There is something extremely scary about taking a self portrait with your phone camera, noticing the inner critic step in to berate your hair, your eyes, your nose, your ears, your wrinkles, your skin, your boobs, your hips (ok if you go that far!)
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| I took ages to do mine Now I love her |
I could go on and on and on. Yet what if you looked at yourself with love? Truly. What if you looked in to your eyes and said, "yes".
There has been magic happening lately as I have been privileged to capture the light in the eyes, the soulful expressions of a beautiful tribe of women that are part of Hannah Marcotti's Joy Up Alumni. I have so much inside me to say about Hannah and her programmes, I will come back for sure. Let's just say they are really life changing and helped me move through feelings of grief. These women have been so incredibly supportive, kind, caring and healing for me.
For now, let's fast forward to late December.
As some of you may know, I have been working, quietly and secretly behind the scenes on a Wedding Commission for a young couple who are getting married in August 2013. They came to me in August 2012 asking if I would create illustrations of their 60 guests, for wedding favours. They intended for all the illustrations to form part of the table plan and be used in so many ways I can't say right now as NOBODY KNOWS.
I was delighted to be asked, and I also went into a little panic - how would I create them? Normally I use canvas and layering with my illustrations. I always start with my sketch and soulful interpretation of the individuals I'm painting, but I don't fill in all the detail until they are firmly secured to the canvas.
They wouldn't be needing the entire canvas so how was this going to materialise.
I set about testing different mediums. No to watercolour - no offence watercolour, I like you but you're not 'poppy' enough. How about my delectable prisma colour pencils - again no, I tried, but it wasn't for the main colour, maybe to add some detail. Felts perhaps? Well yes, felts have always been a firm staple diet of mine, I liked the colours but their mixing capability and blending were limited. Then I remembered I had a few Letraset pro markers.
I tried. I fell in love. Again.
I realised there was so much more to them. Being used for the base, blending and layering, but hell there were so many other pen/marker possibilities to add to the illustrations. I ADORE Pens. Did I ever tell you this? I can't walk past a stationary shop.
Anyway I was hooked.
So I carried on with my wedding commission.
Until December when I had no more to do as I was waiting for a new batch to arrive.
I shared them with the Joy Up Tribe in our private group and asked if anyone would be interested in me soulfully illustrating them, thinking a few may respond. 70 said yes!
So fast forward 6 weeks and I have a plethora of beautiful women in front of me. It is taking me in a completely new direction and I am firmly, finally, planting my ART FEET FORWARD.
I integrate reiki symbols within these healing reflections. I sit and mediate with them so when they're sent out or scanned, they're on their mission to bring JOY and HEALING.
Ultimately they're Love In Colour.
I am now developing this whole new layer and redeveloping my website and my etsy shop.
Taking this forward to send out to the world.
I'm excited to step into this new chapter.
Ok I'm so pleased I have written a new blog post as I hadn't done one in 4 months, almost didn't want to remove the last one because of Lucy Loo.
I have done it. So that's broken the ice.
Watch this space for more.
Have you ever come across Carolyn Rogers poem? It sums up all that I'm doing:
And I asked myself could it
Have turned
Overnight?
Knowing full well greyness
Had been
Coming and had even
Been there
A while
Just like that I woke up one
Morning
And I looked at myself
And what I saw was
Carolyn
Not imanji ma jua or soul
Sistah poetess of
The moment
I saw a woman. Human and
Black.
I felt a spiritual
Transformation
A root revival of
love
And I knew that many
Things
Were Over
And Some me of
Beauty
Was
About to begin.
Some Me of Beauty is about to BEGIN
Much Love
Jules ♥
