Ah Sunday. The day of rest. A day to rest from the prior week of life and a day to rest and prepare for the week of life ahead. It is kind of a bittersweet day. One thing I know for sure is that we do not rest enough in life. We do not take the time to quiet our bodies and minds. And when we don't do that Life can get messy. Emotionally, Mentally and Physically. For me when life gets like this I like to slip away to my table and create something. My table is something like a place of refuge for me. A bit of a sanctuary if you will. It is not the table itself and nor the space it is within, it is the mindset that it puts me in when I sit down to it. My table is placed in front of a window that allows me to see my front yard and street. It is a way for my mind to wander to new avenues. The window can take me places that quiet the things in my mind and my house that keep screaming, "Pay attention to me". This then prepares me to be able to create. I am a messy artist, it's a fact. I try to keep all my art goodies nice and neat but before long I've got several different paints and brushes out, stamps piled up and papers scattered in front of me. I credit this to not knowing what I want to do when I start a project. So my desk goes from being neat and tidy to looking like it was hit by a tornado. Then you will find by the time I am finished with my project my hands are covered with whatever medium I had been using. Paint, Ink, Mod Podge, or all three, LOL. But this is my happy place. I feel most like myself when I am creating art. It is who I am. Ever since a young age I loved doing all kinds of art. I spent many class periods a day in art class in high school. It was where I felt I belonged. It was where I wanted to be. I just loved creating things. But there is always something that comes up in life that takes us away from the things we love. In my case it was practicing my art. From having a career to getting married to starting a family to financial struggles to illness struggles. These are things that can rob you of your joy and passions, and keep you from using your gifts and talents. In the end they ultimately can keep you from feeling fulfilled and finding your purpose in life. So I was tired of feeling like I've missed my purpose or that I wasn't feeling fulfilled or better yet fulfilling God's plan for me. God gave me my gifts and talents so surely He meant for me to use them. So last year I began working with ink and rubber stamps. Then I began to turn my art into greeting cards. I was amazed that I had not yet really discovered this awesome way to express yourself through art. Stamping is addicting. There are so many cool stamps and inks out there. I get excited about that kind of thing. But not only was I creating art but I was also using it to reach out to people. It was a win, win situation. So I began making more and more time for my art and began painting again. Then I realized that I enjoyed sharing my art with other people and started teaching them in small groups for a small class fee. It has become a passion of mine again that I just want to share with the world. You see life got messy for many years for me and I allowed it to steal my passion for art. But instead I use the messes of life to propel me into my art now. It is my escape. So messy can be a good thing sometimes. So I encourage you to take a look at your life. Is it messy right now? Maybe you need to get to "Your Table" and get messy creating to help you through your messy time in life. Whatever your passion may be embrace it. I promise you will feel purpose and fulfillment again.
Be Happy and Create!
