Gratitude

"Gratitude turns what you have into enough." 

What is enough? How much is to much?

Lately my boyfriend and I have been developing plans for what we want our future to look like. We've both decided we want more emphasis on family and less emphasis on money and stuff. We want to eliminate debt and live within our means. But comfortably within our means. We want to have lives that are more meaningful and less about the rat race to stay ahead. 

This means letting go of the idea that you need to consume. I'm trying very hard in my "hobby" practices to scale back. That means I'm trying...TRYING not to make new purchases of art supplies, which is hard. I'm an addict I admit it. I've also put myself on a "diet" of books (Only what I can get at the library or the online library) and yarn. 

SIGH. It's hard. But I think it's worth it. I think the art that I do create will come out more meaningful, as it's less about the product and more about the process and result. And I have a decent stash of art supplies as it is...trust me, I'll be okay. 

So in keeping with that thought, I made this page by reaching for some of my lesser used supplies. Markers. On a whim-back in the day-I purchased a set of letraset promarkers and another of letraset aqua markers. I used them a few times, then loaded them up in my pretty travel case and haven't really used them since. Why? I don't know...they're not my FAVORITE supply but they are definitely fun and vibrant. They blend if you work quickly, spreading the color out with your finger right after application. The water colors ones-aqua markers-will blend with a bit of water. It's not the cleanest of blends, as you can see, but that's perfectly alright with me. I love the "texture" of streakily blended watercolor. 

The other thing I reached for in making this page is a Viva "pearl pen". It had been another impulse purchase from some store online. Today was the first time I used it. You squeeze it and a line of puffy pearly ink comes out. I promptly squeezed out a huge mess right onto my shirt testing this out....

I put it onto the girls shirt and framing her, and I like how it dried, raised and shiny. It reminds me a little of the liquid pearl drops...hmmm..maybe I'll have to use those next time. But what was kind of cool is that if you smear the liquid out right after application, it dries clear but leaves a beautiful sheen. You can kind of see it on her cheeks and forehead. Groovy, right? 

What you have is enough. Be happy with where you are at in the journey that is your art. Or your life. You are enough, exactly as you are. 

There, some words of inspiration for you today! I hope you're enjoying these posts, they give me a reason to keep plugging some art into my journal.