Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

"Hide and Seek" is the challenge over at Digital Whisper this week. Just a fun little romp.

Image credits: itKuPiLLi Imaginarium, Holliewood Studios, Tumble Fish Studios and Rucola Designs (all from MishceifCircus.com)

Under the Shadow

O Christ Jesus,

when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness,

give us a sense of your presence, your love, and your strength.

Help us to have perfect trust in your protecting love

and strengthening power,

so that nothing may frighten or worry us,

for, living close to you,

we shall see your hand, your purpose, your will

through all things.

~ Ingatius of Loyola

Image credits: Krysty Scrap Designs, Rucola Designs, and itKuPiLLi Imaginarium (all from mischiefcircus.com)

Window on the World

Window on the World

The challenge this week over on Take a Word is "window." When I saw this paper from Rucola Designs with the fairy-tale mushrooms, I knew it was the beginnings of a window into a fairy-tale world.

Keep your eyes open. You never know where you will find wonder.

Image credits: Rucola Designs, Eena's Creations, Holliewood Studios (all from mischiefcircus.com), and the Graphics Fairy.

Free Spirit

Free Spirit

The challenge this week over at Digital Whisper is "summer" - and I thought a little summer freedom was in order. 

Live large. Expand beyond. Bloom in the sun.

Be free.

Image credits: Rucola Designs, Marta van Eck, Hidden Vintage Studio, itKuPiLLi Imaginarium and Cryztal Rain (all from mischiefcircus.com)

Set Free

What is serious to man is often very trivial in the sight of God.

What in God might appear to us as "play" is perhaps what

He Himself takes most seriously.

 At any rate the Lord plays and diverts Himself

in the garden of His creation,

and if we could let go of our own obsession with

what we think is the meaning of it all,

we might be able to hear His call

and follow Him in His mysterious, cosmic dance.

~Thomas Merton

New Seeds of Contemplation

This art journal page was a meditation on part of the scripture passage from the previous Sunday's message. The theme of the sermon series is "Set Free" - something we all need to hear and really receive. 

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech

but with actions and in truth.

This is how we know that we belong to the truth

and how we set our hearts in his presence:

If our hearts condemn us,

we know that God is greater than our hearts,

and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if our heart do not condemn us,

we have confidence before God

and receive from him anything we ask,

because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

And this is his command: 

to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,

and to love one another as he commanded us.

The one who keeps God's commands lives in him,

and he in them.

And this is how we know that he lives in us:

We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

~ I John 3:18-24 (NIV)

And that is indeed a freeing thought. For so often my heart condemns me. 

But God is greater than my heart. And he knows everything.

The World is a Colorful Place

Flora Bowley

I've so enjoyed Bebe Butler's wonderful offering - The Painted Guru: Discover how art can heal the heart, inspire the soul, and soothe the mind. The conversations with a variety of artists about their journey, what creating art has meant to them, and the places where art brought healing or new possibilities into their own lives are so inspiring. So much of what they are talking about is what brought me to art journaling in the first place - a place to play, to explore, to create freely. But also a place to dig deeper, and find meaning, and work through things. A chance to express myself in a new way, in a more natural way for me. Through images when there are no words, or the interplay of words and images.

Flora Bowley was one of the first artists profiled, and I just love her work.  I'd never heard of "intuitive painting" - which may be more a reflection of how out of touch I am! It's something that I love about art journaling, and I've loved learning and exploring and seeing what others are doing in that form. But to see it taken to this level artistically amazes me, and I could watch it all day. Even more, it makes me want to get out the paints and play!

Untold Stories

There's something about choosing some colors and just starting - maybe with a vague direction, maybe without even that - and just seeing where it leads that is so much fun. And so often it leads me places where I would never have thought to go. 

The Painted Guru is a series of conversations, about 25-30 minutes each, with the artist, one each day. The artist's page also includes an introduction, a link to their website, and a free gift. There's a wide range of gifts - right now I'm painting with the amazing Art from the Heart retreat gifted by the amazing Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici. Here, too, I have come across classes like this for art journaling - but this is on a canvas, which makes it more special. And in a way, more scary as the stakes seem higher. But she is a gentle and friendly guide as she encourages me to dig deeper and take risks.

What it comes down to is - there is so much more out there! It's easy sometimes to stay in our own little rut of what we know. I love visions of the wider world of possibilities, and that's one of the things The Painted Guru provides. Another is the opportunity to hear from people doing wonderful creative things - whether they started out in art school or just started doing art because it's something they needed in their lives.

If you're feeling stuck, don't stay there! Open your eyes to inspiration - it's all around you.

Summertime

Summertime

This week's challenge over at Digital Whisper is "barefoot" - great summertime theme! There's something about summer that calls for exploring the world barefoot. The photo is of my niece walking the rocks along the shores of Lake Superior at Gooseberry Falls State Park - one of my favorite summertime things to do when I was her age. (OK, still is!)

Image Credits: Images by Pink Lotty, Nancy Baumiller- Crowabout Studio, and Jagged Touch Studio, all from mischiefcircus.com.

Songs of Summer

Songs of Summer

Summertime… and the living is easy.

The theme this week over at Digital Whisper is "picnic" - a perfect summertime theme. I think I need to go take a walk in the woods somewhere!

Image Credits: Marta van Eck, itKuPiLLi Imaginarium, Eena's Creations and Tumble Fish Studios, all from mischiefcircus.com.

Along the Beach

Along the Beach

The challenge over at Digital Whisper this week is "Watercolor."

The watercolor is a little watercolor sketch I did at an art group when another artist, Cheryl Barr, offered the opportunity to try some of her watercolor paper. I've thought of going back and working some more on it, but I love the freshness of it. The scan actually brought out the colors a lot more, the original is much more delicate.

It reminds me of how much I loved walking along the beach in North Carolina, the freshness of it and the expansiveness of the ocean.

Image Credits: Rucola Designs, Finecrafted Designs, and Tumble Fish Studios (all from mischiefcircus.com); background from Lost and Taken and the Graphics Fairy.

Take A Word Challenge - Beauty

Adoration

Image credits: itKuPiLLi Imaginarium's Halo and Les Femmes Depoque collections, from mischiefcircus.com

Take a Word Challenge - Timepieces

The challenge this week over at Take a Word is Timepieces. I must say that this is how I've felt the last several weeks!

Crazy Time

Image credits: Rucola Designs and Holliewood Studio from Mischief Circus, and the Graphics Fairy.

Just Having Fun

Spent an evening playing with itKuPiLLi Imaginarium's Variete United Collection, which I hadn't had a chance to really play around with before. And, yes, it was while I was downloading some more digital images purchased from Mischief Circus – it's an addiction I can live with.

I spent a lot of time playing around with layer blending styles, with some really interesting results.

 Eternal Beauty

This brought together so many things that I really do think are beautiful - wonderful art and architecture. A lot of classic beauty blended together in a really interesting way.

Beauty is Eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

Khalil Gibran

And now for something completely different:

Image Credits:

Both collages done with images from itKuPiLLi Imaginarium's Variete United from mischiefcircus.com.

Digital Whisper Challenges - Venus and Sheet Music

Last week's challenge over at Digital Whisper was "Venus" - I haven't done it for a while, at least until recently (see below), and am rather behind the times - but I had some fun with this.

Venus Rising

The week before the challenge was "Sheet Music." I actually had this ready that week, but didn't get it posted. 

Paris Love

Image Credits:

Venus Rising - Woman from Images-Shop.com Victorian Art Collection. All other images from Eena's Creations at mischief circus.com

Paris Love - Images from itKuPiLLi Imaginarium, Marta Van Eck, and Tumble Fish Studios, all from mischief circus.com

Happy Easter - It is Finished

He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as on from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

~ Isaiah 53:3-5 (ESV)

Image credits: Far Far Hill, Digital Whisper, The Graphics Fairy, Hummie's World, and Images-Shop Victorian Collection.

Take Me Deeper - Feb. Wk 4 - Love Yourself

The final week study in February, with it's theme of love, is Week 4 - Love Yourself.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has passed away;

behold, the new has come.

All this is from God,

who through Christ reconciled  

us to himself

and gave us the ministry

of reconciliation…

~ 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (ESV)

What impressed me so much in reading this verse is how this is all God's doing - "all this is from God." He reconciled, he didn't count our sins against us, he laid our sins on his Son - so that we could receive his righteousness. God is the one who does it, does it all. 

The book I was altering for the journal had a photo of a cathedral, which put me in mind of St. Teresa of Avila's image of the soul as The Interior Castle. And that's the image I took up, using the deep blues and purples for the depths of my being, and God's light coming into it. Surrounded by the red of the heart. The words are from my journal as I thought about the total gift - that it was all done for me, given to me, I don't have to do anything but receive it.

I loved the image of the Interior Castle, but the picture spoke to me - and as soon as I put it on I knew it was right. I loved that image of myself as a baby in this context, because it looks as if I'm "telling my troubles" as babies do. I sometimes feel that I spend a lot of time "telling my troubles" to God, and I wonder if it's to much, if I spend too much time doing it. But that's not how it is. When children come in their distress - that's interaction time, that's loving time. And in the depths of our hearts, where we're most vulnerable, most hurting - God gives us his attention, and his love, and his care.

The facing page continued the theme of the heart - our heart reaching up to God, and God's heart reaching down to us. I looked up "reconciled" in the Revell Bible Dictionary, and it brought up the pagan view, which is really the natural view. Here, we have to do something to make God look on us with favor. We have to sacrifice so that God will be happy with us. In other words, we have to do something so that God will change in reaction to us.

But now all things are new. Here God is the one who gives, who sacrifices, so that we will change. We are the ones who need to change our viewpoint, to receive the sacrifice, to be reconciled. It seems almost sacrilegious to think that way. But that's what Paul is saying:

So we are ambassadors who represent Christ.

God is negotiating with you through us.

We beg you as Christ's representatives,

"Be reconciled to God!"

God caused the one who didn't know sin

to be sin for our sake

so that through him

we could become the righteousness of God.

~ 2 Corinthians 4:20-21 (CEB)

It's always impressed me, the words used in the different translations: beg, plead, implore, etc. The urgency, the humility, the passion: 

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,

as though God were pleading through us:

we implore you on Christ's behalf,

be reconciled to God.

~ 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NKJV)

It's so easy to fall back into the old way of thinking - that I have to do something to make God look on me with favor. I have to keep propitiating him so he won't be angry with me. I feel I need to sacrifice so he won't be angry with me.

But God says the sacrifice has already been made. He has already accepted the sacrifice Christ made for me. In his death, that part of me died too. And now he wraps me in Christ's righteousness and anoints me as his representative.

I don't have to do anything. I just need to accept what he has already done for me. And keep my eyes on him, spend time with him, follow him.

What we love we shall grow to resemble.

~ Bernard of Clairvaux