For Kimbo…

(art journal piece from February 2008)

"The Heart Of Life"
I hate to see you cry
Lying there in that position
There's things you need to hear
So turn off your tears
And listen
Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No it won't all go the way it should
But I know the heart of life is good
You know, it's nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
Then, circle of your friends
Will defend the silver lining
Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No it won't all go the way it should
But I know the heart of life is good
Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who's misunderstood
But I know the heart of life is good
I know it's good

- John Mayer

 

February is my SAD month, big time.

Working on keeping SAD Kimbo as well as possible.

Going to a place of gratitude helps, even if the gratitude isn’t as rich as it is on a good day.

Today, I am grateful that I found the strength to be vertical, showered and reaching out…

Oh, and for my friends, family and especially my husband, who love this icky Me anyway.

Love will get me through…

Big Love, Beautiful Ones.

Love turns the whole thing around...

Art Journal Page - Heart Of Life -2008

Rainy days and Tuesdays sometimes get me down. But kind of in a good way, you know ? Rain, like tears, washes the dust off sometimes and makes things fresh and green. And man, is it green out there now, in spite of the grey and the blues !

Listened to this song over and over again today. Perfect for my mood.

Hubby is out for a while. Time to go cozy up with a blankie, a sweet pooch and a good book for the evening. Have a good night !

Shelving Another One - "The Heart of Life" is DONE !

(early page - The Heart of Life)

So I just marked my art journal titled "The Heart Of Life" as "DONE!"

I actually saved one blank page in it...I think I will write about what I have learned from this one on that last blank page. Like that this journal was a lot "darker" than my first completed one. Or that there are some re-occurring themes throughout it, like the search for self-love, getting to know the inner you, the heart, pain as a catalyst for change, etc...that very much reflect what was going on in my life during the eight months or so it took to fill it up.

(recent page - "What do you ant to teach your daughters ? All the Best Cowgirls have Chinese Eyes.")

This is the second Strathmore Field Watercolor Pad (bought at Michaels with 50% off coupons) that I have filled up. I like the size I think (7x9") - not too big, not too small. I also like the combo of watercolor and sketch paper in each pad. I do some pages in larger sketchbooks with gessoed pages sometimes when I need more room. But there is something so very satisfying about having these completed journals in the same format both now sitting on the shelf in my studio.

(recent page : "Caution - Falling"

I created this slide show for this journal finale which was fun ! A little time consuming but fun! If you have a chance to look through my pages, maybe you could leave me a comment about which pages struck you the most or were your favorites. I love having this document of parts of me, and I know which pages mean the most to me as their creator. It would be kind of cool to know how my "audience" has felt when I have shared these "friends of mine.".

Happy Wednesday !

"I Got the Blues..." - Baby's Got Sole !

So the GPP Street Team Crusade #21 - Irrestistable is a few weeks old now and I have so enjoyed checking out all the great rubbing and resists that the talented Crusaders have done ! Some people have such imagination, it blows me away ! One thing that grabbed my attention was how some people used the soles of their shoes as rubbing surfaces ! Lord knows, I have a lot of shoes (like many round chicks, I enjoy the fact that I can always find a pair that fits !!!!) so that inspired me to do another go-round of this challenge.

Here's the source of my rubbings (One thing I noticed is that I have a lot more "comfort" shoes now that I am in my 40's - they work better than the stilettos for this anyway !)

And here are a few of the nice papers after the paint. I used a white crayon and a grey oil pastel for the rubbings. The paint wash was regular craft store acrylic (I was too lazy to get out the good stuff !) and I thinned it out with a bit of water and acrylic glazing medium. That made the paint transparent and allowed the colors to remain a little more vivid than just water. All of these are done on regular photocopy paper.

I used the first piece of paper I made to do this journal page. I have been feeling kind of blue lately, as have a couple of my really good friends. This piece was inspired by the John Mayer song "Heart of Life" which I have been listening too over and over again as I work at shaking off these Blues, Baby !