vision board – Gator Girl Art

Dandelion Prayers

Posted on January 15, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all,

Things are gearing up around New Orleans. The Pussyfooter’s Blush Ball is this Saturday. I am stretching my comfort zone by being very brave. I am dancing in the front row at the ball. Whew. I am not a dancer by nature.

Everyone is talking about Mardi Gras and the Jazz Fest. It feels like fun is blooming all around.

I had to stretch myself artistically. I was asked to paint a picture of my God daughter. It is way more stressful and sometimes feels more mathematical than artistic. I don’t want to make her nose to big or her ear too small. I thought I was done, but I see the jaw line is not perfect yet. I am calling the painting Dandelion Prayers. Because I think wishing is a little lame, unless wishing is backed by a lot of hard work.

The parts of the painting that I had the most fun with are the parts I made up. I added the green dress to match the meadow and her eyes. Usually, I like a lot of messier lines, but this painting is rather clean. I rubbed Dorland’s Wax Medium all over her face and hair, I sealed the rest of the painting with Golden Satin Varnish. I will post this again when I am completely done.

Effy Wild offers a lot of courses in art journaling. I decided to try her free course, Wildly Inspired. She posts on Wednesdays. I know I will probably get behind in this, but it is there for inspiration and I plan on keeping up. The two major things I tried with Effy’s first video was texturing the coat of Gesso and sealing the whole cover with Golden Self Leveling Clear Gel.

I think journaling will help me stay open in 2014. I notice on the cover that I am standing very straight and looking a little closed. That is OK, because this is just the beginning. What kind of trip would this be if I was already there? I put the card with the number 5 on the back, because in numerology, 5 invites people into your life. I used to have a “5” (just add up your house numbers) two bedroom house and at one point there were 8 people living there. We rented a port-o-potty for our second bathroom.

Peace and Love. That's my girl. — Peace and Love. That’s my girl.

Maggie's 2014 Vision Board. — Maggie’s 2014 Vision Board.

Maggie calls her board Tam (Tame) for no reason that I can decipher. The initials for her vision board are T.A.P. The initials don’t stand for words. She envisions for herself: Christmas, her 6 year old birthday and Mardi Gras.

I want to share with you, that being OPEN sounds great, but it is a little hard.

May I ask… what is your word?

In love with the adventure. And sometimes a little terrified.

Gator Girl

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OPEN (my word for 2014)

Posted on January 7, 2014January 7, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all,

Muy frio. Besides walking the dog, I am lucky to work inside my house.

I have taken a whole week to get myself into the new year. My word is OPEN. For some reason, it always needs capitalizing.

I used about a third of my board from last year.

I tried out some new techniques and some new products. Trying not to mind that supplies are expensive and this is old cardboard.

My board is different this year. It is mostly all painted, but still has so many rectangles.

On the Cosmic Cowgirl January phone call, I saw that the gift that I am giving to the new year is a bunch of white roses. I plan to buy them throughout the year as a reminder.

Last year’s board was a little 3D, so this board is very lumpy.

I left the board a vague on purpose. I think the year might have different plans for me than I imagine… 3 presents, a fortune, 3 spirals, 16 candles, many people, a blank canvas, and my gift of a white rose. I don’t’ know why or what the numbers mean. Running laterally through the board is my piece of the red thread. I spent the whole week, on and off, just wondering and painting layers and layers on this board.

Cosmic Cowgirls each hold one section of the red thread. It is too much to be responsible for everything, so we all commit to doing our part. That is the meaning I am going for with the thread… doing my part. The thread also keeps us connected to other people. Imagine if we were all standing in a circle, all around the world, holding that thread, connected.

So far, I am mostly aware of the people on the vision board. If I am to be open, I will have to be open to people. Hmmm.

This vision board is not about a to do list. It is about dreams and desires.

This really cool sign for my house came in the mail for my birthday.

My BFF, Jules, had it made for me. (Thank you)

I was fortunate to spend a whole day with my mini muse, Maggie. She is a funny and entertaining girl. Our day went from looking for pearls in pistachios (only the organic nuts have pearls) to thinking Rhiana wrote “Monster” just for her. These are the lyrics to the bridge…

I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You’re trying to save me, stop holding your breath
And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy

I am so excited to watch MMM grow up.

Looking forward to 2014.

Opening to possibilities.

Gratefully in love,

Gator Girl

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A picture is worth 1,000 words

Posted on February 10, 2012February 10, 2012 by gatorgirlart

Hi y’all,

Choosing a word for the year has been so powerful for me, I thought WOW, pictures would be incredible. I have never made a vision board before. I always thought that it would take too much time. It’s kind of weird to think that, because I watch television. That should probably be the first thing to go when you think about wasting time.

I am going to show you in pictures step by step my process and what supplies I used. I had little regard for the visual outcome. I stayed loose and had fun. You can watch with me as the reality of the pictures unfold for me during the year.

Vision Board 2012 — What 2012 holds in store.

I used a piece a cardboard 26 x 40 inches. I didn’t want to use so much expensive paint to cover the background, so I covered it with spray adhesive (kind of glued my flip-flops to the floor in the process) and applied a piece of fancy red paper from the art store for $2.90. I bordered it with black and white checkered duct tape for about $5.00. I love the tape.

Next, I lit a candle and thought about what I wanted to see in the coming year. I Googled an image. When hundreds of images came up, I chose the one that spoke to me (not literally).

My daughter, Angie and I are adopting Samuel Square Park. You can click on the tab “Give Back” and see pictures of the park as it is today. We have a lot of plans, but are just in the beginning stages of development. We got the OK from Annie at the New Orleans Park Commission to start a booster club.

Just saying, there is an uncanny resemblance to Brad Pitt.

David and I traveling — Traveling with David

I drew a hat on David, because the picture had too much hair. I like this picture, because I have a rolling suitcase and David is carrying his. That is just how we like to do it. The picture has so many places to see!

For our sister road trip, I required a convertible and an open road. I colored the blonde woman’s hair red like my sis.

Year of the Dragon — Powerful, Change-Making Dragon

I have been loving Caran D’Arche water-soluble crayons. You can use them as is, wet them after you apply them or paint with them by rubbing your paint brush against them. I also used acrylic paint. Paint is still my favorite means of expression.

Let me know if you have been inspired to change your life using pictures.

You rock!

Until next week, in unending love,

Gator Girl