Missing Mojo & The Skull Trade

On 11/22/2013 / Challenges, Creative Growth, Inspiration, Mixed Media Art

Missing Mojo

Over the last couple of weeks I have been sharing about the Paint Mojo workshop I went to with Tracy Verdugo. Last week I showed pictures of the process and got to one part of it that seemed to jump too far ahead….my camera pooped out on me and I just missed a few steps. I found one more image that I want to add. (Judy Witkins….this is especially for you. Hope it helps you see the process a bit better. It is a hard process to show.)

Let me catch you up…. (for more pics head over to the original Paint Mojo with Tracy Verdugo post.)

We had layered in symbols and done a wash…then tucked in automatic paintings inspired by a poem….

We then added stencils and other markings…and painted back what was off balanced or added color to help even things out. I wasn’t in love with mine and was feeling frustrated, so I grabbed some paint and let it wash over some parts and drip around….that’s where that runny blue at the bottom came from. Then I walked away. Sometimes you just have to walk away.

This is what it looked like at the end of the day on Saturday. I wasn’t in love with it.

Our next step was to look into the painting and see what came to us. The runny blue patch towards the bottom seemed like it could be a skirt and before I knew it, I had fleshed out a woman…turned mermaid. That moment of desperation with the blue became the catalyst for something beautiful that ended up touching my heart deeply.

This process is sort of like painting blind. As you go along, you realize you were creating an image with your intuition that you would never have achieved intentionally. That is the mojo of it all! MAGIC!

The Skull Trade

That isn’t all the MOJO I have been spinning. A month or so ago…maybe two at this point, I joined an online artists’ group hosted by April Cole. April is a blogger that I have been following since I was a new brand new blogger. I considered her a kind of wise woman that I would turn to for inspiration and direction. That, of course, would be news to her. I have just secretly basked in her passionate offerings without offering much beyond energetic support.

But I joined The Studio – Artist Community and decided to spin some real energy with her. It has been super fun. She has a great collection of creatives there, offers lots of opportunities to share/trade art. It is seriously like a party for artist.

My First Trade with The Studio: Journal Cards

The challenge was to create Day of the Dead journal cards to trade. I love Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). It is a huge celebration in my neck of the woods. In fact, my hometown (and lots of my artist friends) throw a shindig that is touted as one of the top festivals in the US for the holiday. They close several blocks down town and bring the flavor of this beautiful Mexican tradition to life.

Here was my skull card…