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October Muse - Week 1 - Earth

ArmyGrl

ArmyGrl

Merlot, Cab, Chard, Reisling - all 4 food groups!
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Welcome to the October Monthly Muse!​

Our inspiration for the month comes from the archaic elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

North, element of Earth, bearer of stability and protection.
East, element of Air, bearer of insight and wisdom.
South, element of Fire, bearer of action and will.
West, element of Water, bearer of intuition and emotion.​

Our focus for the October Muse, Week One is Earth: abundance, prosperity, stability, and strength.

Earth is a grounding element that can help keep us calm and centered. Earth is associated with endurance and strength.

Earth is fertile, nurturing, and stable. Earth provides.

Earth, the planet, goes through the Wheel of the Year. With each turn of the wheel, all aspects of life from birth (spring), growth (summer), harvest (autumn), and death (winter) are witnessed. With each annual revolution comes rebirth.

Earth energies are feminine - Mother Earth.

Key words: earthquakes, avalanches, mudslides, forests, fields, caves, rocks, valleys, and gardens.

Key colors: browns and greens.

Earth signs: Taurus (the Bull), Virgo (the Maiden), Capricorn (the Sea-Goat).

The Inspiration Board below is full of images that resonate with me when I think of Earth as an elemental and Gaia (Mother Earth). I hope they provide some inspiration for you too!

IMG_8753.JPG


So, for the October Muse, Week One, let Earth be your guide.

You are not required to use an Art Spark – they are simply here as ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

Art Sparks:

Images
- Use an image of Earth in your art, or a round shape to represent Earth.
- Use a tree as your focal point.
- Use landscape photography in your art focusing on key landscapes such as forest, valleys, or gardens, or pictures of plants, trees, or mushrooms.
- Dress your page up in lots of foliage.

Color - Have green and/or brown as predominate colors.

Journaling
- Reflect on grounding: staying calm and centered when life is a whirlwind around you. Ask yourself, what grounds me?
- Reflect on the concept of Mother Earth, of giving and nurturing, of abundance. Reflect on motherhood.
- Reflect on the seasons of one’s life: maiden, mother, crone.

Challenge Requirements:

1. For the Monthly Muse, you may create any style of layout (i.e., clean and simple, artsy, pocket style etc.), with or without a photo. Create any size page you wish. The Art Muse is for everyone; have FUN!

2. Be sure to follow gallery guidelines when posting (at least 50% current TLP product).

3. Please post your layout to the Art Journaling Gallery HERE by Midnight, 31 October 2022 and post your layout in this thread by copying the "Share BB Code" to the right of your gallery image.

Each post, regardless of the week posted in the month of October earns you one chance to win a $5 coupon to the TLP store. Thus,

1 Muse = 1 chance to win
2 Muses = 2 chances to win
3 Muses = 3 chances to win
4 Muses = 4 chances to win​

4. This week’s challenge is very opened ended. Let the prompt “North, element of Earth, bearer of stability and protection,” and the colors green and brown guide your creative muse. Reflect on grounding or the nurturing aspects of Earth.

This is my Earth AJ page:



A bit on my creative process...

I thought about the journal prompt: staying calm and centered when life is a whirlwind. What grounds me? I began with a neutral tan and sage green color scheme and added a circle to represent Earth. I wanted to capture the feelings of stress and chaos. Blending another paper on top created a very busy look - and for me, represents stress and chaos. I added elements to build up a collage look. Then added a photo from a place that helps me feel calm and centered (Shaw Nature Reserve). I added foliage and flowers - pine needles and pine cone flowers are symbols of winter. Earth's season is winter.

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Fabulous challenge Lisa and totally love your layout! :beat I have a few ideas in my head, will be back soon with a page! :)

Awesome additions so far ladies, your layouts are all very inspiring.!
 
here is my contribution for week one
you see a similar page in the gallery, since I uploaded one, but then, after looking at it for a while, something started bothering me, so I changed it up a bit

 
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Lisa dear, I love all your ideas, and really you inspired me, but now I am running out of words, you touched deeply my heart and soul, it's like you'd read my mind and knowing all what I'm going thru right now. Last month and beginning of this, after a hard bad migraine, I started to meditate, to find peace in the forest, the colors look here exactly like the palette with the field that you posted above, and the cold and wet air, inspires to do a deep contact with nature, and with the whole universe, I can say just THANKS for all what you do my dear. Here's my take for this challenge.
 
Thanks for the Muse Lisa.
My dad's a Yorkshire man, and "ther' ain't naught like t'earth than bein' ont'moor".
or in proper English: There is nothing like the earth than being out on the moor.
 
LoveItScrapIt said:
Am I supposed to explain my muse for the page?
Click to expand...

There is no requirement to. Sometimes AJ is deeply personal and folks will hide messages in their art. If you like, you can go into your creative process or share what hidden meanings are...but that is 100% your choice. Never a requirement.
 
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I really had to think about this one and had a few "false starts". What a wonderful challenge, Lisa - thanks for stretching my creativity.

 
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