Oh My Goddess!

Can I just say…WOW!

I am in awe by the email response that I have received to The Goddess Chronicles: A Traveling Art Journal project. This idea was born out of a deep desire to create something collaborative with other women around the world.

The Goddess Chronicles is an intention to hold the highest vision of all women through expressive and artistic creations. There is a change that is stirring in the souls of women around the world more than ever!  I would like to document a small piece of this evolution for younger generations of goddesses. You can read about the details of this project here.

Since putting this dream out into the world I have received so much love and joy from each and every participant. I wanted to share a few of the beautiful words I have received…

“Thank you Sofia for your dreams, efforts, and opportunity to inspire generations to come.  Let's do it together, in it with you!”  Wendy Goldsmith

“Dear Sofia, my heart soared when I read about this traveling book. I would be so delighted and so humbled to take part." Maria Notarangelo 

“The Goddess Chronicles Journal is a fantastic idea and dream that is going to be a reality! I would love to create some art for a book that gets passed on to future goddesses. What wisdom we can share! I already have some ideas! I hope you will consider me as a part of your dream.” Jetta Heinen

“My heart jumped out of my chest at the thought of joining your community and contributing .... I would love so very much to be a part of your project and feel the weaving Speak to us all.” Robina D’Arcy-Fox

Once the original book is completed, it will be donated to Girls Inc. in San Antonio, TX. My hope is that The Goddess Chronicles will help girls and women alike recognize the profound love within, expand their own creativity, and cultivate living an authentic and happy life! 

DREAM BIG! HUGE! DREAM ON! 

The world is waiting for you!

ART- Anywhere!

Just wanted to share pictures from The Recovery Art Journaling workshop I facilitated with De Anna Melendez from Creative Counseling Solutions this weekend. 

It was a cozy spot! But this proves you can make art anywhere where there is love!!!
Our supplies were here...

Paintbrushes, Paint and Ink OH MY!

And we worked, laughed and "went within" here...

What a glorious day we spent together! Stay tuned for more fun workshops coming soon!

Feeling Brave

Be Brave, Girl!

I love Tamara Laporte. No! Really. 
I am taking Life Book 2013 and it is AH-MAZING!! So many beautiful visuals every week! I can't get enough. I really am so glad for the investment in my self and my art! 

If you are thinking about taking any of her classes you should completely dive in! Do it. I support this woman because she is by far the single most illuminating presence on the web for me. 

Of all the courses I have taken... (and I have taken a lot!) I keep coming back to her. She is honest, open, compassionate, caring, loving, talented and shares wonderful techniques at prices I can afford! It's win-win! 

For a week or so now I have not been sharing my artwork in Life Book because the "gremlins" (thank you Brene Brown) They keep talking nonsense in my head and comparing to this one and that! Even though EVERYONE is super supportive I still got a little chatter box gremlins going on.

Like Magic Tamara posted this today! 

Being Brave Art Journal Technique 

I know this was meant for me to see! Here is what was inspired as a result.

 Yup, that's me sticking my tongue out at the gremlins! 

Now I look like this! Thanks Tamara, you make a difference!

                                                                      Sofia, Art Lover

The Goddess Chronicles

THE GODDESS CHRONICLES: A TRAVELING ART JOURNAL

The Goddess Chronicles was born out of a deep desire to create something collaborative with other women around the world. Since finding my tribe, I have felt the shift within me as an artist and as a woman towards embracing the divine feminine within. My spirit has awakened and I live now to be more receptive, authentic, and to honor my creativity.   The Goddess Chronicles is an intention to hold the highest vision of all  women through expressive and artistic creations. There is a change that is stirring in the souls of women around the world more than ever!  I would like to document a small piece of this evolution for younger generations of goddesses. My hope is that The Goddess Chronicles will help girls and women alike recognize the profound love within to expand their creativity and cultivate living an authentic and happy life! 

Entry Rules:

1. Email goddesschroniclesjournal@gmail.com Please send your mailing address and contact information. Send links to your blog, website, Twitter and Facebook. 

2. Once your receive the traveling art journal book, you promise to complete and ship the book within two weeks to the next goddess. Please email goddesschroniclesjournal@gmail.com and you will be sent the address of the next goddess on the list. Only names will be posted on a Facebook group, not personal addresses. 

3. Creative Goddess, Sofia Dabalsa will begin the journal then will send off to the next person on the list. 

4. The book will be a handmade watercolor book that measures 11 x 15 ¾ and it would cost approximately $ 6.80 -15.34.  Rates are based on weight and distance. For example, a 5 lb package would cost approximately $6.80-$12.34. The book weighs about 4 pounds. If the book travels outside of the United States, Sofia Dabalsa will help pay the excess costs. 

5.  There are no rules when it comes to what your journal pages look like. The sky is the limit really! Please use any kind of media you are comfortable with. Don’t forget to sign you work somewhere on the page. It is absolutely amazing that this book will travel around the country and hopefully the globe!  


The theme of this traveling art journal is Goddess Chronicles that inspire young and old; girls and women with messages from the heart to DREAM BIG. 


Perhaps you will speak to your niece, daughter, best friend, young woman, grandmother, mother, aunt… Anything goes! If you need help finding a little inspiration just email goddesschroniclesjournal@gmail.com.  You can use collage, watercolors, pencils, crayons, stickers, stamps, pockets, fold-outs, cut-outs or all of the above!  Your pages can be done by yourself or it can be a team effort with another goddesses. You can choose to do one page or two facing pages for a full spread! Get creative and have fun!  Links of where the journal has been will be posted on Sofia's blog. 

6. When the book is full, it will be mailed back to the point of origination with Sofia. At this point the book will be professionally photographed. This will allow Sofia to make and order photo books for all participants choosing to purchase one. 

7. The final book will be mailed to Stampington and Company for possible publishing in their Art Journaling Magazine.  More on rules for this later. Remember not to post any pictures on Facebook or your websites, pinterest etc. as that is one of the publishing rules.  Check out more of them here:http://www.stampington.com/submissions/ 

Stampington states that for collaborative projects, it is the responsibility of the submitting artist (Sofia) to obtain permission from each participant prior to submission. I will ask for these as each participant receives the journal. In addition, each piece of the collaborative must be labeled with contact information of the artist who created it so please be sure to provide that in the initial email.

8. The original book will be donated to empower young girls at Girls Inc. in San Antonio, TX. My hope is that each time a young girl sits to view The Goddess Chronicles it will inspire them to reach for their dreams! Please join us.

Women, Community and Art: Cheryl Dossey

Cheryl Dossey

Being a part of several online art communities has changed me forever. It started with one and has grown to about ten. 

Each community is somewhat unique and different in what is offered. I will say however, that I’m most attached to the original group.  It was a Facebook group created for an online e-course in hopes that we would encourage, support and grow with each other throughout the course. 

Well, we did that, and in the process became a pretty close knit group where many friendships developed.  Actually, some of the other online groups that I am a part of spun off of this original group.

The thought of having a blog/website, a Facebook biz page, an Etsy account, etc… seemed so unachievable just a year or so ago, but it has all happened due to being a part of this community. I believe these online communities have become an integral part of my creative growth.

Women are natural nurturers, so it makes sense that it would carry over into this facet of our lives as well. It still fascinates me that I can post an image of a newly created piece of art, a question about a new product, or a technical problem and within moments a positive comment or answer to my question will appear. 

Obviously, we’re all at different stages of growth and have our own individual strengths.  I believe this is why it works for so many of us. It’s like climbing a ladder, we step up a rung or two and then reach down and help pull someone along or reach out and receive the encouragement we need to climb higher.

I may not go out to lunch or hang out with these women on the weekends, as we are from all over the world, but I do feel we are kindred spirits. We’re all artists and creative women on a similar journey and this is a safe place to share our victories, as well as, our frustrations. We encourage, cheer, and challenge one another in a positive constructive atmosphere.

I have grown so much in the past year that it seems impossible. I am still moving forward and changing everyday due to these online connections.  It’s a constant positive motivator. I see others taking on challenges, creating new art, writing great posts and it encourages me to continue to stretch the boundaries of my own talent and abilities. 

I am so thankful and honored to be among these women and be a recipient of their wonderful energy and light.  Shine on ladies…

Cheryl Dossey

The Green Smoothie Girl

I had a fun time downtown San Antonio this weekend meeting Robyn Openshaw. If you don't know, Robyn is known as The Green Smoothie Girl. 

I attended her Green Smoothie Girl Class where she talked about her story, the benefits of blending and gave away tons of her products. A group of about 100 people showed up interested in learning about the benefits of eating whole-foods and incorporating green smoothies into a busy life. 

As an academic, I appreciated the discussion about the studies she has conducted over the years and the results of those studies. Amazing outcomes for so many people with chronic or otherwise fatal diseases that through eating, green and clean, eradicated any sign of disease in their bodies. 

I blend/juice on a weekly basis but I am ready to ramp up this part of my life. I was really impressed by how Robyn was so open and shared her research with us. I felt like I was sitting in an Oprah audience the way she was handing out tools and products to live healthier. 

How generous, I thought to myself. What I really liked was that she was relatable. 


Robyn doesn't claim to eat salads all the time and that her diet is perfect but it's pretty close! She also follows a short list of rules when her and her family are out or traveling. It was very encouraging discussion and I love the idea of truly feeding and nurturing my body minus all the processed crap!

Looking forward to another free workshop called Medicine Cabinet Makeover! As a girl who started her career in pharmaceuticals I am so ready to sink my teeth into this one! It reminded me of my pharmacy studies and when I read about the Father of Medicine Hippocrates stated: 

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!

I am going to challenge myself to 28 days in February to detoxing, juicing, blending and raw foods. Did I just type that? I plan to document the journey with pictures and videos. Anyone want to join me?

Creative Counseling Solutions

I am so thankful to be working with De Anna Melendez, founder of Creative Counseling Solutions this month in offering an Art Journaling Workshop. 

It's all about creative expression! No rules, no boundaries! If you are interested send me a message soon this workshop has limited space. 

Let's start the new year by exercising our creativity muscles! 

Women, Community and Art: Jill Lambert

The Sweet Jill Lambert

I found my community of creative women and artists online while taking e-course by Kelly Rae Roberts “Taking Flight”, mostly through our Facebook Group.  We met online over a year ago and I feel a really deep connection to these fellow flyers, soul sisters we sometimes refer to each other as. 

I also started finding my true self and confidence through the Brave Girls course “Soul Restoration.”  Through the exercises of journaling and artwork, I started to see myself as valuable, important, special and that my dreams mattered.  I was introduced to accepting myself, the weak and strong parts, just as they are.  That was a pretty new concept for me for sure!  Growing up and especially in high school I always worried what people thought of me and Brave Girls really really helped me gain some self-confidence.

So many changes have occurred since I met this community of fellow creative women.  I now have a group of people who encourage me to “go for it” and congratulate me when I do.  They also “pat” me on the back when things don’t seem to go how I had hoped.  We not only share our creations with each other, but we talk daily on-line, all day long when we get a chance to pop in and share parts of our lives.  We’ve been through sharing divorces, births, deaths of friends and parents, licensing contracts, etc.  

I can honestly say many of these girls are like the sisters I never had—I feel so comfortable sharing my real self with them.  They’ve also pushed me to make my own decisions and accept them instead of always doubting and second-guessing myself.  Not that I still don’t do that, but they’ve sort of forced me to trust myself and believe that I can make decisions and they may be the “right” ones or they may be the “wrong” ones and that’s okay—they keep making me stronger.

What has awakened in me?  Wow…great question!  A newer confidence and ……excitement…a desire to share my dreams with the world, especially other girls and women…a desire to encourage others to accept themselves AND realize what is really truly important to me, what really matters…the drive to make goals and go after them…the realization that my dreams ARE important and valid…that I AM brave and strong and have something to share.  I’m also learning how to deal with setbacks and see them as a push or an opportunity in a different direction, one that may be more “what’s meant to be.”  

Finding my community has truly been life-changing and when I count my blessings and thank God for the gifts in my life, my fly sisters are in that conversation every time now.

Jill Lambert