My laptop is being repaired this week (hello mercury retrograde 💔) and writing on my iPad is as painful as you think, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.
I’m so grateful to have you in my life.
You give so much to others through your kindness, creativity, and generosity.
You lift up those around you and spread joy when things feel hard.
Thanks for being an awesome human. I ❤️ you.
xo
Hey there, friend!
Hope your December is going well!
It’s crazy this year is almost over… When this post comes out, I’m gonna be teaching my last block printing workshop of the year! Then heading out to Wisconsin in a couple of days to see my in-laws! It’s definitely feeling like the holidays now.
You may remember I created 12 new artwork for the fall/winter stationery collection, and I thought it would be fun to showcase them today 🙂
I’m calling it the Mindfulness Art series because I created it to remind myself to have peace and calm in my life.
I started creating this art series after going to my second 10-day silent meditation retreat earlier this year (you can learn more about my experience here.) I came home super chill and centered and wanted to nurture those blissful feelings by creating these artwork.
I hope my art and the messages will help you find a little peace and positivity in your life, too! That’s what it’s all about anyway 🙂
And if you’re a Seattle local, I’m showing them at Tin Umbrella Coffee in south Seattle throughout the month of December, so go check them out 🙂
p.s. These art prints will also be available on my Etsy shop as well, so check back and/or sign up for my newsletter to be notified when they become available 🙂 Bonus if you tell me which ones you’d like to see as a print!
Ok, friend, I hope you have a wonderful day and a peaceful holiday season!
xo Yuko
I showed you a sneak preview of my 2017 Mindfulness & Gratitude wall calendar a couple of weeks ago in this post.
Let me take you on a behind-the-scenes tour and show you my creative process today.
I started creating illustrations about mindfulness and gratitude after I came back from the 10-day silent meditation retreat earlier this summer. It was deeply healing and I wanted to make art about it as a reminder of that experience. (You can read about my reflections here.)
Once I started to make a few of these drawings, I thought, why not create more and make a calendar that encourages people to live mindfully every day?
What does “living mindfully” mean to me? It means that I can hit a pause button in my mind when I’m in a stressful situation and think “oh, this situation is stressful.” I remind myself that whatever is going on is only temporary, and I bring my focus back on my breathing. It helps me stay calm and respond to a situation more thoughtfully rather than reacting.
Of course, I’m a regular human being and not a Tibetan monk :D, so I still react to situations.
I get mad when someone cuts me off in the traffic (without the turning signal on even!!). I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night worrying about how my business isn’t where it should be and can’t get back to sleep. I get so jealous when my husband devours slices of super cheesy, gluten-and-carb-filled pizza or a big piece of custardy Bosc pear tart with a scoop (or two) vanilla ice cream and does not gain an ounce.
Believe me, I’m not above it all!
But I try. Every day is a new beginning and you can only try, right?
For the calendar, I created 12 new drawings with watercolor, gouache, and pen on paper.
Many of the drawings are inspired by nature and seasons. I also incorporated some everyday objects like these tea cups and pots:
I also hand-wrote positive messages for each calendar page to encourage mindful living.
I gathered these simple quotes and sayings from the instructions of the meditation practice or advices my wise friends gave me in the past. I also included some of the things I tell myself when I’m feeling off-centered.
Then I scan my hand drawn art in to Photoshop to edit and design the layout for the calendar pages.
Here is a couple more sample pages for you 🙂
Do you know someone who can use a little positivity boost? This calendar makes a great gift for the holidays, and it will be available on my Etsy shop early November!
Be happy,
xo Yuko
Honeyberry Diary 