Mid-Winter Blues

1. art journal - happiness, 2. Art journal page - Calling, 3. Just be yourself "art journal", 4. Art Journal January 2009, 5. art journal colors, 6. Art Journal Page - Imposter Syndrome, 7. Grow "art journal", 8. art journal: details, 9. this summer I will not. . . , 10. 4-5, 11. My happiness (art journal), 12. art journal des couleurs - le bleu

Oh, my. It's only the second week in January, and already I'm longing for spring! Recently I've been restless and itching for change, though I'm not quite sure where to find it. During these moments, I have to be careful not to be rash - though I have been considering dying my hair just to experience something new!

I'd love to create effortlessly and endlessly, but, like my words, I am having difficulty with expression and instead stare frustratedly at an empty page. My sleeps are interrupted by continual coughing and a runny nose. My camera lies mostly unused due to the cold weather. I'm a bit grumpy and would like to whine rather than trying to solve problems, thankyouverymuch.

Though my paintbrush hasn't been used very recently, I have been dabbling in the creative world in other ways, like looking through the art journal pool on Flickr. I find so much color and inspiration in the journal pages that others are sharing! I've found a few new blogs, too, that you may enjoy:

• Beautiful sketchwork by Nina Johansson
  
• A photography/life blog with photos that are simple, beautiful, and soothing
• Habit, a very interesting project with poetic words and a bit of mystery
  
• Brandi's newest blog, The Open Soul Project
• Doorway's Traveler, a blog which I'm very interested to explore more closely
• A new blog which may help me (and you) take better photos!

I've been thinking of making a 30-day journal and doing my own Journaling Month, even if it means starting in the middle of January; perhaps creative juices would come more easily if I made a daily practise of them? Also, my 101 in 1001 project is going to be reorganized soon; you can read a bit more about my thoughts behind that here.

Hope that your creative ideas are flowing freely and that these cold days are treating you well!