A mixed media owl

I've been working on this owl painting for a few days now and yesterday it was completed. It's hard to know exactly when to stop, but suddenly it just felt right.

It's made on a canvas (46x38 cm, 18x14") and it's the largest piece I've ever created. I've used acrylic paint, scrapbook paper, gelatos and molotow pens. I made at least a million mistakes and lost hope several times, but after each revival the painting reached a higher level. I've definitely learnt not to fear mistakes :)

As you problable know by now, I LOVE owls so this painting is a darling to me. I just had to write the poem "A wise old owl" on it and I had to squeeze the last words in. It's so hard to calculate the space letters take and I was sure it would fit in without any problems and with a little force, it did.

So, here he is... my darling owl :)

The green/blue and bronze are metallic acrylics and it really glows in some angles. Love it!

For the first time one of my pieces was allowed to move in to our living room :)

The third and last Mandala assignment - Mandala as a dream catcher

I'm so into this mandala making that everything else at home is neglected. I needed time on my own to really get into mandala thinking and making mandalas part of my life, so there was never any other option. However, now it's Easter and I will be more available to my family :)

This third assignment was to make a mandala based on dreams or images or elements that are part of your life. I new exactly what would be included in my mandala. Waves, as I think the sound of them a warm summer day is so soothing and they are forever, whatever happens in the world, no matter if I'm happy or sad, they are still there with their irrepressible strength. Owls, because I love the sight of them, the coolness about them and the smartness they stand for. I feel respect and humility for them. Rays of sun surrounding them. That just felt right and bright and brings hope for the future.

So, as you can see I'm not good at drawing, I'm more of a "pattern person" but when I draw it always gets kind of childish. In any case I like it and I've decided not to get into the comparison game, which is easy to do when I see all the incredibly talented artists around me.

The text around the rays is about owls and waves. I also had to write down this wonderful poem of an owl that I just love. I have no idea who wrote it.

The Wise Owl
The wise old owl sat in an oak.
The more he saw the less he spoke.
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we be like that wise old bird?

Thank you Lisa for this workshop! As you already know you've given me the mandala fever and I'm grateful for that :) Also, thank you for that wonderful meditation session. I will surely come back to it, over and over again. Love!

Had to take a closeup because I've used water colour with glitter in it and it's so sad that it doesn't show properly on the photo. In this closeup you might see it in the blue and green (the green outside the mandala).

Playing in your Mandala garden - Lesson two by Lisa Hofmann

This assignment was to create a mandala from the center outwards. I tried to paint directly with watercolour, without drawing lines first, but that was too difficult to me. It became a mess. I definitely have to practice more on doing that. I cheated a bit and instead drew patterns from the center outwards and then coloured them with watercolour.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the process and mandala making is such a great way to just let go and get in the wonderful state of just being and not thinking. I surrounded my little mandala garden with flowers and leaves.

So, in the next mandala lesson we will be exploring the mandala as a practice or tool for gathering healing insight and as means of deepening self awareness. So exciting!!!

Circle play - Lisa Hofmann, the second assignment in 21 Secrets

Ok. I have to admit, I had no idea what a Mandala was. I loved the introduction that Lisa Hofmann did to this meditative form of art. I've noticed that almost every piece I make is full of circles and I tend to always make a circular motion and I believe it has been a subconscious action for me, and I guess circles really mean something in my life.

So, guess if I liked this workshop??? I've only done the first part, circle play, and I actually made three pieces :) I wrote on the first one, the second one got kind of crazy, the third one I'm showing you here.

As a child I had a kaleidoscope which I had completely forgotten about. When I made this piece I suddenly remembered how much I loved it. I could be in bed at night looking in it, feeling amazed over the great patterns and wonderful colours that showed up. Always new patterns and it felt like I was in another world. This Mandala took me right back to my childhood and I feel greatful for that. That is what the text around the Mandala is all about.

It actually made me order a build-my-own-kaleidoscope-kit! Crazy, I know, but I am the kind of person that act upon my feelings, immediately. Now I cannot wait for it to be delivered so that I once again can disappear in the beauty of patterns and colours! And this time I get to build it myself :) I want to see how it works (I was a child who loved playing with Lego, so maybe that explains my urge to build things myself) ;)

I coloured this piece with my ProMarkers and filled in the lines with Sharpies. Maybe I should have stopped there but I wanted more so I went on with way too much glitter stickles and finished it with some bling stones. Who said less is more... :)

Thanks Lisa for a wonderful workshop and I'm looking forward to step two in Mandala-making!

First assignment in 21 Secrets 2014!

I am so excited that 21 Secrets 2014 has started! There are so many workshops I want to take and so much I want to explore and learn and, this is important, so many people I want to get to know. 21 Secrets is really an exciting community with wonderful teachers (thank you Connie Hozvicka!), a world wide  bunch of people connected by art. A friendly Art Squad :)

I started out with Lisa Cheney´s workshop "The Savage Mirror". I watched all the videos and was both inspired and a bit terrified. I have only drawn about four or five faces ever, and now the assignment was to draw a self portrait. It was an exciting trip, to put me outside myself (you will have to excuse my bad English) and look into a mirror and draw the stranger staring back at me. It really felt like it wasn't me at all.

I've decided to go all in and let you see every step to the final result. You can never imagine what a strange feeling it is to see myself in the final picture. I didn't think that I would ever draw a self portrait and this is acutally looking like me! A bit anyway. I don't have such sad eyes, but the nose, the mouth, the shape of the face and the hair is me.

When I looked into the mirror, I focused on my mouth and that was what my journal spread should be about. When writing the text for ten minutes, I wrote a different story, but exactly what Lisa said would happen, happened. I found the meaning. The last few minutes my text was all about what I say, how I can bring joy with what my mouth says, how I can hurt people by saying the wrong things. So, I decided to cover my whole text with paint. Then I drew a big mouth and wrote a text about what I say and what I don't want to say and how I feel when saying the wrong or right things.

This process really made me think about the importance my mouth has and that I sometimes have to think before I speak. I wrote everything in Swedish because it feels closer to myself even though it's much easier to write in English to keep a distance to the signification of the words. Maybe that is not so obvious for English speaking people, but at least for me, it's much easier to say "I love you" or "I hate you" instead of "Jag älskar dig" and "Jag hatar dig". The words get closer when they are said in my own language and in this process I had to keep it close.

I am happy with the result and more importantly, I am so happy for Lisa's class and her wonderful way of inspiring. Thank you Lisa, you rock! Love!