A Surprisingly Colorful Way To Meditate Plus An All New Workshop

There's something so appealing about coloring mandalas...the continuous circle of shapes...the discovery or creation of patterns...the combination of colors...the relaxing act of coloring...all of this creates a very soothing, meditative experience.

In fact, coloring mandalas is considered by some to be a wonderful meditation technique.

If the idea of sitting on a mat and observing your breath for 30 minutes sounds like pure torture, then coloring a mandala might be just the meditation method for you.

As you may have noticed, I love mandalas! My Creative Oasis Coaching logo is a mandala and I regularly share mandala coloring sheets in my classes, workshops and coloring parties.

(*By the way ~ my August Creative Oasis Coloring & Wine Party sold out so quickly that I happily scheduled another one for September too. You can find all the details here.)

In addition to coloring, over the years I've discovered other ways to create mandalas that are simple to do and creatively satisfying.

I'm delighted to offer a new workshop devoted to creating mandalas this fall!

Discover the creative magic of making mandalas in this unique, low-pressure workshop. No previous experience, skills or talent needed ~ just a desire to dive into the creative process while playing with art supplies in a way that brings you creative fun and fulfillment.

We won't be meditating, but we will enjoy a great evening of creative camaraderie and chocolate!

WHAT

Mandalas ~ Mandalas ~ Mandalas 

Workshop

WHEN

Wednesday, September 9, 2015 

6:30 to 9:30 pm 

WHERE

Pigment School of the Arts

4605 West Lovers Lane

Dallas, Texas  75209

COST

$125 

(includes all creative supplies, handouts and yes, there will be chocolate)

*NOTE ~ Class size is limited to 8 & pre-registration is required.

To save your seat, purchase your class below. 

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please feel free to share. If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

3 Easy Ways to Creative Play Inspired by Mother Nature

As the temps continue to cool down a bit here in Dallas, I find myself drawn more and more to the outdoors. And, while I enjoy my walks and runs in the lovely fall weather, I'm once again inspired by the innate creative brilliance of Mother Nature.

In the same way flowers beautifully bloom 

(without asking anyone's permission), 

swans glide gracefully across the lake 

(without wondering if they're doing it well enough) 

and leaves seasonally change into their autumn colors 

(without second-guessing their choice of hue) ~ 

I invite you to embrace your own creative spirit with that same inherent knowing and ease.  

Here are three quick Creative Oasis prompts using nature's inspiration to help you do just that:

#1 Color Yourself Creative ~ Step outside and take a look around. After scanning your surroundings choose a color in your immediate view that appeals to you. 

Next, set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and create a color page in your journal or on a blank sheet of paper.  Creating a Color Page is as easy as filling every inch of space with the color of your choice using any creative supplies you like: collage, crayons, pastels, paints, markers or all of the above. 

I love Color Pages because they offer a super low pressure way to play with creative materials. It allows us to put the emphasis on the joy of using our creative supplies rather than worrying about the final outcome. There's no right or wrong way, so you get to dive in and play!

Here's an example from my Creative Oasis Journal. As you can see, even the "rules" of creating a color page are very loose, thus the splashes of gold and other colors on my primarily blue page.

#2 Shoot the Moon ~ or the sun, or the clouds or that spiderweb on your front porch. These days it's easier than ever to take photos with our phones and iThingies. 

Once you snap a shot of some bit of nature that catches your fancy you might choose to add a quote  or play with manipulating the image using a creative app. (Click here for a list of the top 32 photo apps via Creative Bloq.)  

I used the app "Photo Studio" to create the above image combining a quick pic of my Japanese Woodblock calendar and a simple haiku I wrote. It was fun, creatively satisfying and took about 5 minutes to do it all.

#3 Wok Out ~ Take a stroll through the produce section of your grocery store (or better yet, outside at a local farmer's market) and choose a variety of veggies solely on the basis of their color and shape. If you're feeling adventurous include at least one veggie or herb that you've never tried before.

Throw together a colorful stir-fry for dinner enjoying each step...choosing which shape to chop each vegetable...deciding on a sauce...even picking which plate or bowl you'll use to serve up your bright, delicious, nutritious, creative concoction. If you like, it might even be fun to create a special name for your dish as well!

Here's to taking cues from nature and looking for easy ways to add a dash of creative joy to our days!

Until next time, all the best from my nature fueled Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Pick a Color...Any Color

Blue Color Pages in my Creative Oasis Journal

How does a quick, low-pressure creative project sound?

One of my favorite activities to share with my classes and workshops is creating a color page.  

It’s a fun way to play with whatever supplies you have lying around and 

enjoy some pure creative process in a short amount of time. Here's how:

#1 – Choose a color you like.

#2 – Get a blank piece of paper or page in a journal.

#3 – Set a timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes.

#4 – Use crayons, colored pencils, markers, paints, and/or images from magazines and quickly fill your blank page or pages with the color of your choice. (Any creative supplies you happen to have on hand will do.)

The image above is one of my favorite spreads from my Creative Oasis Journal – a blue color page. I filled these pages with magazine clippings, watercolors and a bit of marker. 

There’s no right or wrong way to create a color page. As you can see, I used many different hues of blue and there are other bits of color as well. I also added a few words that were inspiring to me. 

I love color pages because they’re such a simple and fun way to play with creativity. By combining limits (such as setting a timer and choosing one color to use) with freedom (such as having no expectations of what a color page should look like) – we lower the pressure and open the door to creative satisfaction and joy.

Want to create your own color page? Why not take the next five or ten minutes and give it a whirl? If you do and want to share, I’d love to hear about your experience or see a photo.

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours – whatever color it may be,

Jill

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!