The other day was a very hard day for birds at the Hotchkiss farm. Yep, difficult for birds and people. We woke up to our cat and dog staring at the wood-stove chimney pipe. My husband heard fluttering. A bird somehow got down the chimney. To make a long story short - pipe was removed, the bird flew out - not out the door but deeper into the house - repeated hitting hard into the ceiling. Flew upstairs, bashing into the ceiling the whole way - soot smudges all over my white ceiling. Then blood from the ceiling smashing. All through my house. Finally got the bird out a window and clean up time - bleach to remove the bird blood stains.
Next, Ginger the cat who has no claws, went hunting. And she was successful. She brought her little bird prize into the house and hid under a space in the floor where we couldn't get it. My husband had to dismantle more things that morning to get the bird out.
I live next to my in-laws on the farm. They has a little garden spot covered with plastic for weed control. A bird got under the plastic and wasn't able to get back out and was going to quickly die. The plastic was frosted white so we couldn't see the bird. Finally we were successful and set it free, without pulling up or cutting into the plastic.
All this before noon. Not the way to start the day. Poor little birds. I am sorry to the one my cat ate. I have talked to her but she just looks at me with her pretty cat eyes and lets me know I can't change her hunter instinct, and neither can she.
Anyway....
I have a new video editing program that I have just started to learn and so far, so good! Not too complex but not so simple that I can't do much with it.
Here is the second part of the Bible Journaling Tips video. It's longer but has a lot of little tidbits of info here and there between the bigger tips.
I have a painting to do for an upcoming wedding and then I hope to get back to more bible journaling art. I miss it!
Oh..by the way...my BIRTHDAY is in exactly ONE WEEK! I was born on the best date ever. 7/7. Yep, I'm a lucky seven girl :) I am thinking of GIVING AWAY a birthday present!! Yay!
Are you confused by all the different art supplies used for bible journaling?
Are you frustrated by your results when art journaling and feel like giving up?
If so, then this video is for you!
I have been seeing some frustrations and repeated questions on the journaling bible facebook groups lately so I made a short video which will hopefully be helpful.
I had a lot of hit and misses when I first started bible journaling so I have found a few things that work and a few things that don't. Also, as an artist before I started bible journaling, I already had the knowledge of what gessos and matte mediums are, as well as how different paints, pens, markers and other art mediums behave.
When I first took baby steps on my art journey, I was confused by all the different "stuff" out there and spent a lot of money on things that weren't necessary because I saw someone else using it in a video somewhere on line.
Now that I have some experience under my belt and know what I really needed and what isn't necessary, I hope to pass that along. Just remember, you don't need everything that other people are using. It isn't the art supplies that makes pretty art, it is how the supplies are used and the skill of the person using it. I truly believe everyone has artistic skills and talents, they just need practice! It can't be developed unless it is exercised!
In this video you will find:
What not to prep your page with and why
What is ghosting?
What is bleeding?
Will ghosting cause problems if I make art on the other side of the page?
Is there any way to stop ghosting?
What exactly IS matte medium?
Tips - Part two will be coming soon, so please keep watching!
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ART SUPPLIES OR BIBLE JOURNALING, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME! I will answer your questions as best I can. I don't have experience with EVERY art supply - I am not a "stamper" so I can't help with those questions :)
Please don't give up bible journaling! Chances are you just haven't yet found what works best for you. Let's work together to make it more fulfilling for you!
Fresh from the printer!! These giclees just need to be signed, numbered and packaged up and they are ready to go off to their new homes around the USA! 💙
This photo has poor lighting, all the prints are nice and vibrant like the prints on the bottom, the top ones are dark in the photo only. Kind of odd how that happened in the photo.
It is HOT here in Alaska, in the 80's, which is uncommon. And it is dry, no rain to speak of. And it's on fire.
Yes, on fire. A wildfire in burning in Willow, not to far from my home (we are a safe distance) but it is close to my daughter's home, only 16 miles away from her. Many people have evacuated the areas around the fire, many homes have been burned and people displaced. Willow has a large dog-sledding community and the top female musher, DeeDee Jonrowe, lost everything in the fire but she was able to rescue her 50 sled dogs. Sadly, her older dog and her cat perished in the fire.
NEW VIDEO! HOW TO DRAW EASY AND WHIMSICAL RIBBONS!
This is video five in the video series "All Creation Praises the Lord" based on the Psalm 97-99 pen and ink drawing in my Crossway ESV Single Column Journaling bible.
Today's video shows you how to draw pretty, dangling ribbons that are dancing on a gentle breeze.
They are good background filler for those spaces in your drawing that just need something in them.
This video did start out to be tutorial for drawing both ribbons and flowering vines but it was way too long so I split it up BUT,..you will get a nice sneak peak at what that next video will cover!
I hope you enjoy the video and as always, please share your drawings with me and I may feature them on my social media!
www.facebook.com/MichelleHotchkissArt
Instagram @MichelleHotchkissArt
or you can send me an email, see the email box on the right side of the screen.
Please feel free to ask me any questions and I will do my best to answer!
Spring is turning into summer here in Alaska. We are in full 24 hour daylight mode, which means I don't sleep like I do in the winter. Who can sleep when the sun is shining all night long?? Sleep can wait until winter. :)
We have been having a LOT of windy weather. I sure would like it to just be a gentle breeze to just stop. I live between two glaciers and we are surrounded by mountains and those winds are COLD. Plus, they stir up glacier dust, which is super fine dust made by glaciers grinding rocks to dust as the ice flows and recedes. It coats everything and isn't good for the lungs.
My super husband is sick today, a very unusual event. He has spent the day on the couch, poor guy. I am praying and am sure he will be fine soon.
Now, on to the video! I have made a short video that shows the different pen strokes that I use in many of my pen and ink drawings. I really encourage you to get to know your supplies and learn everything they can do. I have personalized this one a bit. You will soon see that I am a pen nerd..and maybe a little dorky..or a lot dorky...and I'm OK with that.
Many people are afraid of pens because they aren't erasable and if a mistake is made, everything is ruined, right?
Wrong!
Once you learn different techniques for using pens, you can start off light and increase the darks as needed. Starting off light gives lots of chances to camouflage or incorporate mistakes so they don't show and may even turn into "happy mistakes" as the late oil paint artist Bob Ross used to say.
I have scanned off this pen stroke reference and hope you find it helpful. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
I will be making more videos saved on the Psalm illustration, which I continue to add on to. I will be showing how to do flowering vines and ribbons. I have been asked to show how to draw the squirrel but that is a bit advanced so these current videos are good practice to lead up to the squirrel or maybe a bunny.
I am continuing to learn how to make better videos and am looking forward to getting a solid set up soon.
My husband is the most creative person I know. He is an artist and a builder.
I knew he would like the show Treehouse Masters but I didn't know it would inspire him to rebuild my gazebo.
It will be two stories. The top floor will be all enclosed. Mostly windows and a glass door. Maybe even a skylight. It will have electricity and will be warm enough to be in during the cold autumn nights and cold but sunny winter days. Good for star gazing (we don't see the stars here in the summer, it doesn't get dark enough in my part of Alaska) and watching the northern lights.
The support poles are up and being cemented in at this moment. As soon as the top floor is built, the existing canopy and frame will come down and the floor will go up.
I have a short process video today of how I drew/painted this illustration in my Crossway ESV Single Column Journaling bible. I have a new webcam and am pretty happy with it but finding an easy video editing program that does all the things I want it to do has been a challenge.
Suggestions for editing software are welcome!
There is a little bit of drama in the middle of the video, but everyone survived and are A-OK. :)
It is based on Luke 4 18-19 & 21 and 2nd Corinthians 3:17. Jesus has declared that He is the the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recover sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
How awesome is this?
Many times, we are bound by things we don't even realize, this can be anything from food, gossip, overspending, and the list goes on. Some are more obviously harmful than others, but sometimes the seemingly harmless things are those that keep us from moving forward in our walk with Christ because we don't identify them as "being that bad" and can't identify that we are enslaved or bound by them.
Yet, if we ask, our eyes can be open to the things that hold us captive.
But...(there always seems to be a "but" in there somewhere).. I admit that this is a scary step to take. I don't always want to change.
"Captive", "blind", "oppressed"...those are such negative words. Am I blind and oppressed? I don't like to think so but if I really am blind, then I can't see if I'm oppressed, the effects of being oppressed, nor the freedom of what it is like to be released from the things that oppress me. Reality is that I may be comfortable in my bondage, especially if it is all I know and doesn't seem to be a big deal.
In the book "The Pursuit of God", A. W. Tozer writes; "The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. ”
Soo...questions must be asked: Do I really want to have my eyes opened spiritually and "see" what what oppresses and holds me back? Do I choose to continue to be oppressed and held captive by things that don't seem "that bad"? Does God really know better than I do? Do I trust God enough to relinquish control? Is the liberty He speaks of really worth it and will I be happier and freer? Is "freer" really a word or should it be "more free"?
Do I really have to come to the end of myself?
Why does that word "really" keep popping up? I think it is a matter of faith; do I really believe or not?
A decision must be made.
I can take only one step at a time or it all just seems too big and overwhelming. Baby steps. Baby steps are better than no step at all. So here I go, the first step of my journey to the liberty Christ has provided for us.
My first step is asking God to remove the spiritual blindness to the things that are holding me captive.
I can do this. I must remember that God cares for us, He wants the best for us and wants us to be succeed. He will not ask me to do anything that is impossible.
It is His job to do the impossible, not mine.
The inspiration behind the illustration:
The cross is the most recognized icon of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made to save each and every person ever born on this earth. His life was exchanged for ours, He broke the chains of sin and death which bound us all.
The Statue of Liberty is the most recognized icon of freedom in America. While we all have different definitions of freedom and liberty, I am so incredibly thankful that I live in a country where I can freely have a bible and express my beliefs. People may not agree with my beliefs but I am generally not endangered by my beliefs. So many other places in the world people are imprisoned, beat and killed because of their beliefs. They would literally be risking their lives just to hold a bible in their hands.
Today is D-Day. Thousands of people died in the fight to stop a big evil that was spreading through Europe and threatening the world. History is repeating itself - a different place, different people, different reactions, but it's the same old story.
As messed up as our country is, I thank God for the liberty we have. I will always pray that will continue God to bless America and that America will be a blessing to God. Where there is liberty, there is hope.
I am part of the Facebook group Journaling Bible Community and there are people there with ALL levels, abilities and styles of journaling in their bibles.
Some use stickers, some do amazing lettering, some do stick figures, some only smear a bit of paint on the page and then write out their thoughts pertaining to the scripture they are studying. Some are true pieces of artwork all on their own.
Often, there are comments made by the person that they can't draw, they made mistakes in their journaling, etc.
Sometimes, these comments seems to rub some people the wrong way. They feel that the person making those comments are looking more at making art than they are the spiritual part of bible art journaling - which are devotionals, meditating and learning and focusing solely on God's word. Sometimes, there seems to be some anger or judgment toward the people who point out what they feel are inadequacies in their bible journaling.
This makes me sad.
Here is my take on it.
I understand why people make these comments. They are unsure and insecure of their abilities. They want to present a beautiful offering to our beautiful God but feel it isn't good enough. Just as Christ accepts us with all our imperfections, so does he accept our imperfect art and sees it as beautiful and perfect offerings from our heart, praising, worshiping and learning from His Word. So..maybe encouragement that God accepts and is pleased with our efforts, as imperfect as they are, can help people to not be so concerned and not focus so much on the imperfections and focus more on the act of worshiping, meditation and learning ad knowing that God IS pleased with our efforts. Let's please have some compassion and show mercy and understanding. Teach and encourage instead of responding with anger.
This is the third video in the series "How to Dray Easy Stylized Flowers"
This is an ongoing tutorial series based on select verses from Psalm 97-99 pen and ink drawing in my Crossway ESV Single Column Journaling Bible.
These beautiful, easy bumblebees are very fun once you learn how to draw them and are so easy, they don't take a lot of thought or effort, just like doodling!
PLEASE SHARE PHOTOS OF YOUR FLOWERS, I LOVE SEEING THEM AND MAY FEATURE THEM HERE AND ON MY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA!
Post on my Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/MichelleHotchkissArt
Or tag me on Instagram @MichelleHotchkissArt
(To see all video tutorials in one place, select "Video Tutorials" from the menu above)
This is the second video in the series "How to Dray Easy Stylized Flowers"
This is an ongoing tutorial series based on select verses from Psalm 97-99 pen and ink drawing in my Crossway ESV Single Column Journaling Bible.
These beautiful, easy flowers are very fun once you learn how to draw them and are so easy, they don't take a lot of thought or effort, just like doodling!
PLEASE SHARE PHOTOS OF YOUR FLOWERS, I LOVE SEEING THEM AND MAY FEATURE THEM HERE AND ON MY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA!
Post on my Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/MichelleHotchkissArt
Or tag me on Instagram @MichelleHotchkissArt
(To see all video tutorials in one place, select "Video Tutorials" from the menu above)
A few months ago, I discovered Bible art journaling. It immediately awoke a longing within me.
I have tried keeping a written journal before but never enjoyed it. When I use art in my bible, it is a like a picture is worth a thousand words. It is a meditation of the scriptures, the images are a personal connecting between myself and the Word of God. It is deeply personal and expresses my heart and feelings without writing a word, unless I choose to add to it.
Everyone has areas of chaos and turmoil in their lives. Believers of Christ are not immune from this but we do not have to be held captive by the chaos and turmoil. God has sent His Spirit through Jesus Christ to break the chains that bind and set us free. It still requires us to walk away from the things that held us captive, we can choose to go back and put the chains back on, but we can also choose to walk away from those things. It might just be one single step at a time but with the help and guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, we are never without hope, never without a second, third, forth or more chances to become totally free.
The Statue of Liberty is the most recognized symbol of freedom in the USA. Liberty and freedom are often misunderstood. We tend to think it means we can do whatever we want but many things we want are very harmful to ourselves and others. True liberty is freedom from being bound by things that hurt us and other, and that trap us and bring us down. Thankfully, if we ask, the Lord will open our eyes to those things that bind us and set is on the path to true freedom. If we choose. We can choose freedom or we can choose chains.
Luke 4:18, 19, 21. 2nd Corinthians 3:17.
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist brush pens on page prepped with Liquitex Fluid Matte Medium.
*i will be adding the video of the making of this bible page soon!
(To see all bible art journaling in one place, select "Journaling Bible Art" from the menu above)
