Hi Everyone,
I have always believed that when you have the ability to make a difference, you also have the responsibility to make a difference, and I strive to make a difference through my art and writing. During troubling times like these, I think it is incumbent upon those of us who have been blessed with creative talents to use our abilities to build bridges of peace and understanding; inspire calmness; become the voice of reason and take a stand for justice.
In November, right after the presidential election, I wrote a blog post called “Be a L.I.G.H.T. in the World!” You may recall the L.I.G.H.T. is my acronym for Love, Inspired, Give, Heal, Transform. I think this is one of the most meaningful blogs I’ve written; if you didn’t get a chance to read it (or would like to reread it), here is the link: https://zenspirations.com/blog/l-g-h-t-world/.
We must let our commitment to justice
and the light of our souls
illuminate the darkness.
As a cohesive community of compassionate, caring people, I believe that we have the power to shine so brightly that we can light the way for others. One way to do this is through the gift of art, and towards that end I wanted to share this FREE DOWNLOADABLE ‘Let the Light of Your Soul Shine!’ COLORING PAGE:
Please share it with anyone you know who finds coloring to be a calming activity.
Please also share the concept of being a L.I.G.H.T. in the world… the more people who are committed to being kind and respectful, to reaching out in love, to staying grounded in gratitude and keeping hope in their hearts, the better!
And now, here are the photos from the Association for Creative Industries (formerly known as CHA) Creativation Show, that I tried to share last week. I had a great time at the show!
PHOTOS TAKEN AT FOX CHAPEL/DESIGN ORIGINALS’ BOOTH:
I spent most of my time in the booth signing my new book, Complete Guide to Bible Journaling: Creative Techniques to Express Your Faith. I hand-lettered each person’s name with their favorite color of Sakura’s Koi® Coloring Brush, and then add a quick note and my signature with a Pigma® Micron® 01. I guess people like having their name lettered, because I signed a LOT of books! If you’d like a signed copy you can order one from the shop section of my website, but I also wanted to let you know that Amazon has the book on sale for $13.37, which is 33% off the regular price of $19.99. It’s a great deal, especially if you are an Amazon Prime member.
I was thrilled to finally meet Rebekah R Jones, one of the eleven artists we profiled in the book:
AT THE SPELLBINDERS BOOTH, DEMONSTRATING MY NEW STAMPS:
My new line of Spellbinders stamps and dies will be out in April, and I was thrilled to be able to do some ‘make-it, take-its’ to show some of the cool things you can do with them:
If you’d like a better look at the stamps, feel free to check out this Facebook Live post that I filmed the first day of the show. You can also get a close up view of the new Bible Journaling book in this video.
AT THE MICHAELS BOOKSTORE BOOTH:
In addition to daily appearances at Spellbinders and Fox Chapel, I spent an hour each day promoting the new book by doing mini workshops on different Bible Journaling techniques. I was delighted to meet Tracie Rollins from Bible Journaling Ministries. She let me look through her awesome journaling Bible… chock full of inspiration!
One of the highlights of the show was meeting and spending time with Mary Anne Fellows. She was a huge help in the Michaels booth.
And I have to share a photo of what Mary Anne stenciled on the back of her jacket:
I love this! I’ve been stenciling in my journals, and can’t wait to try stenciling on fabric.
Before closing this week, I wanted to wish Color & Creativity Enthusiast Genna Wangsness a very happy 75th birthday. I know Genna loves Dangles, so I made her a Dangle Design card for her birthday.
And lastly, I want to wish all my friends who celebrate Chinese New Year, ‘Kung Hei Fat Choi!’
Stay Zenspired,
Joanne
Comments are closed.
Beautiful blog this week. We needed this.
Thank you, Joanne!
I will do my part to L.I.G.H.T. up the world.
Where do I get your stamps?
I love them!!
Blessings., Deborah
HI Joanne!
WOW a LOT of COOL things happening in your Zenspiration’s world! The show looked AWESOME and I so happy that you had a great time!! Also, I am most thrilled that you got to meet Mary Anne in person. 🙂 LOVE her coat!
Love and Hugs and see you soon! <3
Gail
PS I noticed in the one picture where you were signing the name GAIL in someone's Bible Journaling book!
What are the odds!? HA
I was lucky enough to take a class at CHA in 2015 with your incredible instruction. So inspiring. You make it look so easy. I’m sure there were years of hard work. You inspire us all. Thanks for all you do and for your quiet strength and calm. YOU are a L.I.G.H.T. for so many of us. Thank you.
Amazing!!♥️
What a beautiful and meaningful blog message Joanne.
Thank you for continuing to encourage, inspire, bless and share so wonderfully from your heart.
I just bought a pretty big stash of your new products at Michaels this morning. Love your work and your inspiration. I see a picture with Rebecca Jones. Is she the artist who makes the greeting cards and envelopes to color? If so, I have three of them and love coloring and giving them and would love to tell her. Now I am going to enjoy coloring your gift bags, cards, etc. I enjoy coloring special things for friends and family.
Found some very cute notebooks and cards at Michaels that looked familiar!!! They were YOURS!! Well done Joanne!!
Just got an email that my book from Amazon will be arriving on Monday….so thrilled!!
Joanne, thank you for your beautiful message of LIGHT.. I tried a couple times this month to FB message to thank you for your kind message regarding my Mom. It did not look like you got them so i thought I would try here. I created a tribute for my Mom and posted it on the zenspiration facebook page this week, using your angel. Someone asked me about it and I looked back to give her the link and I realized that blog post was from just a few days before she died. I really felt the presence of angels with her passing so I was so glad to have that coloring page you made to remember her with. It really helped in the grieving process. I tried to create an angel filled with LIGHT too. Thank you.
Elizabeth
I am thrilled to see you using your platform to spread the LIGHT. Your work is heavenly and your writing inspiring. Thanks Joanne.
Joanne, I received my book today and am THRILLED and DELIGHTED just thumbing through it. I cannot wait to start at the beginning and read each and every word. I just now finished my presentation that I will give to my fellow Women’ Bible Study group in a few weeks and your book will surely push some over the edge to join us in journal God’s word! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful resource AND for personalizing it with my name. You are a treasure and a LIGHT unto your world. May God richly bless you. Love, Janice
Love seeing you Joanne…and so honored you used one of the photos I took of you….signing your book for me! I will treasure it always….as I do our friendship.
Gail Green