Video – https://youtu.be/RDUA7dmxgdc
Hello friends, welcome to Sunday’s ART of Truth. Today we are creating a beautiful mixed media assemblage for the cover of the Autumn Garden Journal. This journal will be the 1st prize for our 2000 subscriber give away. I found this beautiful kit on Etsy from My White Cat Journals. Gorgeous paper with warm tones, an autumn feel mixed with a vintage feel.
The inspiration for this project came from a quote from an audio book I was listening to. The book is The Shack. The audio book is amazing! In it, there was a truth that really resonated with me that I wanted to share with you all.
“Forgiveness, for the forgiver is the CHOICE to let go of the throat of another”. – The Shack
Additionally, as the forgiver, we have no duty to seek justice. I emphasize DUTY.
The absence of justice doesn’t mean that we can’t let go. We have no duty where our hearts are concerned.
I want to walk carefully here, gently. Forgiveness is a very tricky thing. The ideas and thoughts around it are huge and often, feel volatile. For a long time, I couldn’t talk about forgiveness. I couldn’t bear the thought. However, a reframing of what it meant and didn’t mean was critical for my moving through a variety of things.
I began to look at it as a letting go. A release. A gift to myself.
Letting go of the need to have justice. Letting go of the need to have my side of the story heard and understood. Letting go of the need to be believed or validated. Letting go of the need to have the last word or be right.
Letting go for me has been incredibly healing.
It is hard. It is very hard. It seems impossible when there are crimes against the heart and the body. It is personal. It is a process. It is a gift we give ourselves that sets us free from what we cannot control in a situation or event.
It takes time. Lots of time. It is ok.
Recently, I went through something that wounded my heart yet again. I lost a sister in the process, again. It took me several weeks to move past the hardest of feelings and to restore the truth in my soul.
My friends, be gentle with yourselves. Be kind to your heart. Acknowledge the hurts, tend to them. We move through that process of letting go in our own time. That is ok too.
As I created this piece, there were so many things that spoke to me. I used music paper to create the collage look. I realized that often the music of our lives is interrupted by story. It is interrupted by wounds and the healing process. The music is still there. We just get to move to a place where the music is louder than the wounds.
There was also a bit of words that stuck out that said ‘calling for you’. It made me think of that healing place that is always there for us. Our hearts cry is to be free. To feel free and to enjoy our joy. It is, perhaps, our hearts calling out, wanting the freedom that healing brings.
I mentioned in the video process that I intended to use a leather flower from an old pair of sandals. They were my favorite sandals of all time. I wore them for about 8 years. When they began to fall apart, I stashed that flower away in my drawer of fun bits. I knew that one day the perfect use would come along. Today, it did. I walked many miles in those sandals. Miles of joy and sadness, hardship and celebration. Our journey through the hard and good are worthy of noting. In our hard times, we grow. In our good times, we fill up our buckets and strengthen our resolve to enjoy our joy and to live our lives to the fullest.
So, the person who wins this journal will get a piece of my footwear to keep!
The last bit that I put on was that circle in the bottom righthand corner. It said, ‘remember this’. It took my breath away. How often I lived in a place where I believed that holding on the throat of another and rehearsing the terrible things that happen felt justified to me. It felt like if I forgave or let go, I was saying that what happened didn’t matter. It felt like I was saying it was ok. Letting go doesn’t mean any of that. I now believe that it is a gift we give ourselves and honors our hearts in the biggest way.
My friends, letting go (ie forgiveness) is so hard. It takes time. It takes giving yourself permission to grieve the losses. It allows a space to sit with the pain, but it also permits a place to absorb truth. Was the thing that happened right? No. Was it because I am bad? No. Is it because we deserve it? NO! We get hurt. We hurt others. We are imperfect humans living in an imperfect world.
Be gentle with you. Know that you are not alone. Know that you deserve to be free from the bonds that hold you prisoner to another’s choices.
You are loved. You are valuable. You are beautiful.
Be blessed,
Beloved-Reborn
Supply list under photos!
Supplies:
Digital Kit – My White Cat Journals – Autumn Garden – https://www.etsy.com/listing/1270095831/junk-journal-autumn-diary-printable?
Golden Fluid Acrylic – Yellow Ochre – https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Fluid-Acrylic-Paint-Ounce-Yellow/dp/B0006TU9OW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1AQH3NB8Y7Q28&keywords=golden+fluid+acrylics+yellow+ochre&qid=1665857537&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjk4IiwicXNhIjoiMS4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuOTkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=golden%2Caps%2C3793&sr=8-3
Golden Fluid Acrylic – Transparent Red Iron Oxide – https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Fluid-Acrylic-Paint-Ounce-Transparent/dp/B0006TZLKO/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3IOJ16LLRJIZQ&keywords=golden+fluid+acrylics+red+iron+oxide&qid=1665857566&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=golden+fluid+acrylics+red+iron%2Caps%2C1927&sr=8-2
Golden Fluid Acrylic – Iridescent Gold Fine – https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Fluid-Acrylic-Paint-Ounce-Iridescent/dp/B0027AAJ70/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2NUA0R04NIXV7&keywords=golden+fluid+acrylics+iridescent+gold+fine&qid=1665857600&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=golden+fluid+acrylics+iridescent+gold+fi%2Caps%2C823&sr=8-5
Liquitex Fluid Matte Medium – see Basic Mixed Media supply list below
Liquitex Gesso – see Basic Mixed Media supply list below
Ranger Distress Crackle Paint – see Basic Mixed Media supply list below
Ranger Archival Ink – Black and Vintage Photo – see Basic Mixed Media supply list below
Junk Journal Basic Supplies List –
FabriTac Glue – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=fabritac&ref=nb_sb_noss
Art Glitter Glue – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=art+glitter+glue&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Ranger Archival Ink – Vintage Photo – They no longer make the pad so I bought the reinker and a DIY ink pad – https://www.amazon.com/Ranger-AIP48077-Empty-Archival-Pad-Empty/dp/B016A88EAI/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=ranger+diy+ink+pad&qid=1626104364&sr=8-4
Https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vintage+photo+reinker&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
List of basic mixed media supplies
TCW Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=light+and+fluffy+modeling+paste&crid=3PFDSLJUPLGOO&sprefix=light+and+flu%2Caps%2C272&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13
Shoresua Script Stamp- https://www.amazon.com/Shoresua-Transparent-Silicone-Scrapbooking-Embossing/dp/B07PGN3MR3/ref=sr_1_77?dchild=1&keywords=bo+bunny+stamps&qid=1601231832&sr=8-77
Golden High Flow Acrylic – Transparent Yellow Oxide – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=goldenhigh+flow+acrylics&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Liquitex Matte Medium- https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Matte-Medium-8-Ounce/dp/B000IYWYNE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=74CDOKRUL040&dchild=1&keywords=liquitex+matte+medium&qid=1586229506&sprefix=liquitex+ma%2Caps%2C291&sr=8-1
Liquitex Glazing Medium- https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Multi-Purpose-Acrylic-Polymer-GAC-100/dp/B001YJPX58/ref=sr_1_46?dchild=1&keywords=golden+glazing+medium&qid=1586230065&sr=8-46
Liquitex Heavy Gesso- https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Super-Surface-Medium/dp/B001UNREO6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=liquitex+heavy+gesso&qid=1586229647&sr=8-1
Penny Black Script Stamp- https://www.amazon.com/Penny-Black-Script-Unmounted-40-470/dp/B01HNO5R08/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Penny+Black+script+stamp&qid=1586229678&sr=8-1
Shawn Petite Stencils- https://shop.shawnpetite.com/Stencils-c14287046
Cara Renee this piece is stunning! There is a freedom that comes with forgiveness, the letting go brings healing that is a balm for the soul. Thank you again for sharing your process, not just through the creation of the piece of art, but allowing us to journey with you as you process through life, helping us along the way as well ❤️
You are so welcome my friend 🙂 it is a great joy to do so 💛