Motherhood...(sigh)...

I love most everything about being a mom.  My two kiddos make me laugh and keep a smile on my face almost all day long.  Then we have our off days, the fussy, impatient, needy, clingy, crying, off days.  That was today, and I am mentally and physically exhausted.  So a little photoshop therapy in the form of what I am calling digital art journaling, and I feel much better.  I've been playing with layering vintage photos and different textures and colors.  Its really fun when you want to be creative but you dont have the time (or the space) to get messy just then.  So with a baby bouncing on my knee and a 3 year old building structures on the floor behind me, I made this.  Hope it inspires you too, and I wish you (and myself) a stress-free day tomorrow.

XO, HARMONY

She Helps Me Be Better

Yesterday was kind of a hard day for me.  For various reasons, there was quite a bit of sad news from people that I care about, and my heart feels so heavy for them.  I was playing around with an old photo of my great grandmother and her sister when they were in their 20s.  I started thinking about those people that we become connected to in our lives, and how we effect each other and force change and growth for one another often even without knowing it.  It is through their experiences and our relationship with them that we feel challenged and supported and motivated to change, be better, try harder, and love more fully and be less selfish.  A family that I love lost a loved one yesterday, and as my heart breaks and weeps for them, I am also finding myself wanting to be a better mother, a better friend, a better sister and daughter and wife.   I want to do these things because I am reminded so acutely that our time on earth is limited and our relationships are the one true good thing that we have while we are here.  People matter, they matter more than stuff, more than experiences, and more than our individual accomplishments.  When I work hard to love someone really well, with truth and an open heart, I become the best version of myself that I can be.  I was reminded of this again yesterday when a beautiful young soul left this world.  She had very little time here on earth, but I dont believe that makes her life tragic, but instead makes every moment that she brought joy to those who loved her that much more special and important and life changing.  I hope to keep being reminded of this.  I pray that I can always keep striving to be the best version of myself, and I have many many amazing people to thank for that lesson.  Thanks for letting me ramble a bit today.  I made this artwork to thank those amazing people who inspire me in this way.   I hope this message blesses you where you are at.  It is definitely what I needed to hear today.  Who inspires you to be better?  Find a way to thank them and bless them today.

XO, HARMONY

Flea Market Finds..a Purchased Memory

 I went to the local flea market on Saturday with my husband and son.  What an adventure!  Being in the South, the flea market is such a schizophrenic mix of antique dealers, old junk piles, wholesalers, pets? (i thought this was a bit weird), a few crafters (mostly metal and leather mediums - think handmade Harley Davidson type stuff), and farmer produce.  We navigated the circus of it all with our little red wagon and went on a search for anything that could be used for display in my booth next week.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera, (had to borrow these market pics from HERE)   

This made me blue, because there were some really incredible moments that I would have loved to share with you... giant mastiff being walked on a leash next to a chihuahua, the old man sitting on a stool leaning on his cane in the middle of a huge pile of junk he's collected (a serious pile of junk let me tell you),  the lady selling cowboy hats and also wearing one of her items - a hot pink cowboy hat that matched her pink outfit perfectly (mind you she was at least 85 years old), and my favorite - the 16 year old skater boy selling parrots and turtles, trying to explain to us that they only sell baby turtles that carry small amounts of salmonella on their shells, and their family would never sell the ones that have large amounts of the toxin (what's a small amount and how do you know?). 

 from here

I didnt end up finding much for my display, but what I did find was a sweet old man selling antiques and a pile old photos from the 1930s-1950s.  I was in mixed media art heaven!  I asked him about the photos, and he had them priced from $1-$5 depending on their size, and then he started telling me stories about the people in the photos.  Wait a minute! "these are your family photos?" I asked him, and he nodded.  

I thought about what it would be like to sell my family pictures to strangers, watching them pick over them, scrutinizing their quality, but this man didn't seem bothered by it, so I started looking through them.  I chose a set of pictures of two sisters, the man's aunts when they were girls.  I liked their smiles, and they reminded me of me and my sister.  As I went to pay the man, he took the photos from my hand to check the price and he paused, holding them gently, smiling a bit, and then looking almost sad for a moment.  I felt incredibly awkward.  I wanted to tell him never mind, to keep his pictures and not to sell them, but then the moment passed and he gruffly said "four dollars."  

I scanned the photos into my computer this morning, thinking of all the possible uses for them in different artworks.  I started playing around with the images, layering with other digital images I had created.  It was surprisingly really fun to do (I don't normally enjoy making digital artwork).  Here's the original photo.

 And here's what I made from it...

I think I may mount the image on a wood block as a wall hanging.  

I had so much fun making it that I started making another one using an image that a very talented friend took of my family. (thanks again patricia!) Here's a look at what I made with that one.

 I love this picture!  Its so us (notice the little feet without shoes - he discarded them as soon as we started walking) This may also become a wall hanging.  I'm not sure yet. 

Anyway, I wanted to share the second sister photo with you and see what loveliness you can create from it.  I am listing it in my Journaling Freebies Section as well.  I uploaded it in a High Resolution format, so you should be able to copy and paste it to your own computer and play around with it from there (personal use only please) - :)

 arent they amazing! love the old-school bathing suits!

 

Also, I just listed an 8X10 print of my mother and child painting for sale (BLOGGED HERE).  I am calling it "Little Star (a mothers song)."  It would make a really sweet picture for a nursery or a gift for a new mom.  You can see it on Etsy HERE.

Thanks for reading and following my art journey stories.  I have close to 14 million things that I must attend to for the craft shows right now, so my postings have been a little less regular than normal.  Bear with me, please.  I will find a balance soon :)  Also, in the next week or two,  I will be putting up more from my process of getting ready for craft shows with videos and updates from the shows themselves, so stay tuned!