Art Travel : Puerto Vallarta 2013

I'm still buzzing from the inspiration on my trip to Puerto Vallarta a few weeks ago. I chose not to take my journal supplies with me on this trip and focus more on photography and connecting with my friends.  

There is a "zone"  I go into when I'm creating where I get lost in my creative process.  Its a beautiful thing to experience and I love having the time and space to dive deep into my process.  I love the feeling when everything seems to click, time stands still and I feel an amazing sense of joy.  Its funny, when I actually notice I'm in the zone, I'm usually flipped out of the zone and the process starts again as I make my way back in.

If I'm with other artists they usually understand and honor when I'm in "the Zone" and wait for it to pass before engaging.  This trip was not about me diving deep into my creative process, it was about connection with the group of amazing women on the trip. 

We've known each other for a long time and we had so much to discuss and chat about. We got dressed for nights out sharing jewelry and beauty products. I felt like I was in the college dorms again. I got to express my creativity with make-up and eye shadows.

I also expressed my creativity through photography and photographing every beautiful experience.  I got a huge 32 MB memory card so I wouldn't have to limit myself on my trip. It was the best plan ever! I took photos like a wild woman.  I took photos of everything that made my heart sing.  I loved every moment of the experience. 

I can't wait to go back next year.

Weekly Art Journal

August was a week of celebrations. My good friend Christine had a wonderful birthday celebration at a friends house. It was wonderful to spend time playing games and spending time with friends.

Weekly Journal

 

I'm back in my weekly journal. This week I found an image of a woman that really inspired me...I found her in the pages of a Nordstom catalog. I love using images of models from fashion magazines and shopping catalogs  in my work.  I'm always attracted to faces with unusual expressions or really interesting features. There was something deep and thought provoking in her expression that attracted me to use her in my journal this week. 

Maybe its because I'm still enjoying the buzz of being in paradise for a week
with friends I have known for most of my life. 

Maybe because I realized how important vacations are to my heart, mind and spirit. 

 I feel like the vacation changed something deep within me. The humility, the laughter, the dancing, dressing up every night... I feel more like myself than ever before.

My journal page this week doesn't have words yet. But if I were to add words it would be words of gratitude and a celebration of returning back to myself.

Artists I Love: Galeria Corsica, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Artist: Ricardo Ortega

Galeria Corsica, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Artist: David Gonzalez
 Galeria Corsica, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Artist: Flor Minor
 Galeria Corsica, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

Artist: Diego Luz

Galeria Corsica, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

Galeria Corsica, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

I took a little trip to Puerto Vallarta last week and I had an amazing time with friends. It was also a great time to get some inspiration from local artists.  On our last day in town,. we visited a little area of Puerto Vallarta known for its artists and amazing galleries. I was in heaven.  That is definitely something that will be on the top of my list for next year. 

My favorite gallery was Galeria Corsica. I experienced some of the most breath taking art work I've ever seen.  The gallery owner was gracious enough to allow us to take photos so I was able to capture some of my favorite pieces.

Artists I Love: August

Friday nights are usually quite times for me to settle down from the week and plan for the weekend. I usually have a few moments to go online to check out some of my favorite sites. I've been so inspired I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

Here are the artists and designers I'm loving right now ...

Christy Tomlinson

Vintage Whites

Maria Pace-Wynters

Go Into the World

Weekly Journal: A Few Weeks In Review

Weekly Art Journal from Julie Valentine on Vimeo.

I've been working on a weekly journal since April
and its been so fun and simple.
I'm particularly proud of myself for keeping up with it.

It's a really simple way for me to be creative on a regular basis.

So much of the creative process is about making time to be creative and
letting go to allow the creative ideas to unfold.

 This week I wanted to show you the pages in my weekly journal so far.
I love looking at people's art journals and I thought you might like to see mine.
Enjoy!

Leave a comment if you have questions
about any of my pages, supplies, techniques. 
I'm happy to share.

Art Studio Storage Solutions: Cigar Boxes

I shared this week about how I organized my art supplies using cigar boxes. I wanted to say a little more about that for those of you who might want to try it. 

 I got my boxes from a local cigar store. I searched out a few shops for the best boxes. I found the older cigar shops (the ones that have been there for years, family owned, lots of locals hanging out to chat) were the best ones.  Maybe its because they  have a deep history with their customers offering the best cigars. The result has been really great cigar boxes.  

There were 2 types of boxes...the cardboard boxes ($2 ea.) and the wood boxes ($4 ea.). I'm not sure what the going rate is for cigar boxes but this shop has some of the most interesting boxes I've seen, so the price seemed right.  

I looked for ones with interesting art. 

I looked for ones that were big and rectangular.  

I got a few with a latch (to keep the box closed if it took a tumble). 

I looked the ones that were about the same height to make it easier to stack on a shelf.

I walked away with 6 lovely boxes and lots of ideas for storing my art supplies.

I created labels for my boxes with Martha Stewart Bookplates in copper. These bookplates are adhesive and have a really strong hold. (Careful putting them down, they are hard to remove). I used my lovely label maker and the cards provided with the book plates to create short descriptions for the contents of each box. 

I love my new storage.

Let me know if you try this or if you have any other creative art storage ideas.

~ Julie

Art Journal Backgrounds

Here's how I create journal backgrounds my accident. 

I paint and use spray inks in a smaller journal on top of one of the pages in a bigger journal. The drips and ink over spray gets all over the page in the bigger journal and suddenly there is a new background page. That's what happened here. 

I can't wait to create something on top of this page.