Horton Hears This Who

Hello friends, I'm so happy that you're here. I'm so blessed to have you in my life.

You can also connect with me on:

Facebook - Danine Mroz

Instagram - Northern Gypsy @bees_knees_studio

Twitter - Sky @PrairieMroz

Pinterest - Danine Mroz

Hello Universe "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here"!
There was a time when I felt an awful lot like that little Who. Small and all alone, invisible to the world. But, one day something changed within me and I was finally able to find my Horton and I'll never feel small again.

So, What changed? Well,,, I did. I started to become self aware.
I made the conscience decision to "Let Go".  I let go of all the doubt, the negativity and all that was holding me back from achieving my dreams. This didn't happen over night and, in fact I'm still letting go of things to this day. The other big change was being "Grateful" for all things big and small.

I began to understand that by doing these two things "Letting Go" + "Gratitude" the Universe would recognize me.  With new found empty space, that was once clogged up by negative matter, the Universe could now fill it with shiny new things and I began to bloom.
A concept introduced to me in reading "The Secret".

When I made these changes I was finally able to find my Horton.  He came via the way of mixed media art, art journals and tangle art.  Thanks to the technical advances I have been able to use the tools at my fingertips to learn and grow. I've also been able to connect with people... Other "Whovians" if you will... and the Universe opened up to me.

Watercolour Shell Aug/15

Now a days I'm incredibly grateful when I learn new techniques and can share with all my fellow Whovians.  Recently I began playing with watercolour and at first I was a bit frustrated at it's unpredictability. But, now that is the thing that I enjoy about it the most. :D

I hope you've enjoyed our little chat. Please use the buttons below to share with your social media.
Cheers,
Danine

I'm BACK!!

OMG I can't believe it's been two years since my last post. Where does the time go?
I'm so very happy that you've found me. Please add me to your social media family and lets connect.
Instagram - Northern Gypsy @bees_knees_studio
Facebook - Danine Mroz
YouTube - Northern Gypsy

A lot has happened in those two years.  First, we moved half way across the country and relocated the family. I have to say, I feel as if we are all a lot happier. Secondly, I made the decision to make art a priority, and things are going beautifully. Thirdly, I began setting regular, achievable goals... short and long term. Yaa!

The move came due to some major restructuring at my husbands work which meant he would have to commute several provinces over. After a year and a half of commuting we finally made the leap and moved, hubby loves that his commute is now only 1 hours (6x per month) instead of a day. Our son is making great friends and fitting in very well at school. While our daughter made short work of finding work that suites her perfectly while she takes a year off from school. While I've been finding all I could possibly need and/or want right close to home. Happy family!

This year with regards to my art, I began doing some type of creating EVERY day, which I post to Instagram. I've also been trying filming some of my art journal practice for YouTube,,, which isn't as easy as it looks. I'll keep working on it and hopefully I'll  have a great channel before long.  The other major change that I have experienced this year has been making a conscience effort to connect with other artists locally and over the net. Instagram has been a fantastic source for making connections and ongoing inspirations.  I've been to a couple art conventions and taken few classes... and I love making artsy friends. :D While in Winnipeg, MB recently I met the fabulous ladies from "Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine" and learned a ton during the classes offered and through conversation osmosis. They put me in contact with an amazing local mixed media artist whom I already feel a connectedness to. There is so much talent out there and I always feel blessed when I'm included with these amazing people. I hope to  continue to make long lasting friends in the art community. Maybe with you.

Oh My... I almost forgot to mention.
One of the most incredible strokes of luck happened last week. I won an Instagram give away from Flora Bowley for an ongoing membership to her Studio Diaries. I highly suggest if you want to grow as an artist check out her programs and courses. There is a free sample month to the Studio Diaries on her site. Though I'm not here to advertise for her I will be reflecting on some of the themes, questions and exercises that I'm  doing from time to time.

Goals-- Short term; To make art my priority.
             Long term; To be published in an art magazine.

Going forward I want to continue to share my journey and work, inspire you to listen to your own muse, encourage you as an artist and above all else give you permission to play.

Question of the day... What goals are you currently working towards?

Express Yourself

When it comes to painting, at least as far as I'm concerned, the most important thing the artist can do is "Express Yourself".  With each stroke of the brush, with each color you choose, hidden words and phrases it's the artists job to express what he/she is feeling so when the piece is viewed that feeling can be felt by those viewing it.

A little bit about my process:

Hidden words~things I believe in.

~ I almost always start a painting by choosing my color palette, it's from that that I draw a good deal of my inspiration. Color speaks to me, I know that may sound strange to you but hey I'm an artist and I'm allowed to be strange. :D I have always loved bright, bold colors, right from the time I was wee little. By choosing the colors first it helps me express myself  by setting the mood and emotion for the piece. I usually work with three complimentary colors and one or two accenting colors.

A collage of words and
phrases convey the over
all feeling.

~ Next I decide my subject, which if you know my work, most often a female. A friend recently asked me why I always paint women... I pondered this for a long while. My answer; there is great strength, wisdom, and emotional integrity in women. Women are the backbone of society. We raise the children with love and teach them to be strong, independent adults who hopefully will go on to contribute something wonderful with the world.  When a child has been failed by their parents, if he parents withhold love and compassion, if the child had not been allowed to express who they are, that child usually grows up to have inner struggles. As adults they must seek out wise friends to guide them, as much as we must seek them out and become their "Angels".

That's what I try to convey with my art. My angels have hidden messages, quotes, and words of love and inspiration.
~ The final part of my process is adding the words, quotes and or phrases to the art. What feelings do I want to express from my painting? What message does my angel want to convey to the viewer? I draw from my own experiences, from friends and from moving stories people have shared with me.

"A Promise to Keep" 12x12
Mixed Media on Canvas

There you have it, that's how things usually go in my studio. But, then there are times when my inner voice guides my hand and before I know it a painting has transpired before my eyes. As was the case with, "A Promise to Keep". The sketch of the woman came to life on the canvas and it was almost as if she told me to choose the colors. Like I said, I'm and artist and weird things transpire with us artisty people. When these things happen I don't argue with my creative muse, at this point I'm just along for the ride and I can't lie.... what a wonderful ride it is.

So, no matter how you choose to express yourself, embrace it, cherish it and share it with those you love and for all the world to see. It's a gift and it's not for you to decide whether it's good enough or not. As a part of you it's perfect and pure and beautiful, when you accept that you and it will blossom into your true and authentic self.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings.
Much Love,
Danine

If you like these paintings please visit my etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/PrairieMrozArt
All featured art on this blog is original work done by Danine Mroz All rights reserved. No copies or reproduction with out the written consent of Ms. Mroz

Trust Your Heart

In my life I have found that I tend to listen to my heart far more than I listen to my head. In some cases this has lead me to make a some bad relationship and financial choices...and ending up with a battered and beaten heart. But, I get out the duct tape (cause duct tape fixes everything) and do the best fix-it job I can and carry on. In art though, I find that the heart is never wrong, in fact some of my best mistakes in art have been my heart screaming at me to put some color here or there and what I initially thought would be a huge flop turned out to be quite the Happy Mistake. As it was with my latest painting... I had been working on a piece for a while and though the colors were pretty, the girl was lovely... she had no character. So I started throwing big, bold colors at her and to my surprise, it not only worked, I loved it.
So, listen to your heart and be open to new and bold enterprises... You might just surprise yourself!

This is a little peek at my painting, "Trust Your Heart"

The Wow Factor

Today I have an assignment for you.

As a mixed media artist I'm always looking for new and exciting techniques to give my art the Wow Factor. "But, what is the Wow Factor?", I had to ask myself. What was it that I liked about art that really turned me on, that spoke to me? Was it the colors? Or perhaps the content it's self; the words on the page; or a phrase that spoke directly to me? Was it the depth that the artist captured with in? Or was it all of those things?
With all these questions swirling around in my head I came to the conclusion that Yes, perhaps ALL these things did in fact create that Wow Factor that I was looking for. And if these components, although different for each person, if you applied these questions to each artist when they gave their own individual answers would they too find their Wow Factor? I'm thinking that indeed they would.

So, my assignment for you is to create you own list for your Wow Factor components.

1) What is your color palette? Are you drawn to a few specific ones or many?

Pink, Orange, Yellow and Green :D

• flip through some magazines and pull any adds or pictures that you like.
• go to the gardens in a local park and really examine the flowers, their shapes, color and color combinations. Which are you drawn to? How do they make you feel? Happy, spirited, safe, comfort... which colors scream out to you?
• go on a scavenger hunt. Go to your local hardware store and peruse the paint chips, gather up the ones that you're drawn to. Take a look in your closet, fridge, linen closet and around your home. Which colors keep reappearing? 

2) What shapes and images appeal to you? 

• Do you love birds, flowers, swirls, circles? 
• Does the world of abstract speak to you? How about Victorian or Vintage? Gothic? Whimsical? Contemporary? A walk through a few different department stores or furniture store will help you uncover what type you may be. Or perhaps you love many styles and eclectic is for you. 
• What mood or feeling are you trying to express through your art? 

3) Words and Phrases?

Practicing Calligraphy & doodles

• make a list of words that you use often, words that speak to you, that anger you, that excite you, that make you sad, mad, glad, that make you laugh and feel all silly inside.
• search through books by a favorite author(s) and write down phrases that you love, that moved you, made you laugh or cry etc.
• write down favorite quotes? Search the internet for quotes on favorite topics, Love, dreams, joy, family, God, passion, healing... anything that speaks to you.
• did you doodle when you were in school? Doodle some flowers, shapes and letters; make some squiggles; and learn how to tangle OR "Zentangle" (YouTube has examples and tutorials), they are all unique ways we express yourself
• what is your style of writing? Do you love calligraphy, as I do? It's a beautiful art in and of it's self and worth while learning. When you create a document on the computer is there a certain font that you use on a regular basis? Do you like fat, frilly, fun, silly, bold or some other interesting font? There are great programs you can up load or buy for your computer to add your own personal style for you to use when you print out your words, phrases or quotes. OR you can do like me and hand write them, use calligraphy pens and inks or draw them and fill them in.

4) Which tools of Creating depth speak to you? Begin with what you have on hand and then add to your creative tool box.

• look around your home for objects that have interesting shapes; wine corks, lids from jars, bubble wrap, the end of your brushes, tooling from an old dress, paper or plastic doilies, chop sticks, coffee cup liners, old credit/gift cards, sequin waste (can be purchased at a fabric store for little $$), lace, paper towel, cling wrap or foil, elastics, string or twine... only your imagination is the limit. 
• stamps and stencils. One will leave a positive image and the other the negative image of it's self. If you're adventurous and creative you can even create your own stamps and stencils. YouTube has some good tutorials.

5) Do you like to get messy or keep it neat and tidy? Playing with gel mediums you can do one or the other or both, it's totally up to you. All you have to do is start experimenting with them. This is where steps 1-4 meet step 5. I find gel mediums to give some of the greatest effects and depth to a painting of all.

Spackled green squares 

     a) Gesso ~ If I had but one medium to choose it would be gesso. It can be used as a primer, you can stamp into it, create depth, cover up mistakes, tone down color, smooth out rough parts or rough up areas where you want extra texture by applying some of your depth making tools to the wet area of gesso. It's my go to gel medium.
     b) Crackly mediums ~ These types of gels, liquids and pastes will give an antiqued look to your finished product. They are beautiful and add a great deal of interest to your finished piece.
     c) Spackle and Molding paste ~ A product that I have recently fallen in love with. A little Spackle (found in your local hardware store) or molding paste create beautiful depth. You can use it straight out of the gar or add any color to it I have found that acrylics and liquid acrylics work the best, but you could also use water color paste to create your work of art. Simply apply with a flat surface such as Spackle knife, credit card or brush onto your canvas or over top a stencil. You can draw, doodle, stamp or scrunch designs into it, it's totally up to you.

So there is your assignment, the rest is up to you. Play, create and have fun. You can use an art journal to experiment with some new techniques and begin putting different techniques together to create your own style. Next week I will give you a couple examples with the guidelines and steps of how I put these all together. Have a wonderful day.
Danine

Recommended reading:
"inner Excavation", by Liz Lamoreux
"Collage Lab", by Bee Shay
"The Artist Unique", by Carmen Torbus

Reality Bits & Bites

Today I decided to step outside my comfort zone a little. Though I love drawing faces and sketching people the painting of a face is another story for me. It's a bit of a mystery to me and that really bites. Then there is the background... what the heck do I do with the background? The background always leaves me a bit frustrated. But, then I begin and I let my intuition take over and everything is ok with the Universe once again.

So  today I began my art journey by watching a couple Pam Carriker youTube videos on how to add portraits into your art Journal. Miss Carriker is a beautiful artist and gives amazing instruction (in case you're interested). But, her  videos are meant to entice you to sign up for her on-line art classes... I just don't have the patience or the cash flow to do that right now which also bites. Soooooo, I watch the video a few times through and do my best. In fact I feel that I learn a lot by doing it this way and the final product is more mine than if I took some on-line course.
The bit I find interesting is how during the process, I go from liking what I have created in the beginning, to not liking it in the middle and back to liking it by the end. Kind of a strange bit...

This is my process:

1) Draw a face and add some shading. You can also use an old book,

 or music sheets, etc to draw on,so you will see some 

of the words peaking through. 

(If you use a book or separate paper to draw your face, 

cut it out and mod podge it to your journal.)

2)Mix some Titan Buff with a little water and gel medium and paint over

 the face. While waiting for it to dry begin to add some soft colors 

to your background and some collage.

3)Blend two different skin tones into the titan buff. 

One to give you a high light and another to create a low light, 

then apply them accordingly to the areas of your portrait.

4)Do a little stamping or writing on your background to start creating depth.

5)Keep working your face and background until you have your desired affects.

Be patient with yourself. I find it useful to walk away for a bit and then come back to see my work with fresh eyes.
Live happy, Be creative, and Love Yourself!
Danine

How to Create a Fantastic Art Journal page

When I first began doing art journals I had no clue as to where to start or how to layer my work to give me the best results. I have watched countless tutorials, read several books and viewed many art journal pages, this is the process I have come up with "How to Create a Fantastic Art Journal page".

1) Begin by picking your palate. I usually work with three main colours and versions of them plus black & white. If you're a beginner it's a great idea to invest in a colour wheel, one that tells you which are complimentary colours etc.
Some of my favorite colour combo's are
- Black, White, & Red
- Pink, Yellow & White
- Teal, Cream & Purple
- Fuchsia, Lime Green, & Orange
- Brown, Sage & Rose
- Orange, Yellow & Blue
- Lime Green, Black & Hot pink
I hope you play with colour a little to see what colours appeal to you. Or go through some magazines and just pull pages that you are drawn to to find your colour palette.

2) Begin by applying a wash or glaze in the lightest colour. Start layering come colour, shades of existing colour and textures on top. Use you brushes, fingers, bubble wrap, insides of coffee holders, sponges, plastic bags, etc.
Paint Glaze= 1 part paint-2-3 parts water-1 part acrylic glazing medium Wash= paint + water to thin
*Note- always let each application DRY before adding another colour, unless you want the colours to blend. Too many colours blending together will make for a muddy looking page.

3) Add some texture and interest to your page by stamping some text, musical notes, or other interesting subject to the page. You can also put your personality into the page by drawing a picture of your own then painting it. I have also added decorated, stamped or coloured tissue paper at this point.

4) At this point you can begin adding collage or altered collage images to your page. You can select a theme or just use random pictures out of old magazines. You may also want to add some three dimensional pieces to your work; paper or cloth flowers, brads, beads, feathers, etc.

5) Next I add a bit more paint, often white or gesso in areas that I want to mute out and give a bit of pop. Or I will add low-lights in a darker colour or deeper shade of a colour that is already there to create more depth.

6) Doodle time. I keep pictures of doodles around to give me inspiration on my doodles. Just play and be creative, don't over think it.

7) Journal- a poem, your wishes and dreams, a letter to yourself or another loved one, song lyrics... it's your journal, what do you want to say?

At this point your pretty much done, you can always doodle a bit more or add some more highlights with a white gel pen  if you like, but that's it. I hope you have enjoyed making some art.

Cheers,
Danine

Seed Journal

Good Morning, Afternoon, and Good evening to one and all. I have been quite the busy little bee as of late. Not only did I finish my travel journal; I created a base for yet another journal using all recycled materials, finished putting my table together (ya, the part came in the mail), I also finished days 4-6 of the "Seed Journal" challenge that I'm participating in on the Milliande community I belong to.

So I thought I would share them with you all. OR ya'll if you're from the south.

 Day 4~Seed Wings.... I call her Sweet Pea

I love my sweet, fresh from the garden, peas. 

They are nature's perfect snack, 

complete with it's own neat wrapper you eat.

She is sweet to the core and spreads love and joy where every she goes.

Day 5~Scattered Seeds... The Gardener

Much like my Mother did, and still does, 

she tends the garden with much love.

Sewing seeds and making sure there is growth.

Day 6~Pomegranate... Pomegranate Zentangled

Sweet, juicy, delicious and oh so amazingly good for you.

Hope you like them.
Cheers,

Danine

Happy Travels and Joyous Journaling

After hours and hours of drawing, painting, cutting, etc, etc, etc.... I have finally finished my Mini Art Journal.
If I get any requests on how to go from step one to the finished product I will post a blog on how to do so.
But, for now this is the finished product.

Happy Travels and Joyous Journaling!

Danine

Part 1 Travel Jounal

I began last week by rearranging my office space. I then removed the old make-shift art desk, and began building my nice new desk. I was quite excited to be creating my art on an adjustable desk, reducing the neck and arm strain and general body fatigue that I have when I sit for 5-8 hours a day creating my art.

But as it turns out it wasn't long before I was cursing my new table instead of sitting at it doing art. Because it's tilting mechanism broke off in my hands while I was trying to assemble it... So much for working at my fancy new art table this wk... I will now have to wait a week or so to get the parts so that I can finish putting it together. (And when I say that I'm putting it together , I really mean my wonderful, talented and crafty husband Mike.)

So, I toiled, crafted, and painted away all week at the dining room table, and there I'll stay until my part comes in the mail this week. SIGH  But, onward to our "Travel Journal Challenge". These little set backs can't and shouldn't slow us down.

The inspiration for my Travel Journal came from a youtube video I saw a while back by "mycreativebliss". These are the steps I will be taking to create my Travel Art Journal, I hope you will join me
.
Part 1
A) Cut out 12 - 4x4 squares of water color paper (you could also use mixed media paper) for creating your mini works of art on.

B) Next collect some coordinating scrap-booking papers for the journaling part which will be on the reverse side. If you want to have extra journaling pages for pictures and writing you can also use two sided paper.

To make the pages more sturdy gather heavier stock paper from old cookie packages, cereal boxes, and shoe boxes, which would normally just go into the recycling box, that we will use in between the two pieces.

Stay tuned for Part 2
To make our books a little more interesting we will be embellishing it with ribbon, decorative pulls, chains and other such do-dadds.  We will add some pockets, fabrics and envelopes so that you can have space for ticket keepsakes etc. This process is done before assembling the pages so make sure you don't go and glue your fronts and back together until each process is complete.

Have a fabulous ART filled week.
Cheers,
Danine

Dream a little Dream

Good afternoon my lovelies. Just a few thoughts today. 


If you're like me you feel the need to draw, doodle, and simply create something almost every day. For me art is meditation and food for the soul, I can't seem to get enough. But, I often get stuck, not knowing WHAT I should do or WHERE I should begin. Often a nudge is all I need to get started... so, I went on a scavenger hunt on the world wide web today in search of art challenges, ATC challenges, collage, and mixed media challenges. I'm happy to say that I found a great site with many such challenges.
The site has a little something for almost every one. It has art challenges for every day of the week with may different themes and mediums. Which is great for me and hopefully you too. Use them as  they are set up or jumble them up to suite your needs. What ever you do, have fun!


I chose to do a 4x6 Post Card challenge with the theme of 'Swirls, Twirls & Curls'

My post card consists of several collage pieces from magazines, arranged onto a piece of cardboard box that I treated with gesso. I painted, stenciled and stamped the background, decoupaged my images into place, then painted, doodled and grunged my little lovely for the finished look. I hope you like her. :)


This is the site;  http://www.squidoo.com/mixed-media-art-challenges

Danine  XOXOXO

Sow thy Self

Seed Journal #3-2012 - S-Words

So I'm sitting in front of a blank piece of paper trying to think of "S"-words that are seed related and have meaning to me OR perhaps define me in some way, shape or form. And believe you me, it's a lot harder than it looks. These are the words that I was able to come up with; Serendipity, Seeds, Sow, Stand, Self, Signature, & Strong.

As always I wrote a short journal entry upon the finished work, today I used orange ink which blends quite nicely into the background.

As my skill as an artist becomes stronger

I feel a greater sense of self.

Life is full of happy accidents, in art this is especially true.

This year I hope to learn from these mistakes 

And maybe even create my signature style from one.

2012 is going to be an outstanding year!

So in short I hope to SOW the SEEDS of good STRONG habits to become a better artist in 2012. Learning new skills, finding my SIGNATURE style and simply being my Authentic SELF. Perhaps finding a little SERENDIPITY along the way as well.

Things to come!

The Stockings and tree are all put neatly back into their boxes for another year. The holiday feast and it's leftovers have been demolished. The kids are busy playing with new video's, reading new books (yes, my teenagers read), and chilln' with friends. Now it's nearly time for this Mama to buckle down and get back into the swing of her art work... But, not quite yet.
In the next few weeks I will be busy prepping, planning, and preparing for some pretty cool things for 2012.

I have decided to create theme days for my blog, please tell me what you think of these ideas:
Mixed Media Mondays- topics may include, art journaling, painting, or crafting.
Thrifty Thursdays- a journey for great art supply finds,  sale, places to find great deals, etc.
           OR
Free-Cycle Fridays- creating art from junk, recycled papers, things that would other wise be discarded and thrown away.

So those are the main ideas I have so far. Let me know what you think.
Have a Happy and Healthy 2012
See you in the New Year.

Peace and Love,

Danine

So Green

As a new, older, artist I feel so GREEN.
The age on my birth certificate may reflect the number of years
I have been on this earth but in my heart and mind I still feel young
 and very child like, especially when I'm creating art.
My "Mother Earth Goddess" holds the world in her hands
cherishing, loving and protecting each and every one of her
creations.

At times I feel like both the parent and child. With so many techniques and things to learn I often find that the parent in me has to allow the child to just play and enjoy the process. Yet I often feel a bit frustrated with imperfection or the rate in which I progress... though it's that same imperfection that is what attracts me to many of my favorite mixed-media artists. 

So, if you're a newby like me, take your time. Give yourself permission to Play, Make Mistakes, and above all else enjoy each and every step of the way.

"Live, Laugh, Love" is one of my live mantras.
It reminds me to hold the ones I love close and cherish them
always; to not take myself so seriously; and to live in
the moment. Life is too short to have what if's and should
have's. So live the life you want and live it NOW, today.

Cheers,
Danine