FindingFaith: Memories of Italy

Hi friends! 

I've been reminiscing about Italy and working on some sketches in pen and colored pencil. I love putting my attention into re-creating wonderful memories and moments. It's almost like meditation.




I will keep you updated with my progress as I complete more of these! Until next time...




Creatively yours, 
Faith

FindingFaith: Mecosta Book Gallery

Hello friends!

 I have finally returned from my travels! Good to be back...I wanted to share with you a place my parents took me to the day before I left. A magical little bookstore in Mecosta Michigan. http://www.iswara.com/ It was like stepping into a movie. I almost expected to discover a secret hidden treasure amongst all those books (maybe I did!) I imagined opening the cover of one of those books and fairies flying out! Even the store owner reminded me of a kind and wise wizard.

I love to find interesting and beautiful books to alter, so I did pick up a few that I can't wait to turn into my own creation. Some were probably too valuable (and expensive) to change, but I managed to find some deals. 

Another magical book I found earlier on my trip to Florida that I want to mention that was fun was this book...check it out if you get a chance. Very cute and clever with beautiful artwork.

Until next time, I leave you with this...

Creatively yours,

Faith

#FindingFaith: Bracelets with a Cause

Hi friends! This week I'm going to share with you my love for bracelets. Especially bracelets with a cause and bracelets handmade by my friends. These are just some of the bracelets I have and love.

 My favorite bracelet cause right now is definitely 3 Strands. They give jobs to victims of human trafficking and raise awareness of this epidemic. Here is a link to their website. http://www.3strandsglobal.com/what-we-do/ Also, check out this video, brought tears to my eyes! https://youtu.be/UzKGFf8vlUA These are the bracelets I own...

Next on the list for favorite bracelets with a cause. We.org, especially the ME to WE Rafikis.  Each bracelet is handmade with love by a woman in Kenya, empowering her to earn a living and create a better future for her family and her community. There is even a code you can enter from your purchase that tracks your impact.

Another favorite bracelet of mine was made my my dear friend and mentor, Tsikki Thau. I believe she has some for sale at Innovative Healing on Ann Rd. She also started Offir's Dream, a charity whose mission is to provide a loving support system to the ill and terminally ill and raise awareness for brain cancer research in honor of her brother who died from brain cancer. Here is her website. http://www.tsikkithau.com/ 

And last but not least, my braided parachute cord (paracord) bracelet made with love by my stepdaughter's boyfriend. Thanks Dawson! It's not only stylish, but it is considered to be survival gear because of its many uses. I found this online to explain more about what you can use paracord for and how to make your own bracelet. You can even donate bracelets that you make for Operation Gratitude. Operation Gratitude annually sends 250,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene products, handmade items, plus personal letters of appreciation to New Recruits, Veterans, First Responders, individually-named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas, Wounded Heroes and their caregivers.https://www.operationgratitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/HowtoMakeaParacordSurvivalBracelet.pdf

Until next time I leave you with this...

Creatively yours,

Faith

Finding Faith: Pursuit of Happiness

Hi friends! My apologies for not posting last week, lots of personal issues to deal with, but this week things seem to be back on track. I've been working on a book of collaged elements and sayings inspired by Brave Girls Club. It's called "hello, believe in yourself.

The first page starts with a tab labeled, "I am free to make a change" and the page collage with Dear Authentic Me, free your soul, I am free to notice beauty, good fortune, and everything is going to work out beautifully. (Pass it on). There is a tab that opens, and inside are the things I am free to do that might not seem good for me. This was really a way of dropping judgements and allowing myself to not have to be "perfect" all the time. 

Giving myself the power to choose, knowing I'm not powerless in my choices. Good or bad I get to decide. That made me feel a little less enslaved to "bad decisions". I am free to numb myself out...even when it will keep things as they are. I am free to disappear for a while...even when others expect more from me. I am free to be selfish...even when others might not like me. I am free to be reckless...even though it might hurt me. I am free to blame...even though it would keep me stuck. I am free to eat junk food...even when I know it's not the right choice. I am free to walk away from it...even when others might reject me. I am free to shame...even when it might make things worse. I am free to resist...even though it might hurt my life. I am free to admit how I feel, I am free to give up, I am free to say no, I am free to say yes...even when I don't know how it will turn out.

The second page has a tab that reads, "I can make and keep boundaries". This is often a challenge for me. Elements collaged on this page include, I am free to ask for what I need, making boundaries is an act of love, you are worth taking care of, today I will be brave enough to enforce my boundaries, I can make self-care a habit instead of a luxury, I will protect my soul, ...even when others might get mad at me.

Page three has a tab "I will stay peaceful". The page reads, I will spread peace everywhere, I protect my peace, no one has the right to hurt you, I will behave in ways that keep my heart at peace, I will do what brings me peace of mind, bliss, and I can create peaceful places.

Page four is "I am free to speak up". I am free to let go, I am free to honor how I feel, she is doing her very best, it's all ok, I don't have to hold the world up, ...even when it seems too selfish.


Page five is labeled "I am free to live how I live". I am free to be who I am, I can connect deeply with others when I don't hide, you are good enough, it is so important to surround yourself with souls who believe in you, I can ask for help, and do not allow others to take advantage of your weaknesses.

I find collage to be an extremely therapeutic and meditative practice. Using chip board books, decorative papers, found objects and ephemera with pictures and sayings. It also gives me something to look at and ponder on days I need a little encouragement.

I leave with this thought...

Until next time!

Creatively yours,

Faith

FindingFaith: Gratitude

Hi friends! 

Lots of healing work going on for me this week. I've been reflecting on where I've come from, where I'm going and a balance of being grateful for where I am in this moment. One process that I use to really dig deep in a beautiful and fun way is to art journal. I'm part of an online group that I have talked about before www.bravegirlsclub.com that has online classes to help with this process. Sometimes when I'm feeling stuck I draw inspiration from these classes and just use some of their printouts to discover my own unique projects. I found this great Fairyopolis book at the thrift store and have been wanting to do some type of altered book project, and finally found a use for it. I've been taking photos from each year of my life and doing a cut and paste with all the inspiring things I would have wanted myself to know during those times. Here are some pics so far.

 I used another altered book/art journal I have for this "She did it anyway" exercise from Brave Girls Club. I had been thinking about all of my crazy, wild dreams about what I want to achieve in life and kept hearing those negative nagging thoughts about why I can't have, do or be those things. It was so liberating to get all that garbage out and proclaim that I can DO IT ANYWAY! So liberating!

After all of this I was really led to contemplate the idea of gratitude...for the good in every past experience, for my beautiful and amazing dreams for the future, and most of all for all the things that I am blessed with right now. The later being what I really want to focus on, because ultimately there is no past or future, just a constant streaming of now. I realized that goals and hopes and dreams are all fine, but if I can't appreciate what I have now, I won't appreciate more or different. Gratitude eliminates so many things that destroy us. Envy, greed, hopelessness, and the list goes on. I will leave you all with this thought...




Creatively yours,

Faith

Finding Faith: Celfishly in Love with Beauty

 Hello friends! 

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! I sure did! Lots of fun with family and friends and some needed time with my stepdaughter. Thought I would share pics of a new amazing salon we stumbled across right by my house that did such a great job on our Fourth of July nails.

It's called Celfie, which I thought was clever. I absolutely LOVE the decor, and everyone was so friendly. Joy did the best job on my nails, I would definitely recommend her!

Next time I'm getting a pedicure for sure! They also do hair, makeup, lashes and waxing. I believe they also offer in home spray tan.

The best part was really just having a little girl time and lots of laughs. Will be having many more days like these in the future. We talked about maybe trying paddle boarding at Lake Las Vegas next! I will keep you all posted!

Creatively yours,

Faith

Finding Faith: Practicing Acceptance & Going with the flow

Hello friends! 

This week I'm going to share some pics of the progression of my large painting I've been working on. I honestly don't know where I'm going with it. I might even turn it into several small paintings. I like certain elements of it, but I'm not sure if it works as a whole. This is the challenge with spontaneous painting. It usually ends up completely different than what I think it will be. The more I try to plan or force, the less I like it. So I'm practicing acceptance with it and going with the flow. A metaphor for life in general!

And here are some details I like that may make more sense as smaller paintings.

Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone! Happy Fourth of July! Be spontaneous!!

Creatively yours,

Faith

Finding Faith: Experimenting with color, creating your very own mini art retreat!

Hi friends! Been having some fun this week with spontaneous painting on scrap pieces of canvas. Just experimenting with different types of materials and techniques including freezing paint in ice cube trays and letting it melt, scribbling, and experimenting with color. Here are some pics of what I came up with. My own little mini art retreat. 

The next couple of days I'm going to be working on one big piece of canvas. I may incorporate some of these things, or I might just spread paint around and see where it takes me! It's really just about allowing the process to flow naturally. 

And until next week, I leave you with a couple of quotes...

"I don't paint for a living, I paint to live."  - Willem de Kooning 

"Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do."  -  Edgar Degas

Creatively yours,

Faith

Finding Faith: A Positive Rock in my life

Hi friends! This week, I will share with you, my rock collection and my childhood friend...A plant named Fred. 

First off, let's start with Fred. Fred has been in our family for most of my life. Although he  has been with my mom since I left home, he has found his way to Vegas and is now under my loving care. We got Fred during a very difficult time in my young life. I was being bullied and teased daily at school, my self esteem and sense of how I fit into this world were challenged to say the least. Now I'm not saying that Fred was my friend that I talked to because I felt so alone and misunderstood. He really was just a plant that we got during that period that we decided to name to be fun. However when my mom brought him to me, there also just so happened to be some rocks that were in the pot underneath. My mom saw them and said, "Oh wow, these are rocks from our old apartment we lived in when we got Fred." Suddenly, it occurred to me, that these rocks came from a place and time that I often tried to forget. Then it also occurred to me that FRED was THERE through all of it! Now here he was, bringing back to me an opportunity to look at and (possibly) heal the pain of that experience. 

As I am writing these words I'm actually reminded of an experiment done by Masuru Omoto on the effects of words on water. Here is a YouTube link of a short version of a documentary on the subject that I encourage you to check out. Pretty fascinating. https://youtu.be/9WIAMN2dw0A 

Back to the rocks, and a fun side note... they may even be the same rocks I went door to door with trying to sell as "pet rocks", which apparently one neighbor in particular didn't appreciate, but back to the story. As I held these rocks in my hands I thought about the effect of all those negative words that I still sometimes continue to carry and I knew what I needed to do. I needed to write POSITIVE words on these rocks.  It was so fun and liberating! Here is a picture of Fred and my word rocks.

Now comes part two in my journey. What to do with these rocks now, and another fun idea. Share these positive words with others! I decided I'm going to leave these rocks in places where they can be found by other people. Try to do my part by interjecting a positive thought into the mind of another for even just the briefest of moments. Who knows, maybe it will start a kindness revolution that just might change the course of history for the better! Yes! I'm going with that idea! :)

Left one today for a friend amongst his little collectibles...

I also left this on a bookshelf in Barnes and Noble yesterday

So if you happen to be out and about and see a stone somewhere random, pick it up! You never know! Or do some of your own! Would love to hear about it if you do! Until next week...Spoiler alert...I will be doing a little self-imposed art retreat all next week that I will share. I'm so excited! 

Leave no stone left unturned! 

Creatively yours,

Faith