Not Everything Needs to be Fantastic

Ugh, y’all. I’ve hit a bit of a slump. A metaphorical wall. A point where I just want to sleep and read and watch reruns of Law & Order. I totally ship Amanda and Carisi, by the way. Needless to say I haven’t felt like doing any painting/art journaling.

When I get like this I sometimes wish I didn’t feel anything. I think, to be numb, that’d be great. Of course that wouldn’t be good either. But sometimes…

I become really down on my life and my work and I get pretty fed up with myself. I wonder why am I like this? I have no reason to feel this way. So why do I?

It’s here that I need to remind myself that it’s okay to feel this way sometimes. It’s okay to take a time out. It’s okay to just read on a Sunday afternoon. It’s okay to not create anything for a few days. It’s okay to watch video after video of Bunny Meyer when you can’t sleep at night.

It’s important that we be gentle with ourselves, to give ourselves as much breathing room as we would someone else.  After all, we are sometimes hardest on ourselves.

But today, I began cleaning off my work table because in my “absence” it had become a catchall for other stuff. Like a bottle of concentrated liquid cleaner and my son’s allergy meds (don’t get those two mixed up!).

By taking that little step to clean off my desk, it made me want to get my hands painty. I ended up with lots of scraps that I didn’t want to toss. I might be a hoarder. I didn’t have any expectations on what it’d turn out like. And it’s a good thing, because it is kinda’ a hot mess. And that’s okay, not everything needs to be fantastic – in life and in art journaling.

As you can see, my desk doesn’t stay clean for long.

I haphazardly glued down the scraps, covering them with Titanium White and different inks as I went along.

The point is not perfection, the point is to do something. To get the juices flowing again. Because having a hodge podge mess is better than nothing at all.

 

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And I think Spring is letting up, so Yay! Summer is a-comin’.

Now for the winner of the giveaway! Didi congrats! I sent you an email!! 🙂 Thanks for entering everyone. I still have some stamps and other fun stuff in my Etsy shop if you missed it.

And always, a little music to get you through.

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