it. I couldn't even remember how to sew  in reverse. How sad is that?

But look what I made...well it's not perfect but it's pretty cool. Again..it's a lot cooler in person than just an idea in my head that I never got out. It's here in the world because I forced myself to at least try.

I'm working on several projects for 21 Secrets which opens April 1st.  I have to say, it's been a little bit of a struggle for me because I've moved more away from journaling in a book to  just playing with printing with anything I can get my hands on, sketching in a note pad, doodling on something else, scratching out ideas on loose papers. Journal pages and painted papers are  EVERYWHERE!!  That's actually part of the theme for my class, "Diary of a Highly Effective But Inconsistent Journaler"  you may journal here and there, but it's not consistent, heck it may not even be in a book..but what can we do to make it more a part of our artistic routine?  What are some ideas to reel it all into  one or two places so we CAN use our journals for a reference for future art or just to play with ideas. And just WHAT do we journal on? Do we have to journal on the same type of paper all the time?  

All good questions...and I don't know all the answers but I will share with you several things I've learned along the way and assure you we are in this together and that we can make BEAUTIFUL journal pages..even if they are different from the rest  of the world.  That's the amazing part of journaling. It's totally owwwdilly all about YOU. 

 My other aha 'educational' activity was today when I created my  

Free  ART Lesson

 video for the week.  (haha...like the name?  I had fun playing with some of my facebook friends today trying to come up with a name for my tutorials that I'll be doing weekly) Kinda going off topic here but my idea was to work with some of my partner company's products (as well as other assorted projects)  and share tips or lessons with  my friends and followers on a weekly basis, Friday namely... and come up with a name for this project. 

Free ART Friday or Farting on Friday came up as one of the top choices.  Okay so maybe that's not the best choice, but a funky playful name is trying to be born as we speak but I'm not there yet:)

 

 

 Any whoosers,  in doing this video, I just wanted to do a voice over narration. I had no idea how to do that. I mean, I've done MANY MANY videos before.  I've never narrated a video. No clue.  I literally spent 3 hours trying to figure out how to do it, where the button was, how to get there..then how to edit it once I figured out how to do it.

The videos is just over 3 minutes.  3 hours (not including actual creation time) to do this little ez peezy project. Maybe not the best use of my time...but there again....I LEARNED something and  in doing so...that something I surely can use down the road in other projects. Right? Hopefully! Yes, I know I can use that little nugget of info in future things;)

So are you getting the drift of my article today? You never stop learning.  Even when you haven't done something in eons, you can pick it back up and do something even bigger and better than before.  Doing SOMETHING is a heck of a lot better than doing nothing at all.  When you don't know how to do something..sit your butt down and figure it out...or go ask for help (after you've at least tried to make a go at it). 

Magic will happen, I can assure you.

And last but not least, don't let fear paralyze you from doing the unknown. It doesn't have to be perfect either the first go around.  It gets better and better the more you do it.

Okay so with that said, here's my perfectly IMPERFECT video on creating a 

Faux Stained Glass Journal Page using Twinkling H2O's, Pearl Pens on a gessoed substrate. What am I using for my substrate?  Umm....You'll have to join my class at 21 Secrets to find out the rest of the details.  C'mon, you know you wanna! :))

Enjoy your weekend,  make it fun..play art,  enjoy family and friends....and relax.  You deserve it!


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