ZOËLAB: THE LIFE AS ART BLOG
what I learned from posting words and images (almost) every day for a year
I am sharing here, in honor of completing the 31 Day Art Journaling/Blogging Challenge, my second to last post from my first blog, ZOELAB 365, where I blogged every day for a year. This is the learning and meaning I made from that intense year, which catapulted me out of post-partem depression and into a highly-charged creative inner life that has informed me, and my professional work, ever since.
Tools of the practice: Art Journal Lab
As for me, I am mostly a marker and pen girl. Always have been. I studied oil painting in high school and college. But then decided it wasn't for me. I also have dabbled in watercolor. And find it very fun and playful. But, when it comes to drawing in my journal. I have always been crazy for that more graphic-y, comic-book-y, children's illustration look. I love black pen. I love filling in those lines with markers. My drawings have a naive look to them (sort of on purpose, sort of out laziness). Sometimes I try to make things look more realistic, but I also love the spontaneity of creating a line in ink and committing to its irregularity.
A List of Future Blog Posts and Essay Topics
Here is my list of blog post ideas (as well as longer essay pieces that I will eventually publish) that I want to write about. I am curious to hear what you think, which ones resonate with you or spark your curiosity.
Why I must write
To write before they wake up,
before the sun rises,
to write before the tea boils,
before my thoughts become practical,
to write before I say why I shouldn’t,
Start From Where You Are For Blogging and Art Journaling
It's the best advice I can give anyone looking to explore their creativity, find truth, or get started on a project that feels daunting. For this advice, I am thinking of the bloggers and art journalers who have joined me on this month-long challenge to blog or art journal every day. I am thinking of my commitment to this practice, and the inspiration that I want to offer people.
31 Day Art Journaling and Blogging Challenge
Join me for my latest creative challenge! 31 Days of Art Journaling and/or Blogging for January 2017
She's a Rock-n-Roll Thing
I have a birthday wish that I’d like to share. I am taking the risk of not keeping it secret, because this is a wish that needs to be voiced in order to come true.
That which is all of you
Let’s assume for a moment that you do have gifts. That you possess something so unique and so beautiful that no one can touch it. No one can reproduce it or steal it. It belongs only to you and will be with you through this lifetime and possibly into the next.
And if you trusted and had faith in your gifts, you would know how to nurture and protect them as if they were your children.
And then what?
Lower East Side Photo Essay
A photo essay. In search of a cultural experience and evidence of the gritty, arty, old NY, I discover public art on the lower east side.
Art Journal Lab: Gratitude Practice
When all else fails, or it too scary or complex, gratitude practice is an easy and quick way to raise your vibrational frequency, or in other words, for those of you who don't relate to that view of the universe, to feel better.
Latest Family Drawing
Usually Emilio makes the first quick marks--setting up the overall composition and then I will spend hours, sometimes spread over a few days, filling in all the spaces.
Quotes as Prompts into Personal Truths: Anaïs Nin
“The lasting revolution comes from deep changes within ourselves that influence the collective life." - Anaïs Nin
Art Journal Lab: Soul Searching
The basic idea of the book, which has radically altered how I see my life and my relationship to its events, is: each person has a unique soul, which is invisible to us for most of our life, but as we pay more attention to our life and its history, we start to see signs, symbols, memories that point the way to our soul's code which expresses who we were meant to be. The soul is an acorn--containing all of our unique potentialities from before the beginning of life.
when i grow up
I have found that rock-n-roll is an expression that suits me, as it is about rebellion and carving out one's place in the world that didn’t exist before. True rockers are pioneers—wrestling with opposites: masculine and feminine, love and power, despair and celebration, creating space in the world with force, with a sound that is at once familiar and brand new. Rock-n-roll may not be for everyone, but it’s most definitely for me.
Better on the outside than on the inside
When we first arrived in Baja, and I was pregnant and we were camping on our land in Elias Calles, I wasn’t legal to work yet, but I needed to do something to occupy my time, to meet people, be of service, and to have a creative outlet. I decided to volunteer for the women’s organization, Manos Magicas.
El Principito En Baja: Behind The Scenes and on The Stage
The story of the multi-media production, the cast & crew, photos and a song!
Last night was like coming out.
Last night, at La Esquina, I sang & played 19 of my original songs and 2 Bob Dylan covers, in two sets. The first set with an acoustic guitar (plugged in) and the second with an electric guitar (really plugged in.) With his hands, Lucas played the bass, and with his foot, played the bass drum. Or in the second set, he played the drums with his right hand, and bass lines on the synthesizer with his left hand. 2 for 4. Dos por Cuatro. Four instruments for two people. If you count voice as an instrument.
State I'm In
Recently I decided that it was time for me to transition from being a closet (or living room) musician to one that shared my music more with others. In other words, I am ready to let myself be heard.
Time to Rock!
These photos were taken when I was pregnant with Mio, seven years ago, six months after we moved to Baja. We were camping out in Elias Calles, and one day we got a little dolled up and drove into Todos Santos to watch the Oscars at Buena Vida (my favorite pizza place that is now closed.) I put my camera on the dashboard for this series. We will be making this same drive in a few weeks to perform our first gig at La Esquina, my favorite venue! This is a moment I have been dreaming about for a long time.