Birthday Girl

Red Path and Lemonade

This card started out as a journal page. I've begun to work larger and then reduce images to artist card size. Redline stamp "Birthday Girl". Fortunes from my birthday dinner: "The future comes one day at a time" and "Most success springs from an obstacle or failure". Sharpie accent markers, glitter glue (Crayola). Starbucks "treat receipt" stamp. Memento Dual Markers (Tsukneko).

I love how the process of making art always surprises and informs me. At the center of this card I pasted on my fortunes. I ripped one of them at the restaurant but it seems appropriate since this is the one that talks about success coming from failure. A lucky rip. I originally drew fortune cookies but they turned into lemons as I worked on them. I had put bits of my Starbucks "treat receipts" on the lower left, this became a frosty glass of lemonade. My inner self reminding me to alway lemonade when life gives you lemons.

Each of the quadrants of this piece ended up representing a part of my creative life. The lower left seems to be about comfort and nurturing myself. The lower right has card shapes flying around my head. These are my artist cards, the ones already created, and ideas for cards. I am thinking this also represents the Tarot. The Tarot deck is a wonderful source of symbolism and wisdom. It has been called "The Book of Life" because it represents the stages of the hero's path from birth to death. My friends like me to read for them.

The upper right represents transformation (books as butterflies) and a few books I want to write. The upper left represents my paintings and also some framed mirrors I want to make.

I added a wavy connecting line--a river. It became a stream of vitality--the life blood that energizes activity. I am reminded of Navaho lore: "The Red Path" is the path with heart that means you are following your dreams and destiny with courage.

Kind of a busy, messy piece but a wonderful reminder to continuing to follow my creative spirit despite my "senior" status (or maybe because of it).

Thin Band of Humanity

Thin Band of Humanity

Collage made from larger tempera paintings cut up with fancy scissor and altered with gesso. Some of the edges were rubbed with copper colored stamping ink. Some stamping with an organic image on the lower part of the more distant mountain.

I had two large tempera paintings from a process painting workshop. Process painting is a spontaneous art process where intuition and the natural creativity of the inner self are invited to play. I liked my big paintings but they were getting damaged just leaning against the wall, and would have cost a fortune to frame. I decided to cut up my paintings into 8 1/2" by 11" pages for my visual journal. Makes great pages of you can deal with the ongoing smell of tempera. Reminds me of my first agency studio as an art therapist where I spent time mixing tempera and working with clients.

I had a number of scraps left over so I took some decorative sheers and began to cut and collage. At first I just had a shape that looked like a prairie dog, but suddenly it began to look like a sunset bathed landscape. The tempera colors were very vivid and raw so I started to experiment with softening the colors with gesso. Since gesso is water soluble I was able to vary my muted colors by using the mixture of tempera and gesso to make a sort of spontaneous gouache. I left one thin strip of tempera colored paper vivid at the bottom. When a glued on that strip it looked like houses and foreground foliage to me. I was struck by the huge beauty of nature in contrast to the "thin band of humanity".

GO

GO

Gameboard blank, Jupiter sticker, Tim Holtz spinner, Martha Steward punch (negative). Letter stickers, Plaid Liquid Embossing Fluid.

Here I am making a journey along with my son. In the game it is usually a good thing to pass Go. Jupiter is the planet of good fortune, but how things turn out often seems like the random results of the spin of a spinner. The arrow is pointing up, perhaps reminding me to trust in Higher Power to lead me. I must do what I need to do each day but trust that my daily right actions will take me where I need to go. Stay or go? The card says GO.

Elixir for Clarity

Elixir C

Redline stamps: text, "message" bottle. Ranger archival ink (sepia). Various clips for herbal elements. Butterfly from K & Company. Blue denim blank, yellow plastic blank, Plaid Liquid Embossing Fluid (clear).

I feel like I haven't posted in a while. I've been trying to decide what to do about my living situation and things are still up in the air. My prayer with this elixir card is for clarity. It contains an encouragement to open the door of creativity, a pencil (for writing, drawing), an admonition towards transformation/change (butterfly) and the practical and nurturing beauty of simple flowers. Beauty always softens my heart and raises my spirits.

I need to reduce living expenses but don't want my son to go to live with his dad and don't want to move to a dangerous neighborhood. Each 100.00 that comes off the rent moves us farther from our gentrified surrounds. I've lived in several urban areas in the past where I would rather not raise a kid. Things are different now that I am older, have a son just emerging into the teens, and know better what is at risk, and have seen some of those risks face to face.

Need to get back to trusting the Universe and myself--have been in panic mode where I think I have to control everything and force the results. Of course that never, ever works well. Get that adrenalin rush and start gripping my weapons and looking for the enemy. I think the only actual enemy is my fear. A cliche because it shows itself to be true, again and again.