Defining Your Life Through Art Journaling with Vanessa Oliver-LLoyd

Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

We have arrived at 24-hour interval three of our interview series and I'1000 thrilled to introduce you to Vanessa Oliver-Lloyd.  I met Vanessa several months ago when she took my online class, Freeing the Muse. Her passion for art and the backbone she has to express herself, explore her feelings, and permit her art to open her upwardly is inspiring. I hope you lot bask our chat as much as I did, and allow that spark of inspiration to lead you straight to your fine art tabular array.

If you are looking for the other interviews, you can detect them hither:

Creatively Yours,

Amy

AMY: What are your earliest memories of fine art making and creating as a child?  What's the offset time you call back feeling inspired?

VANESSA: There is a photo of me in starting time grade. I am painting at an easel, wearing an apron and someone called my name and so I've merely turned my head toward them. My lower lip is half in my oral cavity. That is my concentrated face! I could always be found with crayons and paper when I was a kid. I remember finger painting bringing me and so much joy, touching the slightly cold paint with the palms of my easily and loving getting dirty and feeling like this was such a treat!

AMY: What were the messages that you got as a child about art?

VANESSA:I was always told that art is important and necessary. My mother ever said, "If you feel continued to a piece of fine art, buy it considering it ways something." I was an introverted child so my parents figured this was a good mode to let me express myself.So art every bit self-expression was ever encouraged for me.

AMY: What are your favorite ways to express yourself creatively?  What kind of art do you make?

VANESSA:I work in an fine art journal. This is super important to me because I feel a volume is the all-time place to limited yourself without self-censorship. Because you determine if y'all want to share a spread or not, you lot can exist super honest most how you lot feel, even if those emotions are super self-indulgent. I beloved to use paint, collage and water soluble pencils in my fine art. The art I make is directly related to cocky-expression.

AMY: If you've ever gone through a period of feeling blocked or that you don't have "permission" to make fine art, how did yous observe the courage to create again?

VANESSA:I have never felt blocked in this manner, just I have felt frustrated, considering of lack of time. When my children were babies, it was very difficult to find fourth dimension for myself and that was a very difficult period for me. I found my manner dorsum slowly only surely. But I dived completely into fine art journaling when my family was posted in Hong Kong and I had to requite upwardly my chore as an archaeologist. Art journaling saved my life because I had so much trouble adjusting to this new part.

[bctt tweet="My art journal is the recipient of all my feelings. – Vanessa Oliver-Lloyd #doitfortheprocess " username="amymaricle"]

AMY: What role does art play in your life? How is art self-treat yous? Does it help y'all express, cope or understand your world? Tin can you lot explain your procedure and how you utilize information technology?

VANESSA:My art journal is the recipient of all my feelings. In this sense, it is self-intendance. I pour my feelings unto paper and then that they practice non fester in myself. In turning something ugly similar anger or frustration into something visually potent and powerful, I am freeing myself from the hold these feelings have over me. My procedure is all nigh the process! Often, when my page is done, I don't feel fastened to it especially if it has expressed what I needed it to. I can't really make a spread that I don't feel concerned near, like yous will never see an art journal spread with simply a quote from me, that isn't how I fine art journal.

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Vanessa is a student in Freeing the Muse, an art journaling class that focuses on using elementary and fun art prompts to assist yous quiet your inner critic, and inspire your inner muse. It'south a great class for perfectionists who need to let get at the finish of the 24-hour interval, artists who need to bust out of a estrus and into inspired, soulful art. It's a heck of a lot of fun, in other words. Y'all can larn more here.

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AMY: Are there ever art pieces that scare you? Pieces that you lot don't want to consummate because they feel too dark, weird, stupid, or "not yous?"

VANESSA:There are no fine art pieces that scare me. Some scare others though, specially if they know information technology is near them. Because my fine art is my refuge, nothing is off limits or too dark/weird for me. It has happened in one case or twice than I felt that a spread wasn't me. In those cases, the pages were not expressing what I needed them to.

AMY: What inspires your art? Who are some of the artists/places/situations that inspire you?

VANESSA:My daily life is what inspires my fine art. Being around other artists and taking workshops inspire me immensely. Traveling is also a source of inspiration for me. My all-time favorite creative person is Jean-Michel Basquiat, merely I admire a whole range of artists some of whom I take had the take a chance to meet and work with. Orly Avineri, Erin Faith Allen and Misty Mawn are some of these artists that inspire me.

AMY: Do you have artist friends? Why is being in the Mindful Fine art Studio community important for yous?

VANESSA:I practise have artist friends but they are not in my daily life. The friends I take grown upwardly with are not artistic. So the inflow of online communities has been incredible for me; information technology is astonishing to have an online tribe. The artists in these forums are very important to me and I beloved our exchanges. My art tribe is linked to some of the fine art groups I belong to or workshops I have taken. It is essential to me to have a identify – fifty-fifty a virtual one – to enquire questions and to interact with agreeing people.

AMY: Is there anything else you lot'd like to add or that you experience is important to this conversation?

VANESSA:I would say that the all-time souvenir you lot can give yourself is to quiet the inner critic and create for creating's sake. Requite yourself permission to fail, to make ugly pages, to purposely be off the mark. Why? because these are for you. They will help you loosen up and not intendance so much well-nigh perfection. It'south overrated anyway!

Vanessa Oliver-Lloyd is an archaeologist and an creative person. She believes in the healing power of pouring your feelings unto paper and transforming them into art! She has just released a new online workshop called Totems, on finding and using personal symbolism in ane'south work: https://www.getmessyartjournal.com/store/totems

Yous'll find more of her work on the inter webs here:

darbyfecloseraves76.blogspot.com

Source: https://mindfulartstudio.com/creative-self-care-defining-your-life-through-art-journaling-with-vanessa-oliver-lloyd/

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