Art Slam » Food for the Creative Soul

I found Andrea’s website, ABCcreativity when I was searching for art journaling inspiration. Little did I know all the wonderful things she shares on her site that would thrill me. She is a wonderful artist, who not only inspires, but invokes deeper thinking her guided meditations and prayer dolls. It is my pleasure to share this kindred spirit on the Art Slam.

Andrea, I love coming to your blog for all the creativity and inspiration you share. Can you tell me more about your prayer dolls? How did you come up with the concept for them?
the prayer dolls came from my desire to create some art that was positive and inspiring but not fluffy.  i wanted to express the depth of the emotional connection and commitment to authenticity that i feel in living positively and purposefully.

with that as my intention, and having arranged an art show for this new work to give myself a solid deadline, i started playing and the little faces starting being born.  magic and inspiration took over and it became pure joy and play, allowing the little beings to come to life.

that whole time i thought they were collage elements for larger pieces.  but each time i tried to stick them onto a surface it felt wrong.  finally i saw that they were complete as they were.  so i hung colourful sparkly yarn in the art gallery, painted and glittered old wooden clothespins and used them to attach the dolls to it and had a fantastic show.

what surprised me most about the show is how many people said to me “they all look like you”.  i really love my prayer dolls and how well they, and their messages, have been received in the world.

You have a section on your site with meditations. Are meditations something you do daily? How do they help you be your best creative self?

i do meditate on my own daily and also lead regular guided healing meditations at the centre for conscious living in winnipeg.  my style of guided meditation is extremely positive and uplifting.  the meditations take the meditator deep into themselves to find the magic, possibility and power that lives within them.  they are sprinkled with positive affirmatives and reminders what we are unlimited beings.  i love how meditation can bring us back to ourselves, remind of us our power and help us stay connected to that magic throughout the day.

meditation helps me be my best creative self by opening up the space for a deep connection with all aspects of my being.  i believe that life, at its core, is creativity.  and so meditation brings me in place of conscious connection to infinite flow, infinite creativity, infinite inspiration.  i can see in a huge difference in my work, when i am creating from my ego-self as compared to when i am creating from my infinite-self.  it feels differently, it flows differently and i believe that the audience can also tell that it looks and feels different to them, too.  we just know when something is authentic and true because it resonates with our souls.

a huge aspect of this is being willing to dive into the mystery.  when i am willing to not know, to not control how it looks – that’s when i make the best art.

Who or what inspires you and why?
i feel most inspired by my feelings, my dreams and life itself.  for me, inspiration means “being in spirit” so it is my aim to live my life in inspiration.

What would be your ideal day? What do you see yourself doing or not doing?
this is something i have played and experimented with a lot in my life.  what i have found is that my ideal life contains a certain balance of different kinds of days and ultimately what i need to be doing is checking in with my heart and finding out what best supports me in any given moment.

so my ideal life includes: structure, freedom, creative time, luxury, relaxation, travel, spiritual community, glitter makeup, abundance, connection, self care, adventure, long walks, love, daily spiritual practice and lots of play.  i feel fairly balanced in these now but also always moving towards more of the things that fuel me.  this is really key for me – i don’t think i could create the kind of art i create if i wasn’t living a life that felt true for me.  it’s all connected.

I am thrilled to share Brandi Reynolds with the Art Slam community. Brandi authors the blog, Joy Rebel and her spirit more than shines through with her art, photographs and writing. I hope you enjoy learning more about her, her rebellious missions and how to find and nurture your authentic voice.

Brandi, I see that you have been published in the latest issue of Artful Blogging. Tell me what that was like learning your blog was going to be featured? I was thrilled of course!  This is the first time I’ve put my blog ‘out there’ for any kind of publication and I am so grateful to have it featured in such a great magazine as well as with so many wonderful bloggers.

What is a Joy Rebel and what made you start the rebellion in the first place? It’s kind of a long story…lol.  A joy rebel is someone who is authentically themselves.  Last year around christmas I was in a time of transition.  A friend of mine had just died of cancer.  I had stalled creatively.  I didn’t feel like sharing anymore on my blog.  After some quiet time, contemplation and yelling at god about my friend dying, I realized that I was still holding back in some ways creatively.  With the loss of my friend, I also realized that I was blessed with abundant life and I had a choice in how I wanted to live it.  I wanted to live in joy.  However, my idea of being joyful meant being always light, cheery, wearing flowy clothes, listening to meditation music-some serious preconceived notions.  And I like wearing black, alternative rock, jackson pollock art…in other words, I didn’t think ‘joy’ and what spoke to me could mesh.  I really took a good hard look at that idea and decided that didn’t have to be true for me.  Hence the term ‘rebel’-I needed to rebel against stagnant ideas and break free to experience and express what I believe is a core of joy.  I also believe that core of joy is within each of us and it’s only when we allow ourselves to be authentic that we connect with it.

How did you find your most authentic blogging voice? Trial and error…the same way I do everything else…lol.  I have been blogging for almost five years.  I’ve learned many different art forms from jewelry to painting to photography.  I’ve tried many different writing styles.  Ultimately, I realized that if I can’t get the words to flow, then I’m not being authentic.  Often when that happens, it means I’m just not ready to express whatever it is I’m trying to express and I walk away from the computer for awhile and try again later.

Who and what inspires you to create and why? Nature inspires me.  Alot.  Especially trees.  Growing roots has been an important journey for me (I moved around a lot as a kid and young adult) and I have often looked to how trees grow for inspiration and comfort. I read a lot and I can get inspired by a word or phrase I read on the page.  And my favorite form of inspiration: the genre of kids movies.  There can be quite a bit of beautiful art and positive messages within the stories of kids movies and cartoons.  My faves are surf’s up and Shrek.

I see you have a Flickr group for participants of Mission Monday. Can you tell me more about that? Well, first of all, mission mondays are on a short hiatus as I am slogging through my busy time of year at work.  However, mission mondays are my way of experimenting with ways to have fun and connect with joy in my life and inviting others to play along.  Often this involves the use of a camera as that is my favorite creative expression (not always though).  Anyone can participate in any mission and if it is a mission that involves a camera, I absolutely love seeing how people interpret and express each mission.  For example, one mission was to photograph order in nature and contemplate how order helps us connect with joy in our own lives.  It’s so cool to get a little glimpse into other’s lives by seeing what order they saw around them.

What is your idea of a perfect day? Mmmm…my husband getting up to walk the dogs and letting me sleep in.  Then lots of time stretching, reading, yawning and easing into my morning.  A cozy breakfast with my husband and then time to cuddle on the couch watching movies with the dogs.  Maybe a long lunch with friends, a walk in nature with my camera then creating a home cooked meal with my husband.  An evening of laughter-watching movies or comedy routines or again filled with friends, sharing stories.  It’s simple things that I love the most and feeling a sense of connection to others and the world around me.

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to find their authentic voice? Practice, practice, practice.  I think many of us have had our authentic voices buried under years other’s opinions and it takes awhile to unearth it.  Know that you’ll stumble occasionally and maybe struggle (though maybe not!) but we all have that steady true voice within us and it will emerge and express if we open up to it.