Dream and Play

So, I kept having dreams. Two dreams that I was painting on denim. I "don't do that" by the way.

When, in my head, I said...um, no, I don't do that... I still couldn't get it out of my heart, so off to find something blue jean to paint on.

I was a little concerned because there's a fine line between cool and tacky, but being obedient, having no peace about doing this, I decided to play.

and play I did!

I had the best time, even when I looked at my very amateur sketch that made me giggle. Pressing on and trusting that I was supposed to keep on going, that's just what I did.

Continuing to play with copper and loving how that was looking against the indigo...not taking this moment too seriously, I found myself having a fabulous time.

JOY took over!

What I learned by just going for it, not really knowing what "IT" was, is that it's ok to let go and just play.

It's ok to do a new thing.

You don't need to have peace and a direction to dive in!

Oh, the power of play, trying a new thing, and no pressure to perform. So Freeing...Life Giving...Authentic!

Giving myself the permission to play is a practice I will do more and more.

Dark and Lovely

Most often, I create from a very real and raw place. What can emerge is a piece that is not perfect, not polished, and certainly not ready for prime time. The dimensions a bit off, but dead on authentic to the moment.

I've been reading a book that I started to read nearly a decade ago. I'll finish it tonight. It's called "Victory over the Darkness" by Neil Anderson. I'm humbled and learning where I've been wrong in relationships and dealing with situations, but I'm also learning that I take on responsibilities and burdens that were never mine to handle or to carry.

Do you do that? Or, are you like me and didn't have an awareness of the heavy things you carry that you were never created to?

Notice how she doesn't quit, how she won't be defined by a snapshot of darkness, how, though she is in a moment of difficulty, goodness is growing around her.

There is a verse in the bible (Song of Solomon 1:5-6) "I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

Do not gaze at me because I am dark because the sun has looked upon me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!"

She is dark because she worked hard in the sun all day. A sign of beauty in the day was light and lovely skin. She wasn't a girl about town, she was working and working hard. She was told that, though she didn't meet those beautiful social standards, she...to him who loved her, was beautiful.

That is how God see us. He sees us as we are in those discouraged, broken, seemingly dark moments and calls us beloved. He calls us beautiful. He calls us loved.

Peace (her process)

The end result is rarely as one imagines. True in art and certainly in life.

On a day, where happenings out of our control invaded our peaceful space, out to the studio, I ran...diving heart-first into healing music about truth beyond circumstance.

Looking around, I pulled out a 20"x 20" Canvas, squeezed out colors on the palette. Colors that emote joy, energy, growth (I wanted to feel those things) These are my go to colors. Those default colors, the ones that require no thought, the hues my soul responds to and resonates with. Standing, gathering what's inside, releasing, and not resting, with no brush in sight, but with scrapings, scattered patterns...I applied color. A visual, emulating the chaos and movement of the moment was made visible.

At some point, with no awareness of the time passing, the breath regulated, the calm caressed, and the focus came. Something began to grow up in orangey-red warmth. In the midst, in the process, in the journey of this moment...peaceful order and direction began to blend in and sing harmoniously. Following the harmony, feeling favor on the direction, the push and pull and the tension overcame the struggle and found peace with each other as I picked up the brush.

In this moment, my husband captured that state of peaceful direction and the desire to just go there...that precious moment

of sweet surrender and not wanting to stop...totally in...where I

belong...where I thrive...where I'm healed

Do you have a place like that? I hope so. Whether it's art, music,

exercise, reading, cooking, playing with your babies, walking in nature...whatever it may be...creativity is good for the created soul.

*I wanted to share this with you because there's nothing wrong with making pretty things. I can make pretty things, crank out

work, and I've done that...but it left this artisan soul hollow and unfullfilled.

What I've learned is that processing what is real and genuine and journeying through, authentically, creates a human connection in the finished work.

The soul, who connected with this piece before it was even finished, sent this message to me when she was inquiring about it.

"I am just in love with this one! I'm in love with SO MANY of your paintings, but this one just grabs me in a big hug!"

What began as a moment where I needed comfort and a big hug became that, not only for me, but for someone else.

Tina