Friday, September 26, 2014

And the Winner Is...

Yesterday, in honor of the first anniversary of my Etsy shop, {found on brighton|, I announced a giveaway of one of my altered book journals.

And the winner is....
Tracy! (from Sojourner blog)

Tracy, please email your mailing address to me ~ marybrack@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who visited my shop yesterday ad to all of you who left comments! I'm off to camp with a group of kids this weekend. I'm looking forward to enjoying a beautiful Fall weekend. I hope you enjoy your weekend as well!







Thursday, September 25, 2014

{found on Brighton} Anniversary and A Giveaway


My Etsy shop, {found on brighton}
is celebrating its first anniversary today! 

The little shop I started a year ago as a way to use up the books and vintage papers I collect for my art journaling hobby has managed to stand on her own feet. I have enjoyed all the wonderful people I have connected with through the shop and it has opened up another avenue of creativity for me. As well it has fed my enjoyment (addiction?) of digging through library book sales and giving a new life to old and falling apart books.

Some recent additions to the shop:





So to celebrate our first anniversary I am going to give away an altered book journal. Simply visit my Etsy Shop, then comeback to my blog and tell me which journal is your favorite in the comment section on this post. Tomorrow I will randomly draw one winner from the comments and that person will win their favorite journal from my shop. Comments must be made today only.

I appreciate all of you who follow my blog and join my journey in art, faith and Etsy ventures!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

September Projects

In yesterday's post, Blog Hop With a Difference, I wrote about some of the projects I am participating in this month. Here are my art journal pages from those projects:
*Warning: I haven't posted much this month so there are a lot of photos in this post.

30 Days of Lists






The Documented Life Project












DLP Challenge 38: Use a feather

Made Course 2014



That's all for me today, Don't forget to stop back on Thursday ~ I have something to celebrate!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Blog Hop With a Difference

A few weeks ago my friend, Bernice, invited me to participate in a blog hop that is a bit different than a traditional blog hop. Each person participating is asked four questions about their creative life and then introduces their readers to a few other bloggers they follow and are inspired by.

Q1: What am I working on?
As usual, I have a number of projects I am participating in and September seems especially busy on the art journaling front. 

30 Days of Lists September 2014 - I wasn't going to join this time around, due to the other projects, but I'm a sucker for a list, so I caved in at the last minute. The cover of my journal is actually the back of a book but it has my initials on it so I made it the cover!

I wrote about the Made Course 2014 in my last post which you can see HERE.

Kingdom Come is a free online class offered by art by Shonna Bucaroff. Shonna is a new friend, who I was introduced to by Bernice, and participating in her class was a way for me to get to know her better. My first project from her class is still in process. Her class just started last week so it's not too late for you to join in!

I continue to participate in The Documented Life Project and, seriously, I'm so amazed I have kept up for almost nine months! Pretty good for one who loves to start projects but doesn't always finish them!

Q2: How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My "genre" is art journaling which includes so many genres: mixed media art, lettering, paint, collage, etc. Through art journaling I learned to make my own journals, and more specifically, altered book journals, and that led to the start of my Etsy shop {found on brighton}. I don't know how my work really differs from other art journalers, but at the heart of my art journaling is my faith. Art journaling is, for me, another way to express my journey with God.

Q3: Why do I create what I do?
In regards to art journaling, I create what I do because it is a way to recharge my emotional, mental and spiritual energy. I am an introvert who works in ministry full time. I work with people, meet with people, serve people, and help people all day long. Art journaling helps restore my energy, helps me sort out my thoughts and emotions, and helps me visualize and "incarnate" my spiritual journey. It is also a great creative outlet for me. I love doing anything with color and texture and I must use up the creative energy that is usually bouncing around in my head!

Q4: How does my creative process work?
Much of my creative process begins with my morning habit of prayer, Bible study, writing in my journal, and reading. This morning habit is often the kick starter to my pages. Fridays are my day off and the day I protect as a "Sabbath" day. Fridays offer me a day to extend my morning habit without time limitations and then I will spend a few hours recharging with art. I will often simply make background pages with paint and collage. This process requires no thought and I can get lost in it! It also sparks so much creativity. I will jot down and sketch my ideas for art journal pages while I "play". Then, throughout the week on my work days, I will spend time in the evenings making my pages - anywhere from 15 minutes squeezed in to an hour or so. A little bit each day, no matter how little, is so healthy for me!

Well, that gives you a little more insight into my creative life. Now let me introduce you to a few of the bloggers I follow. They will each post their Blog Hop With a Difference stories next Monday.

Felicia Aaron blogs about her art and her faith at her blog There's More To Me Than You See. I actually met Felicia through my blog and through comments she has left. On her blog you will see her art journaling, stamping, Zentangle, and water color painting.

Leigh Ann Lukens blogs at His Artist. Leigh Ann has great posts on her blog about Faith Art Journaling. I stumbled on Leigh Ann's blog and found a kindred spirit! Leigh Ann's combination of Bible study and art journaling drew me to following her right away!

I hope you will enjoy getting to know these two women of faith and creativity!

Come back and visit on Thursday ~ I have something to celebrate and share with you!




Monday, September 15, 2014

Made

I am participating again this year in the Made Course. "Made is an e-course created by Christian creatives for Christian creatives, exploring what it means to be a person who makes things who believes she was, in turn, made by God." This year I won a spot in the course! For week 1 we looked at metaphors - symbols for how we view ourselves in relationship to God, how we view God, and how we view our journey with God.

Birds and circles are symbols that often appear on my art journaling pages. In Matthew 6:25-33, birds are a symbol of trust and dependence on God. They symbolize one who rests in the care and provision God lovingly provides for His created ones. Throughout the Psalms birds also symbolize God as one who shelters and protects His children ~ He shelters them in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 91:4).

Circles are an ancient symbol for God representing His eternal nature, perfection, completeness, being whole. They also stir up a desire to be made whole, representing God's transforming activity in our lives.

"Look at the birds, free and unfettered.. careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds." ~Matthew 6:26 The Message

I made an altered book journal to hold my Made Course art journal pages.



Monday, September 1, 2014

Summer's End

School has started. labor Day weekend is almost over. Summer has come to its end. It seemed to go by so fast! I, for one, enjoyed having a cooler summer. This weekend I re-organized and rearranged my office/studio and got caught up on some of my pages for the Documented Life Project. I am now only about a week behind. This summer ended up being busier than I had anticipated, but I intend to work hard at making white space in my calendar this fall. September brings the start of the 2014 Made Course and 30 Days of Lists. Fall is my favorite season and I hope to embrace it in all its colorful glory! Have a good week and make some white space on YOUR calendar this week!

Doc Life wk 32



Doc Life week 33



A collage page

Doc Life wk 36 challenge ~ Black & White