Showing posts with label #art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #art. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Reflections of 2023 and #WOTY for 2024

I don't know how the Word of the Year works, but the years where I have chosen a word, the year has been in keeping with it.

Last year I chose Ikigai as my word after I read the book and liked the concept of "happiness of just being".  2023 wasn't an easy year but overall, it was a happy year. Here are some of my Ikigai happy moments:

I started my artwork again after a gap of several years thanks to my team who gave me a farewell present of art supplies and for time between jobs to relax and paint. I even got my son into artwork with me and was surprised what an awesome artist he is. I am in awe of his talent. 

My brother came to visit, and I met him after 12 years. It was nice seeing him again and we had a good time with him. I also got to visit my daughter twice so that was lovely. She lives in a beautiful part of the South Island of New Zealand.  

Even though I enjoyed my job, it was very stressful, and, in a way, it was a relief that the programme got cancelled. Felt bad for my absolutely fantastic team but happy that over the next couple of months all of us found new jobs. 

I restarted my yoga and qi gong practice and even though I haven't lost any weight, I feel more energetic. So, I hope that I can keep that going this year.


 So, in keeping with the Japanese theme, my word for 2024 is Wabi-Sabi - beauty in imperfection.  A nice reminder that not everything needs to be perfect, and that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. 

My art has clearly taught me that what initially may look terrible, could start to grow on you eventually and that what you may not like, others may find quite endearing. Evidenced by my painting above that I thought looked awful when I painted it, but it grew on me day by day. 

If you have a word or phrase for this year, please share in the comments. I look forward to how Wabi-Sabi will play out for me this year.

Wish you all a fabulous 2024.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Art Journaling is happiness ... #vlog #chaiwithsuzy #SuzysIlation #FridayReflections

Some years ago, inspired by YouTube art journals, I decided to start art journaling.

But the journey started in December of 2015 when I walked into a bookshop and found a set of 3 mini journals that were so cute, I had to buy them. I had no idea what I would use them for but they were just too cute to resist.

One of these became my art journal.

So grab a cuppa and join me in a flip through of some of the pages ...



On my youtube channel:    https://youtu.be/neXfXO04mac

Unfortunately I had to use still photos because the film came up with a weird shimmer that was quite hurtful to the eyes. I tried many times but couldn't make it go away. Might be the type of paper in the journal.

But regardless, I hope you enjoyed today's vlog. Let me know in a comment, which page you liked the best. 

And if you are interested in the story mentioned in my vlog, here is the link to For I Have Talked With God

I have a lot of fun with my art journaling. Art and crafts in general always make me feel happy. 

Some other things that make me happy are:

Crafting - I love making cards

Hills and Mountains - bring me a sense of peace

Board and Card games - playing with the family is fun and relaxing

Walking in nature - always exhilarating

Chai (tea brewed the Indian way) - always relaxes me

Vlogging and Blogging - challenges me to think beyond the usual

Photography and Filming - capturing moments in time I can remember forever

Farmer's market on a nice day - fun and colourful and has a high energy buzz

Ice cream - no explanations needed :)

I have to add music, how could I not. Well that makes it 11 but does it matter?


Be happy, stay happy.


Written for
#FridayReflections hosted by Everyday Gyaan and Kohl Eyed Me

Linking to
Lovin' Life
#OpenSlather
#LifeThisWeek



Warm Regards
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Sunday, July 1, 2018

Taking Stock of Perfection #vlog #mixedmedia #morselmashups 5


One of the things we should constantly do is take stock of our beliefs, our desires, our needs as these are ever changing.

I am forever evaluating or taking stock of my understanding of perfection. Perhaps the competitive schooldays set a path for always attaining a level that inevitably is just too hard to achieve.

In trying to reach that level of perfection, you unfortunately set yourself up for failure. And in trying to reach that bar, you more often than not, forget to enjoy the journey, the learning.

My obsession with perfection ended when I started my "tryst" with arts and crafts.

So grab a cuppa and join me on the creation of Morsel Mashup 5 and what art has taught me.




On my youtube channel: https://youtu.be/Vup1hYHdL2s


What beliefs have you recently taken stock of? Share in the comments.

I've been neglecting my art work so I thought I should pick that up again. I am trying to follow the Morsel Mashups which is a mixed media challenge hosted by Cat Hand on her youtube channel.

This post was written for the #LifeThisWeek prompt Taking Stock hosted by Denyse Whelan.

I am also linking to:
Lovin' Life
#openslather
#MondayMusings



Warm Regards
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Saturday, May 19, 2018

The Making Of A #Vlog for #PASCATC0518 #chaiwithsuzy

Vlog02: Today's vlog is about the making of the pick a stick ATC  (artist trading card) challenge for May 2018.

The challenge is hosted monthly by Shel C and Peg Robinson. See youtube for details. 

So grab a cuppa and join me in the making of #PASCATC0518





Some notes on my creation:
  • Done entirely in watercolour.
  • Crush - the clouds were made by crushing a soft tissue and wiping off the paint
  • Layer - the hills were created by layering - I had about 4 layers with the darkest on the horizon
  • Mix - I mixed orange and white to create a coral colour for the lupins and then mixed in a bit of red.
          But I should've used a better quality watercolour paper!


There were some comments from my last vlog on how I made the video and uploaded it so here are some quick notes on that.
  • Then I used Windows Movie Maker on my laptop to edit the video and stitch bits together
  • I don't know about other blogging sites, but blogger has an insert video facility that I used to upload the video. I could also upload to my youtube channel and then embed here but I'm not yet ready for youtube exposure. (update 03 june: uploaded on youtube)
Maybe in the future I will make a video on how I create my vlogs but I hope for now these short notes will do. 

I enjoyed painting and making this video and I hope you enjoyed it too. Join me again next week for another #vlog and #chaiwithsuzy. 

Have an awesome week.

Linking to:
#FridayReflections hosted by Everyday Gyaan and Kohl Eyed Me





Warm Regards
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Saturday, May 12, 2018

Getting ready for Mother's Day #vlog01 #chaiwithsuzy

I've been wanting to do a vlog for a long time and also something different on my blog. So I thought I would start a new vlog series called "Chai with Suzy"

I'm not sure if this is going to be a niche vlog like arts and crafts but I'll just go with the flow and see how this evolves.

I intend to post a vlog a week but haven't decided on a day yet. Or perhaps I'll coincide the vlog with some other linkups. Don't know, I'll see how I go and what kind of response I get.

And now to the vlog ...

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and is perfect to showcase my first vlog, "Getting ready for Mother's Day". If you follow me on Instagram Suzy.Ila then you will have seen this already. But I have added some additional bits and pieces. 

So grab a cup of chai or coffee and join me on my vlog.




I love making cards and I enjoyed making this one. The editing may not be so good as I am just learning. The idea is not to be perfect but to showcase the fun I had.

Would love to hear what you thought and if this looks like a good idea. Also let me know what you would be interested in seeing besides my arts and crafts.

And if you vlog, please link up your vlog post so I can drop by and enjoy yours.

#chaiwithsuzy

Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have an awesome day.

Linking to #Openslather  #MicroblogMonday #WritingWednesdays

Warm Regards
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