I love you today because....Unique

I love you today because.......

You are Unique

Yes, you are unique, there is only one of you, perfectly fashioned and formed. You are created for a purpose, you are not a copy and there will not be another like you.  Be aware of your gifts, talents and abilities and step up and out.

Self portrait Image for the day...

I love you today because you are unique!

Show some love....

What one thing do you think sets you apart that you could make more of?

Share some love....

Think about one thing that a close friend or relative has that sets them apart and makes them special and let them know about it.

To find out why 'I love you today' February Series click on the image below

I am also taking part in the 29 Faces Challenge for February, check out my mixed media site to see the additional images that will be posted.

I love you today because.....

I thought I would start February off with a challenge a way to make some small changes on a daily basis and one that you are welcome to join in with.   Valentines day is a couple of weeks away, and traditionally this is the month to show those that you love how much you love them. 

As we grow and share I thought we could also do with a reminder to care for ourselves and to treat ourselves with kindness remembering that before you can love someone else you need to be able to love yourself.  For me I will be just making simple statements that can sit and encourage me in those tough times as a reminder that I am still a work in progress. 

It is very easy to take ourselves for granted, and we have to have a back pack full of encouraging words and statements that you can draw upon every now and then.  What words of encouragement can you give yourself as a reminder?

Another thing that I will be doing during the week is a daily sketch using marker pens, I wanted to experiment a bit more with the following style, and do some self portraits - I have only ever done 2 self portraits in all my time as an artist.  

Image done in Gwenn Seemel Style - Soul Food

Doing quick self portraits allows us the time to really see ourselves, looking at the imperfections that we all have and being alright with them.  While doing Soul Food  course we had a session from Gwenn Seemel, and I really like the style of using marker pens, to make the marks and not worry about rubbing out and being committed to the marks you make.  

Each day I will be spending between 15 - 20 minutes doing a sketch and will post it later during the day, it will be an exercise in observation, each one might not be complete, but I want to be consistent and show up and spend the time. You can see the images that I did as part of the Soul Food class on my Mixed Media Art site.

So if you are up for it join me Monday through to Friday during the month of February and remind yourself why 'you love you' today and every other day, and maybe even try creating a few self portraits as well! Stay Blessed!

Gratitude's and Celebrations - Week 30 - This is a great day! .......and Memories of Home

I missed the Memories of Home post on Wednesday and decided to do it anyway for this week especially because it is about being in tranquil environments or creating one in your space.  Mum has been in her flat now for nearly 40 years, all the neighbours kids that used to live there are all grown up, including myself having now been replaced with a new generation that play football in defiance of the 'no ball games sign'.  I am not sure what they were thinking when they put it up being the only space to play out in, there was never anyone to to enforce it when we were young and me and my brother would race round on our scooters, or play ball with the other kids.

Memories of Home - Tranquillity

Having experienced my first home at different points of my life growing up and now as mums carer I find that there is an unusual peace in her home which I am not sure I can solely attribute to the flat or what I have done myself, but a combination of making the environment suit the purposes and meet whatever the current needs are at the time.

I remember looking around at some things as a child and feeling how tall everything seemed, competing with my brother to check who was actually getting taller by measuring ourselves on the door frame.  He became much taller than me in the end with his 6f 2in frame, covered over are the lines on the frame.  This is my weekend with my mum and I am looking forward to spending time with her, while she is not as mobile and her understanding has diminished some what, she can still enjoy being creative and I am going to work on a mini memory box with her.

I had one of these boxes that contained a storage bag and thought I could recycle it has some potential and could be turned into a memory/assemblage box that could either be hung up or free standing, and would be a great way to capture something!.  I will let you know how it turns out in the recycled projects next week.

Gratitude's and Celebration

I am grateful and celebrate the 90 years my mum as lived, that she is able to see her grand-kids and continues to hold on to her precious life, not giving up but taking each day as it comes.  We are blessed more than we can know and I continue to look at the small things that come my way as a reminder.

Gratitude's Journal in progress

Completed page

This is a great day! 

What have you done so far with the day that you have, what can you do differently to make it even more special? I would love to hear from you and share what you will be doing. As this week draws to a close have a blessed weekend! If you want to see how I made the journal (click here) Blessings!

Little Birdy - More play with characters

As we find ourselves nearing the end of the month I find myself deep in reflection, not only by the changes I wanted to make tailing off from 2013, but what I have managed to achieve this month.  I have been working steadily on the courses and I am also working on a collage one which I will share next week.

 My birds are part of a session on Soul Food with Zorana called Fluttering in Bronze

 Whilst I do like birds I never really gave them much thought within my work, but the more and more I worked on these I realised that they all spoke to me in some way that I could relate back to my role as an artist and symbolized aspects of my journey without this being my sole purpose.

Flying High in the Sky

 Flying high was about me wanting to go further within my work, I love trying new things and embracing experiences.  Sometimes stepping into the unknown is scary, but once your into it you find your way.  It does take a while to get to grips with new techniques, but you have to persevere and you can often be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Homely

Homely represents that part of me that loves the security of the home environment but a reminder that the world continues to move whether you do or not.  In this one I added an image which happens to be my brother who passed, and is a good reminder about relationships and taking action as on the day the photograph was taken we had taken all the kids to the park and had a really lovely day.

Looking Back

Looking back sees the bird from the tree looking down and you can see the daily life going on as well as the other birds in the distance.  Something I would love to be able to do one day is to be able to work from anywhere in the world, preferably hot with a beach close by.  As we age it seems as if the world has become a smaller place, technology means that we can communicate much better than we did before from anywhere in the world and there are so many opportunities available to have a better quality of life 9 hours in a plane in any direction from my currently location!

Tomorrow I will share not only the Gratitude's and Celebrations and the Memories of Home posts but some of the exciting things that I will be working on next month and it would be great to have you join me.  If you are taking Soul Food, leave a message and let me know how you are getting on, if not check out and be inspired!