The other day I was driving home and one of my fav songs came on "Livin' the Dream" by Uncle Kracker…..
That inspired me to come home and paint.
So many of us forget the dream,our dream. Or don't have one…We are busy making our kid's dreams come true or maybe in a focusing on things around us…work, illness, life, the list goes on. We get lost in the mix. Sometimes we get wrapped up in what is going wrong around us or concentrating on the little things that drive us nuts instead of focusing on what drives us.
I get emails from those who share with me what art journaling has done for them….like this one
"Tracy, A friend of mine who has been through so much (lost her mom, an aunt, an uncle, dad in nursing home, health issues) saw one of my art journal pages and commented that she'd put that on her desk and that there were days she needed to be reminded that The sun always shines even above the clouds and it never rains forever. I had wanted to do something for her so of course that got my brain to going and I bought a canvas. For the first time I took something I created and put it to canvas as a gift. Now I'm nowhere as talented as you but it was from the heart and because of you I was brave enough to even try art journaling. My son took it to her today and here is what she put on facebook: 'thank you so much for the beautiful gift! I will hang it at work, not just as a reminder that it doesn't rain forever, but also that God has blessed me with wonderful, caring friends!'. I just wanted to share and say "Thank You" again. I seriously have went through some really scary times and changes in my life (some ongoing) and through the art journal and your teaching it has given me an extra "something" to be excited about and also special time with my daughter. It's kind of like I "lose" myself in what I'm creating and just let everything else go, if that makes sense. :-)"
and this one
"Hi Tracy, Thank you for sharing, I am going to work on my "homework" today 🙂 I think it will help, I am the happiest when I am getting into all my craft/art supplies, I just feel I am always watching the clock, haha, I have an 87 year old mom in a nursing home …, and then at home here we have my year old son, and my older son with his wife and child living with us…. and my house is just not big enough for all of us and my craft stuff Hahahaha, soooo I think this is what set me off this time, and I am truly trying to work through it …..yes I do not know how to say "no" so I am trying to find "me" again. Thank you so much for this wonderful kit and your videos, and I am so grateful I found your site:-) Hugs"
I am so blessed to have emails like this and so many more………….
I for one am guilty of this myself…there are big bumps to go through in life and the little things get in the way too! I have a black dog (aka "The Furball") that is shedding right now that I am following around with a vacuum cleaner. I know what it is like to focus on the things that drive me nutso. The world is not perfect, things will not always be perfect and in those non-perfect times spawns these moments of brilliance. If we can take that focus from the not-so perfect to things that bring us great joy. From hard times comes great inspiration.
This page acts as a reminder for me. I loved the process of this page and by adding the drywall tape before while using the gesso I was able to get some fun texture on the page! Super simple technique!
MATERIALS LIST:
- drywall seaming tape (Home Depot)
- Gesso & Paints – DecoArt
- Flower – unknown
- Charcoal Pencil
- Rub Ons – Creative Imaginations
- Foam Stamps – Making Memories
- Book Text
- Gouache Paints – Reeves
- Stamp Pad – Marvy Heritage Ink Pad
It goes to show you that you can find inspiration all around you. I thank Uncle Kracker for mine on this day! I challenge you to find the song that sings to you…..
"Be your own kind of beautiful" ~Unknown