Monday, June 1, 2009

June 1st - The Challenge Begins


Day 1 of 100 Days - have almost made it through the first day and so far so good!

I am joining Rowena's (Warrior Girl) challenge: 100 _ in 100 Days. Check out her blog for a pledge and more info on where it could take you.

My goal is to spend at least 30 minutes a day being creative - it could be collage, ATCs, journalling, photography, writing.


As well, I want to use these 100 days to be kind to myself - to eat better, to exercise or dance, to meditate and to be more positive. (Nothing like putting it out there for all to take note of! and yes, losing weight, is I hope, part of the taking care of myself!)


Three months is generally thought of as the time needed to change a bad habit or develop a new one. These are my goals then - to develop the habit of creating daily and being active and positive.
As Rowena suggested I am keeping a journal of my journey.
I finished my ATCs for the "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" Exchange today and mailed them off. (Once the exchange as been made I will share the results.)
As well I have been working on a watercolour collage - using pieces from previous works as a background. It has been fun.




I found the perect symbol for it - the heron.








I have been drawn to this graceful bird for a long time. In most places where I have lived, there have been herons. Recently one has nested at a large pond near us and I have seen it several times. Last summer I was only metres away from one while in a park in Victoria. I took a lot of photos.



Ever since reading about the symbolism of the heron on Collage Diva's blog, I have wanted to use it in my art. The symbolism of this bird is well known in Chinese, native and Egyptian cultures.

It is a symbol of going with the flow and of working with the elements.

For Native people it represents inquisitiveness, determination, curiosity.
For the Chinese, it represents patience, strength,purity, long life.
II am not sure where I want to go with this but I have definitely enjoyed the process.







8 comments:

Leone said...

Congratulations on day one Bev. I love your picture.

Angie said...

Love the painting,the colours work great together!
I heard about the challenge from Leone and said that I had a similar idea to also challange myself for a period of time, now I am thinking about actually doing it! Like you said there in nothing like putting yourself out there! Well done on your first painting!

sema said...

congratulations on starting the challenge.
I may join the challenge as I have not decided on what to do.i loved your idea of being kind to yourself.

Kathryn Costa said...

What gorgeous photos! They make my heart sing. I would love to use them in my artwork. Would it be okay if I did work with these photos? I'm no lucky enough to have herons in my neighborhood.

Good luck with your challenge. Challenges are so helpful for giving us a touchstone to do and be our best. Creating every day will open up the artist in you and you'll see even more magic in your daily life.

This summer starting this month, I am making it about me. My son leaves in a month to spend the summer with his dad so I'm taking this opportunity to make healthy choices and take care of me. Yesterday I signed up for a Ikebana class - Japanese flower arranging and I'll be resuming my Tai Chi Ch'uan classes.

Isn't life so much fun?

Thanks for sharing your inspirational photos, art, and challenge.

{soul hugs}
Kathryn, Collage Diva

mel said...

Gorgeous photos and i LOVE what you did with the heron picture....it is a divine bird, for certain...

congrats on Day One!!

Beverley Baird said...

Thanks everyone. All of you make this adventure in bloagland wonderful and are actually making me want to do well and be better!
Thanks for your support and all your kind wishes!
take care.

Rowena said...

welcome Beverly! So glad you could join us on this challenge. As soon as I pull it all together, I will get our sidebar links up. I rushed into this project, a little, but that's okay... it's not about getting things perfect, it's about DOING. And having fun.

Leah said...

I love the image of the heron too! They're so beautiful. Wishing you good wishes for your 100 days journey, may it be a healthy and creative one! xo