The Wounded Healer

How many of us have thought how lovely it would be to make a difference in the world around us? To help to improve the lives of the needy? Especially this time of year we seem to become aware of those who are often forgotten in our business of living, amidst bill paying and getting to appointments on time and and making dinner. I've always thought a rewarding life would include helping hurting hearts to find hope, however it was never part of my plan to become one of the suffering.



However, as I mature in years I'm finding that my awareness for the pain of others seems to grow in proportion to personal experience of suffering. My own pain seems to grow a necessary humility into my offerings of assistance. Where before I remembered the hurting from a position of strength, I am discovering an unfamiliar kind of compassion in reaching out from my weakness. Weird. I never would have welcomed suffering, but its lesson is humility and grace. May we all learn it quickly.

A New Kind of Family Portrait

A couple of weeks ago, I put up what I thought was the finished family portrait I did for some friends. After looking at what I posted, I realized I had NOT posted the final painting. So here it is:


The family requested the color scheme. (I was even able to incorporate some of the paints they had used for walls and furniture in the room where the painting was to finally take up residence. It was painted on a hollow core door and due to procrastination it took far longer to complete than originally intended. However, I am really pleased with the results. The figures are from a photo shoot of family members cut from hand painted papers. Each family member is represented in the piece.




At our photo session, I staged each family member in activities that would translate well latter into the final work as it unfolded. It became both a portrait and a prayer.



I'd love to do something like it for another family or individual. My prices are extremely reasonable and I love trades...

Been Working

We've had a week of snow and freezing temperatures like we haven't seen in years. This will be my excuse for not posting anything in nearly two weeks. Oh, and the Thanksgiving holiday. The night the snow began, I was fortunate to have a house full of women getting nail art done on fingers and toes to celebrate two birthdays. For the first time I had my toenails painted a unusual color for me. Olive green served as the background for tiny copper maple leaves which startle me each night when I strip off the warm wool socks. Anyway, I delivered this painting, entitled Prayer that night:



Since then I've been working on the sketchbook project each day. The format is so small that periodically I have to do something larger to get stretched back out. This is the first layer of something along those lines:



And finally, when I'm working a commission piece, like Prayer was, I always keep paper or a canvas out to experiment with techniques or color prior to applying to the commission. Elements is the outcome of that habit.




A successful outcome. I'm loving the movement as well as the gold foil in it. Ain't it grand when a plan comes together? Always love the occasional happy accident.

Remember, every one of us is an artist in some way or another. What have you created lately?

In Process

Thursday rolled around too quickly this week, so you might want to enjoy some of the finished projects the lovely people created over at...
Here is my offering for the week, an unfinished mixed-media piece entitled Surrender, inspired by my thoughts on the singular incident that radically altered Mary's life between a visit from an angel (that alone would set you on your ear!) and the welcome from her pregnant cousin. It began as a photo of a friend wrapped in a piece of fabric in my living room to get an idea where the folds of Mary's robe might be


With that trusty reference on my computer screen, I loosely painted the placement of Mary. From there I affixed pieces of a crumpled paper bag in the general shape of the robe. What followed was a couple of hours with various sized brushes, some Golden Ultramarine and Titanium White acrylic paint. A lovely afternoon passed, I must admit. Here is the outcome...



And a close up of Mary's face...


The finished painting (soon, I promise) will be the visual half of a visual-verbal collaborative piece slated to hang in the Fireside Room of Hilcrest Chapel in Bellingham, WA in the RU4ME Art Exhibit during the month of December 2010. My co-collaborator is gifted writer, Christin Taylor, who will add her written response to the finished work. I am truly honored to work with this gifted woman and anticipate her response with excitement. If you are up near Bellingham, plan to come see the finished piece.

What are you working on these days?

Never Too Late

What was I thinking?
With my yet-to-be-managed spine challenges and medications tending to assault my balance, I decided now would the perfect time to honor my long postponed passion for ballet. Really. What was I thinking?
Three of my young friends and I petitioned a local ballet school to offer a beginner ballet class for adults. Let me quickly clarify: my "young" friends are the approximate the age of my son. But they kindly included me in this adventure. Ballet rivals pilates and yoga for strengthening the core, when properly done, so how could that be bad, right? And a strong core will definitely help with my spine in the long run. (I use this fact as motivation during my more humiliating moments in class now.)

So after investing far more than can be merely written off (after I quitting from fear of more things than I care to name here) in the leotard, tights and shoes, I crept into the brightly illuminated but cavernously chilly, mirrored room. Did I mention the mirror? A really big one. The music began to play as I clung with an iron grip to the barre along the wall and tried to replicate the graceful movements of Miss Emily, our instructor. That ^*%#^&#* mirror heartlessly exposed each and every minor (okay, major!) deviation from Miss Emily's efforlessly graceful pose. She seemed to have muscles the Creator neglected to give me. That first class was difficult for me both physically and emotionally.

However, I've found myself standing a little taller and using my core more often during normal activities. Today was my third class. The mirror is still huge, but it's a helpful tool to identify where my body isn't in proper position. It also reflects when I do actually reach a graceful pose. No, it does not feed my denial, but as I am willing to accept and embrace myself exactly where I am---in this present moment---I can enjoy the incremental improvements I do see. And applaud them. After all, muscles have memory. Practice builds strength. I only wish I hadn't waited so long to approach the mirror.

Making Messes

Between daily breakfast dates with two of my grandsons (lucky me), a dazzling trip over Stevens Pass




and a much-needed visit to my friend the Graphic Designer for some R&R (thank you, my precious friend), I have been busy.

Oh, perhaps I should qualify that: I've been creating... all kinds of things. (The Professor and the Handsome Ginger have agreed to call it "Making Messes", one fondly and the other, well, not so much.. Here's the current list of Messes: I'm illustrating a poet's book for children. I'm mid-canvas on a painting promised in trade for The Blank Page Writing Workshop which begins next week. Check it out if you're interested in future workshops. I'm in the early stages of a painting I'm calling Surrender that will hang in the RU4ME Show at Hilcrest Chapel during the month of December.

As to future Messes, I've got a couple out there. First, I've decided to participate in this year's The Sketchbook Project with the assigned theme, Make Mine a Double. I plan to begin that next week. I'm also reconsidering teaching some children's art classes. Just the basics of color, sketching and 3-D drawing. I'm working on a realistic time frame and cost structure (doesn't that sound businesslike?) Whatever. Finally, I've got a new commission. This time and organization.

So here are the 2 things I've actually finished lately. One is a family portrait of a different kind. After a photo shoot with the family I chose the images I wanted and enlarged them to the sizes I needed. I then cut the from papers I had painted in colors to specifically compliment their living room (where it was to hang).




I then attached these images to the "canvas" (a hollow core closet door) which I had prepared beforehand.



I need to take a photo of it as it hangs, because it is killer! This time I was truly pleased with the outcome!

Here's the second project and this one I'll post over at Gitzen Girl. It's based on a quote Ann Voskamp posted. "We thought our secrets would save us... but they slowly slay us."



Too true.

What have you created just for the mess of it this week?

Body Image Blocks

This past week I finished a project for my friend, the Psychologist. Her work in the area of one's unhealthy relationships with one’s own body and food is inspired. She takes a strongly sane position between the "Fat is fab, eat it if you see it" ladies and the "Strut your skeleton, starve yourself" girls. She's created a body of research on the subject that is remarkable. I thought I'd heard it all, but after 15 minutes listening to her input on the topic, I was surprised to have learned a few things. (Did you know, for instance, that every cell in the body is renewed in a year? So, who do I want to be next year?) I've put attending her Clean Eating Class on my Bucket list. Wise beyond her years, she is a knowledgeable and a caring therapist. (And she'll blush if she reads this.)

My task was to decorate some Jenga blocks with statements regarding body image. She called them cognitive disconnects, I believe. Her plan is to use them in a game she has created for her Body Image Workshop. Sadly, many of these statements have been my foundational truths. But as I carefully chose lettering, color and design for each individual block, I also had plenty of time to meditate, often squirming with discomfort I might add, on the statement.



As misery loves company, I thought I'd share a couple of them with you:








Bunk, wouldn't you say?

What have you created this week?

Field of Hearts

I've taken to carrying my sketchbook and some kind of mark-maker wherever I go in order to stop, witness and respond to my life rather than race through it as I have these many years. As this is a new habit I am working to make a natural part of my day, I often forget, allowing my sad, glad, holy, silly and perfect moments to slip (or hover) unnoticed. So much ready inspiration goes unseen and un-dabbled-with when I refuse to slow down. So I'm hoping as I continue practicing being aware and responding, the habit will become natural.

...Sort of like changing my posture. I've gotten the word three (yes, 3!) professionals that by lifting my chest, dropping my shoulders, tucking my bum and bringing my ears over my shoulders I will lessen the mind-numbing pain in my neck, shoulders and back. I don't know how many times a day I am currently re-aligning my body, but trust me, it's more times than I care to count! I keep encouraging myself that muscles have memory and given time and persistence, I will become Jenny, Straight and Tall. In the meantime, I practice.

Anyway as today is Thursday, and I am participating over at Gitzen Girl with the You Create, I am posting a response from my carry-along sketchbook to a speaker I heard talking about God's love. It was a couple of weeks ago actually, but between the flu and my posture, I've been busy.



Here's hoping you can take some time to respond to your life in your own unique way.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I had thought that I wouldn't be creating anything again this week due to this weekend's upcoming wedding for Natalie and Jeremy. However, when I looked this morning for the shoes I normally wear to work weddings in, I came up empty. Had the weather cooperated, I had black sandals, however since we now seem to be dancing between autumn's cold/wet and late summer's sunshine, I neede something more substantial with which to cover my tooties.

Being the resourceful woman I am, I dug out a pair of comfortable flats that I could depend on wearing without the distraction of pain for the 10-12 hours I plan to follow the above mentioned bride. This particular pair of flats were currently a dark shade of blue violet, but they had begun life in a shade of summer white. From that they were transformed into a green pattern I needed to match a summer dress. And then, you guessed it, into their current shade.

I determined my need for black shoes presently outweighed my use for the blue violet. So I pulled out my trusty sharpie...



New Black Shoes!

What did you create this week?

Surprising Response

Hope you missed me last week. I'd like to say that I just got busy, but that is not entirely truthful. I did work on some creative projects, but they were either unfinished by last Thursday or fall into the "Hush'Hush" category for one of you.

This week, however, has been thrillingly creative. New projects are brewing in a variety of media. My sister proposed interesting project involving silk and color and design. A new friend, Flame-lighter, shared a free write begging for a slide-show. Another friend, the Counselor, gave me some wooden block to adorn with truth and lies. Mother Mary, the Poetess, has partnered with me to create a children's book. All these projects have served to give my eyes new sparkle and put the bounce back in my step. Thank you all and I'll keep you posted.

On top of all this, I am reading a book by somatic psychologist, Christine Caldwell, entitled Getting Our Bodies Back which has been thought provoking. And no, it is not about getting rid of that "baby weight." This book seems to be the inspiration for this week's You Create project. After reading a chapter the other morning, I pulled out my crayons and journal and began to play a bit. The following image is one of the surprising results(surprising because I have never done anything remotely resembling this). No abstraction here...


Reminds me of a toned-down Matisse done in wax crayon.

What have you created today?

Presto Chango and TA-DA Thursday!

In the process of the Professor's rearranging his home study this past weekend, an "extra but ugly" small bookcase came up for grabs.


Remembering of the dismaying tower of books on both bed-side tables and growing library now both on and under the tiny side table, I decided to try to reclaim the bedroom surfaces and floor by turning that ugly duckling into a swan.



I think I succeeded, thanks to allthingsheartandhome.com and 2 quick coats of the amazing Behr paint with primer.


What do you think?
Oh, and thanks again Sara!

Vacation Part Deux

The Professor is on vacation. Still. Our original plan included a 10-day camping trip at a favorite spot beside a secluded lake on the Olympic Peninsula. That was replaced with somebody's (and NOT the Professor's, I hear) grand scheme to empty everything from his home office and replace mismatched bookcases with a custom wall unit designed and built by Himself. Did I mention he is a man of numerous talents? Along with the room reassembling, something about an overnight getaway at a favorite inn an hour away had been mentioned...and forgotten amidst the chaos we had created in the house.

So after much whining...and complaining...and grumping by the person who doesn't get out much (not Himself, of course), the Professor proposed a day trip. And without further ado, we escaped the chaos for the car. Before we hit the Interstate going south, we stopped for coffee. While we we waiting in line, he said, " You remind me of that. Look in your mirror."



(Okay, I found the image online.) But I had a good laugh. Now I know how those dogs feel when they get to go for a ride.

Two Week Project

Again, thank you Sara for inspiring my creative Thursday. New habits grow slowly, but surely. If you're considering beginning a new creative habit, check this out...


Since the Professor is on vacation right now, my usual slow and solitary pace has kicked into overdrive. We decided to remain at home while he created a bookcase wall for his ever-growing library. During this project, the contents of his office are being stored in the living room. I don't do chaos well; I should have taken a trip...

Anyway, enough whining. I'd been working on a couple of small art boards (watercolor pencils on a stamped image on gessoed matte board) while away with my girlfriends a couple of weeks ago and finally decided to use them for the covers of a journal (a belated birthday gift) for my friend, Ms. Jazzercise. So I got out my handy tool...


Cut pages to size and punched them...


In the process of binding the covers I smashed the pointer finger of my left hand, requiring ice. Yaa-owch!!


I was pleased with the outcome and have decided to let "Ms. J." determine the front cover..


But I'm tending toward this one...



Hope you have a lovely Thursday, doing something that gives you joy.
Blessings...

Done In By Tie Dye

This week has been slightly more crazy than usual. I know, difficult to believe, right? This is the weekend me and "the girls" do our annual camp-out, however this is the first time since we began the tradition that we actually plan to camp. (As in tents, sleeping bags, the Coleman stove and whatever else is supposed to go along with that.) Also, the competent woman who usually plans the food took a leave of absence due to her recent move. So the task fell to two of the occasionally forgetful other women. Knowing we had to put a menu together, we met a couple of weeks ago and planned everything. I promptly lost all my notes, but didn't worry since I knew I had PLENTY of time to get the list of my food responsibilities from my capable friend.

Fast forward to this week. She decided to drive 4 hours over the mountains to pick up nieces and a nephew for a few days. I decided they would benefit from participating in a Tie Dye Camp, an idea I've been kicking around for a couple of years. (After all, I had an extra DAY this week, so I might as well try to pull together this long-hatching idea. Since I had an engagement shoot on Monday, we scheduled the camp for Tuesday. I could then process the engagement photos Wednesday, shop and cook on Thursday and travel over the mountains on Friday.

So by Tuesday night my neck and shoulder had seized up in horrible pain from Monday and Tuesday's mistreatment, and my lower back was screaming. (Note to self: use an assistant for shoots and tables for any future camps!!!) Wednesday was spent medicated on heat and ice and in bed. Thank heaven I could move today to shop and chop veggies.

So here is my creative offering. The shirt on the far left is mine; a mess of color done by using an extra shirt I had brought along to mop up excess dye... It is my sad offering for Creative Thursday...

Found Inspiration

Okay, it's already Thursday again. Thank you Gitz for your weekly challenge which keeps me creating rather than dreaming/planning. And creating something just for me. I find I can fix, make, paint, sew, photograph... you name it... for anyone else. My challenge continues to be staying self-focused with this. I admit that I'm not always completely satisfied or even finished when I post my creation, but I am actually DOING. After all, the definition of an artist is someone who makes art. So, again, thank you Gitz for yet another Thursday. And yet another something I am doing simply for me. And for helping me to develop this habit.

Today I played in my sketchbook with pen and watercolor pencil and oil sticks. I don't usually do anything realistic, but I was inspired by a photo I'd taken years ago one dawn on the beach that I happened to come across this week...



If you'd like to join me in developing a weekly creative habit, check out this link.

My "Graduation" Gift - Creative Thursday

I came back weary from the exhibition (my work will continue to hang in the Gail Harker Creative Studies Studio throughout the summer)about ten days ago and found both these lovely flowers...


and an envelope from Mommy & Daddy. The Professor added his gift to this and this week's Creative Thursday was born. My dining room could be reclaimed from the studio...



a hide-away studio wall would replace the chaos in which we have lived for the two years of the course.
The first challenge was to empty the contents of the above room into the living room, the Professor's office, and hallway of our snug digs...



some of the pieces found new homes elsewhere, others were re-purposed...



the glass shelves were reconfigured into a lone tower...



and two trips to our closest IKEA location, across the border in Canada by the way, took place. I found a smokin' deal on some laundry storage and bought what I thought would be enough. HA! Always trying to "make do" cost me the second trip, a 3 1/2 hour fiasco in record heat without air conditioning to purchase two more units...which were sold out, so I quickly bought three of the smaller units and the necessary drawers. As counting has never been my strongest suit, I will have to make yet another IKEA run.
But I have recovered my dining table and will be able to have friends and family over soon...



once the drawers are purchased or at least the curtains made and hung.
I am terribly pleased with my handiwork and feeling like a "real artist" now. Thank you, Mom & Dad.



But mostly, thank YOU, Professor. Your patience with the disarray of the past couple of years, encouragement not to give up and unflagging your support got me through. Your example of re-creating yourself has been my standard. Thank you for your courage and your love.