a message just for me!

a message just for me!, a photo by cookievf on Flickr.

Last week I took a short drive with my mother while visiting her in Vermont (following some garage sale signs, actually), came around the bend to a very special "spot" that I shared with my dad in the late 1990's and was greeted by this beautiful tree!

It's located at the base of a long, dirt driveway and at the top is a VERY old, stately home, usually vacant, with a wrap-around porch, orchards, fields of wildflowers, a 180 degree view... and sunsets that would take your BREATH AWAY.

...thanks, dad. xo

Art Journal page 10Jun11

From an earlier blog post about counting my blessings with 3 of my flower photos, I was inspired to write a little "poem" in my written journal. Next, a prompt from Tee Thompson of green isles crafts inspired me to re-create this on a page in my ART journal and it felt like a FULL CIRCLE moment to me! Maybe YOU'LL be inspired by a word or an image here so that I can "pay it forward."

Homemade Background Papers, 2nd Round

Lots of ideas are percolating... such as "end papers" in bookmaking and wrapping bookboards for journal covers, using them in my MM collage, backgrounds for journal pages & ATCs, trading and so much more! Can't wait to play.

little girl lost, sharing my story

I have always been an open book, never quite understanding what it really means. I realize now that being vulnerable is a gift... just like each and every part of us is a gift!

We are all unique right down to our freckles and, please believe me when I tell you, it is our JOB TO SHARE OUR GIFTS WITH THE WORLD. This is something I am so passionate about (note the caps) because it is my sincere belief that your gifts are what the universe is holding it's breath for; waiting for; praying for!

So please don't waste another moment to speak what's on your mind today or in your heart or on your easel and please put it out there. Let's all TOUCH another person's life today with our truth and with the essence of who we are because what's more precious than sharing a piece of ourself with another? The world will be richer for it.

As an artist and truly a teacher at heart, I LOVE showing a piece in progress as it unfolds and finds itself.

Like carving a sculpture from a piece of rock, this was one of those pages that gave me a feeling of relief, once completed.

Using acrylic paint, oil pastels, gel pens, handcarved stamps, masking tape and "ransom" style magazine letters on this one, each page becomes a purging of sorts. My goal for these journal pages is to make it PERSONAL so that by doing so, I can no longer take for granted what I'm discovering on this inner journey!

On the subject of my page, over the last few months I was finally able to get rid of an ache I've had in my heart for five decades and forgive my step-grandfather for molesting me at a very young age. Not excuse, not condone in ANY WAY, just accept that he was a victim of a victim just like I was. Closure. "I can forgive. I choose love."

refreshed & renewed

Sitting here today I had a growing feeling that I needed to take a moment to reflect on what's behind me and what's ahead of me.

Currently in the US our flowers are in bloom and the change of seasons seem to make me want to quietly count my blessings one-by-one and, almost like a stopwatch, hit the RESET button. If I don't stop for a few precious minutes to focus on all of the positives in my life, then I find it's all too easy to get caught up in all of the million little tasks at hand and ultimately, I begin to feel frustrated... believing there's ever ENOUGH!!

Time
Money
Projects Completed
Trips Taken
Goals Met
People Seen
Emails Sent
Phone calls Made

~ you fill in the blank.

And I was inspired to jot this down on a piece of paper..

"There is healing found in the cycles of the natural world and I'm certain it was here that God intended we discover the lesson of renewal. Ebb and Flow. Sunrise and Sunset. Wax and Wane. Summer's Warmth and Winter's Cold. Give and Take. Birth and Death. Tides, Sun, Moon, Seasons, Life. When we take the time to contemplate the mysteries that surround us… questions are answered. And we emerge refreshed... renewed."

Happy Spring into Summer!