Inspiration Wednesday: Studio Mothers and Bonnie Rose

I have some exciting news to share! I am joining an amazing community of creative women at a site called Studio Mothers. And today they are publishing my introductory article on their site. Woo hoo! So I figured I would choose an artist from their site as the subject of Inspiration Wednesday.


Meet Bonnie Rose. Her work is an abstract garden of vibrant colours, bursting with life and love. Both her artwork and writing are inspiring and uplifting. I wanted to share with you a few pieces of her art and an excerpt from a recent article she wrote for Studio Mothers which really spoke to me. You can read the full article here.

I will always need to be creative. I will always need to express myself through art, through my writings. It’s what makes me, me. I strongly believe as women, we often live our lives being everything to everyone, and somewhere along the way, we lose ourselves. We struggle. We want more for ourselves, but are often scared to express our wishes, because we don’t want to feel selfish. I remind myself of this. No one can make me feel badly about myself without my permission. This is true.

It’s a choice. Yes, our families and our children give us unending joy. That goes without saying.

But in the quiet times, we must learn to give ourselves that joy.
Make ourselves happy.

Joy is everywhere. We all need to open our eyes and look harder to see it hiding.

It’s there. It’s there. Joy.

Isn't that just perfectly expressed?

To see more of Bonnie's work, check out her blog, A Life Unrehearsed. While you are there, check out her upcoming e-course, Color Your World. It sounds so delicious!

I have to say that I am so amazed at the amazing tribe of creative women in this interconnected web world of bloggers. When I started blogging last year, the biggest driving force was a desire to be inspired and feel connected with other creative people.  And that has absolutely happened for me. I want to thank Miranda from Studio Mothers for including me in her creative community. Here are a few other amazing sites of creative community:

The Inspiration Studio

Willowing & Artist Friends

Wish Studio

I have not forgotten my promise last week to feature some comic book artists. Next Wednesday: the insanely talented multi-media artist and writer of the Kabuki comic book series, David Mack (did I mention that he is really nice and SUPER hot? I know, because I got to meet him at ComicCon 2006. Yes, I am that much of a geek.) And for me a new discovery, although I have seen her work many times in passing. An amazing book called What It Is by Lynda Barry. This book is now on my list of must-haves for every creative person. But more about that next week.

Until then, hope inspiration blooms for you!

Joyelle