The Expressive Journal - Part 3

OK, Part 3... this has been a wonderful experience for me. Putting words, pictures, and color together... and sharing it with others... has been so healing. I have been saying for years that a story is not complete until it is shared. "Putting it out there" with my class and writing this blog continues to help me focus.

This background got a little wild. It must have been 'one of those days' as I painted and found quotes to include!

Moving forward is not easy. I have been talking to myself a lot about walking out of the dark. I put a lot of paint on these pages and then used my heat gun for the texture effects. Obviously, it got a little messy, but it is always interesting to me that our minds figure out a lot of things even when the letters of a word are blocked!

This background is an acrylic pour painting that seemed to fit this message. The drawing is one that I used in a prior book. We were so grateful to have time - even though we did not know how much.

Every now and then, it occurs to me that there are others who are also grieving. When I acknowledge this, I am not so alone. 

Even thought this one expresses grief, I unconsciously chose yellow - normally considered a 'happy' color. I think the quotes that I had chosen gave me strength through the tears.

The day I did this one, I was feeling sad. Some days I struggle to remember the time before his death...so I want to remember it? Would it be better to forget?

The drawing in this one was done for a fundraiser for relief in Ukraine. Recently we have had so many disasters - earthquakes with thousands killed, more mass shootings... I am reminded that there is grief everywhere.

This one got a little sloppy, but it is good for me to post the sloppy with things that are not quite so. Life is such a mix of opposites...  The hand drawing was from a sketch I did a few years ago of a friend offering a bunch of flowers.

This is the final one for today. The wisdom of a song and of Winnie the Pooh...  I drew the hands just for this page. 

The course finished this week. I have several more images to share. Will post the rest next week. I am thinking that I may continue working on this journal. Not every day being accountable to the class, but it has been a helpful focus.