Video – https://youtu.be/bMV22myr8C0
Hello friends,
Welcome to Sunday’s ART of Truth for June 2024. As you may have noticed from the photo that is the focal point of this beautiful and meaningful piece, this is my husband and I, 41 years ago. We met August 6, 1980 and were married July 30, 1983. I was 18, and he was 20. We were simply two kids in love who had no idea what we were doing. Before, I share some story with you, I want to talk about this piece.
The title is Legacy. What is legacy? Legacy is something that is passed on. It can include one’s faith, ethics, core values, and memories. It also is represented as something that has long lasting impact of a life. However, in our story, it means so much more than that.
For me, legacy is power. It is love. It is constancy. It is also a story of redemption & preservation. Our lives and the way that we lead them affect people around us in ways that we may never fully know or comprehend. The values we pass down can become a lifeboat for someone else. The places we walk, the people we meet, and the truth we share travels with us into the future in ways that may never fully be known.
We have three children. Jeremy is almost 40. Christina (Tina) is 38, and LeAnne will be 36 if a few short weeks. Between them, we have 7 grandchildren. Jacob, Koda, Tanner, Rusty, Kenzie, Ayla, & Josiah. These beautiful people range from age 18 down to 7.
A couple of years ago, I decided I was going to repurpose my wedding dress. Tim purchased it for me for my 16th birthday. Times have changed and people just don’t treasure those things the way they used to. That is ok. It is quite natural.
So, I decided to make a family legacy journal using things from my dress. I saved the zipper pull and the only button on the dress. It took me 1 full year before I could make the first cut. Much more time passed before I could coffee dye any of the pieces.
This project is the first time I have used the lace. I adhered the lace with some matte gel and then continued with adding my beloved texture right over the top of it. Layers of story and legacy. I can tell you that the process of using it here was both emotional and reflective. A dress is just a dress, right?
No, not at all. This dress marked the day that Tim and I committed to love one another for better and for worse. In sickness and in health. We committed to weather the storms and support each other always. In our story, my husband Tim has given way more that he received. However, that is also love. Love is not a scale that we keep track of rights and wrongs or tally how many times we did right by the one that we love. Love is unconditional. It cannot be measured. I don’t believe that it can be killed. I do believe that sometimes circumstances smash it up so bad that it is unrecognizable. I think it can die in our human understanding of it. But, love comes from the Creator and is eternal and everchanging.
I digress. Back to the dress. I want to create a journal that will leave that legacy, those promises, and our love for our kids, grandkids, and great grandkids for generations to come. This Legacy Journal will honor all the places we have been. It will highlight weddings, funerals, births, graduations, and fishing. My hope is that it is something that our kids will lift up and send along to their kids and on and on. Everyone will be represented to the best of my ability. I want it to tell the story of the life we created, which birthed the lives that our children created, and now their children.
In this extraordinary mixed media plaque, there is so much story. There is us, of course. But underneath the layers are song, sorrow, words, darkness, crevices, pain, remembering, and joy. One of the vintage music pages I used had a bit of the verse that caught my eye. “pray God may give me to have and to hold…”
Pray God, yes. Without him, this legacy would not be intact. Without him, we would not have made it. Without him, our children would have been exposed to dysfunction and potential generational abuse. Without him, neither Tim nor I would have had what we needed to raise these amazing people. These amazing people are raising amazing people. All, who are creating their own legacies.
At the time of this posting, it is July 28, 2024. In two days, we will celebrate 41 years of marriage. I am so flabbergasted to even see those numbers and dates. I am grateful from the deepest part of me for this life and this legacy. Eternally grateful to my Papa God for his love, provision, and steadfast guidance over all these years.
This blog post will be the very first entry in the Legacy Journal.
My friends, no matter where you are, who you are, who you are with, or even if you are currently alone…we all have a legacy. We all have a story to tell. We all have something to share with the world. What we leave behind is precious, personal, and beautiful to behold.
I hope you are uplifted by reading this. I know for some, there is loneliness, regrets, failure, broken promises, dashed dreams, and hopes that just won’t give up. I am speaking to all of you.
You are loved. You are brave. You have a story to tell. I hope you find a way to share it.
Love and blessings until next time,
Beloved-Reborn,
Cara-Renee Wolf
FULL SUPPLY LIST UNDER PHOTOS!
Supplies used:
Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Flexible-Modeling-Medium
Vintage Photo Archival ink Refill (Ranger doesn’t make a single pad that is vintage photo archival ink. You have to buy the refill and a DIY ink pad) – https://www.amazon.com/Ranger-Ink-Distress-Archival-Re-Inker
DIY Ink Pad – https://www.amazon.com/Ranger-AIP48077-Empty-Archival-Pad-Empty
Art Alchemy Wax – Honey – https://www.etsy.com/shop/FourCreativeSeasons?ref=yr
Golden Fluid Acrylics – Cobalt Turquoise, Quinacridone Nickle Azo Gold, & Raw Umber – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=golden+fluid+acrylic+paint&crid=TA5XHZCRZ1EL&sprefix=golden+fluid+ac%2Caps%2C1258&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_15
Liquitex Fluid Matte Medium – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Matte-Medium-8-Ounce/dp/B000IYWYNE/ref=sr_1_3?crid=30FI0W8XIGTIO&keywords=liquitex+fluid+matte+medium&qid=1705870882&sprefix=liquitex+fluid+matte+med%2Caps%2C1033&sr=8-3