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November 01, 2019

Embracing Yourself Fully

By Tamara Laporte  |   in christmas workshop  | Tags: whimsy wonderland , quirky birds , self acceptance , self love , tamara laporte , willowing  

Quirky Birds first came to me about 6/7 years ago in 2013. I found myself doodling one day and ended up creating this odd/ strange/ asymmetrical little bird characters who seemed to be totally happy within themselves. They had a joy of life in them and a self love and self acceptance I envied for sure!

Unlike the humans in my world and culture, who are often busy criticising themselves trying to change seemingly unimportant ‘flaws’ and ‘quirks’, the Quirky Bird was blissfully herself and in fact celebrated all her little quirks and perceived flaws!

I was onboard with her message! I myself had and (still sometimes) suffered from perfectionism and endless self criticism often resulting in unhappiness and at times stopping me from simply enjoying life! So Quirky Birds with their self love message were very welcome in my life!

I go through phases of creating quite a lot of these little beings. Here are some of my favourites I’ve made over the years:

 

I’ve developed and changed techniques quite a bit over the years, my most recent Quirky Birds include techniques like:

  • ⁣working with watercolours & inks wet in wet⁣
  • incorporating collage⁣
  • looking at colour choices/ combinations
  • using unusual tools to change the quality of line work and mark making⁣

They are wonderfully fun creatures to create and function as a reminder for you too to fully love and accept yourself, just as you are, flaws and all. 

In my book, Create Your Life Book, I dedicate a project to this too:

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
– Dr Seuss”

Something that helps me cultivate happiness and contentment in life is being less judgemental and more accepting of myself including my more unusual and quirky personality traits.

We are often taught that we are not good enough and told we have to change things about ourselves to be ‘acceptable’ to others. I personally think it is harmful to people’s self worth and self esteem to constantly be told or given the impression that we are not good enough and have to change or improve on ourselves to be acceptable to society. I’m no longer interested in pursuing some sort of ‘elusive’ definition of ‘perfection’ and I have decided to embrace all my quirky and weird personality traits! I’ll tell you it’s a huge relief and brings much freedom to be at peace with yourself.

So, instead of feeling ashamed of the fact that we love to sing in the shower, wear bright purple clothing, talk to ourselves or that we are star wars geeks, I encourage you to embrace all of your quirky traits by embodying them in one of my signature ‘Quirky Birds’.

These little birds are easy to make, elicit great joy and can help you accept YOU for who you are, flaws and all. Quirky birds are deliberately created somewhat asymmetrically to represent that we all have flaws and quirky traits that make us, us. They are here to remind you that you are wonderful just as you are. Join me in making your own Quirky Bird as a reminder to always accept yourself wholly and fully including your unique quirky traits!

Buy this book here.


What do you do to accept yourself just as you are and what do you do to consciously be more kind to yourself?
I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

I’ll be teaching this specific Wintery Quirky Bird on my new up and coming class Whimsy Wonderland which you may like to consider joining if you love Quirky Birds too! But I won’t only be teaching Quirky Birds on that course, I’ll also teach a wonderful Winter Girl and 9 of my artist friends have joined as well who all have some wonderful projects lined up for you all! Come check out here what we’ll be teaching. Much love!

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Tamara Laporte

Cuuuute! Join me in creating this little panda as ...

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Cuuuute! Join me in creating this little panda as Cuuuute! Join me in creating this little panda as part of the Life Book 2024 Taster Sessions. This is one of 3 classes from me personally and just one of over 25 classes from our whole group of beautiful artists! 

Join me and my lovely, welcoming team! 
Sign up to the Taster Sessions here: https://bit.ly/LB2024TASTERT

You can dive into a whole year of incredible creative beauty with Life Book 2024 and save 30% at the checkout right now. Use code HAPPYART30 when you buy Life Book 2024.

Love, Tam xoxo

Art can truly be so magical. I’m sure you heard ...

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Art can truly be so magical. I’m sure you heard Art can truly be so magical. I’m sure you heard the phrase, "Art imitates life," right? I had a profound experience of this last night, and I just had to share it. 😊 

So, for the Life Book Taster sessions I create about 3 new sessions each year and this week I’ve been working on a session in which we paint an 'Autumn Fairy'. The theme for this session is 'letting go' and 'releasing negative energies from our lives'. My intention was to draw her as an adult female embodying the wisdom of the season. But as I painted, something unexpected happened. No matter how I tried, a younger face would consistently emerge on the page...

Remember when the other day I shared my fears about my children taking new steps in their educational journey? The trepidation, the joy, the desire to protect, and the necessity to let go? Well, I suddenly had a sense that this ‘younger face’ was wanting to come forward and have her voice heard! 

It was like the younger Autumn Fairy felt like she was trying to remind me of my own vulnerabilities and strengths. Or maybe she was reminding me that even though *I* went through difficult times in school and was bullied a lot, my children won’t necessarily go through that and maybe she was a symbolic nudge from the universe, telling me to 'trust' more and 'fear' less for my children. I love ‘allowing the art to take the lead’ and letting it guide me to my subconscious experiences. It’s like having a conversation with your higher self as you paint! Art, in its mysterious ways, teaches, heals, and sometimes, just holds up a mirror to our souls.

Isn’t it amazing how art has its own way of reflecting life back to us? It’s like our subconscious finds its voice in the strokes and hues. Those deep-seated feelings or elements we might have tucked away unknowingly, suddenly find a way to dance on the page! It’s truly like magic! 😁 

In the dance of life and the strokes of a brush, there are lessons waiting to be uncovered. Thank you for being a part of this wondrous journey.

We are making this painting on the Taster Sessions next week. it includes a super fun leaf printing technique I can't wait to share with you! Join us!

The water is wide.

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The water is wide. The water is wide.

Autumn is upon us! 🍁🍃🍂

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Autumn is upon us! 🍁🍃🍂 Autumn is upon us! 🍁🍃🍂

🚀 WOO HOO! WOO HOO! Hold onto your ...

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🚀 WOO HOO! WOO HOO! Hold onto your paintbrushes 🚀 WOO HOO! WOO HOO! Hold onto your paintbrushes, folks, because the Taster Sessions are almost here, and it's time to get started NOW with my Creative Warm Up! 

Sign up to the Taster Sessions and you'll be sent a Welcome Email with a link to the Creative Warm Up class. 

You can sign up here right now: https://bit.ly/LB2024TASTERT

We're so close to getting started with the MOST AWESOME free taster sessions as part of Life Book 2024. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get your art groove on with us starting Monday, September 25th!

Heeeere weee goooo! 
SIGN UP HERE: https://bit.ly/LB2024TASTERT

P.S. Oh, and here's a little secret - when you sign up for Life Book 2024, you'll have lifetime access to every taster session. Find out all about this full-blown creative adventure here: https://bit.ly/LB2024T
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