The pastor to my church gave a sermon awhile back that I honestly can't remember the topic of but I have carried a phrase he used during the service with me ever since.  "Do what you know how to do until you can do different." My whole life is different now and in the struggle to find my new normal I am slowly getting back to doing what I know how to do. Sometimes it's just finding the energy to make the bed and other days it's the sheer determination to "art my hurt away". Its during these art therapy times I think of nothing. I am totally immersed in the process---the colors, the texture of the paper, the way the pencil sounds as it scratches across page in the sketchbook or glides across gesso, the smell of the wax from colored pencils or the distinctive smell of markers, the squishy feel of the paint when you smear it with your fingers---it's almost like I get a "time out" from life where I can exhale quietly with no expectations from anyone or anything.  It's when I can remember that my precious husband was my biggest fan. It's where I can hope he's smiling down on me from heaven still cheering me on. It's where I find a small piece of me I recognize from before my life got turned upside down. It's in these tiny islands of peacefulness that has helped me cope with the loneliness. The absence of my best friend has been devastating. It's in the faces of my journal girls and the doodles on a notepad that I lay my heart bare with words and symbolism that reaches to my core. Sometimes, well a lot of times, words don't convey the feelings I have in my soul. I thought I would share a few of my journal girls. No fancy art supplies used but I do use Prismacolor colored pencils because they are super waxey and blend beautifully for skin. The rest of the supplies used are a mechanical pencil, micron pen, Sharpie water based paint pen for the white highlights and in the Bloom girl the vivid color is from Dye-Na-Flow liquid fabric color. She is also the only one on watercolor paper.
So my friends whatever your troubles are maybe you can art yourself a moment of peace, exhale gently, and turn whatever is hurting your heart into something beautiful. ❤️

I love February and hate it all at the same time. It's just such a short month but it's also the month of mine and my daughter's birthdays not to mention Valentine's Day. In between the holiday's I have been trying to find a way to balance my digital life (scrapping, workshops, creative team duties) with the real life.  I certainly applaud all who do so with much more success than me. I feel like I need a personal secretary sometimes and other times I just feel like staying unplugged. What did we do before all the technology?!?!?!?  What I have been doing between my temp job and not blogging much is focusing on more hands on craftiness. Over at Tangie Baxter's Art Journal Emporium we are still reading Cat Bennett's The Confident Creative. It has been the best book ever to start out the year reading especially if you have been feeling in a creative slump or never ever thought yourself creative to begin with. I had never really thought myself an artist in a sense that I could draw but I started reading this book soon after I read Mixed Media Girls with Suzi Blu (a book that had been on my shelf for a year) and it has helped get rid of my self doubt and the "I can'ts". I realized I was living a self-fulfilling prophecy by saying "I can't" because I never really put in the effort to really try. My mother is a fantastic artist and that is where I thought the talent ended. My drawings never looked like hers. Fact is, they were never supposed to. They would also never get past scribbles if I never put in the time to develop the skill either. So here are my efforts this past month. Keep in mind I have never drawn realistic nor cartoony faces or figures before. All my work was either trace or cut and paste. I am proud of my work. It's not perfect but that's okay because I am on a journey to find my artistic style.  What is yours? Do you draw? Paint? Quilt? Embroider? Photography? ETC? Do you want to? I so encourage you to just start. Give yourself the gift time to develop your skill/talent. I would love to be your cheerleader so if you want link me up to your blog/Instagram etc. so I can do so. We should be building each other up as we all walk our artistic journeys.

I have been wanting to be part of a book club for several years and (1) I don't read the book or (2) I don't find the book interesting enough to participate.  I can't begin to tell you how excited that I have been participating in The Art Journal Emporium's  Book Club. We have been reading The Confident Creative and sharing with one another examples of how each chapter "stretched" our idea of drawing and our own artwork.  This has been the most perfect book ever to start out the new year because it encourages the reader to just "start where you are".  I have never ever in my life thought that I could ever draw anything remotely realistic. Stick figures are my specialty!!! I have come to believe that when you stop saying "can't" and just start trying and with a little effort and the pressure to not be perfect gone......magical things can happen. This is an example of what happened when I just sat down and changed my belief in myself. The exercise was to "draw what you see".  

I have been having a bit of an anti-computer mood this past week or so. I get to feeling from time to time that so much time is spent on a piece of technology that I forget to live in the "here and now." I have been evaluating a lot of things I do online and putting them into the list of either (1) it enhances/or brings pleasure to my life or (2) it's a total time waster and I am missing out with time with my family etc.  and well some things fall into (3) I really love it want to keep it...but how do I find the time for it and give it my best?

Oh what to do?!?!?!?!?!?!? I didn't stress over any of it today though...well not too much anyhow. I got messy and did the journal prompt on the Art Squared blog ~ #5 Wings.

It was oh so enjoyable...took me all day in between doing all the other stuff I needed to do. Tried some things I liked to do again....and things I want to avoid. Gotta practice placing my journal more at an angle though for when I want my my text to follow in more of a straight line. But it is what it is, right? 

Thanks bunches for popping by and taking a peek!!!!
Leaving comments will definitely get you a visit from me on yours =D.