I dreamt of an indigo bunting: a book of beautiful faces

What a sweet message from apinkdreamer: Where are you? I miss your art.

Awwww. :) Thanks!

Well, if you miss my art.....then you're gonna be real happy about this post. It's all about where I've been and what I've been doing....which was pretty much 24/7 arting.

I was contacted about this: http://appelfarm.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/af-surprise-art-challenge/

I was afraid to say YES to this challenge. The excuses were as follows: I can’t do it. I don’t have enough time. We just finished the craziness of tax season (my husband is an accountant). I don’t know what to make. I have to mail it from here to there. I’ll have to pay to have it mailed there and back to me. People could laugh at me and think my art is pathetic. I can’t do it. I’m not good enough. I still don’t have enough time. I definitely don’t have the energy. I’m not THAT creative. It’s spring and I have yard work to do. I’m too tired. I’m too scared.

But there was another conversation that kept rolling around: This is an opportunity. This is a challenge. You say you want to teach others how to draw and paint, but you’re too afraid to draw and paint. You tell others to believe in themselves, but you’re not believing in yourself. You didn’t seek this out, they contacted you. Maybe this is The Universe opening a door for you. Do you really want to close it because of blah (see excuse list above).

Then I decided: I’m not going to participate. I began an email to decline. But for some reason, I accepted. I literally wrote something like: I’m scared to do this, but I’m going to.

And I did. I began working on April 19th. I worked longer and harder than I’d ever worked before, artistically speaking. At first, I was almost totally in. There were still doubts, but I ignored them. The energy and passion was high for the first two weeks. Then the third week hit. I began to look for excuses to “get out of it.” I pressed past that feeling every time it came up. I took some time off. I still worked hard, but I took rests. I believed it would get done. I asked for help around the house from my teenage daughter. I called my friends. I asked for help from my higher powers - I asked a ton of help from that source! I received that help in little ways and big ways. I kept myself in line. I watched my own thoughts. I just kept believing the work would get done. I kept working.

Now, it’s Wednesday, May 12th. The project itself is complete. There are still things I’m pressing through though. Will it hold together? I don’t know. What if the yarn that I tied the pages with breaks? I don’t know. What will people think if it does break? I don’t know and I can’t care about that. I still have to go to the post office and go through the process of sending it. That might not sound like a big deal, but for some reason for me, it is. I also have other things going on in my life that are causing me stress and making me want to curl up and take a nap instead of doing this or anything. But the wiser me knows: Being this close, I can’t give up now. That was just be plain old silly.

So, if you’re reading this, Hi! I kept my word. I said YES and I kept saying YES. What will you be afraid of and say YES to anyway?

Here's some pictures I took right before I mailed it away. Sorry, some of them are blurry and I didn't take any pictures of the sliders or what they say. (It will be coming back though.)









I love these two pages so much!



I just adore how she's shaded. The slider says something like, "I sat under the moon and wrote naked poetry."





Another favorite page. The secret in her pocket is, "If time flies so can I."













I could eat this page up! I love how the maroon swirls are showing through everything.





can't remember right now what her slider says, something cool I imagine. ;)




The above slider says: My lips long to sing the bird's song. (or something like that)









Yet another of my favs. Slider says: There is beauty to be found in the darkness.





These pages open up to a centerfold.



slider 1: I could walk across the ocean, if I would just let myself.

slider 2: Seaweed caresses my soul.





slider: soak in, soak up, allow life to record its words into your flesh.




I believe this slider says: It's belief that gets us there.



I wanted to write on these pages: Looking out from within, I discovered.

But I didn't......yet.






A lil blurry, but me likey these two.





So, there you have it. Where I've been and what I've been doing for the past month. :)

Now, onto new art!

~magick~
Melissa