My heart and mind have been so heavy with thoughts of my brother. I decided to set them free and put some of them to paper in my art journal. Here are the results from one day of free therapy:
Thank you Michelle, for helping me see this as a "middle moment" in my life.
I had a clear vision for this page with red surrounded by darkness to tell the story of my brother's injury.
And after I got those two pages out of me, I was ready to move onto the light and colorful:
a couple of mandalas with pen and watercolor:
Created the top one while the boys were at school, and the bottom one with them drawing at the table with me. It reminded me that we need to take more time to create together, inspiring each other.
Then on Friday, I quickly did up this page in response to Ali Edwards' Creative Lifts prompt
Did it completely spur of the moment, without censoring or over-thinking. Art journals are perfect for that.
Then I have this page sitting in my journal waiting to be finished:
Broke out the light board and graph paper for this b/c sometimes I like to measure and get all analytical and engineer-y (get that from my dad).
Thanks for letting me share my art journal with you!
Hugs!
Thanks for sharing, very courageous - art therapy is fantastic, no? And yours actually looks nice, to boot. But that's not really the point. I also find it fascinating that you fell into mandalas after the heavy stuff.
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks LMc! Hmmm, I had not even thought of it that way. Or it could just mean I have crafty ADD--can't seem to stick with one thing long enough these days! ;)
DeleteThank you for sharing both your brother's story as well as your journal pages. I can halfway understand what you and family endured with your brother's illness. After the birth of my niece almost sixteen years ago, we almost lost my sister to anorexia and bulimia. Thankfully, she is good these days. I also put my family through hell two years ago when I attempted suicide. If I had not been found when I was, I would not be typing this right now. A series of stresses along with undiagnosed long-term deep depression culminated with that act. Thankfully, through a combination of medication and therapy, I am also much better. You have inspired me to try my hand at therapeutic art journaling. I hope your brother is doing better and that he recovers very soon. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I am honored that you shared your story with me. You are brave and amazing. I wish you and your sister continued healing and strength. And I do hope you find peace, comfort, and whatever it is you may need through creative expression. Thank you for posting. I am deeply touched.
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