Mary Correa Studios

Although I had 2 suitcases to pack with art supplies, I can't bring everything. I have a few things that I know I can buy or make once I get to my location.

Stencils are easy to make out of magazine covers, or in this case, a calendar.

If you could have 2 free checked bags, how many art supplies would YOU bring? 🤣

I didn't pick a paint color for my kitchen based on this painting, but it does seem meant to be.

My current reading selection. What are you reading now?

I love texture in my journals and on my canvases.

Sometimes I add layers of paper or fabric. If I want a specific shape, I grab a stencil and some molding paste.

Do you add texture?

I love little peeks into an artist's life

This is an important van Gogh museum artifact. After moving to Paris, van Gogh became somewhat obsessed with colour combinations, and used coloured balls of wool to test different combinations before trying them out with his expensive paints. This is the wool & red box they were kept in. ❤️

The paint department at Lowes runs away when you show up with your color wheel. 🤣

Artist + Zoom call = floral doodles

Happy Art and Health week...
Museums are one of my favorite places. I love to wander around a new-to-me museum, checking out each little corner. I also love revisiting my favorite museums, checking out new exhibits or the rotating permanent collection. As I wander around, I am not thinking about my to do list, my stress level begins to lower and I can get a few extra steps in an air conditioned space.

Do you enjoy museums?

More quick collage using my box. I have been using this box for weeks and it is not getting any smaller. Do paper bits reproduce when I'm not looking????

As an artist, I can tell you so many ways art has helped my health. The most obvious is my mental health. I always feel better after a day or even an hour in the studio. I can tell when I haven't had studio time because I tend to be cranky.

How has art impacted your health?

Opening reception tonight at the Melvin Art Gallery at

Join me and many other artists for opening night. This is your chance to view the art and talk to the artists.

If you are unable to come tonight, the gallery is open Monday-Friday from 10am-4pm.

I found a copy of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" at a yard sale. The book block was broken and the center of the book was completely loose. I gladly paid the 50 cents to bring it home. Now I am slowly filling it up, keeping as much of the artwork as I can.

As I grabbed a tissue paper scrap I noticed it resembled an elephant head and trunk. When the universe suggests an elephant, you just play along. 🤣

I am still loving these quick collage landscapes. This one is going to the Melvin Gallery at Florida Southern College.

Tag, gelli print, yearbook photos....OH MY! I am really loving these quick collages with my random collage bits. They come together quick and are a great warm-up when I first get into the studio.

I love using pieces of gel prints as the beginning of an art journal page. It helps get past the "white page fear" and sometimes sparks inspiration. Worst case, I paint over all of it and you would never know it started with a less than pretty gel print.

My most recent collage bits journal is almost full. I have set myself a goal of using up a good bit of my paper scraps. They have accumulated faster than I can use them lately, so now I need a focused effort to actually use them.

What do you do with your extra collage bits?

When do you decorate your journal cover?

I have been a member of for since the beginning and was lucky enough to be a guest artist earlier this year. This is one of my favorite art groups because the projects are so varied. Each month I try something new. The projects are quick and they keep my creativity inspired. Plus
and are so much fun to hang out with.

Enrollment is open now!

My first "official" studio had this quote written on the wall. I'm no longer in that studio, but I still think of this quote often.

On Friday night I coordinated an art event that I was expecting adults to attend. We ended up with mostly children. I proposed to several parents that they could make a project along with their child. Only one or two took me up on it. Most made some comment about how they were "not creative". It made me sad that so many people have forgotten they were once creative. Maybe someone told them creativity wasn't worthwhile. Maybe they haven't taken any time to find a creative activity they enjoy. Maybe they think creativity is expensive. Or maybe they fear not "being good" at it. Whatever the reason, I want to reach out to those people and show them a glimpse of that childhood creative magic.

I have started saving Sundays as my Arty Play day. When art is your business, it can be hard to allow time to just play with no intention. Sundays are the days I watch classes or YouTube and just create with no set plan.

If you are a creative entrepreneur, do you save time to just create for yourself?

When I am arting, I listen to a mix of things. Sometimes it's podcasts. Sometimes I put on a tv show I have already seen, but I enjoy listening to (usually a British murder on BritBox). Other times I work in silence. The one thing I can't listen to is audio books. I drift away and lose the plot. I spend more time rewinding and replaying. What do you enjoy listening to while arting?