Crushing The Page - releasing pent up energies onto your journal

                CRUSHING THE PAGE 

    

As I continue my journey creating ART, I also want to share a wonderful healing process, which goes by several names, but I am calling CRUSHING THE PAGE. Because that is what I did today. I grabbed my journal, crumbled and crushed the page.

It is a method that artists are using following a process such as this: (there are different ways to do this).

    1. Write down on a paper, preferably a journal, what is causing you problems, or stress, or emotional upheaval. Just release all your inner thoughts (pains, fears, anxieties, anger...). Forget about the grammar and sentence structure, just put it down on the page. Unleash that rage, anxiety, tears of grief, disappointments and if your page gets all crinkled, crushed or torn in the process, let it happen.

    2.  Cover your words up - with cut out images from magazines, with markers or paint over it.  Use whatever you have on hand.  Let it dry and spend some time reflecting, wondering WHY this is happening.  Then come back to your journal and add positive words or phrases to your page. When you feel you have finished, close your journal, and walk away from it.  

After a while, (or a few days) you will sense an emotional release.  Those feeling you had been bottling up inside will gradually subside. The more you practice this act of Crushing the Page, the more you will find answers to problems, and find your heart easing from its fears and pains. You will see subtle changes in your emotions and in your way of life.

For a more detailed way to engage in the process, click on the following link and watch Catt Z, creator of  Cosmic Smashbooking. Another fabulous artist that teaches this process is Amanda Mauck.

I invite you to explore this creative way of healing those pains that burn inside.

Below is my page of the day.  All my pains are written underneath this journal page, and then I collaged over it wishing to "Live for Greatness."  Felt so much better afterwards. 

BOOK REVIEW: Memoir about being abused as a child.

I just finished a book written by a friend of mine. In her memoir, she tells how one day, while at a retreat, her brain flashed her memories of being sexually abused by her father when she was a young child. Without giving any more of the story away, here is the link to this moving story on how she healed and was able to forgive. Unexpected Legacy

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As I went on one of my daily walks this week, I encountered this:  a beautiful, bright, orange flower growing in the middle of some prickly cactus.  I am reminded that one can find beauty and the light even amongst the thorniest places. You have to look with eyes wide open and with your heart. 

Til next time, 

Paty 

Cosmic Revelation through Art

     I'm taking on a new art class, but one having to do with healing. It is far more than just putting together a collage, it is diving deep into one's soul and shaking up everything that is inside.

    Now that I have retired, I have the time to do some soul searching and creating art is a very meditative way to do it. I wish I could do it in person, but this pandemic is teaching all of us how to be online learners. (Thinking positive).

    I am currently enrolled in an Intentional Creativity class titled LEGEND offered online at https://musea.org/. 

    This is a personal journey for me, but one that is opening the door to what I would like to do in the future - teach art to women as a way to heal from any kind of pain and trauma. There are so many art classes online, and many are just to teach FUN art.  This goes way beyond that. 

    I'm also painting on a large canvas. That has been intimidating but liberating at the same time. Here is what I've done so far, but it will change as I shake things up inside.  I look forward to the process of creating, painting, and talking to this canvas for inspiration.

    In the meantime, I am enjoying the book The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and it is a very entertaining read. If you can get it on audio, I highly recommend, as he is wonderful to listen to. The other book I highly recommend by him is The Fault In Our Stars, just in case you haven't read it. 

Art Party this Weekend - Join the Fun

    I have been following this wonderful and talented artist for awhile now.  Her name is Robyn McClendon and she creates and teaches how to do some amazing art using a Gelli Plate. In case you want to see what Robyn creates, here is her link.  https://www.robynmcclendon.com

    This is a small foldable book I created following her Hearth Codes class. I wrote some quotes that resonate with me at this point in my life. 

    This coming weekend she is hosting a FREE ART PARTY.  Several artists will be teaching different art techniques.  Here is the link if you are interested. 

 https://www.yourartfuljourney.com/artpartyweekend 

    This is a great time to find A Room of Your Own (in my case my ROOM is my garage) and be creative.  Especially those of us that are retired and need inspiration to get our hidden creative juices FLOWING.

Cheers,

Paty

Art Journaling during Retirement

    Retirement.  I don't know why we have this mental picture in our heads that retirement is going to be wonderful. After I retired from teaching, it turns out I had too much time on my hands. All these years hearing about what a joy it will be when one retires.  But after a vacation or two or three, there were endless stretches of time. 

    Sure there are lunches with friends, days working out at the gym, volunteering once a week at a local non-profit, but there was still something missing. 

    I had always enjoyed art, and taught many art lessons while teaching kinder through fifth grades in the library.  But I had never really done anything for me.  It was always finding ways and materials to show young children what illustrators did. 

    And then one day I walked into a collage class and that has changed my retirement life. I have discovered a world of art creators and teachers, (mostly inspired women like myself), who have discovered the freedom of how to express themselves through collage and mixed media. 

    This is the piece I created this week at collage class and a piece I will look at and study for the next few days. By looking at color and shapes and images, I will "see" what the collage is trying to tell me. 

    I have been creating collage and mixed media in journals for three years now.  The time I spend doing this gives me such joy and a sense of self-discovery in my retirement years. 

    I hope you like the art and hope it inspires you to take up ART during retirement. 

- Paty