I’ve had some interest in colouring pages this past week, and as such, I decided to create a free printable one for you and/or the little ones in your life! After an unexpected friend landed in my nature photoshoot on Friday— resulting in a photo that received more attention than the rest of the shoot’s photos— I knew I had my inspiration. So in the name of summer coming up and new friends to be found all around, I hope you enjoy this free “Colour-Me” page:
DIRECTIONS: Click on the image > Click the “View Full Size Image” button at the bottom right> Select File > Print > Choose landscape > Print. Let me know if you have any issues as it’s my first time sharing a printable on my blog 🙂
If you want to see more of my available work, including a downloadable 10-page colouring book entitled “What’s in a Seed?”, visit my online SHOP here!
Colour-Me Printable Page
(P.S. Below is the popular photo from my photoshoot for your now-peaked interest!)
So I had a terrible week of sleep. In fact, I was so frustrated and miserable because of it, it was probably a good thing that my contact with people is severely limited right now. I apologize (and am grateful) to those who were subjected to the Sleepless Beast I became. It was glaringly obvious that some serious self-care was crucial if I was going to avoid literally biting heads off…
When you think about the term “self-care” it sounds super simple, doesn’t it? Oh, just take care of myself? Got it. Good. Great. For many humanoids however, self-care is a bit more of a feat than an easy or natural tendency. For those of you who have it down, awesome work— please keep it up and share your wisdom! For the rest of us, we’ll keep fumbling along, learning as we go, trying and sometimes succeeding sometimes failing, and that’s also awesome work, because we’re doing the best we can.
We’re in an interesting time right now where self-care may be needing an extra bright spotlight upon it. For some, added financial stress, for others isolation, perhaps deep loss and grief, health challenges, a hiatus of usual resources, a complete change of routine (including bedtime)… Whatever the struggles might be right now, self-care is likely ONE tool in the kit that is worth dusting off, or even taking the time to shine with an old rag.
Alas, many of our usual ways of practising self-care may have been bumped, shuffled, or knocked completely off the shelf in the midst of the planet’s turmoil. What is one to do? Self-care was hard enough already, and now we have to (almost if not) start from scratch in developing routines, practices, and whatever else to soothe ourselves? Here are my humble thoughts as I fumble through this journey myself. Also to mention, all of this can be applied to any situation or circumstance that alters life’s routines— not just during a pandemic.
Take inventory of what worked before. What were the things you relied on for stress-reduction, mindfulness, health, peace, joy, fun, connection etc. If you can’t remember, try tracing back through your previous routines, maybe even consulting friends and family, or scanning back through social media pages or old agendas to jog your memory. What are you missing the most? What were the biggest pieces for you? I suggest you brainstorm it on paper…
Take a new inventory of what you need now. A lot has changed, so your needs may very well have changed too. Maybe you used to consider “quiet-time” a necessity for self-care because your calendar was so full of social events you had to schedule in your well-needed you-time. Now, maybe the opposite is true, and you’re needing to more actively find ways to connect with others because the you-time is ahhhh-plenty. What is your heart, mind, body, and soul needing right now? Try keeping a journal throughout a day or two to note what you are lacking, needing, feeling, frustrated with, enjoying, etc. What thoughts are you noticing? What sensations are happening in your body? What are your tendencies and how do they make you feel? These noticings might give you clues to your deeper longings. A mindfulness or meditation practice may also be very helpful in revealing what your needs truly are. In any case, really notice and feel in. Dig deep!
Get creative. Now we’re getting to the (hopefully) really fun stuff. Based on what you discovered in the first two steps, you can combine old and new self-care options to do the best you can to fulfill your current needs. If some of your beloved go-tos are not available right now, what substitutes can be made? If you relied on going to the gym to stay healthy and manage stress, perhaps you can instead try some outdoor activities or a home workout routine (there are plenty online or using apps!). The point is, find new ways of taking care of you. And I’m not just talking about easy or common sense ways— getting really creative might be needed, or at least benefited from. Look at your unique skills and strengths, your outside-the-box thinking, your heart’s deepest passions. I can’t tell you what these things are for you, but try asking yourself questions like: “What really makes me tick? What have I always wanted to do or try? Why haven’t I made time to do x, y, or z from that dust-gathering to-do list? Why did I ever stop doing (fill in the blank)? How can I make even one step of a goal or dream come true despite any current limitations? What can I do to bring some peace into my life right now? How can I solve that problem with what I already have? What do I know deep down that I’m needing?” The list goes on…but get curious and start looking under rocks, so to speak. Unless you’re on the beach, then looking under rocks might actually provide you with some new insight or surprising discoveries 😉
Let’s get back to the Beast. After the sleepless nights had accumulated to a gruesome mass, I decided I needed to put my creative self-love problem-solving cap on. I was missing the water therapy of my usual pool visits, my mind was cluttered from being alone with them too much, my bedtimes were all over the place with a lack of any sort of schedule, and the changing seasons had brought sunshine onto my eyelids earlier than I could cope with in the mornings…I set about on a rampage to destroy (or rather gently resolve in a zen way) these troubling problems.
I planned an at-home spa retreat. I reorganized and decluttered my apartment. I started a routine of listening to zen meditation talks over morning tea. I set an alarm to remind me of bedtime. And I dug out my fabric scraps and quilted together enough pieces to make a “blackout curtain” large and thick enough to block the morning sun. The curtain proved to require a lot of creativity and effort, but was definitely worth it. Plus it also got me excited about a number of other sewing projects I have waiting for the needle and thread (including a puppet from last week’s blog, so stay tuned), which fulfills another need of mine— second only to sleep— the need for creating!
Black-Out Curtain Sewing Project
Now everything might not be perfect, but remember, every bit helps. I’m happy to say the Beast has been subdued and my sleep and ensuing moods have definitely improved. I encourage you to also look at what needs of yours are going unmet, and to creatively put them to bed as well. Please feel free to comment below to share how you’re solving your self-care feats during this time!
I often find myself missing my childhood play time— the magic of disappearing into fictitious stories and make-believe worlds; the joy of embodying a character with uninhibited freedom of expression; the escape from the world’s problems into mystery, laughter, romance… the imagination is the limit. That is to say it is unlimited of course.
Play is an incredibly powerful activity and, not just unfortunately— but tragically — is often left in the wake of adulthood. Play allows us to discover more about the world and about ourselves while expressing in ways otherwise inhibited. It is crucial, at any age, in my opinion (and in the opinion of many experts who study play).
Play can take many forms, from art and creative projects, to songwriting, to improv, to sports, to frolicking at the beach or amongst the trees, to laughing and goofing around with friends to — (insert your favourite fun activities here!). If it is coming from a pure, authentic, free place, and eliciting joy, I think it is safe to call it “play” though others may have a different definition.
As many of you know, one of my favourite sources of play is creating monsters— both on paper and off, the “off” part including HAND PUPPETS! Puppets are such fun and create an often immediate bridge of connection with children in different activities and environments as well as reacquainting us “older kids” with our childhood selves. What better than having a ridiculous character attached to your arm to elicit sporadic voices, movements, storytelling, and whatever else may come. I love puppets, and I’ve recently been called to create more of them.
You can make your own simple puppets by using an (old?) sock and some googly-eyes and get creative with other crafting supplies like felt, pipe-cleaners, fabric scraps, buttons, sequins, paper, popsicle sticks… oh how the memories of my childhood are dancing fresh on my mind right now! Perhaps I’ll post some tutorials on puppet-making here in the coming days… anyone interested?
Below are 3 different Monster Puppet designs I’ve created, please help me out by voting for the one you’d most like to see come to life! Option 1, 2 or 3!?
When you sit still with Nature, She starts to talk to you,
She comes alive in ways you never knew,
She asks you to see things like you never have before,
It’s magical what happens when you step outside your door…
“Dandylions”
For those of us lucky enough to have wild access to Mother Nature, remember to visit and cherish Her. Sit with Her. For anyone who doesn’t, don’t fret. You can find Her in your mind, in the sky outside your window, in the plant in the corner, in that beautifully shot documentary, in a pet or song bird, in the depths of your soul… She’s all around, holding us with grace and inspiration. We are Her.
Happy Monster Monday everyone! If you find it hard to get into the swing of things on Mondays, this one’s for you. Meet Yawning Yarnie: a slumbersome, foot-dragging creature from my upcoming children’s book entitled “My Very Hairy Monster Friends!” This illustration version was a practice run using leftover paint, which came out so vibrant that I suspect it was gouache instead of the anticipated watercolour. When I moved on to try to finish the final version, I ran into issues. I recently invested in new, more expensive watercolours and stocked up on a different kind of paper (finding my usual selection unavailable). Word to the wise— experiment with your new supplies before deciding you’re a master of the medium and don’t expect them to behave exactly like your old ones (temporary grumpy faces and arm-crossing allowed however). I guess this is life’s lesson right now anyways: “Don’t expect life to be the same when the whole world around you has completely dislodged itself from any normalcy.” Hrm?
Well so, the old cheap watercolours seem to be working better (more smooth and vibrant) than my new expensive investment, and I’m not feeling particularly thrilled about that. In any case, practise practise practise is my motto these days. Getting used to using different mediums in new ways can be challenging and tricky— and apparently fun lol— so I’m trying to embrace that and see what happens while stifling my perfectionism en-route (especially tricky). Anyway, I’ll show you Yarnie’s book page when it’s complete, but for now here’s a teaser… I hope you enjoy yawning with Yarnie today!
“Poor Yawning Yarnie”
Poor Yawning Yarnie Yawns with such might. Poor Yawning Yarnie, Gives herself a good fright! Poor Yawning Yarnie, Yawns all the day long. Poor Yawning Yarnie, Sometimes yawns out a song! Poor Yawning Yarnie, Always yawns out of tune. Poor Yawning Yarnie, Yawns as big as the moon. Poor Yawning Yarnie, Yawns when she eats. Poor Yawning Yarnie, Even yawns when she sleeps! Poor Yawning Yarnie, Once yawned in a bird — Now when she yawns, A chirping is heard! Poor Yawning Yarnie, All she wants is to play. But poor Yawning Yarnie, Yawned her friends all away. Poor Yawning Yarnie… But there’s one thing to do — If you want to see Yarnie, You must start yawning too! Then make it a game, And go yawning about, This could help Yarnie Yawn ALL her yawns out!
Today’s blog will be short. I had a busy week working on an illustration contract, which was awesome and challenging, and now it’s time for some self-care and play. In busy times, or in times of stress, us humans know that balance is hard to maintain. We can easily slip down the slope of not prioritizing our health, our joy, and our other priorities. In the middle of a pandemic, life is definitely challenging for pretty much all of us— very little is at its “normal” for us. So just remember, amidst it all, that you can’t expect to be at your normal either. Take care of you and keep connecting with those you love. Find joy in whatever small moments or activities you can. Be easy on yourself. Give yourself the gift of space and grace and now more than ever … the gift of nonsense!
Not everything has to be so serious. Last week, I had a great play date with Mother Nature, and it did me a lot of good. I’ve attached some pictures that I hope will also inspire you— to play, to create, to do something new or different or spontaneous. Whatever it is for you that feeds your body, mind and soul in a healthy way. This week, my goal (and feel free to join me) is to bring in more play. More arts and crafts with no end goal. More terrible “Glee” re-enactments from my living room. More laughing at myself or instigating smiles with silly selfies. What will it be that brings more light to your life this week? Feel free to share with a comment or photo! Best wishes, everyone.
Some of you may have already seen the below acrylic-pouring paintings, because I created them on Christmas vacation when I was away visiting my family. I then shipped them back across the country— only to keep them packed in a box, until today, because they were awaiting a final gloss varnish and hook attachments. Well today I finally finished them.
Finishing Projects
Now there’s something especially satisfying about finishing a project that’s been ominously seeking your attention like a monster under the bed (the paintings were, in fact, being stored in a box under my bed). Here are the benefits of finishing projects that I’ve come up with:
It frees up space. No, I’m not talking about the space under the bed, though that is an added benefit, but more-so the crucial space in your mind that is needed for working on other awesome projects and goals. If you’re constantly thinking about, or even guilting yourself for, unfinished projects, what better way to clear your conscience than to just FINISH THEM?
It puts hair on your chest— or at least makes you feel like pounding your chest while hollering maniacally. Confidence and pride is boosted when you believe in yourself and feel like you’re accomplishing things that you are passionate about. Furthermore, finishing projects will help you grow and develop your talents and skills, further snowballing you towards more of the aforementioned desirable traits as well as improving your overall work. Win-win!
It stimulates the appetite. Seeing your work finished and out there in the world can help inspire and motivate you in ways you never expected. You may find yourself hungry for more or indulging on new creative ideas. Plus, you very well could end up with ogling clients or supporters drooling over your stuff. Every artist’s dream!
It’s fun. The joy of finishing a project speaks for itself, does it not?
It builds muscle— though unless your chosen medium involves lifting and building very large, very heavy structures, probably just metaphorical ones. Muscle memory is a real thing, routines are real as well, therefore it’s logical to deduce that a consistency in completing projects can become second-nature. The more projects you finish, the more of a habit project-finishing becomes.
“The Finisher” … not as scary as it seems!
Once you’ve become a brave, strong, hungry monster with lots of space to play in, you’re ready to take on the world— or at least the next project that starts bobbling into your head. So go grab one of those projects you have stashed away like a squirrel, and get crackin’! Sorry, I’m metaphor rich today. See? The project-finishing really does inspire the mind.
Seriously, what are you doing still reading this? GO GET TO IT.
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If you’ve found even a bit more stress or disruption in your life than usual lately, you likely already know that you aren’t alone. Yes, the world is being impacted by COVID-19 in countless ways and I’m not here to talk about it. What I do want to discuss are the little things we can do to find peace, inspiration, grounding, and even joy when we find ourselves amidst chaotic, uncertain or confusing times— for whatever reason.
Yesterday I chose the simple act of taking a long, leisurely walk at the oceanside with a good friend. The sun was shining so brightly it sparkled on the water like a disco ball, while a seal popped his head up next to us and an eagle soared overhead. The wind was blowing the waves into a synchronized dance and scuba divers reminded us of the mysterious world that lay beneath them. The land felt at peace and, for a few hours, everything felt normal again. We couldn’t help but feel our interconnectedness with nature, the sense of how infinitesimal we humans are, and how much peace can be found by just stepping away. Away from the house. Away from the hustle and bustle. Away from routine. Away from social media and news. Away in whatever form of awayness is needed for you at any given time. By the time we left, I for one was feeling free of life’s problems, safe, in control, and enlivened— things I hadn’t felt much of all week.
Odgen Point, Victoria B.C.
When I later sat down to work on today’s artwork and blog, I could still see those beachy views in my mind’s eye: the grassy mounds in the foreground framed by stunning mountaintops and blue skies far beyond. While I had many illustrations that I “should/could” have been working on for my various projects, something from this vivid landscape was still speaking to me: whispering to the needs of my soul for further peace, freedom and trust. I knew there was a creature hiding behind the whisper but I couldn’t see her yet. But still, there she was encouraging me to gently put aside any additional pressure amidst an already stressful time; to “go with the flow” and create something just for the joy of it. I pulled out my oil pastels, a medium I rarely work in nowadays but one that I relate to a time in my younger days when I would draw for the sheer love of it, without (as much) concern for the end goal.
Finding Freedom with Oil Pastels
I knew this medium would help set me up for this “therapeutic art” session. And it worked. Instead of first sketching and perfecting the outlines of an image, I drew with the pastels directly onto the paper, trusting the permanence of the lines as I laid them down. I let it happen. I didn’t fight anything yet I felt in control. I limited expectations. I mixed colours. I smeared the oily pigments with my bare fingertips. And this is what came out— a creature seemingly born from those grassy cliffs of Ogden Point in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia. I still plan on adding in that mountain crested background another day, but for now, this Peaceful Breezer sleeps in the caress of the sun without a worry in mind. She reminds me, and anyone else who wishes to take her lead, that stepping away to enjoy life’s simplicities, trusting the flow, and letting the breeze tousle your hair can sometimes be the best thing we can do for ourselves to come back to our centre. That and turning our fingertips green with creative delight…
The Peaceful Breezer
So let your freedom flow like the wind and allow yourself to connect to those small things that make you feel as I did, hugged between ocean and eagle, in the shimmering sunlight.
Be well everyone.
Thanks for reading and be sure to subscribe to stay up-to-date on future posts! Also find @artofnonsense on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest
Play. Create. Discover... 