Day 13 Use Your Wounds

I find I'm able to get through rough patches by reminding myself that the recent failure/trouble/disagreement isn't something that is fated to repeat. If we use what we learn, even from negative experiences, we will be stronger and better-equipped to deal with a similar thing in the future. Just because something went a certain way once (or more often) it doesn't mean that it it always will be so.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 1 - student project

Day 10 Reframe With and Affirmation

Anxiety about the state of the nation and the world became an affirmation that being aware is caring and caring leads to more awareness. Interesting that negative things can be spun this way. I'll remember it.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 2 - student project

Day 9 What Would a Best Friend Tell You?

I didn't follow the brief on this one since most of my recent conversations with friends have been too political to post here. So, IKEA, a safe and beautiful topic!

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 3 - student project

Day 8 It's Okay...

I started with a different thought for this but after I saw that I'd screwed up the color blocks in the border, I changed my mind. Yeah, it's okay to make mistakes. It's one way of learning and growing.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 4 - student project

Day 7 Giving Yourself Permission

Give yourself permission to have another...without thought...without self loathing...without timidity. Just this once. Well, maybe again sometime. Sometime soon.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 5 - student project

Day 5 Allowing Your Own Experience

My mom gave me a postcard with this message many, many years ago. I still have the postcard on my desk as a reminder that the fences that surround us are often (mostly) of our own making. Other people's opinions are allowed to take precidence to our own. These little ballerinas are hardly perfect in their construction on the page but they are perfect in their acceptance of themselves and freedom to just fly, no matter what.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 6 - student project

Day 4 Addressing Unkind Thoughts

Whether in my attitude towards others or towards myself, I always refer to this scripture (my favorite) that seems to hold, in a nutshell, the wisdom of the ages.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 7 - student project

Day 3 Respond to Your Day

Hmmm...thinking about a recent exchange that I had with someone that I disagreed with. Happens all the time, right? It's so easy to get caught up in the moment with our own swirling thoughts and positions. But there's a lot to be gained by listening to the opinions of others. Most of the time, I find that the other person's thinking isn't as far off as I initially thought. Even if it were, respecting that person's right to have an opinion, even if we don't agree, is key to maintaining relationships in these overheated times. Anyway, this is something that I'm reminding myself of every day...and hope to improve on.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 8 - student project

Day 2 Message in a Word

So, what is the word? There are many ways to convey this. Make it so!

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 9 - student project

Day 1 Name a Feeling

Well, this was a surprise. I had no intention of using the word "Lost" and no intention of surrounding it with flowers. This exercise reminded me of a time when I was an elementary school kid and my family had moved to Wisconsin from Arizona. I was feeling lost, far from everyone I'd known, my Spanish speaking neighbors, and hundreds of miles from the nearest kin. One of the teachers in my new school wanted us to start the practice of using notebooks for each of our subjects. There were some pretty strict rules about this but in my mind, nothing was complete unless it was decorated brightly with flowers, girls with long straight hair and peace signs. (it was the 60s) My notebook blossomed with drawings and color...until...one day the teacher announced that she was going to show an example of a good notebook and a very bad notebook. The good notebook that she chose was all written in strict, regimented lines, neat penmenship, same colored ink. It was lauded and honored. To my shock, my notebook was shown as the example of the most odious notebook possible. The ink was different colors, the margins burst with drawings and color. I couldn't fathom what was wrong with this. My cheeks burned for the remainder of the day as I realized that in this new school, creativity wasn't encouraged or honored. In addition to being new, I was also different. I was lost. But, all was not lost. Even though I had to toe the line at school, I continued to draw and color at home and at the request of friends. My babysitting money was spent on colored pencils, markers and lavender scented paper. This has continued for the whole of my life. The joy wasn't lost after all.

Daily Art Practice for Self-Care - image 10 - student project

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