Art Journal Page 12, with Milliande Let's Imagine...

Let's imagine

Creative Quote for the Day

 Logic will get you from A to B, imagination will get you everywhere.

Albert Einstein

Remember you too can start journaling, it's never too late and you can start any time, you have a year to complete it.

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Art Journal Page 11, with Milliande, Let's Focus...

Let's Focus

Creativity Quote of the Day

Our thoughts create our reality, where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go.

Peter McWilliams.

 

Remember you too can start journaling, it's never too late and you can start any time, you have a year to complete it.

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Art Journal Page 10 with Milliande, Let's Explore...

Let's Explore

Creativity Quote of the Day

It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.

Sophia Loren

Remember you too can start journaling, it's never too late and you can start any time, you have a year to complete it.

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html





                                                                                          

Art Journal Page 9, with Milliande, Let's observe nature...

Let's observe Nature

Creative Quote of the Day

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

                                                              Ralph Waldo Emerson


Remember you too can start journaling, it's never too late and you can start any time, you have a year to complete it.

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Art Journal Page 8, with Milliande, Let's nest...

                                                                  Let's Nest

                                                              Creative Quote of the Day
If I can stop one Heart from breaking I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain or help one fainting Robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in Vain.

                                                               Emily Dickinson


Remember you too can start journaling, it's never too late and you can start any time, you have a year to complete it.

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Beginners Acrylic Painting and Watercolour Classes startng at Rotorua Arts Village

These are the classes that I am running at Rotorua Arts Village in starting  Monday May 9th and  Tuesday May 10th.
I have been running them now for the at seven years and they are really fun. You can either treat them as exercises or form a series that you can hang up.


Watercolour Classes, for Beginners ( and people who have been on the last course).



Dates: Monday Nights, 9th May – 20th June (6 weeks)
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Class size:10 to 14 people, any age
Where: Studio 2 RAVE, Rotorua

Cost: $130.00 per person plus materials. (Own art materials required, listed below).
 This is a perfect class for people who have never picked up a brush but have always wanted to.
You will learn a variety of easy watercolour painting techniques, which will result in at least four works that can be framed.
· You will have access during the class to Janet’s large range of watercolour painting books and magazines for inspiration.
· You will have fun a class that will let you go with the flow and allow you to appreciate the luminosity of this beautiful medium.


Materials List
Watercolour A4 pad 300gsm (Sheila Turners)
Water colour Paints: red, yellow, burnt sienna, and Payne’s grey, yellow ochre (Sheila Turners)
Plastic plates for palettes (Supermarket)
Large, medium, small, acrylic brushes (Warehouse Stationary or Sheila Turners)
Plastic or glass large jar for water or ice cream containers.
Paper towels (Supermarket)
HB pencil, rubber
What past students have said about this course:
“This exceeded my expectations. I will definitely be enrolling in the future, Thank you.” Allison
“Janet is an inspiring and effervescent tutor.” Joanne
“Excellent experience and platform to learn all the different techniques.” Sue

Book and pay for your course now at RAVE

Contact Janet for queries regarding materials or course content at
(07) 346-3435 or
 
Rotorua Arts Village  348-9008

Email jkeen@clear.net.nz Web: http://www.jkeen.net/

Blog: http://janetkeen.blogspot.com/


I am also running my after school art classes for children on Monday, Tuesdays and  Wednesdays after school there are spaces left On Monday and Wenesday
Enquire about my Monday and Tuesday morning mosaic and mixed media painting classes  for beginners.

Fun, Fun, Fun.


Beginners Acrylic Painting Classes and for people who have been on the last course (You should have received a list of lessons, if you have lost them give me a call)

Dates: Tuesday Nights, 10th May – 14th June (6 weeks)
Times: 6pm to 8pm

Class size: 10 to14 people, any age

Cost: $130.00 per person, plus materials (listed below).

Where: Studio 2, RAVE, Rotorua

· This is a perfect class for people who have never picked up a brush but have always wanted to.

· You will learn a variety of acrylic painting techniques that will help you produce six paintings on canvas that will make up a series.

· You will have access in class to Janet’s modern collection of acrylic painting books for added inspiration.

· You will be able to explore your creative side, have fun, relax and open your eyes to the power and potential of this versatile medium.



Materials list:
Resene testpots of acrylic: black, white, bright, red, yellow and blue ( Resene, Old Taupo Road)

Six 10 by 10 or 10x12 stretched canvases ( Warehouse Stationary or Ayjays, or the Warehouse)

Gel Medium (Warehouse Stationary)

3 Hogs hair brushes, medium, large, small (AyJays or the Warehouse)

Rubber, HB pencils, Bottle of PVA Glue, Masking tape (Warehouse Stationary)

Acrylic small fine brushes ( Warehouse Stationary)

White plastic plates for palettes ( supermarket)

Paper towels for wiping brushes( supermarket)

Plastic icecream container for water

Optional: Atelier acrylic varnish.( Warehouse Stationary)



What past students have said about this course:

“Wow I have never painted before and had no confidence to try. Now I am painting at home by myself. I am loving it.” Lesley

“I am using a brush! I am painting! Ok so not a Picasso but this course has given me all that I expected. It has been enjoyable.” John

“I enjoyed the camaraderie and the techniques learned.” Karen



Hurry Book and pay for your space now at RAVE ( Rotorua Arts Village)


Queries about the course: Janet at (07) 346-3435 or RAVE 348-9008


Email: jkeen@clear.net.nz


Web: www.jkeen.net Blog: http://janetkeen.blogspot.com

Art Journal Page 7 with Milliande, Let's open windows...

 

                                                                Let's open windows
Being a good songwriter means paying attention and sticking your hand out the window to catch the song on the way to someone else's house

                                                                           Nanci Griffith


http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Art Journal Day 6 with Milliande, Let's Exercise...

Let's Exercise

Creativity Quote of the Day

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states.

                                                                      Carol Welch





http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

    

                                    

 

 

                                                      

What have I been doing creatively for the past five or so days?

Heaps as a matter of a fact.
I've been so busy attending the poetry course in Auckland, then tidying, cleaning and doing journal entries and sorting out my poetry notes that I have only just caught up on here.

I want to post some amazing photo's that I  took in Auckland of Christmas Lights..so here goes.

The world through a camera lens is so creative, you should give it a try if you aren't already doing so...

                                                    
                                                       

Poetry of mine that has been published on Black Mail Press

 The Secret

Does the red or blue
go best with this dress?
He wishes to ask his wife
but it's out of the question,
horsing around in her shoes

He slides his hairy stocking on
smiling...

He puckers his lips,
Pelican pink or Sultry salmon?
He wishes to ask his daughter,
but it's out of the question,
larking round with her lipstick

The handbag's a no-brainer
with its lyrical trim of
peacock feathers and crocodile black

He clip clops to his blue poptop
and drives to his red
Vet Shop

He steels himself
and  opens the doors to a chorus of meaows

He enters
Then  neuters
their  black fluffy cat.

What am I doing creatively today?

 Poetry Adventure away from home

I have left my home town of Rotorua for four days and I am up in  Auckland.
I am  staying in  Dominion Road, Mount Eden at a  Bed and Breakfast  which is just fabulous.

 If I lived in Auckland I would choose Mount Eden because I like the feel of it. A lot of other artists live here. It has a wonderful volcano; (Mt Eden) within sight. It contains a lot of restored old villas and some cute cottages and many of the steets are tree lined.
 It's relatively close to the city centre but it has the feeling of a small town. It has some really cool cafes, my favourite being Circus, Circus  in Mt Eden Road and an independent bookshop called Time Out.  It smells really nice; maybe it's the combination of cooking  and tree and park smells.
  It also contains maximum security jail with a black /grey chunky bricked facade that looks like a castle.  It  all adds up to a pretty atmospheric place.

 Perfect Bed and Breakfast
 The hosts of the Bed and Breakfast, Bryan and David are creative and interesting, upbeat and friendly. David has a miniature wooly Daschaund called Jack who is his devotee.  Their  restored  villa  contains a collection of eclectic art and sculptures. It has the feeling of an olde worlde curiosity shop. It's a riot of soft colours with tall studs,brass bed ends with patchwork quilts, tapestries and quirky ornaments.  It  makes me want to haul my camera out and start snapping. It's a place that you feel very safe and nurtured in the minute you arrive.The breakfast is generous and tasty.

Dovecote
 There is dovecote full of white doves in the sculpture filled garden who are cooing  infront of my bedroom window.  This is like my perfect fairy tale  place, surrounded by birds  art and cheerful interesting people; what more could a person ask  for a Bed and Breakfast?

Poetry Workshop
I'm attending a three day poetry workshop at the Epsom campus of the University of Auckland; starting tomorrow. It is facilitated by Siobhan Harvey who is a celebrated poet. Siobhan has written many poems  and edited a number of poetry anthologies and other publications. My favourite being
Google her if you want to know more.

I love attending poetry (and writing) courses because they force me to focus entirely on my writing for a specified amount of time.  The people you meet on the courses are usually very interesting and focused on writing, so it is a classroom with a purpose.
 I have had poetry published that I have written in workshops over the years and  I have had fun.

This is the first time I have attended a writing workshop in Auckland; so it is a big adventure.
I know it will be challenging and probably quite emotional. When I read some of my own and others poetry; I am sometimes moved to tears because they often contain intense feelings that come from buried places. I like writing satirical narrative poetry that juxtaposesunusual associations to form a visual narratives.

Art Journal Page 5 with Milliande, Let's build bridges...

Let's build bridges

                                                   Creative quote of the day
Sometimes you have to, as I say, build bridges where you can - but draw lines where you must.
                                                  Fred Thompson


http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Art Journal Page 4 with Milliande, Let's transform...

                                                 

Let's Transform

Creativity  Quote of the Day

 Nature often hlds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal and transformation in our lives.

Anonymous 

This represents Day 4 of journaling with Milliande.

If you want to be involved with journaling, joining this group is a good way because you meet like minded souls online and you receive helpful prompts by way of a video each day by organiser Milliande.

Please feel free to drop by her site and have a look at all the other enthusiastic artists world wide who are also having a go.


                                                     Addititonal  Creative Quote of the day

"Another word for creativity is courage"

George Prince

I am also writing a small stone poem every day a stone ( see previous blogs about how you can also contribute) .

Here it is

 I enter my office and sit at my computer,

 and so does my cat,

He has his own chair

but seems to prefer mine

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Art Journal Page 3 with Milliande, Let's Grow...

                                                             Lets grow in 2011

                                                   Creativity Quote of the Day

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.


                                                          George Bernard Shaw



http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html






Ten Reasons to create and Art Journal using prompts from famous art journalers like Milliande.

1. You make things you wouldn't normally think of, it's exciting
2. You feel more committed to your creativity, especially if you have agreed to post your results to an online community
3. You have to arrange your spare time around it, which means you are making time for yourself
4. It stops you procrastinating about your creativity
5. There is a sense of achievement as you look at all your pages that  grow very quickly
6.It makes you feel more hopeful because it can give you an opportunity to express positivity
7. It's a fun way to visualise to materialise
8. You are under a bit of pressure to perform so it's challenging
9. You can learn new techniques which you can pass onto others
10. It can be a very cathartic way of working out challenges in your life.

If you spend at least half an hour writing or making something optimistic the brain gets tricked into feeling happier.

Key into Milliandes site to watch her videos...

http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011-day-3.html





You can join in too. This time we had to make a stamp. I made a potato stamp of zebra stripes and put grey paint on it and stamped it repeatedly on my  background.

This is fun . I'd never made a home made  stamp begore. I am going to teach my after school art kids how to do this.

Poetry

As I mentioned yesterday I am writing a small poem a day ( stones)  about some moment in time. This was suggested by my poet friend Kirsten Cliff.  

I wrote my moments  from a beach adventure .

Yesterday Graham and I went to Maketu which is around 40 minutes drive from Rotorua . We gathered some pipi's (baby clams) from the estuary and

cooked them our little camp cooker and had Pipi sandwiches on home made bread.

             Graham heating up the trusty camp cooker in preparation for a pipi and brown bread feast

Janet supervising the cooking

                                     Yum , Pipi sandwiches on home made ( by Graham) brown bread, Annabel Langbien, eat your heart out.

                                                                    Poetry (stones) plus photos.

Eating Pipi sandwiches at the beach,

a  seagull gives me the eye.

                                          Plenty of people eating Fish and Chips at Maketu
                                                         No wonder the Sea gulls
      

Pied Oyster catchers

inserting beaks into the sand like orange straws into  banana thick shakes

Additional Creativity Quote of the day

"Sometimes you've got to let everything go- purge yourself . If you are unhappy with anything whatever is bringing you down , get rid of it.  Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity comes out".

Tina Turner.

Ps Take a look at one of my favourite art journalers, you will be blown away...

http://www.teeshamoore.com/teeshasjournalpgs.html

Art Journaling Page 2, with Milliande, Let's shine...

I enjoyed doing the art journaling exercise so much from Milliande's prompts that I did an extra page.
 I am using these pages to propel myself into a new level of positivity.  I want to  visualise growth, success and abundance.
Visualise to materialise is my mission statement for this year.
 Lets fly, lets sing, lets shine in 2011

Remember you too can start journaling in January, its not too late to start by following milliande's videos at
http://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html

Lets shine in 2011 

                                                                                 Lets shine in 2011

Let's Shine

Creativity Quote of the day

Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.

                                                                               Alan Cohen

Art Journaling with Milliande, let's fly in 2011... I am committing to do a journaling page for January, it doesn;'t have to be finished then, you can join anytime in the year. Give it a go....

Art Journaling

Day 1. Lets Fly into 2011

 

 I have been on holiday but I'm back now. At the moment I am doing a journal page every day in January

along with women all over the world, using prompts from a mixed media artist called Millande.

It's fun and you can join in too.

You can find out all about it at...

Milhttp://www.milliande.com/art-journal-january-2011.html




                                                          Day 2. Lets sing in 2011

                                                                                   



 I will also post some photos that I  took during my holiday up North and in Auckland.  Graham and I are still on holiday but we are taking day trips around the Bay of Plenty, walking, swimming, picnicing and adventuring.

It's great to be home where I have lots of space to be creative.

Happy holidays and creating.

Please let me know what you have been up to.

Creativity Quote of the day

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."
George Bernard Shaw
Cheers Janet
http://www.jkeen.net/

Creative Writing
  I am writing a small stone every day, I obtained this idea from Kirsten Cliff who has a haiku blog.
It is a matter of finding a moment and writing a short poem about it.

I find its fun to do writing and creativity exercises every day and it's  essential to my mental  and emotional wellbeing.                                                                
http://www.fionarobyn.com/infoaboutsmallstones.htm


Stones so far.....

The wasp zigzags
over grasses
as a helicopter
flies over the lake


Toitoi comb the breeze


The tee tree smell
lingers long after
roast chicken
and salad


After the picnic
under the tee tree
my husband snores and
bees buzz

Suffering from a creative block, especially when confronted with a big white page or canvas? Here's what you do....courtesy of another artists blog..

"CannonBall" It



You know when you were a kid how you'd run like a bat outta hell and jump right into that ice cold swimming pool rather than inch into the water one toenail at a time? That's pretty much how I get back to work in my studio after a hiatus. I don't pick an idea or an image and then do a few sketches. I pick an idea or image and I do FIFTY drawings in a row, all in one sitting. And if that doesn't work, I do 50 more. I do this because it works. Nothing erases worry, or self doubt faster than a 6 inch high pile of freshly finished drawings. Also I'm an Aries and I do everything head first.





Perhaps if you're a runner who has fallen off the wagon and are trying to get back in shape, jumping up one morning and deciding to run a marathon probably isn't the best approach. But perhaps you could do something like, physically go to your local bookstore and buy a book on training for a marathon, or go buy copies of 3 different running magazines. The idea here is to produce movement and to get energy and ideas flowing. And the energy is in the going and the doing. So go, and do.





Rejoice!





Once I begin to get even the slightest bit of movement and momentum back, I always celebrate it. Hear this: Life is just better when you celebrate even the smaller accomplishments. After I finish my 50 drawings, I usually head down to my favorite bar and meet up with a few friends to drink a bottle of rosé.





I do this for two reasons: One, because art-making can be lonely and isolating work, so it's good to get out of your studio, out of your own head, and stop taking yourself so seriously. And secondly because I live in France and that's just what we do. One other extra added bonus to this step in my Recovery Ritual is that when my friends casually ask me, what I did today, I get to reply "I finished 50 new drawings." And they get all super impressed and I get to feel like a major bad-ass and with just cause. Plus just hearing myself say this always lifts my spirits. Or maybe it's the rosé doing it's work. Either way, whatever your career path, if there's no joy or space for rejoicing, my friend, you're doing it wrong.



1. Make some Art.



2. Make some more Art.



3. Make even more Art.



4. Make even more Art than that.



5. Make Art when you don't really feel like making Art.



6. Make Art when you REALLY feel like making Art.



7. Make Art when you have something to say.



8. Make Art when you got nothin' to say.



9. Make Art every day.



10. Keep making Art.

More Altered Art I have created after viewing Sommerset Studio and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines. Altered art is amazing. In the holidays I am going to be doing at least one art journal page a day. Watch this space......