Category Archives: Circles of Wisdom

Red hot

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Red hot

Hello friends

I thought I would add some bright colours to my blog this week, because today I am feeling bright and cheerful, I hope you are too.  Above is page 4 from my Mandala book.

The weekend has flown by again and it seems a little unfair I have to go back to work again tomorrow already!  Yesterday I spent the whole day at the tea counter at St Thomas Church where we had a Ryde Arts Festival event.  Visitors were invited to make Christmas wreaths for free.  In the middle of the floor was a big pile of holly, ivy, yew and other bits of greenery and there were wire hoops, fir cones, cinnamon sticks and other bits and pieces for people to make and decorate wreaths to hang on their doors over the festive season.  Tanya was there to give advice and help to those who needed it. Lots of people took part and there some really lovely creations.

While I was at the tea counter my friend looked after the table for children’s activities where they made paper robins or paper chains.  The table was always full of children deep in concentration as they coloured and added stickers to their paper robins.  Keeping the little ones occupied meant that their parents could concentrate on making the green wreaths.

It was a really good day.

Today T and I went back to the DIY store to do some checking on things and make the final decisions about what to buy for the kitchen. I have to go back on Tuesday to meet the planner and get the final quote, then I’ll have to arrange to have the money available just after Christmas.  All being well we are planning to do the work in February, but I guess that really depends on when they can deliver it and the amount of space it takes up in our small house before we start the work.  I can see we are going to be living in chaos for a while, but that’s probably going to bother T much more than it does me though.  My art room is always in chaos, so I’m used to it.

I went to see mum and dad this afternoon and they are both fine, they even went out for a short walk today so that’s good.

I am doing fairly well with making the Christmas presents and have completed 10, I still have 6 more to complete so I need to keep at it or I am going to run out of time.  It’s not long until Christmas now it is!

Have a great start to your week and hopefully I’ll be back here mid week with another post.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

 

© Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal, 2013 unless otherwise stated. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

I’m an Artstonaut!

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Mandala 3Hello friends

I hope all is good with you, I am feeling much better than when I last posted.  I knew that if I just waited patiently my good mood would return 🙂

I’ve had a long weekend although it still seems to have flown by really fast.  I took the day off work on Friday as I had a funeral to attend in the morning and a meeting for the local history group in the afternoon.   The funeral was for a member of the group who passed away on 10 November.  Ralph was 91 and was a really delightful man.  The last time I saw him was in October when he gave a talk at one of our meetings.  He was cheerful and funny and seemed to be in good health, so it was a shock to hear that he had died.  The funeral was a touching tribute to a man who was clearly loved by many.

On Saturday T and I went to get a quote for the cabinets and fittings we will need for our kitchen.  Fortunately we can just about afford to buy the stuff and if we buy it between Christmas and New Year we should get it at a reduced price.  We have had to change our plans several times but we are near to finalising it now and I it’s going to look good once it’s done.  I still think it would be better to wait until warmer weather to start installing it but T is anxious to get it done, which is understandable seeing as how he has waited almost 20 years.  So I can see that we will be doing it in the depths of Winter!  He is already planning what things need to be done first.  We have to get a plumber in to move some pipework and we somehow have to box in some other pipework but we are not sure how we are going to do that at the moment.

Today I had some time to work in my altered book art journal and I am excited about the page I am creating.  I recently joined Teesha Moore‘s Artstonauts Club and it has inspired me to create a page unlike anything I have done before.  It’s a work in progress so I can’t share it with you just yet.

If you have been reading my blog for any time you will know that Teesha has inspired me more than any other artist, in fact it’s because of her that I first started to art journal so I am super excited to be a member of her Artstonauts Club.

Oops, I just realised that while I was playing in my art journal today I really should have been making Christmas presents!  I must try to stay more focused! 

Above is another page from my Mandala book, nicer colours than the first two in this book I think.

Have a good week and I’ll see you soon.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

© Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal, 2013 unless otherwise stated. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

 

Hmmmm!

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Spinning

 

Hello friends

I hope you are well and happy, I must admit I am struggling at the moment and feeling a bit glum today, for no reason that I can think of.  So rather than blather on about things that in reality are of no consequence I am going to do something I hardly ever do and that is to switch off the computer spend the evening watching television.

Anyway, here is a colourful mandala to hopefully brighten your day.

Have a good week and I’ll be back at the at the weekend.

Big love AJ 🙂

 

 

 

© Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal, 2013 unless otherwise stated. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Circles

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Circles

 

Hello friends

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts regarding my Dad after his recent fall and visit to the Emergency Department of the local hospital.  He is doing really well, still looks a bit ‘battered’ and his cracked rib is giving him some pain, but he’s fine.  He is remarkable for a 92 year old.  When I first saw him in hospital I feared the worse, but the thing I have noticed about Dad is that he has a great attitude, things don’t get him down, he has a quiet determination and it all helps him to get over any health problems.

What has really helped this weekend is that his granddaughter, Sophie, who lives in France came to stay for a couple of days.  This was arranged before he had his fall.  Dad always loves seeing any of his grandchildren and it was lovely to see him and Sophie sitting on the sofa this afternoon just holding hands.  This visit was the best medicine he could have had.

Unfortunately the stress of all of this is taking its toll on Mum and I getting concerned about her now.

Recently I have been doing a lot of doodling and for the next few weeks I will be sharing some Mandalas I have created in a stripped down children’s board book. The first is shown above, it’s kind of like a sunburst 🙂

Have a great week

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

© Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal, 2013 unless otherwise stated. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

Changes

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Changes

Hello friends!

I’m sorry I’m a day late with this post which is the last page of my Circles of Wisdom book, just circles and doodles.  Hmmm, must start a new journal soon 🙂

Things are changing in my life for the better and today I was thinking about some of the people who have influenced these changes.  It’s interesting that initially at least most of them I met either on-line or through correspondence.

My friend G has been my pen-friend for about 30 years, she lives in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles and we met really just by chance.  Something horrible happened to her in a foreign country and I happened to be friends with someone she met while she was undergoing this terrible ordeal.  G and I started corresponding with each other and became good friends.  We have since both lost touch with the person who introduced us but we have had a long and loving correspondence.  Her misfortune was my good fortune in that I met a true and dear friend. Over the years I have met G in person on several occasions, both in the UK and at her home in LA and she has had a profound and positive influence on my life and I love her.

Another person who I only ever knew as Pix I met on the Lomography website and I’ve never met in real life.   I didn’t even really know him that well, but apart from being an outstanding photographer he was always upbeat, positive, funny and friendly.  His attitude to life made a big impression on me and I decided that I wanted to be like that too.  I think that is when I first decided that I wanted to change and become a more positive, happy and contented person.

I also met a man called Tracy Moore on the Lomography website he is lovely, friendly and quirky and also a great and prolific photographer.  In 2007 I attended the Lomographic World Congress in London.  Attending that event, with hundreds of people from all over the world, was really scary for me.  I’m a country girl from a small town and I am really quite shy and insecure so it was a huge act of bravery for me to attend on my own.  I was really fortunate to meet up with Tracy and his daughter, Trista, at the Congress and we spent a lot of time together.  They were both so warm and kind to me.  The added bonus to this was that Tracy carried around with him several different cameras AND a huge hand made journal (which he encouraged everyone he met to draw or write in).  This was the first time I had ever heard about art journalling and I was intrigued.

As a result of meeting Tracy and Trista, I eventually discovered Teesha Moore (Tracy’s wife) and immediately fell in love with her art.  Then last year I was fortunate to be able to attend the Call of the Wild Soul Art Retreat in the UK where Teesha was one of the teachers.  That event had a big influence on my art and my life.  Not only is Teesha a great artist she is one of the most generous and big-hearted people I’ve ever met.

Tracy and Teesha are the perfect couple, just like me and T are 🙂

Through art journaling I also met, online, Gretchen Miller who is an art therapist.  Gretchen ran a workshop on 21 Secrets in 2011 and it was in this workshop I learnt about making Revo-lution books and how visualizing your intentions into your artwork can be so rewarding.

And recently I met another person online who is having a massive positive effect on my personal growth and well-being.  Some of my art work is featured on the Tiny Buddha website, the whole website is well worth checking out if you want to start feeling good about yourself.  As a result of being featured over there I’ve met Dr Amy Johnson.  I love her outlook on life, what she says really resonates with me and I am learning so much from her.

I am so grateful that all these people came into my life at the exact time I needed them.

Have a good rest of the week and I’ll see you soon.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

COPYRIGHT

© Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Seek with eyes open

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Seek with Eyes Open

Hello friends

Half way through the week already and things with my projects are progressing well.

I think I may have found a car to replace my old jalopy, actually the man at the garage showed me two today, both within my price range and both reasonable looking cars.  I am going back after work on Friday to go for a drive in them to see what I think.  My old car has done me well and I have loved it, but it’s getting old and ‘crabby’ now and I want something newer, more economical and reliable, something that will last me a few years.  I’ll let you know how I get on, it will be a relief when it’s finally sorted out.

Here is another Mandala from my Circles of Wisdom Book, I am coming to the end of this book now, I think I will have to make another one, it’s very calming and relaxing drawing these circles.

Enjoy the rest of you week

Big Love

AJ 🙂

 

 

 

Whoah! It’s Wednesday already!

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“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

Albert Einstein

Love & Peace

 

Hello friends!

It’s mid-week already! I think this is a shock to me because I had the day off work on Monday and after a lovely long weekend this week seems very short and fast!

I read this theory about why time seems to speed up as you get older and, basically, it is to do with repetition and familiarity.  The way to slow down your perception of time is to get as many new and unique experiences as you can.  We should also focus on positive (rather than negative) past memories, try to live more in the present and hold a positive perception of the future.  Use time wisely. Food for thought anyway…

I have spent much of my time in the last week looking for something I had lost.  I thought I knew at least which room it was in but I couldn’t find it   I even searched in the recycle bin, just in case.  But then today I found it, and nowhere near (not even the same building) as I was sure I had left it!  You know sometimes I worry a little about the state of my brain!

So I thought today is probably a good day for another page from my Circles of Wisdom journal.

I hope you have a good week.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

COPYRIGHT

© Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janette Gregson and ajsartjournal with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

I need some ME time!

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Lose our Fear of being wrong

 

Hello friends

The local Arts Festival starts this Friday and it’s been a hectic few weeks for me.

I did the workshops at The Foyer, 4 evening workshops over 4 weeks.  It doesn’t sound like  a lot of time, but besides the actual evenings I was preparing stuff for the class in my free time.  Apart from one of the participants the few other people who attended seemed to be lacking in ideas or confidence to try things and I found it really hard to motivate and inspire them.  I am so out of touch with the younger generation.  But finally we got just enough matchboxes finished to go into the exhibition, it was fun but hard work.

I also did a workshop with my friends from Ryde Social Heritage Group and we made Family History Shrines.  To do the one day workshop took me several days preparation. The participants in this workshop were much more engaged, creative  and easy to work with.  I just needed to take them through the steps in creating the shrines and they threw themselves into it with enthusiasm.  That was really a lot of fun.  We have 10 lovely shrines in the exhibition.

I’ve also been finishing off the Art Journal book we made at my very first workshop in April and that too is in the exhibition.  I failed at creating the ebook but I think I have succeeded in making the book into a video.  I am going to try and post it on YouTube next week.

The Ryde Arts Festival website is finally up and running (a bit late!) and along with a couple of friends I have been trying to keep it updated with information.

On top of that I have had to prepare a speech and presentation I am giving at a conference in London early in July.

Finally things are all coming together and I am feeling relieved.  Starting on Friday evening when the Arts Festival Opens it’s going to be a busy week, but I am looking forward to seeing all the various forms of art and listening to the music that is being created for the event.

I just occurred to me the other day that for the last few weeks I haven’t really done much creative activity just for myself and I am really beginning to miss it.  I need to somehow find some ME time and get back in to the Flow of just creating in my journals for the sheer joy of it.

Fortunately I have plenty of art that I did previously but haven’t shared with you so I’m not going to run out of things to post any time soon 🙂

The page above is from my 6×6 board book journal on Circles of Wisdom.  That quote totally resonates with me and I am pleased to say I am becoming a much more confident and contented person and artist.  It no longer bothers me if the art I create is not brilliant or appreciated by others because I realise that just being creative is more important than the end result.

I hope you all have a great week and I’ll see you soon.

Big love

AJ 🙂

2nd Anniversary?!

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2 years

 

Hello friends

According to WordPress, I have just passed my second anniversary of blogging, who’d have thought that I could keep something up for so long?  Not me that’s for sure, but I do like blogging and sharing my art.

I had most of last week off work but I didn’t have a restful time.  On Monday I went to work, on Tuesday I spent most of the morning at the dentist’s having a root canal filling then in the afternoon I set things up for my workshop for my friends making Family History Shrines.  On Wednesday I did a whole day workshop, it was fun.  On Thursday it took me most of the day to unpack and put away all the stuff we had used at the workshop and I also had to prepare some more things for my Matchbox Momento workshop with the young people at the Foyer.  We actually had a good session at the Foyer this week and achieved some good work.  Friday was a nice day so I took Mum and Dad out for a drive and a cup of tea and cake at Quarr Abbey, it was lovely sitting in the garden at the Abbey in the sunshine.  Unfortunately we couldn’t feed the pigs (which was my main reason for going – if you have read my blog for a long time you may remember I am a lover of pigs) because they had sold out of Pig Nuts.  When we feed the pigs they get animated and excited but on Friday afternoon they were just laying and sleeping in the sunshine and to be honest they smelt pretty awful.

Saturday was not such a nice day but I did a session in the cemetery with a couple of friends recording the inscriptions from grave stones to add to our website www.rshg.org.uk.  This is a project I started 11 years ago and there is still no end in sight and I am beginning to lose my mojo for carrying on it’s taking such a long time.  The thought that keeps me going out there to do a few more is that it would be shame not to finish the whole project.  But if I ever have a bright idea like that again, please just shoot me (just kidding) 😉

Yesterday (Saturday) evening we went to the Isle of Wight Festival, I didn’t really want to go by T was DJing in one of the small tents and needed me to drive him.  We used to go to festivals all the time when we were younger, but there is something about the Isle of Wight Festival I really don’t like, it’s very ‘corporate’ and big.  Fortunately we were able to drive to and park in the back stage area so didn’t have far to walk to Bohemia Woods the area where T was working.  We arrived about 7:30pm and had a cup of tea in the back stage area and then went for a walk around the site before he had to get ready for his set at 9pm.  Walking around the site I was aware of lots of really harsh noises coming from the various fair ground rides and small stages and also from people shouting at each other.  Many people appeared to be drunk.  As a non-drinker I always find drunks a bit scary.  I am sure when we used to go to festivals most people were stoned and non-threatening.  As we walked around it just seemed like some great big shopping mall full of weird people, loud noises and horrible smells coming from the various food outlets.  I realised that modern day large festivals are definitely not for me.   It didn’t look like the place was full to capacity so at least it wasn’t too crowded.  I think it would have been a total nightmare if there had been 90,000 people there!

After a while we made our way back to the nice quiet area that was Bohemia Woods.  T was playing in a small Moroccan style tent that would probably hold, at most, 100 people.  When he started playing a lovely friend of ours, Gina, performed her hoola-hoop dancing with LED hoops, she looked fantastic and was a great accompaniment to T’s music.  She has a company called Star Mystique check it out here.  Afterwards T and I had another cup of tea and then headed home at about 11:30, most other people were still partying 🙂

Today has been a quiet day with a little bit of housework, a little bit of art, a few emails and a visit to see parents.

Tomorrow back to work 😦

Above is another page from my Circles of Wisdom book.

That’s all folks see you soon

Big love

AJ 🙂