You Are Strong And You Matter

 Hi there.

I wanted to share some photos of a few healing art journal pages I made recently.  There's been a lot going on around here, so I had to get some paint on my hands for a bit of therapy!   There have been many days when I needed a reminder like this, and I knew I wasn't alone, so I did the page above for many people I love who are going through hard times.  You are stronger than you think!

The above page was done in all acrylic paints, with my hands, then stencils and brushes.  I added a touch of charcoal to create shadows.

Here's another reminder for anyone who needs it, because yes, you really do matter!

This page was done with acrylics for the background.  I used my hands again to smear the paint (good therapy!) then I stamped on paint to create the swirls. I used oil pastels to draw out the lettering.

The page on the left isn't done yet.  Sometimes I like to leave pages in various stages, so when I have time I can jump in at whatever stage I want.. start a background, work on the middle stage, or finish a page.  So far it has acrylic paint, parts of a magazine page and the image is part of a plastic bag that pasta comes in from Trader Joes.  I love to use unusual things!  Hey, why not... it's my journal!

My mom has not been well for a while and it's been weighing on me heavily.  Then two weeks ago she wound up in the hospital.  They let her go home that night after tons of tests, but while I was waiting for news about her that night, I started this journal page below.  I drew the images with a charcoal pencil.  The page next to it says  "Do you ever feel like you are carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders.... and then some?"

I still have to finish it, but I really like it so far.  It's a bit different for me, but it's an image that I had to get out and on the page to help me feel better.  There's that art therapy again!

Things are looking up over here though.  My mom is finally getting better and now we KNOW she's going to be OK... even if it takes a while. 

So with that said, I have a lot to be thankful for!  And speaking of... yesterday was our anniversary!  My husband and I got married 12 years ago!!  That seems so crazy that it's been that long, but it has!  Happy Anniversary Honey!  One of my dear friends (Hi Manya!) watched our kiddo Sunday so we could get out for a bit.  We went out to Newport Beach and had such a nice time.  Thanks Manya, we love you!

So with that I'm signing off.  Just remember, you ARE stronger than you think!  

And so am I....

 I think.

Hope and Prayer

Ok, so I decided that since my blog name is "E Makes Art", maybe it's time for me to, oh I don't know, maybe post some art. Hmmm.... there's an idea. I started this piece a couple of years ago when I bought this fantastic little brass bird stencil. I immediately wanted to use it when I got home, so I got out a little 5x5 canvas and troweled thru the stencil with plaster.

Then it sat.

I found it a while later and did a wash of color over it.

Then it sat.

I found it months later and added another wash over it. I realized that I didn't really notice the birds, so I added red to make them pop. I also added a lime green wash over the leaves. I liked where it was heading, but I didn't know where to go from there. I couldn't figure out what to put in the blank area where there was no texture.

So it sat.

I decided that it needed a word there, but what? I tried several but wasn't happy, so they got erased (good ol' watercolor pencils!). I kept on going back to it, but I was stuck. Then a few weeks ago my husband mentioned a woman at his work had breast cancer. The word hope was brought up. That's it! That's what this piece was waiting for: HOPE. I wrote it out, but something was still missing. I stared at it a while, then the word "pray" pretty much wrote itself.

What goes better with hope than prayer?