Gratitude's and Celebration - Week 54 - Become your own Cheerleader

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

As I embark on the 2nd year of keeping a Gratitude and celebration journal I asked myself where the self love was.  I have shared so many things that I am grateful about from the large to the very small, for the friends that I have to the opportunities that present themselves, whether positive or negative, everything has its' place at some point if only to shine the light on the gifts that lay within us that needed the trial to make it what it can truly become - think of the pearl and how that is created in the Oysters shell.

So thinking about self love, I asked myself how many times I had acknowledged when I did something good, did I take the time to celebrate the accomplishment. As well as having really encouraging people around who support and encourage you, how many times a day do you say something supportive about yourself, or say 'well done me'? 

We are not always going to have people around us that say those great things about our accomplishments and that is where you have to be your own best friend.  When you got up and did that exercise even though you wanted to slouch around what did you say to yourself? what do you see yourself becoming?, who is unfolding in front of your own eyes?  I say this because I realise that I don't always see myself, I see the person who fulfills many roles, I see the daughter who is looking after her mum with dementia, the daughter who deals with mums care and support from others, I see the wife and mother, the friend that is supportive, but for a long time I didn't see me.

As I approach my birthday next week, I have been thinking about who it is that I want to be for me, as an artist, a woman, a friend.  I have been listening to what I say about myself, how I treat myself, if I am putting myself and my needs on the back burner while taking care of others needs and beginning to shift the balance.  I realise that if there is no more of me then I cannot help others, I cannot be the blessing that I want to be. We need to take care of ourselves to be able to care for someone else, rather than taking it all including our well-being for granted.  I want to treat me as I would a best friend.

I celebrate and I am grateful for the woman that God created me to be, and will say and think encouraging things about myself everyday as I encourage others in their walk.

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

New Art - Sharing my Story

Welcome to the art that I will be sharing today, a mixed media art piece combining collage and acrylics on watercolor, called 'Sharing my Story', as part of a series of art pieces that I will be sharing this week here on the blog.

We all have different stories to tell, when you look into our eyes there are many things that they have seen.  You often can't tell what someones story is by just looking at them, and this is something that takes time and a building of trust in the relationship.

Do the eyes tell of a far off journey, or how far they have already gone.  Is there a longing for a means of escape or dreams of what is to come.  I have found myself including a hot air balloon in some of my paintings, and I guess for me it is about places to travel to.

We hold our stories close, sometimes only letting a few in and sometimes not at all, but they are stories that want to be told.  We learnt the practice, sharing and not being confined to just one way..  I journal on a regular basis and with the art journaling combine art and the written word.  But then again sometimes the image says it all and there is no need for words.

Thinking about home I have tried to make it the one place that after experiencing the cares of the world you can be yourself, find rest, be nurtured and restored.

You can dream dreams of adventures, stepping out of your comfort zone as you share your story....

What stories could you share that you have been sitting on for too long?

Sharing - Mixed media art

New Art - The Seeker - Mixed media art

This week I am sharing a series of paintings that I have been working on over the past few weeks, check back tomorrow to see what else I will be sharing.  

This painting is called The Seeker

It makes me think about the journey that many of us make as creatives, one that doesn't have a single destination, but many stops along the way.  

We have to be confident in our travelling learning as we go, making sense of things that often are not what they seem.

We share our vulnerabilities, our fears, hopes and dreams through our creativity, looking for a connection.  We open our hearts.  Stepping beyond ourselves we wait to exhale, continuing to be inspiring, trusting, finding ways to share our passions, and our love.  

We let go, and make room for the beauty to soar....

The Seeker - Mixed Media art 

New Work - Art Share - Embracing his light

From seemingly not having enough time to sit down and do some art I have found ways over the years to grab snippets of time.  I no longer wait for those big chunks of time because they never happen, and if they do very rarely but found as I kept working especially on the smaller stuff there were more little chunks of time that soon added up.  I also had to get over not being able to finish a piece of work in one sitting, and this painting is a great example.  You can see what it looked like before HERE

It started out as most of my paintings do now a days as a background and then I sketched loosely, I wasn't sure where I was going to go with it, and allowed myself the time to let it develop.

This painting reminds me of my brother Robert who passed away, last year. Once I had completed the painting I realized that it was the very thing I had experienced with him the day before he said goodbye.

One of my last conversations with Robert was about his faith, and he chose to give his life.  Moments later a burst of sunshine filled the hospital room, it was a magical moment that I will never forget.

I am enjoying my time creating and will be sharing a different piece every day this week for you to enjoy, some will be made available as prints at my Society 6 store if you would like to buy

Embracing his light - Mixed Media