Nostalgia

  

I started this page because the challenge this week at Journal 52 is Nostalgia.  I mulled several ideas over in my head and then I saw this picture in an old Child Craft Encyclopedia.  It reminded me of my one and only train trip.  My grandmother wanted me to experience traveling by train before they were phased out in the area where we lived. We traveled from Memphis to New Orleans to Houston.  I wish I could do it again.

I am really missing my grandmother right now.  I think part of that might be because I'm watching my friend, Mo, spend so much time with her grandson.  Logan will have so many wonderful memories of his grandmother because she spends so many quality hours with him.  I would not give all the money in the world for the many, many hours I spend with my grandmother.  This one's for you, Mamaw New Orleans.

Link to: Journal 52,  Artist Play Room 

Guest Artist... Wee Man

If you've been reading my blog you know that I've made friends who a wonderful lady and her grandson who live in Scotland.

The Wee Man and Mo, his grandmother, really liked my journal page using a Word Search.  I decided that I would make Wee Man one on his favorite subject... Transportation.. especially Trains and Buses.  

You see the results on the left.  He found those so fast I made the next one longer.  I also figured out how to make the next one shaped like a train.  

I am having so much fun sending things to Wee Man and his grandmother.  I have a feeling he is smarter than I am and I'm going to run out of words for the searches soon.

Again, I'm amazed that I'm making friends with people who lives across the ocean through art and word puzzles.  I am also very careful to send Wee Man's email to his grandmother because I want him to be safe. Children can meet dangerous people on the internet and so we must be very careful.  He is too young for an adult to contact directly. His grandmother is very good at keeping him safe. He is very lucky to have such a great grandmother.

Mixed Media Word Search

This page is doing double duty.  The challenge last week for The Documented Life Project was a puzzle and the Summer of Color challenge for this week is red, blue and bit of light blue. I think this covers all my bases.  This page brought several things to mind for me. 

The first being that when I taught school in the dark ages (ie before the Personal Computer was invented) I would not have been able to make this puzzle for my students without hours of work. I made this with the puzzle maker at A to Z Teacher Stuff in about 10 minutes. 

Second, it reminded me that if I was in school today, I would probably be diagnosed with a slight learning disability. I have comprehension issues and I can't remember more than 3 numbers in a row.  Sometimes remembering 3 is difficult for me.  As an adult I went to Occupational Therapy for a while and Word Search was one on the things I was told to use to improve my memory skills. I do pretty well with the Word Search puzzles.  If you want to torture me, give me a number search puzzle.  Coming from a teaching background, I can see where using Word Search would be a great way to reinforce vocabulary and spelling skills.

Third, I didn't teach for long. I was a good teacher but had no patience for discipline. I'd still be teaching today if I could have found someone to take care of behavior issues while I made learning fun. 

I'm here to tell you, teacher don't get enough credit for what they do on a daily basis.  A good teacher is worth more than gold.  Do you have a teacher that comes to mind, when I ask, "Who was your favorite teacher?"  I have a few: Sister Mary Gabriele, Mrs Barrasso, Dr. Woodard and Dr. Stedman come to mind for me.  What did all these teachers had is common? They all cared about us and wanted us to succeed. They made learning interesting. They all presented the material in more than one way.  I've been out of school for over 30 years and I can still name those four teachers.

Link to: The Documented Life Project, The Summer of Color*

* When I went to the Summer of Color page to copy the url I realized that once again, my comprehension is not up to par.  I thought the challenge was red and blue... it was red and royal blue.  Sigh... I used denim blue.  As you can see, I still have a little trouble on occasion.  This is why I did not become a brain surgeon... can't have an ooops in brain surgery.

Unexpected Gift and Long Distance Love

This piece was inspired by the orange envelope that was included in my birthday gift from my friend, Mo and her grandson, Logan.  We call him the Wee Man.  I love that name. It sounds so Scottish.. which is exactly what he is.  A Wee Scottish Man.


This page was done with all recycled and left pieces of paper. The half smile was on a Amazon gift envelope.  The houses are Dylusion stamps that were my actual gift of Wee Man and Mo.  This page is busier than some of my work.  I really like that about it.  It conveys my excitement about my totally unexpected gift from my Scottish friends.

I was having a very hard day when I found this package on my porch. It was a complete surprise and it brought tears to my eyes. This unexpected gift comforted me more than I can ever say.  Our world is filled with wonderful caring people.  I know many people say that the internet is keeping people from interacting with others. That may be true in many cases.  I just know that I met a lady from Scotland through an art blog and twice now, she has come to my aid when I was having a hard time. The first time she talked to me online in the middle of the night when I was missing my mom and now she and her wee man cheer me with a very unexpected birthday gift. Maybe I'm the exception but I'm finding very personal relationships online.

Link to: Twinkle Twaddle , Madarin Orange Monday

Live Your Life From Your Heart

The ART  This quote is by Melody Beattie.  She wrote the book, Co-Dependent No More and several other really great books.  I recommend her books.  They have helped many, many people with Codependent issues.

I typed the words in MS Publisher and printed them on a copy machine. The font is one of the free ones from Dafont. Then I used a tape transfer to make them transparent.  This method is packing tape over the words. Burnish the paper really well and then soak the taped pieces in warm water.  The warm water is the key.  The paper just peels off with a little light rubbing.

The hearts are pages from an encyclopedia. They are hanging from some of my stash of fiber.

The background was painted with green paint and then stenciled with yellow, orange and violet paint using a Tim Holtz stencil.  The white streaks were made with a credit card and gesso.

Link to:  The Documented Life Project , Art Journal Everyday

FEELINGS In the past 15 years, I have met many people who lived their lives from their hearts. Their stories and their truth did touch my life and help heal my soul. When I was at my lowest, most depressed and anxious, they were there for me.  The showed up and they told their stories sharing their experience, strength and hope.  They showed me that if I just would follow the program and do the work my life would get better.  They were correct.  I thank God for them.

Learning to: act instead of react, mind my own business, love myself and most of all give it to God were the hardest things I've ever done. I'm so grateful that I persevered.

Layers

 What is that saying about art imitating life? I think this page does that.  

The Art: I started by using a square piece of foam that was used as filler in a Tim Holtz Texture Fades package. I stamped squares on three sides of the page in gray, green, purple and hot pink.  The next layer was the piece of paper towel at the top of the page. I added a bit of orange to it.  Then I added the purple text that I stamped on tissue paper using a Hero Arts stamps.  There is a small piece of numbers from an old book I have.  The text at the bottom is an advertisement for paper and the very tiny text is a stamp I got at Michael's and stamped on tissue paper.I love stamping on tissue paper because it lets the other layers show through.  

The final layer is a napkin with a flower on it. I use a water color paint brush and a bit of water to "cut" around the flower.  I used sharpie paint markers for the writing and the outlines of the flower.

Thoughts: I know that I am made of many layers.  When I was young I was often a different person depending on who I was with at the time. I wanted people to like me so I tried to be what others wanted me to be.  It's taken 60 years for me to learn that I am who I am.  I've grown and changed a lot from age 40 to age 60.  I am more free and open.  It took a while to learn that I don't have to tell every thought to every person I meet.  I've learned to trust my instincts and now I find it a bit easier to know who it's ok to let see all of my layers.  

It's a fine line.... being myself and protecting myself from those who might hurt me. It's all about boundaries, trusting my instincts and learning from my mistakes.

Link to: Paint Party Friday, The Documented Life Project 

Attitude of Gratitude