Up: [[Creating a Body of Work]] Created: 2024-07-08 Updated: 2025-12-28 Course: The Joy of M.O.T.I.F. with Rachel Juanita Bellamy for StudioWorks As art supplies, books, and online courses pile up, so does the overwhelm. And, as importantly, so does the difficulty with working intuitively, receptively. All of the new learning can keep me in my head, wondering if I should be applying ‘x’ technique or trying to follow ‘y’ artist’s process. [Rachel Bellamy](https://soulreign.com/) went looking for a process that would take her out of her head and get her connecting heart and hands. She came up with MOTIF. The letters detail the specifics of what we should attend to, but it’s the overall message that is most important to me. It boils down to three words: **You Do You**. Get clear about what has fascinated you for a long time, then make all art supplies collecting, book buying and course purchasing aligned to that. Not only do you save money and reduce overwhelm, but it’s easier to get out of your head because the items you have are more likely to all work together, creating a cohesive body of work. **Update**: It took a year, but by December 2025 I was finally clear about what fascinates me in art. That is [[Expressive Art]], also known as intuitive, sometimes as meditative art. And Narrative Art, which is any art that tells a story. Those are really broad categories but are proving to still be focused enough that I can be much more selective in my purchasing of art supplies, books and online courses. ### The Acronym **M = Marks** Some of my favourites are spirals and circles. I’ve bought some templates with variations of these. **O = Objects** This would be materials I like to work with. Rachel is into printmaking so she talks about stencils, stamps and gel plates. But it could also be watercolour supplies, favourite mark making tools etc. **T = Textures** In the early days, I'd bought jars of string gel, glass bead gel and other products that add dimension to paper. When I realized I don't like dimension on paper, I gave it all away. **I = Images of Interest** What draws my eye? I need landscapes and people in Narrative Art, but I’m now clear that I don’t need to be great at either. **F = Focal Point** Whether a single work or a body of work, this is connected to knowing what I want to express. Where do I want the viewer's interest to go? This isn't as significant for me with Expressive Art because it’s spontaneous and a lot of it won’t be shared. It’s definitely important for Narrative Art. ### Don't Forget Colour Rachel couldn't shoehorn it into the acronym, but she did stress the usefulness of having a colour palette, derived at through play and experimentation, and having all of those colours out and ready to go before starting to work. ### Make a MOTIF Board A board can be made in advance of each project. It contains colour choices, some favourite marks, objects, textures and images. It's not meant to restrict what you do, but rather to serve as an inspiring springboard so that less head and more heart can be on deck when you're working.