“We Are Worthy,” Collage Art by Suzette R.
As she took the journey back to her wings, she embraced the truth that she was worthy and that she was enough, just as she was, imperfections and all.
Who Sent It? This gorgeous collage postcard was crafted and sent by my pen friend, Suzette R. She sent this one about four years ago. She shares the inspiration for this and two companion “We Are Worthy” pieces on her blog: Notes from the Road. Have a restful weekend!
World Water Color Month 2022, Day 30 (July 30, 2022)
If I had to choose one favorite from the images I crafted for World Watercolor Month 2022, I think this Spice Bush Swallowtail would be the one. I worked this one on my father’s birthday as I thought about him and all the gifts he gave me.
“Faith,” the poem below by Ullie-Kaye seems an appropriate fit for this butterfly, since the journey with grief is also a journey of faith.
faith
ullie-kaye
faith does not begin where fear ends.
she comes when you are still lying in
the bottom of the gutter. hands trembling.
doubts running rampant. seas stormy.
breath insufficient. darkness winning.
thoughts blurring. skies fading. more black
than blue. obstructed view. no way through.
there. in the absence. in the tragedy.
in the emptiness. in the wreckage that made
its way into the very marrow of your bones.
in the fire that could not be drenched.
in the thirst that could not be quenched.
in the wounds that would not heal. in the
heart that could not feel. in the broken.
the lost. and surreal. that’s when she comes.
I hope you enjoyed our seven-post trip into photo art and the beautiful words I encountered daily.
Here’s a collage of the photo art posted for World Watercolor Month, including the three extra (butterflies) I posted on the blog (but not on Instagram). Do you have a favorite?
World Water Color Month 2022, Day 27 (July 27, 2022)
I heard many beautiful statements today. Interestingly, they all focused one way or another on compassion for others. My friend Lexi posted the quote below in her Instagram/Facebook stories today, and it aligned well with discussions in our work session. Kristen Corley’s wisdom in admonishing us to extend compassion to ourselves was the icing on the cake for all I heard today.
You’ve been through a thousand things in your life people don’t even know about. You’ve experienced things that have shook you, changed you, broke you, built you and taught you to be stronger than you ever thought you had the ability to be. And you are who you are for all of it. So the next time someone judges you based on a small part of what they see and how they interpret that, remember who you are, remember how much you’ve overcome and smile and keep walking because you don’t have a single thing to prove to anyone else. You’ve already proved so much to yourself[; you] muddled through storms that people didn’t even see because of how you carried yourself. –Kirsten Corley
Happy Tuesday!
I have been fixated on butterflies most of the week, reworking butterfly photos into watercolor photo art. I didn’t realize why until, while scrolling through my camera roll Thursday evening, I came across a picture of my son and parents that was snapped last summer. In the picture, I could clearly see most of my father’s butterfly tattoo.
Ah! That explains it!
In addition to the intangible qualities and gifts, there are certain tangible items that I associate with my father. Among them are his ruby ring, his hearing aid, his jazz collection, and his butterfly tattoo. Only one of those was buried with him, and I was miserably grieved that I had never managed to intentionally photograph the tattoo while he was living–neither had my photographer brother nor any of the other photographers in the family!
The tattoo was simply a part of my father; he had gotten it when he served in the United States Air Force. It had been there all our lives—so we never thought about taking a snapshot. Until he was gone. I combed through image after image and could see parts of the tattoo, but never enough of it. Furthermore, the quality was diminished in attempting to enlarge any photo enough to really see the tattoo. Failing to capture the tattoo troubled me for weeks after his passing, till I finally convinced myself to let it go. I did so grudgingly and with the hope of eventually finding someone who had a good shot of that tat.
I don’t know how I’d missed it in the photo referenced above! I think it was waiting to be found when I needed it most. With my father’s birthday approaching [today], I guess, the butterflies settled into my spirit and provided a way for me to connect with my father’s memory that was soothing for my soul.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
Loss and grief are inevitable parts of life. We know this, but that doesn’t make it easier to manage. In fact, the inevitable is often a source of anxiety for some. Despite how ab-so-lute-ly awful it is, grief teaches us many lessons about life, love, and ourselves. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned.
What lessons have you learned from grief?
Love sorrow. She is yours now, and you must
take care of what has been given
–Mary Oliver, from “Love Sorrow.”
My dad’s birthday is in a few days. He would have been 87. How do I handle this first birthday without him?
Grief and I have been wrestling for control over my emotions the last few days. This is a busy time, so I keep reminding myself that I don’t have time to fall apart. But sorrow is no respecter of persons, does not yield to schedules or timelines. It expects me to bow in obeisance. I resist…at first. Eventually, I give in because I am neither monster nor machine, and I cannot control this thing.
For this third week of National Photography Month (NPM), I am sharing some of the monochrome photo inspiration “cards” I made during Sheila D’s September 2021 Creative Gathering. I divided the month of creativity into thirds—days 1-10, abstract photo art; days 11-20, doodle art; days 21-30 black and white photography. The common thread was scripture. I shared one of the photos for a #ThursdayTreeLove in January.
In light of the recent racial violence committed by one individual against Black citizens in Buffalo, New York, I am sharing images that feature Bible verses that can provide solace and hope. I will not comment (much?) on them. Sometimes the world is so absolutely crazy that I am convinced we need only the voice of God. Everything else is just…noise.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. –Romans 12:12
Here are the next seven photo edits for World Watercolor Month. Perfect shares for #WednesdayWisdom. 😉 [Click an image for a closer look].
Ugh! Monday…
Is that how you felt when you opened your eyes this morning? Sometimes, I look forward to the work week. At other times, I want to reverse time and extend the weekend another seven days. In our final post focusing on a single blog, sweet Kyara of Thoughts of Key provides tips for beating the Monday blues in her post aptly entitled, “Monday.” Be sure to skip over to her blog, pick up a cure or two for the blues, and follow her!
And if you’re really in a funk, perhaps this cute song from My Little Pony will help you say good-bye to those Monday blues. If this doesn’t help, cheer up. The weekend is only five days away!
Disclaimer: This is my first time ever seeing or listening to anything from My Little Pony, but I have to do this because part of the fun of this Monday morning is knowing that my posting the video will drive my son a little crazy. 😀
About the Image: Featured in the photo is a section of Hani Shihada’s sidewalk art, shot in New York 10 years ago. I’ve used the photo in many art and snail mail projects. You can see some of them here and here (scroll all the way down to the outgoing mail slideshow). The full image is a little dark, but I’ll have to share it some day.
I recently received Morgan Harper Nichols’s beautiful book, All Along You Were Blooming, as a gift. This book is filled with such beautiful soul-filling poetry that I can’t simply pick it up, select a poem, and move on. I have to wait for a moment when I can savor her words and let them sink deep into and soak my soul from the bottom up (if souls have bottoms).
I read the poem that follows this afternoon, and it feels like it was written for me in this moment. I’ve been operating in a fog and from a place of brokenness for far too long. I felt myself beginning to fall beneath the weight of it all, the pandemic, and being in crisis mode all.the.time. A few days ago–Sunday–I simply asked God to help me release the weight. I asked for clarity and direction. I don’t normally put in major [for my job] work hours during the weekend, but Sunday I work-worked for hours nonstop. Something in me felt compelled to clear several things off that particular plate.
By the next morning, I realized that there was a major shift inside. The Divine One had taken the whole load and kept me too busy to fuss and fret. The challenges are still here–obviously–but the weight is not mine to bear. I found myself really breathing again for the first time in a long time.
At the right time,
every broken thing
will come together for good.
You are more than your
failures,
successes,
more than your fears.
And far beyond the surface
of your desires,
there is a truer season
why you are still here.
If you find yourself struggling
to see past your imperfections
because you cannot figure out how
what’s torn apart can come together,
may you know in your soul
that the answer is not found in thinking,
feeling,
doing,
but in trusting what is Greater than you.–Morgan Nichols, All Along You Were Blooming
About the Images: When I received the butterfly postcard [second photo] from my Love Notes friend Christine B, I was über excited because I knew somewhere in my 2016 photo library there was a twin butterfly feasting on yellow flowers [top photo]. Ha! I was wrong. The butterflies, though slightly similar in underside color, are different. My photo features a common buckeye; Christine’s a Melissa Blue. Maybe, they’re cousins. 😉
Pics and Posts 