My word for 2014 is CREATE (explained here).
My year got off to kind of a rough start. Horrendous headache that won't break for a couple of weeks. Nasty anxiety. And the ever present struggle to figure out when to medicate and when to wait it out. Knowing there will be drawbacks in either case.
So I had all these glorious ideas and then watched day after day go by without being able to fulfill them. But not entirely.
I've been able to tangle some. Finish a couple of projects. One of which is my vision canvas (like a vision board, but tweaked for my purposes). Just pigment pen with pencil shading on a 9"x12" watercolor paper.
So, even though I never use photos on my blog, today I will. And probably more in the future. At a minimum I plan to create a sketchbook tab for my tangles.
Here's the first one I'm sharing. My vision canvas:
It started with the word CREATE, because that's what it's all about. Then I drew a string with some loops (in pencil, later erased). I used this to add more words. Not necessarily all things I will accomplish this year. More like shades of words to color the idea. There are more defining words in the ribbon. In case you can't read them all they are as follows: peace, stability, strength, refuge, dragonflies, healing, haven, space, calm, wellness, sanctuary, satisfaction, fortitude, oasis, happiness, gargoyles, garden, structure, dragons, wholeness, atonement, shelter, freedom, health, joy, self, focus, safety, divinity, dreams, escape, order. Then I tangled in the various spaces and shaded with pencil.
I'm very new to this art form, Zentangle. I started about a week before Thanksgiving. So far, I am loving it. And I love that I am learning something new. Learning is always energizing for me emotionally.
In addition to tangling, I have found other ways to incorporate CREATE into my days, even when I'm down. I have tweeted a quotation about creating every day. And I have questioned myself more. Because figuring out what I want is an elemental part of creating.
When I woke up last Sunday and began hoping for a good day at church I stopped myself. I spent a few moments asking myself what I wanted my experience at church to be. I focused my thoughts and heart that direction. I prayed for assistance. It changed my day.
I've done this a few times since. For different events. For me, I haven't been able to define my whole day with one choice yet. But I can define different experiences and activities, or moments, throughout the day. I think part of this is because I haven't been well. I think it's also because I'm learning to use new mental muscles. Anytime I learn something new, it takes time to become skilled at it.
Onward and upward. More creating to do. I'm finally starting to feel a bit better. Ready to tackle my little corner of the world.
I leave you with my favorite tangled work so far. It's a piece I created for a friend. The only guideline he gave me was free flowing, kind of like The Grateful Dead. He wants it colored, so I will be water coloring it. For now, this is it (9"x9" on watercolor paper):
I hope you're all finding wonderful ways to experience 2014.
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Since I'm new to photos on my blog, please let me know if there are display problems for you and what platform you're using to view my blog.