Journal Entry 5

Journal entry 5 was fun to create. I got some paint samples from Home Depot and cut them into various shapes. The theme was overlapping shapes. I think that it was a success and I plan to do more like this but on a larger scale in the future. Here a variety of different photos to show it off....More to come soon.

Journal Entry 4

For this entry I decided to skip around a litte bit. I had some pictures of cats from a day-by-day calendar that I trimmed out and made into a woven piece. It turned out kind of cool, but I still needed to add a poem that had a metaphor in it. Here is the poem:

I like how it all turned out. I didn't use the sealant this time and opted to leave it as is with just a coat of fixatif on it. Here is the page.

Doing the weaving was fun and it was inspired by a dear friend of mine. Thanks Haithe, you are such an inspiration. I hope that your art journal is going well too.

Journal Entries 2 and 3

Well, I haven't been able to get online and blog in a few days and I have had these entries done for a bit, plus some general rantings......

I am happy to report that the Woodville Mall (which had a grand re-opening) is getting a makeover....even if it is a little at a time. I was there yesterday and they have begun ripping out the carpeting. Much of it had been so damaged over the years that it was held in place with duct tape in various places. I can't tell if they're going to fix the roof that leaks or if they will just let it go, but there are some new stores. One in particular is a shop where local artists can display and sell their work. I am excited about this. The next time I stop by, I will have to chat more with the owner to see how it works, if it is done by consignment or whatever. It was nice to see some names that I recognize including Adrianne Stinson. That gal has some talent.

Anyway, I have digressed down memory land and the Woodville Mall long enough.....Journal entry two is all about my favorite animal: The Wolf. I have loved wolves since I was a wee little girl. The wolf and its paw print were drawn on antiqued paper.

For journal entry 3 I decided to also do a bit of drawing. The entry was suppose to be an animated letter. I took two different directions on this. At first I was going to draw a cartoonish letter, but went with a floral-ish  instead. I started thinking about this entry a little more and wondered....what about a written letter to someone that seems animated. Then I remembered an essay I wrote about Pearsoon Metropark. It was perfect. It is animated and hopefully (if you can read it, the font is tiny) can imagine yourself doing some of the activities I tried to capture.

Both entries were then covered in my favorite water based sealant.

The next entry that I do is going to be overlapping shapes. I have some ideas on this one and can't wait...but I also need to find a way to cut circles in thicker paper and need to make some trips to Home Depot. I'll try and remember to update more often. Anyway....enjoy:

#2

#3

A reason, a season, or a lifetime

It really is true that everything happens for a reason. At first, you may not understand it, and you may even be angry, or upset by events that are going on.....but one day, when you look back, it will all make sense. It will be like an epiphany!!! You will feel better than you have in awhile and be better off for it. Before my divorce in 2007, a co-worker gave me a poem. I have always remembered it, though sometimes I felt that the poem was wrong. I have always tried to envision what each person in my life was there for: a reason, a season, or a lifetime. It pains me to say that not everyone has been there for a lifetime (or will be there for a lifetime: don't worry, I understand), but the ones that have only been there for a brief time, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It taught me so much. It has taken me many years to feel good about where I am in life and I still struggle everyday. If life had ended up how I expected it to all the time, I would never have met the wonderful people in my life today. Looking back, I honestly don't want to envision what my life would be like right now if I had stayed where I was, never trying to better myself or my situation. I would like to share that poem with anyone that may feel like there is no hope; that life never goes the way it is suppose to. To my friends that feel that way: Embrace those feelings. Read this poem and realize that it will get better and you will be happy again. It may take time and a lot of self-exploration/soul searching.....but it WILL happen. Then you will understand why the person who had been your biggest confidant is no longer the person you run to. Someone else has stepped up to fill those shoes. Let them, and always remember:

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
~Unkown


I am grateful beyond words or expressions for all the people that are in my life. Thank you.

First Journal Entry

Today I began creating the entries for my art journal. Today's entry is about summertime events. There are so many things to do in the summer here in Toledo that I tried to incorporate as many things as I could. I included my artwork from the Toledo Botanical Garden, baseball, bbq, The OWE Festival (Old West End for out-of-towners), sunshine, Metroparks, the various county fairs, roller derby, Cedar Point, and of course, my favorite hang-out.....WoodChucks. This is how it turned out:

I added a couple flowers and coated it all with a waterbased sealant (I love Mod-Podge). I also tried an adhesive spray that I was thoroughly impressed with. The stuff is sticky-icky!!! It's called 3M 77 Super Adhesive Spray.....wow.
I can't wait for tomorrow's entry...

Summer Project

Wow, the semester has only been over for a little over a week, and I am still wired as if I was going to class....so, in an attempt to keep myself occupied and non-stagnated, I have decided to start an art journal. I have been thinking about this for several days now and I have created the journal itself.

This is the front cover. It is cardboard painted with acrylic paint, with paper label, and a waterbase sealer to hold it all in place.

This is the inside cover. It serves as a reminder of why I am undertaking this adventure. I am always looking for new ways to put creativity to use. I may not be a professional artist or anything even close, but I do it all for fun. It keeps me sane. It keeps the boredom from setting in too long. I enjoy it, and that's all that matters.

I have at least 70 random topics that will decorate the pages that are contained within the journal ranging from wall paper design to the Mona Lisa. There will be a variety of medium used as well. It is going to be an interesting hodge-podge to say the least. I will try my best to keep the entries posted on here. Tomorrow I begin my first entry.....A summer event. This will take some thought. There are so many wonderful summer events.

An Expression of Diversity Quotation Contest at Mercy College

I know that it has been quite awhile since I have written anything in my blog, school has kept me insanely busy this semester. I have felt like I don't even know if I am coming or going most of the time. Even this week, which is designated, Spring Break, I will spend most of it engrossed with schoolwork. One thing that I completed today was my entry for the Diversity Quotation Contest at Mercy College. Last year, I entered on a whim. My Cultural Diversity Professor enticed the class with extra credit. Surprisingly, I took second place in the contest and won a $50 gift certificate to the Mercy Clothing store (as well as even more extra credit for placing). I was recognized not only in the Mercy College newsletter, but at a faculty meeting as well. It was fun. This year, I entered for the same reasons, extra credit. These days, I need all I can get. The classes get harder and harder and it seems like I can never get caught up with work and school.

Here is the essay I submitted last year:

Just Like In the Movies

            With each passing day, the sun rises and sets like the rhythmic inhale and exhale of a breath. With each passing month, the seasons come and go like the ebb and flow of the tide. With each passing year, memories begin to fade like an old, tattered picture until I can no longer remember the color of the shirt that he wore, or the scent of his cologne, or what we talked about on that fateful day. Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” The words she wrote were as true then as they are today. It has happened to all of us at one time or another. It happened to me.

            I had known him since we were children and even had a silly, school-girl crush on him when I was young, but we had lost touch over the years. He had been married and divorced. I always heard snippets of information through the grapevine because our families were good friends. I had been divorced myself for a few months when we met again by chance. Several years later, I can no longer remember the color of the shirt that he wore, or the scent of his cologne, or what we talked about, but I remember the way he made me feel. I remember when he hugged me, it felt like a jolt of electricity had jumped from his body to mine. There was something about him that made the butterflies in my stomach dance around, and my heart beat faster. I felt like that young girl all over again. For the first time in almost a decade, I felt alive again.         

            In the grand scheme of things, we were destined to meet again when we did. He helped me to realize that there was a world out there and that I had been letting it slip away. I was secluded in a shell of loneliness and hurt from my failed marriage. I had built a wall around myself to keep people away. I didn’t want to ever feel that pain again. He opened my eyes and ears to the beauty that life has to offer each and every day and I felt truly loved.

Since that day, a few years ago, we have gone our separate ways. I cannot guarantee that I will ever feel that way about someone else but I am open to the possibility. Now, as I sit here thinking back, I can no longer remember the color of the shirt that he wore, or the scent of his cologne, or what we talked about that fateful day, but I will always remember the way he made me feel.

Here is the essay I am submitting this year. I have to say, I was happier with the quotations there were to chose from last year. We will just have to see where this years contest goes. Wish me luck eveyone, I may need it:

Dystopia or Utopia: You Decide

The alarm clock buzzes at six in the morning, just as it has every morning since you can remember. You get out of bed, take a shower, and get dressed in your white jumpsuit. You sit down in the kitchen, staring at the plain, white walls as you drink your morning coffee. As you leave your apartment and get into your white, four door sedan, you wave to your neighbor. While you drive to the factory where you were chosen to work, you feel lost amidst a sea of white, four door sedans that are driven by people in white jumpsuits just like you.

            In this world, there is one government. One government dictates every aspect of your life. The government chooses where everyone works, lives, and even who they marry. The only color allowed, if it can even be called color, is white; white cars, white clothes, white buildings, white walls, white furniture, and white accessories. There is only one radio station. It does not play music, but speaks of the government and how great it is because it is concerned for every person’s well-being. These words are drummed into the thoughts of every person on the planet until there are no other thoughts. Television is the same; one channel devoted to messages about how much the government loves everyone. The messages play over and over, almost as if on permanent loop. At lunchtime, people are given an hour long break. Every day the workday ends at seven in the evening. This is your life, this is the norm.

            Each and every day is the same; a repeat from the day before, until you can no longer remember anything ever being different. There was a time though, locked deep in the recesses of your mind when you saw color. It was everywhere. There was music and you could choose what style you listened to. You had your choice of what you ate, and who you married. Other authors have written books about dystopias. George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty Four; Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451. Books like these teach us of what life could be like if we are no longer in control of our own individuality, the things that make us different.  Dr. Adela A. Allen once said, “We should acknowledge differences; we should greet differences, until difference makes no difference anymore”. This is very true. It is our differences that make us unique. We are not some collective without the ability to form our own thoughts, but individuals that are able to make decisions and live each day to the fullest. Even differences within our own cultures make every day a new opportunity to learn something new and incorporate it into our lives. Embrace difference; if we do not, we are no better than the mindless people that are unable to make their own choices in life. We will live in a dystopia of our own making.