a reminder...

as the year comes to an end... something to remind me to look forward

read. re-read. absorb. re-read. believe.

the words here needed to be simple, in black and white. 

i am still working on taking this to heart, and truly recognizing this in my own life. in the past 2 months, i have felt my hopefulness waning and constantly need to be reminded that i ended up in this position for a reason-- and that blossoming and transformation will result and still await... if i let them.

Found on the Webs... Art by Mae Chevrette

lovely lyrics from liverpool... and amazing art from etsy.

mae chevrette on etsy

Is John McCain really a maverick?

I love graphs and charts.

Found on the Webs... Raw Art Letterpress

Winnie the Pooh quote 

by: Collette of Raw Art Letterpress on Etsy

To everyone going back to school today... for the first time ever, I'm not joining them! So bizarre.

Silence and Shouting

Oh John Dewey.

He always knows just what to say. 

For Roger...

In honor of the amazing athletes in the Open this year.

Not just in business... but in life.

It has been a while! Sorry! This question is awesome and pertains to much more than "your business" but to any part of your life that you want to improve.

Things that need to be black and white for me to do ANYthing:

• My morning routine (coffee, blog reading, computer)
• Prepping things ahead of time (like blog posts... which obviously I haven't been doing lately)
• Daily To-Do lists (actually writing something down makes me a million times more likely to do it)

Stylish words...

Hmmm. That's hard to read. 

Coco Chanel says: "It's not what the world holds for you, it what you bring to it."

Oh How I Needed This Today!

via the lovely Katelyn Nesi, and borrowed from SortaCrunchy's flickr.

Welcome to the Good Life!

be brave, my friends!

Found on the webs... Love your life.

via ApartmentTherapy which is always sharing lovely, inspiring things!

Be a courageous lion!

Think outside the box.

It's so true... you have to learn to think around, through, over, and under a problem to come up with a creative solution. And not thinking like everyone else is never a bad thing.

Taking a risk...

There's usually a paralyzing fear associated with risk-taking... but not when you think about it this way. Especially the following your creative hunches. Trust.

Freefalling...

In life, in poker, all around!

Getting Balance

carpe diem

Found on the webs: via Pikaland | Make something good print by Pleasebestill @ Etsy

As you WANT

A dream is a wish...

Dare to be Different

Found on the webs

Not exactly a hand-drawn inspirational post... but a very appropriate one, nonetheless.

from Delphine Ephemera

One of my Favorites.

a quote by William G. Shedd. Dedicated to the graduates of 2011.

I am... I am... I am...

Where are you going?

If you keep making that face...

Remember when we were told if you crossed your eyes, they could get stuck that way? This quote makes me think the same thing about your words and your life... Living in a framework of "I can't"s would certainly be different [and way more horrible] than the life that springs from "I can"s.

Anatomy Lesson

From Freelance Design in Practice, by Cathy Fishel

Oops. Boo boo!

Words by the guru Seth Godin.

What to say when you make a mistake:

One of my very favorite pieces of advice, from The Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander. Instead of thinking, 'Oh sh*t!', think 'How fascinating!'

Thanks, Management.

From The Art of Possibility

Who needs a glass? Optimism.

I think this should be a tattoo. 

Make a Declaration

What does this mean to you? Make a declaration, this July 4th weekend, that you are a contribution-- to ALL of the communities that you are a part of. 

This is the beginning!

This is the beginning of a new blog for me. It's inspired by words... things that I've read, heard, or seen... and that I keep coming back to as a source of inspiration-- not just for art or business, but for life.

I am at a point of transition in my life (well, career-wise at least), and in trying to forge some sort of path, I'm also trying to take some time to be quiet, to read, and to just let things happen to me. Which is not something that I am good at. So, this sketchbook was born, of words and jots, doodles and findings.

I'm not very good at sitting still and being quiet, so I started drawing out these phrases and spending some time with them-- writing the letters, figuring out what they really mean to put them together in a visual way. All of them were jotted down in pencil and then outlined with my favorite Artline pens, and colored with my Prismacolor pencils.

I hope that you enjoy!