Creating in Faith Encouraging Word - Excited

Happy Monday, hope you are having a blessed day where ever you are in the world.  The weeks are flying by so quickly and we are nearly at the end of the month.  So many things have happened over the course of the months that is changing the course of history and life as we know it.

What does change make you feel?  Do you get excited about change or feel stressed.  I know that the changes that have taken place over the months including Covid, the murder of George Floyd and so many other black men women and children at the hands of the police have left people feeling numb, angry, sad, helpless, hopeless, ashamed and so many other emotions we can think of.

As we move forward in a fight to ensure that no one will be discriminated against, that we step up in raising our voices, that we face the issues head on and recognize the injustices of the world and each do our part to stop it from happening.  We all have a voice from the very youngest to the oldest.

In the podcast today I look at the word Excited - what can you think of however small to get excited about in your life around you that you can hold on to and build on.

Listen to the Podcast

You can see more of the art work used for the podcast images, used from my 100 Days of Pastel Series.  Prints and art on merchandise is available HERE

Pastel Paintings part of the 100 Days of Pastels

Inspirational Shorts - Poetry Corner - Ntozake Shange - Mood Indigo

Inspirational Shorts

Welcome to Inspirational Shorts in todays recording we look at the poet/writer Ntozake Shange.  

Ntozake Shange was an American playwright and poet. she addressed issues relating to race and Black power in much of her work. She is best known for her Obie Award-winning play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. She also penned novels including Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo (1982), Liliane (1994), and Betsey Brown (1985)   Her father was an Air Force surgeon and her mother a psychiatric social worker. Cultural icons such as Dizzie Gillepsie, Miles Davis, and W.E.B. DuBois were regular guests in the Williams home. more HERE

Listen to the Podcast HERE

She is one of my favorite writers and today we look at her poem Mood Indigo.  I encourage you to look at some of her other work, and you can find additional links to books on Amazon

Mood Indigo - 

it hasnt always been this way

ellington was not a street

robeson no mere memory

du bois walked up my father’s stairs

hummed some tune over me

sleeping in the company of men

who changed the world

 

it wasnt always like this

why ray barretto used to be a side-man

& dizzy’s hair was not always grey

i remember            i was there

i listened in the company of men

politics as necessary as collards

music even in our dreams

 

our house was filled with all kinda folks

our windows were not cement or steel

our doors opened like our daddy’s arms

held us safe & loved

children growing in the company of men

old southern men & young slick ones

sonny til was not a boy

the clovers no rag-tag orphans

our crooners/ we belonged to a whole world

nkrumah was no foreigner

virgil aikens was not the only fighter

 

it hasnt always been this way

ellington was not a street

BY NTOZAKE SHANGE

Check out Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo

Arts and Wellness - Stitched Play

Come and check out the Arts and Wellness video where I look at some stitched projects as well as reflecting on current events.

Let me know how you get on and which is your favorite wall hanging.  Will be finishing them and adding to my Etsy store - (details to come)  Or just contact me for prices if you would like to purchase sooner.

Listen to the Podcast

Affinity - Creating in Faith - Podcast

I talk about the affinity that I have with the land.  Over time working out in the garden I have been able to see my landscape change by planting tendering and nurturing the land that I have around me.  I grew up with house plants and had a big learning curve in transferring the knowledge that I have gained.  It has all come together as I step out of my comfort zone. 

Listen to the podcast

I mention gardening and I would love you to check out my Creative Gardening platform and YouTube Channel

Creative Gardener

Inspirational Shorts - Gwendolyn Brooks - Sermon on the Warpland

Gwendolyn Brooks

Welcome to the final week of poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks as part of Inspirational shorts Episode 223 on the podcast. 

The word today is Helpful - Think of a time where you helped someone or was yourself helped and how did it make you feel

Listen to the Podcast

The Sermon on the Warpland

And several strengths from drowsiness campaigned

but spoke in Single Sermon on the warpland.

And went about the warpland saying No.

“My people, black and black, revile the River.

Say that the River turns, and turn the River.

Say that our Something in doublepod contains

seeds for the coming hell and health together.

Prepare to meet

(sisters, brothers) the brash and terrible weather;

the pains;

the bruising; the collapse of bestials, idols.

But then oh then!—the stuffing of the hulls!

the seasoning of the perilously sweet!

the health! The heralding of the clear obscure!

Build now your Church, my brothers, sisters. Build

never with brick or Corten nor with granite.

Build with lithe love. With love like lion-eyes.

with love like morningrise.

with love like black, our black—

luminously indiscreet;

complete; continuous.”

 ***********************************************

The Second Sermon on the Warpland

This is the urgency: Live! and have your blooming in the noise of the whirlwind.

Salve salvage in the spin.

Endorse the splendor splashes;

stylize the flawed utility;

prop a malign or failing light–

but know the whirlwind is our commonwealth.

Not the easy man, who rides above them all,

not the jumbo brigand, not the pet bird of poets, that sweetest sonnet, shall straddle the whirlwind.

Nevertheless, live.

All about are the cold places, 

all about are the pushmen and jeopardy, theft–

all about are the stormers and scramblers, but

what must our Season be, which starts from Fear?

Live and go out.

Define and

medicate the whirlwind.

The time

cracks into furious flower. Lifts its face

all unashamed. And sways in wicked grace.

Whose half-black hands assemble oranges

is tom-tom hearted

(goes in bearing oranges and boom).

And there are bells for orphans–

and red and shriek and sheen.

A garbageman is dignified

as any diplomat.

Big Bessie’s feet hurt like nobody’s business,

but she stands–bigly–under the unruly scrutiny, stands in the wild weed.  In the wild weed

she is a citizen,  and is a moment of highest quality; admirable.

It is lonesome, yes. For we are the last of the loud.

Nevertheless, live.

Conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind.

Find her books on Amazon

You can check out more about Gwendolyn Brooks, her life and other poetry on the Poetry Foundation Website - HERE

Join me each week on the podcast - HERE

Thank you for joining me, stay blessed and be a blessing!

Arts and Wellness Wednesday - Slow Stitching and Art Journalling

Welcome, in today's video I share we look at the importance of taking time for your self to make sure that you nurture and spend as much creative time as you can.

We can very often forget to even think about what we want, how we are or where we are going.  In times especially like these where we can be surrounded by stressful situation taking time just to ask yourself the question 'How am I' and then thinking of a creative activity that you can take part in can go a long way.

I also share about some creative stitching projects that I have been doing - these are my stitched meditations that I dip into every now and then and have created quite a few art panels.

 

Stitched Meditations - Amanda Trought

Mixed Media Art - Amanda Trought

Loom and Stitching

Shades of Green

I will be giving you a closer look of each of them over the coming weeks.

I was inspired by an artist  Arthur Ange on Facebook who creates fabric masks you can see some of his other work HERE  You can also take a look at artist Bisa Butler and her amazing fabric portraits.

I was so inspired to create a fabric portrait that I put together this piece, I want to do more so need to move some tasks I have to do around a bit.  You can also create stitched projects to go in your journal, which adds interesting details and textures.

Stitched Faces - Stories await

I am looking forward to creating some on a larger scale.  It is more like a wall hanging than a mask at the moment.

I hope you enjoy the video, let me know what you are working on at the moment and connect with me.  You can also listen to this post on my Podcast HERE

Stay Blessed and be a Blessing - Amanda!

Art Journal Process - Working in multiple Art Journals

Art Journal Play

Check out some of the other videos below - sharing your creative voice and art journals

Creative Encourager - If you want to talk about creativity and the direction you are going and need a listening ear, sign up for a FREE 30 minute call http://bit.ly/Encoura

Need Art Supplies - check out some of my Amazon Recommended HERE

Arts and Wellness - Art Journals and Collage

Arts and Wellness - Art Journals and Collage

In this video we look at how the arts and creativity can and do impact on our health and well-being.  

We look at taking a variety of materials and seeing how using collage can often enable us to communicate thoughts and feelings.

You can create on separate pieces of card/paper and then add to your art Journal.  Don't be afraid to experiment and above all have fun..

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Creative Encourager - If you want to talk about creativity and the direction you are going and need a listening ear, sign up for a FREE 30 minute call http://bit.ly/Encoura

Art Journalling Pages - Just Start

Art Journal Page - Just Start!!

In this first video I will share with you how to work on the background, you just have to put something down and it will take away the fear.  Practicing creating backgrounds for a while and don't worry about what you are going to put on it or how it would look in the end. 

You will be building up the layers and focus on enjoying the process.

Developing the Page

Art Journal Page - From Scratch

In this video I share with you a page that has had colour added to it but little else and how I build up the page to create the image.  You don't have to do everything all at once so come back and see how the two pages get moved on.

Enjoy!

Word for the Week - Rapturous - Creating in Faith Episode

Realityarts Podcast

Welcome to Episode 221 - I hope that you have had a blessed weekend. Today's word is Rapturous, is this a word that you have ever used in relation to your creativity. Think about it for a moment, get out your art journal and spend some time thinking about the kind of colours that could be used and ways in which you can express the word in your life.

Creating In Faith Encouraging Recordings are to bless and inspire you. It can be really great to pull out your art journal/Journal and express what comes up for you either with images and colour, with words or with both. Check out the weekly and monthly videos to help you spend more time in your art journal.

Listen to the Podcast

Art Journal Page

Check out an art journal page from start to finish which might give you some tips for starting your own.

Image Artwork

You can find the image Artwork on my Red Bubble Store, with a range of different images and merchandise -HERE

Arts and Health Network

I also have an Arts and Health NHS Network for information on activities and organisations working in the field. You are welcome to join, it is a FREE resource and if you have any activities or want to talk about your work you are welcome to send me the information and I will see that it gets uploaded. You can create your own profile on the network and connect with others who are passionate about the arts in health too.

Looking for ways to express yourself?

Creative Encourager - If you want to talk about creativity and the direction you are going and need a listening ear, sign up for two FREE 30 minute calls http://bit.ly/Encoura

Book Review - Sew U

Come and check out the book review Sew U 

Watch the Video

I have also found additional supplies on Amazon that you can check out to help you on your way - some additional books and sewing supplies.  Let me know if you have any favorite sewing books that you have come across.

Thank you for Joining Me

Poet of the Month - Gwendolyn Brooks - Inspirational Shorts - Episode 220

Welcome to the third week of poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks as part of Inspirational shorts Episode 220 on the podcast. 

The word today is Personal

of De Witt Williams on his way to Lincoln Cemetery

BY GWENDOLYN BROOKS

He was born in Alabama.

He was bred in Illinois.

He was nothing but a

Plain black boy.

Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.

Nothing but a plain black boy.

Drive him past the Pool Hall.

Drive him past the Show.

Blind within his casket,

But maybe he will know.

Down through Forty-seventh Street:

Underneath the L,

And Northwest Corner, Prairie,

That he loved so well.

Don’t forget the Dance Halls—

Warwick and Savoy,

Where he picked his women, where

He drank his liquid joy.

Born in Alabama.

Bred in Illinois.

He was nothing but a

Plain black boy.

Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.

Nothing but a plain black boy.

Check out some of Gwendolyn's Books on Amazon

Find her books on Amazon

You can check out more about Gwendolyn Brooks, her life and other poetry on the Poetry Foundation Website - HERE

Join me each week on the podcast - HERE

Thank you for joining me, stay blessed and be a blessing!