Video – Art That Heals | “She Wore Her Scars” | Emotional Mixed Media | Sunday’s ART of Truth

Video – https://youtu.be/lkZUAwTELyk

Hello friends & Happy Sunday!

Welcome to Sunday’s ART of Truth — “She wore her scars…”

Today, I want to share with you this beautiful mixed media piece and expose a little bit of my heart.

My story is not one to share over dinner or in a crowded room. It is one that has been filled with seemingly impenetrable shame, intense pain, enormous loss, and years of fighting for my life.

I entered counseling in 1989. My children were 5, 3, and 1 years old. I was angry all the time. I didn’t want to be that angry person. I knew it was time to break the cycle. I knew it would be hard. I knew it would take unimaginable courage and fortitude. I knew that I had to do it to save my little family. I knew that if I didn’t break the cycle, my children would grow up and be at risk of carrying what I had not healed. I once read a quote that said, “If you don’t heal from what hurt you, you’ll bleed on people who didn’t cut you.”

Though I didn’t know that truth at the time, I knew that I had to heal. My life depended on that. I spent over 30 years in therapy healing from things I had buried so deep, I was shattered. I had broken into innumerable pieces in my mind and the places that held my memories. Like containers inside, my psyche tucked the intolerable realities away so that I could live. It had to. I am eternally grateful for that gift of my mind. I believe it is a gift from God that protects little bodies and minds from the intolerable truth. No one was safe. I was not safe.

I had to heal. I was going to heal. I remember clearly, as though it was yesterday telling God that I would do the work. No matter how hard it got, how much it cost, or how long it would take, I would do it. I struck a deal. I will do it, but I wanted Jesus to use it. I wanted my story to reach others. I wanted my story to help other women know that they are not alone. I want them to know that they are not discardable, worthless, too broken or forgotten. Most of all, I want other women to know that they are not alone.

He kept his promise.

My story is no longer a nightmare; it is my legacy. My story no longer torments me, it fuels me. It propels me every day. My story is not one of shame, but incredible courage.

As many of you have likely noticed, I have many scars on my arms. Those are the scars you can see. My body is ravaged by them. For about 15 of those 30 years, I struggled with self-harm. There were days when all I could do was sit and rock and breathe. Harming myself was as natural as breathing to me. I felt alive. I felt real. I felt like I was in the present, not the past.

As healing came and began to heal my heart and mind, the self-harm stopped. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that the urge went away entirely.

You may be wondering why I am sharing this…so I wanted to tell you.

The quote on this beautiful art piece says, “She wore her scars like constellations, each one a story of resilience written across her skin”. (Author unknown)

This resonated with my heart so deeply, I had to put it down in 3D in this project.

Yes, I wear scars. They will never go away. Some days, I grieve deeply over the mess of my body. However, the scars are my story too. Sometimes, pain feels like drowning, to be able to control my body at that time was critical to me. It was my voice. However, I have a healed voice now.

The blinding pain and impossibility had a hunger to have a witness, to be seen, to be heard, to feel, to have power and choice. It all felt insurmountable.

So…I have scars. I am no longer ashamed. While I am not proud of them, I am finally at peace with them.

My scars DO tell the story of my resilience, courage, determination, love for my husband and children, and of God’s spirit within me.

So, I am okay with them being written across my skin.

The women in the image (AI) shouted out at me! I knew this was the one that would take me on this journey of settling this score with myself. She is fire, she is light, she is color, she is fierce, and she is powerful.

No one can take those things away. I want my fire to warm others who feel lonely, I want the light that saved me to become light for others. I want my color to bleed everywhere. I will be fierce and gentle. I will use my power for good and not evil. I will not return evil for evil.

The process of creating this peace was so healing for me, I find it hard to comprehend.

As with all my mixed media pieces, the layers tell the deeper story. I started with various music papers because music is the story of our spirit. It contains all the things of life. Flats, sharps, whole notes, half notes, crescendos, allegro, and varying tempos. I love how the music peaks through. Joy and pain are a dance.

I was striving for the girl to remain the focus and learned some things along the way. That was pretty neat!

I am also always surprised by what different elements end up meaning. The wrinkles, the folds, the gold shimmer dots from the tissue paper, and obviously the vintage aged look. Additionally, I was captured by adding black stamping on black parts of the piece. I found it interesting that I wanted to do that. I thought, why black on black? I felt like I was stamping out the black. Penetrating the darkness with words and script. The crevices and deep black passages across the background always heals me. I think above all else, I love the gold paint splatters.

Why? You might ask…

Simple…we all need gold splatters. It reminds us of our value, our worth, our uniqueness, our presence in this world and our impact.

You my friends, are gold. You are precious beyond human comprehension. No matter where you are in your journey and no matter what your story is, you are a miracle and a huge blessing to me.

I know that this was a LOT on the deeper side, but my heart said it was time. I hope that it encourages you and allows you to not feel alone.

Blessings,

Cara-Renee

B.Reborn Art & Healing

Link Tree Below – https://linktr.ee/b.rebornart

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 FULL SUPPLY LIST UNDER PHOTOS!

Supplies used:

Golden Fluid Acrylics –  Raw Umber, Quinacridone Gold, Iridescent Gold Fine, & Nickle Azo Yellow – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=golden+fluid+acrylic&crid=1ADT6N3B7C8DB&sprefix=golden+fluid+acrylic%2Caps%2C189&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Liquitex Matte Medium – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Matte-Medium-8-Ounce/dp/B000IYWYNE/ref=sr_1_3

Liquitex Gesso – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Clear-Surface-Medium/dp/B001UNTGRE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa

Liquitex Matte Gel – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Matte-Medium-16-oz/dp/B000KNJFKS/ref=sr_1_1

Liquitex Modeling Paste – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Flexible-Modeling-Medium/dp/B001URWM12/ref=sr_1_1_pp

Charcoal Pencil – Soft – https://www.amazon.com/General-Pencil-130346-Charcoal-Pencils/dp/B000HF2T1Q/ref=sr_1_2

Black soft pastel – Rembrandt  – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BJJXH6?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_37

Maribue crayon – Blue – https://www.amazon.com/Marabu-140900000204-Painting-Drawing-Multi/dp/B07DNJ2957/ref=sr_1_2

Sennelier Carbon Black Acrylic Ink – https://www.amazon.com/Sennelier-Abstract-Acrylic-Carbon-Black/dp/B08YJ69RSX/ref=sr_1_2

Daler Rowney Turquoise Acrylic Ink –  https://www.amazon.com/Daler-Rowney-Acrylic-Artists-Dropper-Top-Turquoise/dp/B004O7E7UO/ref=sr_1_3

Background stamps – I can’t link them.

Liquitex Transparent Raw Umber Acrylic Ink – https://www.amazon.com/Liquitex-Professional-Acrylic-Transparent-Umber/dp/B00263VU7G/ref=sr_1_2

Wood Panel – https://www.amazon.com/Falling-Art-Studio-Painting-Panels/dp/B0834LT7T2/ref=sr_1_6

Gold Dot tissue paper – https://www.amazon.com/MR-FIVE-Gold-Polka-Dot/dp/B0D95CLMH9/ref=sr_1_6