Finding Creative Outlets and other Ramblings

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been almost nine months since my last post. I have been on the rollercoaster of life and I am totally ready to get off.

When I took a break, I took it because I was “living” my illness, instead of just trying to “live” with it. I was just so absorbed in everything that was wrong, that I wasn’t even noticing the things that were right. I mean seriously, folding a load of laundry, in the eyes of a healthy person isn’t a big deal, but in the life of the chronically ill, it’s akin to headline news!

It’s taken me a while, a long while (I’m going on 6 years of being ill) and I still find that I continue to work on discovering my “new normal.” I still have bad days, but I try to focus more on the good days. Sometimes it works, sometimes…not so much.

I’m also now dealing with Big Handsome having a Chronic Illness as well. I guess he didn’t get the memo about the whole “One Chronic Illness per Household,” but that is for a totally separate post.

Over the last nine months (aside from taking care of BH), I’ve tried several hobbies to get my mind off my illness and onto my creativity. Instead of searching the internet and/or FB for illness related sites and groups, I began to search for creative outlets. I discovered and joined many groups to try to tap into my creative juices.

I discovered:

·        Art Journaling

·        Painting

·        Watercolor

·        ICADs (Index Card a Day)

·        Junk Journals

·        Book Binding

·        Altered Books

·        List Journaling

·        Collage

·        Fauxbonichi (Fake-Hobonichi)

·        Traveler’s Notebooks

 

…as well as many more. I found that I enjoy lots of the above, but as of late, I’ve really been enjoying the Fauxbonichi.

 

A Fauxbonichi is a “fake” Hobonichi. A Hobonichi is a Japanese style planner that is used to document your life with pictures and words. Through YouTube, I found a group on FB and jumped right in. I really enjoy doing this type of journaling. I refer to it as an Illustrated Diary.

 

I found through much trial and error over the last nine months what I like and what I don’t like concerning art, more specifically journaling and my art. I found that I really like to journal, but I don’t like the whole “Dear Diary” thing. I found that while I don’t enjoy drawing, I enjoy cutting and pasting pictures from magazines. I found that I can use my creativity in a fun, different way. Everyone has their own special way to “Fauxbonichi,” but that’s what’s so great about it, there are no rules; I just do what feels right, creatively, for me. It’s a way to document my life in a more colorful way. I rarely write about my illness, although sometimes it slips in anyway, whether I like it or not. Mostly, I write, draw, paste, and color my days; what I did, where I went, who did what, what was for dinner, and the like. Sometimes I put in quotes, or Scripture, or original poetry. The group I belong to is a super group filled with all sorts of people from all over the world, from all walks of life, with all levels of talent. They are such a supportive and encouraging group, and I’m so glad I found them.

 

Through my “art journey”, I found that I am most consistent in being inconsistent, but with the illustrated journaling, I feel that I can just be myself, create for myself, and document my memories. It has been such a refreshing change.

Here are some examples:

 

I sincerely hope to be blogging on a regular basis soon. A lot has been going on around here, some good, some bad, but I always try to remember that although I might feel helpless at times, I shall never be hopeless!



Top Ten Tuesdays

As most of you know, I homeschool my two teenagers. I’ve always homeschooled them, thus they’ve never been to school a day in their lives. To counteract others’ thoughts on the whole “socialization issue”, my children have always been involved in myriad activities outside the four walls of our home. To name a few: gymnastics, guitar and piano lessons, homeschool park days, field trips galore, playdates, oh I could go on and on. Now that they are older, they are involved in Enrichment classes. They’ve taken classes (that are taught by the parents) in Art, Government/Economics, Writing, SAT Prep, Math Olympiads, Model UN, Renaissance, Drama, Latin, and so many more that I am forgetting at this moment. Suffice it to say, my children are well socialized and I feel they have received more than a well rounded education.

What does all of this have anything to do with my Top Ten list for this Tuesday you ask? Well, it just so happens that I also teach at my children’s Enrichment Program and have for the past 5 years. This spring I will be teaching an Art Appreciation class to the highschoolers.

Still you might be asking…and this has what to do with Top Ten Tuesdays?

I’ve been inundating myself with all things art. I love art and all things connected with art. I’ve even recently found my own artistic side through all of this (although I've always considered myself quite crafty).

I wanted to share with you my Top Ten Artists I've Been Studying (mostly Modern Art). So here goes in no particular order:

1. Georgia O’keefe

Rams Head, White Hollyhock and Little Hills, 1935

 

2. Henri Matisse

The Open Window, Collioure, 1905

3. Vincent Van Gogh

Starry Night, 1889

4. Jackson Pollock

Blue Poles #11, 1952

5. Georges Seurat

A Sunday Afternoon on the Île de la Grande Jatte,
1884

6. Claude Monet

Waterlilies and Japanese Bridge, 1899

7. Piet Mondrian

Tableau I, 1921 

8. Edgar Degas

Four Dancers, 1899

9. Pierre Renoir

A Girl with a Watering Can, 1876

 

10. Jasper Johns

 Numbers in Color, 1958-59

 

P.S. I've been so engrossed in planning the Art Appreciation class for my Homeschool Enrichment Program, I nearly forgot to post my Top Ten!!