Wear Your Own Crown

I am beginning to wonder if we are spit right out of the womb with the need to compare ourselves to others. Now, I know that isn't the case, but even in my young 3rd grade students they ask all the time, "Is it good Mrs. Goodwin?" "Is it as pretty as hers?" It stops me in my tracks...cold. Adults do this too, heck, we all do it to some extent, but especially new artists who are just beginning to get their brush wet. 

10 years ago when I started to teach myself to paint I wasn't as involved online as I am now. I didn't have all the images of beautiful artwork rushing through my stream each day. I can honestly say, I didn't have the urge to think if it was better than so and so's or not, I just wanted it to look good. But wanting it to look good was a desire connected to my internal voice of needing to be valued, needing to be significant, needing to know that my effort was worth it. 

I can't say when or how, but at some point I figured out that for me, it wasn't as much about getting it to look right as it was about the process of making the art. I wish I could share this ability with new artists, and children, so that they could reconnect with just having fun, just making marks, just enjoying the gift of creativity. As a teacher, it gives me a ton to mediate on....to pray about, and to send forward. 

This morning, as I started my journal page, the section in this book that I chose to work on was Figurative Painting. "Perspectives on the Arts" was written in 1961 and the very first sentence of the chapter written by Stephen Tillman reads as follows, "Young artists today live with a very strong sense of who is in and who is out." 53 years ago, in regards to painting and being a professional artist the same stigma applied and it makes me wonder if the cave men felt jealous over who was making the better, bigger, or prettier marks. Comparison steals our joy. It turns those negative voices in our heads on full blast and turns off the ones guiding us on our best path. 

Crowns seemed to fit these pages, the figures appeared to be powerful, and the juxtaposition of the two figures picking flowers beside the male figures of prominence gave me a twinge. As the marks flowed I felt inclined to consider how we wear crowns, how we strive to wear other people's crowns, and what can I do, as a teacher, to help those caught in the vicious cycle of comparison. The concept is complicated, it isn't easy to solve, but I believe in my heart it must be dealt with. Our true gifts and hearts are worth fighting for. 

Whispers In The Wind

As I have aged I have learned to quiet my spirit and listen to the wind. Whispers are found there, of deep longings from my spirit, of answers to questions I refuse to ask, and of gentle nudges directing me in ways that I am blind to when my noise meter is on full blast. In the moments that I choose to slow down and listen, my maker sends the language of love and compassion my way, for that I am truly grateful. Lately, I have been spending more time listening and less time talking, and I can tell a huge difference in my serenity. 

Artwork is like that some times. When I rush through ideas or pieces because I can, the heart is more silent. It doesn't mean that what I think or create is wrong, it just means that it isn't connected to my heart as much, and the further away from my heart I go, the more I know I am spinning my wheels and pissing my bones off. I am convinced that my bones have a direct line to my heart, like they are on Twitter together or something because it never fails.... when I am doubting myself, being careless, or acting on disconnected information my bones get royally fed up and let me know that. When I am creating for any other reason than being altruistic, I feel it in my bones. 

One way I practice staying connected is completing what I call Quick Paints. I take 15-30 min, use paper that would ordinarily be discarded, and I create a painting from my heart, not my head. This practice does two things: It keeps me creating from a sense of flow and it keeps me loose in my style so that I don't over think a piece and create from redundancy. Over thinking is the black widow of the painting process and can be lethal to a pure creative event every time. Here are two pieces I created in this way and both characters have been with me under the shadows, waiting to see the light of day, and longing for me to slow down and give birth to them. They came from my heart, not my head...and I trust that. 

"Mr. Boudelaire's Hair Is On Fire" (sold)

"He Plays Jazz On King Street" 5" by 11" acrylic on paper, matted 

($75)

Because professional artists create to sell the majority of the time, we often get caught up in painting for purpose rather than painting from passion, or at least I do. Bills must be paid, supplies purchased, and marketing explored, but for me, that can't be an excuse to bail on why I paint. My soul speaks through the wind, it says, "Paint through me, not in spite of me." Painting from this inspiration, not matter how different or weird, will always ground me in being true to my gift, self, and God. I sit here with the deepest understanding that it is His voice whispering in the wind.... He speaks through others, and he speaks with strength. I am grateful today for those who spoke to me with encouragement, with support, and with nudges of staying brave and bold in my long term art goals. 

The artists of HeArtspace on FB are my whisperers as well, they speak the truth from a place of love. :) The incredible Jeanne Bessette curates this group! It is not a group for artists to share pics, although occasionally we do. Rather, it is a group for artists to share the journey of being and becoming an artist. If you are interested in joining, in actively sharing your experiences, good and bad, of living a life as an artist, then friend her and request to be added to her secret group. Best decision I have made lately....best!

You Matter So Big!

Throughout my connections with artists, especially those just beginning, a common core belief comes to the surface of conversations: The fact that they struggle with their significance as a person and an artist. Many of us seem to be raised with the voice in our heads that we aren't good enough. My young third graders ask me constantly, "Is it good Mrs. Goodwin,?" and I just smile and wonder where this concept was born, how early, and how it is so ingrained in us as a society.

For years I struggled with the idea that yes, I was given gifts and talents, but at my core, I was insignificant. Who was I to have this opinion? Who did I think I was to boldly share this idea or concept or image? Why do I matter to anyone? These voices of mine came from lots and lots of lies I told myself, poor choices I made in connections, and my repetitive, nut case habit of comparing myself to everyone one and every thing. Terrible way to live really, terrible because those things robbed me of my joy....and they were hard to change. But, I did change them and this way of thinking, that I am wildly significant, is mind blowing.

Now, before you go on thinking, 'arrogant' I need to explain the difference between knowing I am significant and living my life believing I am better than anyone, they are very different in my humble opinion, and they are also what makes so many of us hesitate to embrace our true significance. Living in one's significance means that we acknowledge the gifts we have been given, see their potential in helping make this world a more beautiful place, and choose to share them in some capacity with others.  Living in arrogance means we believe we are far better and superior than others and our tone/behavior is telltale of that. To me, living in arrogance makes one walk straight into the pit of insignificance. 

So, how do we move from believing the lies we tell ourselves into living the truth about how this world needs us, and it does, :) Take one step a day toward owning it.....and that one step can begin with seeing a phrase and saying it everyone morning...I am significant. I matter SO BIG! Just seeing it fights the doubt, fights the voices, and gives strength to our inner spirit. It may feel weird at first, so what. Let it feel weird, but just see it. Then begin to say it. Then begin to notice throughout the day the little things you do that make a difference. Then you might just begin to see those gifts you have shining a bit brighter and when they shine brighter, others notice, especially others who are attracted to YOUR LIGHT! 

I made my poster today so I could see it every morning. I hope you make yours! If you do, share it with us, post a link to it, I wanna help reinforce the fact that YOU, yes YOU totally matter!  

From Ice to Angels Art Journal Page

It has been an incredible two days so far as Alabama is pretty much iced and snowed in. This is a view of our back yard and believe it or not, that is ice, not snow. I can't step foot out the door because it is so dangerous to walk on so I simply enjoy this oddity from afar. Thankfully, the respite has given me lots of uninterrupted journaling time! 

My kitchen table had this great view of the light pouring in which cast a turquoise glow on everything, including my sparkly mini tree that I keep up year your just because it makes me happy, :) The color palette of turquoise, orange, red, and dark gave me so much fodder for my new page too! 

These two pages, being part of my Perspective On The Arts Altered Book, are images by  Georges Braque. As a collage artist he is one of my faves and actually was father of the method called Papier collé. 

This type of collage specifically is created by the use of gluing paper, so for these two pages I wanted to embrace paper collage, cubism, and fauvism in celebration of this master painter. 

Although I had my color palette set I chose to be a bit looser with my concept and allow the idea to evolve rather than having a set 'topic' to cover. I loved the image of the lady in red with the scissors as well as the shadow of the gentlemen in black. 

As the page developed I used cubed shaped pieces for the base, went back and forth between the larger images and their importance, and then the idea to dwell on angels came to me after I found a piece of hand painted paper with the colors that I was looking for appeared in my bag....like magic, :) Once that piece was found, I knew where the page was going, especially in light of the nightmare experiences many of my Alabama friends had had over the previous 24 hours. 

My belief in angels is near and dear to me as I have had several experiences in my lifetime where nothing but the existence of angels could explain them, and I am grateful for a faith that allows me to share that. This page is one of my favorites, for its message, for its colors, for the entire experience of praying for folks while I made it. Each person interprets journal pages as they need to, and I trust that process. Hope this one speaks to many of you. 

You can view my entire book of pages for this journal in my Facebook album and see their steps in progress HERE.

You can also view my pages on my website as well here. 

Seeking Perfection Art Journal Page

It's the Deep South friends and we are hunkered down expecting an ice storm and possibly snow for the first time in 15 years. To my friends up north I say be patient with us, we southern folk are not used to the white stuff and moaning and complaining and rejoicing at the hint of snow is in our second nature. For me, two unexpected days off of work gave me a chance to paint, so I am THRILLED for snowpocalypse! 

Although I had wanted to create a snow inspired art journal page these images on my desk of girls with forlorn and piercing faces kept catching my eye, as if they were calling out to me to speak for them. I had seen several posts this week in my social networking circles about the nightmare of seeking perfection, photoshoping the perfect face, and on and on. It gave me much fodder to consider what exactly we are doing to ourselves in thinking we must look 'artificially beautiful' to be valued. 

I opted to start sketching around the four faces and gave a lot of thought to the fact that this was a church. We worship....through our faith, but sadly we worship the media, fashion, and the quest for that perfect look. I say perfect a lot here because that is what the voices in our head make us run like rats to cheese for doesn't it? As the page evolved I began to like the muted color palette and decided to embrace the neutrals rather than go for rainbow, which is a different path for me. 

My paints flowed, the marks worked, and I left this page knowing I would rather go out into the world au natural than be under the foot of the media circus. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy getting dolled up on occasion but I am not a slave to feeling as if I must look a certain way to fit it. Makes me wonder how mom's with daughters do it these days. 

You can view more of my art journal pages HERE! 

New Liquitex Paint Markers

Who says kids have all the fun at Christmas time? I was gifted some Liquitex Paint Markers and along with my Montana ones, I was set to have some fun! For those who aren't aware, these markers are acrylic based so they go swell with any type of acrylic or mixed media type of artwork. Most can be refilled as well and Montana carries the empty ones so we can mix our own colors as well, which is even more golden. 

I first chose to test out my markers in my mixed media art journal and worked o a page using Golden heavy body acrylics with my Liquitex markers. I LOVED the way they gave me control over the details, had great opaque coverage, and flowed smoothly. They didn't blend as well as I had hoped but they did offer the ability to cover in layers which turned out to be a nice way to use them. Because I have chisel tips, writing was easy and I could see they would lend themselves to lots of journaling, which is something we all love. To view all of the entries in this journal click HERE

Once I knew they would work well in my journal I wanted to see how they performed on watercolor paper. I opted for 300lb. rough, and right from the get go they were a bit sluggish. My graphite and crayons went down first, but the flow that I found on the slick paper just wasn't there on the rough surface and the paper seemed to soak the paint up too quickly at first. Once I had an initial layer of acrylic on the paper though, they performed quite well and were a joy to work with in adding details out the gazooba! 

This was the first test using the 300lb. watercolor paper. I just sketched, made marks, and played with color. You can see the texture pretty well, and the paint seemed to just not move well in this. I opted to turn the painting upside down and take it in a different direction this morning. 

First layers using Golden Heavy Body Acrylics

Next layers, adding details with the markers. 

"Practice Time" 9" by12" acrylic on paper

Final version, added some warm glazes and balanced out the details. Overall, the control the markers gave me are something my style works well with, that makes my day! 

There are applications I plan to tinker with using the markers, but for now, I am pleased as punch with how they work. I hope your Christmas and holiday was blessed friends. Looking forward to some huge changes in the new year as well! 

Trumpet Angels

When I was a child a couple of my aunts had trumpet angels above the doorways and I was always taken by them. They made me smile as I walked through the doorway knowing an angel was above me. I also love that trumpet angels share the good news of Christ's birth. After many years I decided I would paint a few and have so enjoyed the process of walking down memory lane with these. 

 (This one is x-large)

My trumpet angels are painted on tar paper, sealed, and mounted on 3/4" oak and birch panels. They can be painted with custom colors as well. 

 (This one is x-large)

Prices: 
Unmounted (frameable) - $75
Small is 6" by 12" - $85
Med is 6" by 18"-20" - $100
Large - 6" by 21"-24" - $120
X-Large 8" by 28"-30" $140
Shipping is $8 unless you are local, then we can meet for a pick up. 

Orders are taken up until December 16 (ardithgoodwin@gmail.com)

21 Secrets 2014 Presale!

Over the past few years one of the most important habits that I have in helping me become a better artist, person, and teacher is to keep an art journal. I have many types of them, sketchbooks, journals about cats, watercolor journals, altered books, even a journal called "Fractured" that I share with no one. The process of sketching/creating daily, writing my thoughts, ideas, prayers, and intentions on my pages, and embracing the practice of letting the paint flow without expectations has been a HUGE force in my growth as an artist. 

As I started my first journals, checked out books about how to make them, and tinkered with different ideas I longed to have a connection with other artists sharing the same love I had. Through the networks of Facebook and Google+, and from my IRL classes, I began to meet and get to know other journalers, students, teachers, and creative beings sharing their lives through their pages, and the experience has been life changing. 

A few months ago one of those artists who I have adored and followed, Connie Hozvicka of Dirty Footprints Studios, contacted me about being one of the 21 teachers in her HUGE 21 Secrets Online Workshop. Although I was ready to jump at the chance, I took a deep breath, spent some time praying about it, and then felt an overwhelming peace that this was my path and the timing was perfect. With glee I accepted and have been on pins and needles waiting for the big launch today. 

I am guessing, especially if you have never taken an online workshop, you are thinking, what does this online class entail and who would it benefit? If you answer yes to any of the questions below, this experience would be a meaningful one for your personal art journey: 

1. Are you interested in learning new techniques to use in an art journal or incorporate into your personal painting style? 
2. Are you interested in exploring ways to get to know yourself on a deeper level through the practice of writing, mark making, and painting? 
3. Are you interested in taking risks, trying new techniques, and stepping out of your comfort zone when it comes to working through concepts and ideas in your art journals? 
4. Are you interested in learning about new tools and practice methods to build your own artistic skill sets? 
5. Are you interested in connecting with a community of like minded artists at all levels in a private, safe environment? 
6. Are you limited in your own community in having art classes and events to engage with other artists? 
7. Are you interested in learning from 21 different teachers who each share a different point of view, way of practice, and passion for helping others reach their potential through the journey of art journaling? 
8. Are you looking to learn specific art techniques to help you improve your overall artistic skills? 
9. Are you crunched for time and can't attend an in person workshop due to time/job needs?
10. Are you interested in finding your own, personal artistic passion and breaking through the negative, internal self talk that holds you back? 
If any of these questions are YES for you, then this type of workshop will be incredible! 

On the other hand, if you are looking to view the artistic process of others and copy their style then I would say, this is not for you. 

Now, I know it is October and this workshop doesn't start until April 2014, so what's the deal? Today we PRE-LAUNCH, which means you can get it at a really, really discounted rate if you are one of the first 500 members. Here is the breakdown of the pre-sale discounted prices: 

THE NEW 21 SECRETS PRICE SCHEDULE
$59 for buyers 1-50 
$69 for buyers 51-150
$79 for buyers 151 - 300 
$89 for buyers 301- 500 

After 500 members, the cost goes up to $98 so getting in early is the best idea ever! 

April 1, 2014 the workshop kicks off and this year each member will be able to download the entire course in a PDF/Ebook format to follow and revisit, which is an amazing opportunity. You can read all about the specific details of 21 workshops, see the (awesome) teacher bios, and sign up HERE, and the courses and teachers are some of the most interesting I have seen offered, which thrills me! 

(Each instructor has an affiliate link and when you sign up we get credit, which is how we get paid. Please use my affiliate link in blue above to sign up, THANKS!)

Ardith Goodwin http://ardithgoodwin.com

DeAnne Olguin Williamson http://deannewilliamson.com

Effy Wild http://effythewild.com

Erin Faith Allen http://www.erinfaithallen.com

Galia Alena http://galiaalena.blogspot.com/

Jane Cunningham http://www.numinousjane.com

Jeanette House http://www.jeanettehouse.co.uk/blog/

Jes Belkov Gordon http://www.bucketsofcolor.com/

Juliana Coles http://www.extremejournalism.ning.com

Julie Gibbons http://www.juliegibbons.com

Katie Kendrick http://joyouslybecoming.typepad.com/

Lisa Cheney http://lisacheneyjorgensen.blogspot.com/

Lisa Hofmann http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com/

Lisa Sonora Beam http://www.lisasonora.com/

Liz Lamoreux http://www.lizlamoreux.com/

Natasha White http://defineyourjoy.com/

Petrea Hansen Adamidis http://www.arttherapist.ca/

Rachel Ellen Andrews http://www.rachelellenandrews.com/

Roxanne Evans Stout http://rivergardenstudio.typepad.com/

Tara Leaver http://www.taraleaver.com

Tara Wagner http://theorganicsister.com/

Connie Hozvicka http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com

If you have any questions about 21 Secrets or the workshop I will be teaching, message me at ardithgoodwin@gmail.com or through my social networks. Leading up until April, Connie will be showcasing each instructor and their classes, and I will share that information as well. The countdown begins and I have never been so eager for April to arrive! 

Collaborart!

For the past month one of my dear friends, Terri Keller and I, have been swapping canvases back and forth in preparation for Art(ology)'s Collaborart Show for Artwalk October 11th. We each started the canvases with random marks, collage, or paint and added our own influence with each swap. This was WAY harder than I thought because I was worried, "Am I covering up too much of her work?" The entire process was a great learning experience because it made me really evaluate how I go about deciding what is important enough to keep in a painting and what is worth letting go of. 

Here are the process images for each piece! They are now on display at the gallery and will be part of the show Friday evening. 

First Round of Ardith's Marks

Second Round of Terri's Marks

Final Version of Ardith's Piece

First Round of Terri's Marks

Second Round of Ardith's Marks/Collage

Final Round of Terri's Piece

Up Close Detail

Our pieces are hanging next to the collage Phyllis Henson and Lynn Weeks created, amazing work all around! Hope you will come out and join us Friday evening!

Simple Tip - Use Your Non-Dominant Hand

As I teach young ones each day I pay close attention to the process they use to create art, especially the intuitive process. Because my grades span from 3-6, I pick up on the distinct difference of a young child creating from pure imagination to the older child wanting to get it right and asking, "Does this look good?" In a very short time span kids seem to really lose the ability to create with reckless abandon and by the time the child has grown and become an adult, many of us lock ourselves into the notion of "I can't draw, I can't make that, I can't, I can't, I can't..." 

Giving ourselves permission to create without any expectations whatsoever, to simply play with our marks, our color, our lines, is VITAL for the artist. If only the child in our adult bodies was given permission. My#simpletip  of the day is to create something with your non dominant hand! Let go of expectations and play with your paints. Get back in touch with that part of you who's artistic voice was at one time.... POWERFUL! By using your non-dominant hand it forces you to give up control and simply let the line, pattern, and mark evolve. If you are really feeling your inner child, use your fingers too, :) 

These abstracts were made by my 3rd graders in our study of Kandinsky. They amaze me with the power of their artistic voice and I so pray that I will help them hold on to it for as long as possible.