A break from being "Yellow" - LOL - and Good Blogging suggestions

Really - just needed to paste a link here so I could find it again - a good post from the Etsy Storque on blogging tips - something I know I NEED!! Ha, ha - this is quite a commitment, and it is hard when the creative flow gets interrupted...it is just hard sometimes to juggle homeschooling a sweet girl with learning differences, part-time counseling (especially when a client hits a crisis), trying to make nutritious meals (at least in the evening)and keeping up with the two dogs, cat, housekeeping, and soon to start gardening and lawn maintenance!

Today has been rainy and cold - even had some sleet, a few flakes of snow, and some icy build-up so we got to stay tucked in all day - got all the school work done AND 3 re-runs of NCIS!!!

Anyway, here is the link to "Etsy's Guide to Blogging":



etsys-guide-to-blogging

Sketchbook Project (My Life in a Yellow Submarine) - 5

The words on this submarine page read Connecting with our own human spirit will ultimately lead us into a relationship with the wisdom of the Universe…



This "Face of Wisdom" is my first attempt at and African-American face. I am pleased with how she turned out - tho' I might have worked more on layers and shading if it were on a canvas. I know I kept telling myself, to keep moving to meet the deadline, that "this is just a sketchbook; it doesn't have to be perfect"! Her words are excerpts from Proverbs 8:

Does not wisdom call, and understanding lift up her voice?

At the entrance of the doors she cries out – “Listen, for I will speak of noble things. Take my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than purest gold. “ For wisdom is better than jewels. All desirable things cannot compare with her.

I love those who love me, and those who diligently seek me will find me.



From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest time of the earth.

Now, therefore people, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it, for he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.

Sketchbook Project (My Life in a Yellow Submarine) - 4

It is a journey beyond facades , masks, expectations – to a place deep within that is stripped of all but strengths, weaknesses, wounds, desires…



I lift up my eyes; from where does my help come?
When I pass through the waters, He is with me; and through the rivers He will not let me be submerged; and when I walk through the fire, He will keep me from being scorched or burned. He is gentle and will not crush my bruised places or extinguish my dimly burning spirit…

Sketchbook Project (My Life in a Yellow Submarine) - 3

The words read: Connecting with your spiritual nature requires risk and vulnerability and honesty.

Since that is sometimes a scary step to achieve, the words I chose to go with the face to express this idea say: I will be strong and courageous, I will not tremble or be dismayed, for the One Who created me is with me and is drawing me forward.




The pages were a little bubbly from using gel medium to glue several together to give the pages enough body to carry the paint...and the pictures seem a little yellow tinted - maybe that was meant to be!?

Enjoy!

Sketchbook Project (My Life in a Yellow Submarine) - 2

The text reads...
Yellow is a color that feels peaceful, happy, restorative…bringing a sense that all will be well.




The text continues...
Eternity is set in my heart…
My soul longs for the one who made me…indeed, my spirit within me seeks diligently…and yet, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself in…

Sketchbook Project (My Life in a Yellow Submarine) - 1

Here is the text...
Ringo, John, Paul and George may not have intended their little song about a yellow submarine to be deeply spiritual (or even a tiny bit spiritual!), BUT, the art therapy theory I am trained in links the color of yellow to our human spirit and the attributes that our spirit man bring to our experience…so I took liberty with the song and defined it as a metaphor for our spiritual journey – a very loose metaphor!!! In this journey we must dive beneath the surface of our daily life to find what is profoundly at the core of who we are as individuals. This journey requires that we move past the superficial, that we move through denial, in order to find our true identity.

I have juxtaposed my imagination’s rendition of the interior of the submarine using childlike simplicity between the exploration of the spirit I have been through using images of women in fields of blues…no matter what your spiritual persuasion, let’s walk a spirit journey together. Come and…




Open your heart, your mind, even your spirit…to new possibilities – to New Life!



The words read...
We are a tri-partate being, comprised of our body (the 5 senses), our soul (which is our thoughts, will, and emotion) and our spirit (which is conscience, communion, and intelligience).
Our spirit experiences the world through the 5 senses, and the resulting beliefs, decisions, and feelings are what comprise our soul.

UFOs and UFBs - one of my New Year's Resolutions

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You might think it is a little late to address those famous promises we each invariably make at the beginning of each year...but for me, it seems to take most of the month of January to truly iron out what I want to focus on for the next 11 months! It has been that way since 1986!

Any way, ONE resolution is actually a carry over from last year...finish up all the UFOs (Unfinished Objects - art, quilting, home decorating, etc.).

This will include UFBs - unfinished blogging ideas! Remember the covenant series? I promise I will finish that! Soon! Really! But first, I will post my sketchbook project...yes, true to form, I finished it just in time to get it in the mail before January 4th. Actually, I did it in about 3 days between Christmas and New Years...Oh, I had great intentions of posting each step of my progress, but....

I did make a video of the finished product, and have spent a good part of the next two weeks trying to learn how to upload - oops, too big, have to edit it...have to learn how to use the movie-maker program...decided it was too geeky that I read EVERY LAST WORD I HAD JOURNALED IN IT for the video...so captured finished images of each page...and now I am ready to post the text and the images...so Sketchbook Project is up next!!!