More Journal Pages and On going Recovery

I often feel  the need to express my ongoing journey with the unknown, wide world out there.  That healing itself is an ongoing process of being in the moment and responding authentically to what is happening inside and out of me. Which is exactly the same process that occurs in the act of creative engagement....the ART PROCESS.  . ...being in the moment, paying attention and letting the story unfold.

I continue to play around in my journal and love to watch the images that show up, so I am honoring them as part of my process, without judgement, and with awe and intrigue.

In my journaling process, it is as if I first set the stage, by painting the backgrounds. In this particular series of pages, I used varying watercolor washes.

Once the background is laid into the paper, the curtain is pulled back, the window opened so to speak, and I  begin to collage around the backgrounds, creating a mood   or a feeling with the collage images that are applied.

Next step: PLAY.. I play around with media, pens, prismacolor pencils, words, letters, rubber stamps and then, more watercolor, until something comes together. Going back and forth from one page to the next, responding visually to what I see and what I feel.
Once INSPIRATION arrives, it is just a matter of filling in the spaces, doodling around and emphasizing one part over another, and I arrive  in   
The Mythic Land of image into story line.
It's that ah ha moment, that is part of the creative process, the part that we seem to long for, but have to muddle through unknown lands,  and critical inner demons to reach.

That is when I really begin to feel nourished by the process, it is as if

CREATIVITY MAKES THE MEAL  

The process is like a baby bird playing with a ball, dancing in air.

Using blocks of incongruent connections to make a whole feast of possibilities.

This is the gift of the imagination and the creative process, to nourish us and give us the opportunity to create a Retreat into our own Souls Language, to help to make us whole.

The Art of Encouragement..     

To encourage is to give active help or to raise confidence to the point where one dares to do what is difficult.

And so the images lead us places, open doors and windows, by providing new perspectives, and

posing enigmas..

And the healing journey in my life and art continues to hearten me and offer guidance, even if at first I can't read the story line or understand the purpose.   

To hearten is to put one's heart into or to renew someone's spirit (:heartened by the news of his recovery), and to inspire is to infuse with confidence, resolution.

Ciao....Caterina