Do you ever suddenly feel disappointed with your art journaling? Perfect is what causes that to happen to me.  Perfect is a thief I invite in to rob me of my joys. Not only do I invite Perfect in…it seems I send out engraved invitations some days…

I started playing with my 1700s Stencil with only one goal, to use up some leftover paints from my palette.   The only pressure I felt was to use up that paint.

By pulling out parts of the stencil randomly here and there I created a new building to fit onto the page in a new way.  Then I added some color here and there.

I began to wonder if I was just making a big mess. Perfect was knocking on the door trying to get in and take the fun out of my play.

I didn’t open the door for Perfect by reminding myself  I was just playing with no expectations.

Added some subway map washi tape near the top  and more paint.

I got lost in the fun of playing with color.

Sparked by the circles in the subway tape I put  black circles in threes.  A bit of Golden High Flow paint for some scribble writing.  Still just playing. Little did I know Perfect was still there,  lurking right outside my door…

 When the Thief Shows Up to Steal Your Joy

While adding an Eiffel Tower with a rubber stamp I suddenly became tentative.  Before I realized it, I was being critical.   Harshly critical.  I had rolled out the red carpet and invited Perfect right in…

The tightness, the hesitation, the fear I feel when Perfect is there is extremely uncomfortable.  That discomfort reminded me that if I invited Perfect in, I can send Perfect right back out!

How did I do it?  By asking that thief a few questions.  Who said this has to be perfect?   Who decides if it is perfect?  What makes perfect so perfect?

There is no answer that is remotely believable, plausible, or reasonable to those questions.  Perfect was escorted right back outside.

Does Perfect ever show up for you?  How  do you handle it?

Sharing with my friends at  Paint Party Friday, Creative Every Day, Inspire Me Monday, Make It Monday, and Mandarin Orange Monday.

A knit hat inspired this month’s Colorful Gelli Print Party video.  I don’t knit but I can appreciate the beauty of it.  Just ask my daughter who tried to teach me…  But I just kept thinking about Dawn Mlodoch’s handmade, hand-dyed hat with circles of color.  You can see it here.

Sharing Inspiration

This is a big reason why I created A Colorful Playground, a place to share all types of creativity and art.  A place to be inspired and to inspire.  A place for beginners and masters.  A place to find encouragement and to encourage.

I hope you’ll share what you are creating with us over at A Colorful Playground.  If you’re new to Google+, I have a short video showing you an over view of how it works.

Watch A Colorful Playground Google+ community on YouTube.

Now on to this months’ video using burlap on the Gelli Plate!

Watch Using burlap on a round Gelli plate on YouTube.

The first print.  Lots of paint, lots of color, lots of burlap texture.

The burlap itself is also full of great color too.

The 2nd print is usually my favorite and today is no exception!  Love the partial burlap texture and the loose feeling of the circles!

A rich ghost print for the 3rd pull from the plate.  Love the random feeling of the circles here.

Supplies Used:

• Round Gelli Plate
• Catalyst Blade Shape 1 size 15mm
• Brayer
• Amsterdam Paints
• white card stock

Thanks for joining me for March’s Party!  If you’ve missed any of the previous parties you can find then all at the Gelli Print Party Page.

Looking forward to seeing what you create over at the Colorful Playground!