Hello friends and welcome back. In this blog l want to talk about how important l think it is to make time for self-reflection and some of my own reflections of 2019. It is hard to believe that a New Year is approaching, and 2019 has been such a rewarding year for me, both in my creative and personal life.  I am so grateful for my family, friends, my creative journey, my fur baby, and most of all LIFE.

I believe that self-reflection has helped me to better understand the way l deal with situations, not to be completely unaware of my faults, and to find ways that l can deal with situations positively instead of letting them swallow me up. I believe that self-reflection helps in creating a positive mindset and discover a greater appreciation of yourself.  It helps me collect my thoughts and better process what l need to do next.  In saying this, 2019 has brought me so many new treasured friendships and it also brought me so many exciting opportunities, such as being part of the MeraQi collective, one of the featured artists at Cornerstone in Kingston, l taught fun classes at Open Studios, opened my own home teaching studio, l was part of the Small Works Show at the Tett Gallery and l am so excited to be now teaching acrylic classes at the Tett Centre Kingston. These friendships and opportunities have had such an immense and positive impact in my life. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such a supportive community. Friends and family that lift me up, make me smile and keep me hopeful in living my dream.

Self-reflection helps you recognize change and how to tackle it, helps you see your progress, and how you can make a difference to better increase your self-awareness and self-improvement.  I think it is important to know where you are in the present and where you are heading. Although l know it can take a while to get to where you want to be, setting your goals in baby steps can be so rewarding and enables you to challenge yourself.  I have tried to follow this process the last few years, and so far the baby steps seem to make my life more practical, accomplished and l don’t feel so lost in my journey. I find that reflecting at the end of my day, helps keep the days from folding into one another and adds encouragement for the next day.

I don’t necessarily write in a journal every day, although this would be a great idea, sometimes it consists of just sketching something out that reflects how l am feeling that day or creating art that makes me happy. I do make a habit of daily reflection even if it is just a thought process before l go to sleep. Blogging has been a great way to journal on what l have been up too in the past year, and l have to say it is a treat to head down memory lane when reading my past blogs. I think this has been an important way for me to reflect and allows me to learn from my experiences and process my overall achievements.

Self-reflection is powerful, l know it has helped me in my own personal growth but it has required me to be honest and objective and l think that sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves, as life definitely has its ups and downs. Although l know it can be difficult taking life day by day and not letting it overwhelm us, it is important to remember that we are all human and at the end of the day remember that you are worth it.

 Being that this will be my last blog of 2019, l would like to thank all of you who have helped me pursue my dreams, for all the support, for returning to read my blogs, and for following my progress. Wishing you all a Safe Holiday Season, a Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year! Stay tuned for my 2020 blogs.
 
Until next year my friends, stay safe, live out your dreams and keep creating!
Alice Melo

 Hello friends, and welcome back to my new blog review. Today l am going to talk about the Lyra Aqua-color Water-Soluble Wax Crayons. I would like to mention that I am not being sponsored and these are my personal opinions.
 I have been excited to try out this medium as l have been wanting to experiment with water-soluble wax crayons for a while. l finally found a 24 box set, as amazon recently had them on sale. They came in a nice tin making them easy for art on the go and l liked that each crayon indicated the colour name.  Amazon sells the 12, 24, and 48 sets at a reasonable and affordable price.

 Although l don’t have anything else to compare these too, as this was my first adventure with this medium, l was impressed at the different effects that l could create with them. You can use them as a wax crayon that is super creamy, add water over a coloured area for a watercolour effect, or grab the colour directly off the crayon onto a wet brush and then onto your paper for a softer look.
You can also take your time layering different colours and then blend them with water later, thus giving you lots of time to experiment. They blended beautifully so they are excellent to create fun and quick backgrounds. If your paper has a lot of tooth to it, like my cold press paper did, you may need to layer the colour a few times. I will have to experiment using them on hot press watercolour paper which will provide a smoother surface and compare the differences in application. These are not like watercolour pencils, where you get that softer look. I found that they left a thicker texture, leaving a bold colour. If you like working in detail then you could always scribble the crayon onto a palette and use a smaller wet detailed brush enabling you to use them for a finer approach. My favourite quality about this product is how super pigmented and brilliant the colours are, so if you are looking for a medium that packs a punch in vibrancy then l suggest giving these a try. I have also read that you can use them in conjunction with a bit of thinned gesso for a water stable finish. I can’t wait to give this method a try. Personally l think you may have to try these with different papers and techniques to achieve the results you are looking for.

Here are some cons l found. I couldn’t find these sold as open stock, so if there is a colour that you require more than others, replacing it with the same brand would mean having to purchase a set again. Although the packaging states that they are light resistant, I could not find any information on the light-fastness of this product as l searched Lyra’s website with no luck, so if you are looking to sell your artwork this maybe a problem. l have read that these are comparable to the Neocolor II brand which is light-fast so you may opt for that option instead, plus Neocolor ll also sells open stock colours.
Something to consider, if you tend to layer your mediums and are planning on using these for your background, due that they are a wax based product you may want to examine what medium you will be layering over top as they could show resistance.
 
Overall, would l buy these again? Absolutely, they are excellent in value, vibrant in colour, they offer a variety of applications, and they are fun and quick to use.
 
Until next time my friends. Please feel free to let me know what you think of this product? Kind comments are welcomed.

Have a beautiful day!

Alice