Why Make Art at a Time Like This?
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: I’ve seen and heard a lot of artists questioning lately – Why make art at a time like this? They wonder whether it makes sense to make and share art when there is so much uncertainty and strife in the world. I question this...
Guided Watercolor Meditation for Beginners
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: I’m excited to offer you this guided watercolor meditation for beginners. I think you are going to love it, and I can’t wait to see what you create! Meditating Through Art Have you ever slowed down enough while you are...
Easy Flower Drawing
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Let’s dig right into this fun and easy flower drawing on a full-spread art journal page! I think you’ll be amazed at what you can do when you relax, take your time, and enjoy these simple steps. Wasn’t that fun? If you...
How to Make a Tracing Paper Envelope
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: I’ve got a wonderful video tutorial for you today. It’s one of my favorite techniques for making an art journal page interactive – a tracing paper envelope. I love the delicate, almost vulnerable feeling of tracing paper...
How to Fold a One Page Booklet
In this quick video, I’ll show you how to fold an easy one page booklet for drawing and journaling. All you need is a sheet of printer paper, scissors, and a pen or brush and ink.
Botanical Watercolor for Beginners
Watch this step by step botanical watercolor for beginners tutorial. You’ll make a beautiful leaf pattern in your sketchbook. So easy and fun!
15 Drawing Ideas You Can Do in 5 Minutes
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: I’m excited to share 15 small drawing ideas you can do in 5 minutes to fill your journals with joy. I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites to see if they spark something for you. If you work small, you can do a...
Mark Making With Natural Materials
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Making marks with natural brushes is one of the most fun and inventive ways to create. I’m excited to share some of what I’ve made and how it has supercharged my art practice. It’s been such an adventure to see how...
How To Art Journal Every Day
This video will show you fun and easy ways to create tiny pieces of art and then combine them in beautiful little art journals. You don’t need any experience, this is for everyone!
Play With Repetition: An Art Tutorial
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: When I’m creating art journal collages, some of the elements I like to play with are repetition, variation, and texture. Let’s start with texture. Texture in Art If you haven’t thought about texture in art before,...
The Complex Beauty of Simplicity
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: It happens so often with the “simplest” slow drawing patterns – folks initially dismiss them, but once they do the workshop, they say how surprised they were because they loved the simplicity and found a lot of room to...
Join The Inchie Challenge 2022!
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: This is one of my favorite times of year – The Inchie Challenge! Watch this video to learn why + how we do The Inchie Challenge. Join the Inchie Challenge Here: ‘ (You could win a free copy of my book Draw Yourself Calm!) I...
Draw Yourself Calm Is Available In The UK!
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: I’m more than pleased to tell you that my book, Draw Yourself Calm, is now available in the UK! Even more fun is that folks in the UK can purchase with a special coupon code I’ll offer at the end of the post. I thought it...
What Can I Do With My Slow Drawings?
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Slow drawing has seeped into every part of my art practice. I love the way these nature-based patterns seem to have a connection to everything, and everyone sees them differently. It speaks to the way these patterns repeat throughout...
Join the Simplest Things Challenge!
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Last year, during all the stress of the pandemic and lockdown, I pondered a simple question: What would happen if I created the simplest thing I could in my journal today? It’s a pretty radical question, isn’t it? How often do...
The Mindful Art Studio Book List 2021
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Every fall, I compile a list of books that have made an impact on me that year. I include a broad scope of topics because our art practice is made up of bits and pieces from every part of our lives. I think about books as an important...
How to Sew Your Own Journal
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: I have been making my own journals for some time – some sewn simply, some rolled or loose, and some folded accordion style. I love the playfulness of these techniques. But I have longed to sew a more traditional book – a...
Journaling Prompts for Coping with Quarantine
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: One of the things I’ve thought a lot about since the start of the pandemic is how we not only cope, but thrive amidst difficulty. Some folks are in survival mode because of their family, job issues, mental health issues, or other...
Drawing Beautiful & Imperfect Faces
If only you give your portraits a chance to exist – imperfectly, beautifully, just like us – they will take you magical places.
100 Ways to Fill Your Sketchbook
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Figuring out what to do when you sit down to create can sometimes feel overwhelming. Keeping a sketchbook is a great way to cultivate your ideas and turn them from seeds into something inspiring. I did that recently, as I set out to use...
5 Ways to Begin (and Finish) an Art Journal Page
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: One of the most common issues that folks run into when they first start trying to keep an art journal is how to begin an art journal page. Some people have too many ideas, some have none at all, and lots doubt their artistic ability. Art...
Top Mindful Art Journaling Ideas to Inspire and Calm
Dear Wonderful Creative You: I’ve been looking back at what I and my students have accomplished in 2018. This year, I wanted to spend more time with you in “live” online classes. We did that in Spring, Summer, and Fall sessions of Diving Deep....
My Completed Collaborative Art Journal
Dear Wonderful Creative You: Tomorrow I am off for my annual art retreat for the next several days, so I want to leave you brimming with ideas for YOUR creative life. Connection with other artists is one of the most nurturing things I do for my creativity. An...
Let’s Make Some Inchies!
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Join the Inchie Challenge! You’ll get my free Inchie Workbook, and from August 20 – 31st I’ll be sending prompts and inviting you to create small art. For this challenge, we will be creating art that...
Fluid Art Journaling Pages
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: This week I had the pleasure of spending some time with you on Facebook Live to create some fluid art journal pages. I wanted to show you how I used mark making and layered paint to create intuitive images on this fluid art...
Intuitive Art Journaling
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Intuitive art journaling is one of my favorite ways to work through feelings, let go of stress, and play with art. It’s a journey that started for me in graduate school, as I learned to use my journal not just to write, but...
Even If You Think You’re Not Creative
Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Our creative lives are made up of lots of little acts of creativity – the way you arrange the flowers, the card you made for your mother, the silly poem you wrote with your nephew, or the art journal page you worked on while waiting...