Tag Archive: art therapy



Thank you so much SwittersB for nominating me for One Lovely Blog Award.  You are so kind!

The Rules for the Award are as follows

1.  You must thank the person that nominated you

2.  You must list the rules and display the award

3. You must list 7 facts about yourself

4.  You must nominate 10 others

5.  You must display award logo and follow the blogger who nominated you

I cannot tell you how honored and humbled I have been by my readers… It is an amazing feeling to have such love and concern come my way from so many sources… Growing up in a home where kindness and compassion were so rarely displayed I still find myself surprised daily by the kindness shown to me by virtual strangers.

Seven facts about myself:

1.  Without my husband’s constant prayer, encouragement and love I would not have dared to write this blog at all – it was because of his insistence that I deserved a space all my own to express my heart and mind that I started on this journey.

2.  Photography as a form of art therapy has been one of the most important and effective methods by which my heart has begun to heal.

3.  I am a dirt-loving, weed-pulling daylily nursery owner and I spend several hours a week working in my flower beds and welcoming the endless distraction of new blooms, buzzing bees, butterflies and hummingbirds — not to mention the occasional wild baby rabbit who will eye me from under some foliage.

4.  I did not play with Legos until my late (very late :)) twenties… now I have 4 Lego sets – 3 of which are scenes from Harry Potter and I would much rather display them in my China Hutch than actual China… I love whimsy and playing games and my husband and I spend many an evening over a board game or playing poker with mini chocolate bars as the currency.

5.  I have the widest taste in music of anyone I know… right now my collection contains artists varying from Benedictine Monks (which I am listening to at this moment) to Weird Al, to Creed, System of a Down, Crash Test Dummies, John Anderson, John Denver, Journey, Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, Rainforest Tribal Chants, Jim Croche, Jewel, Delerious?, Johna33, Michael W Smith…the list goes on….  I think ‘eclectic’ is the operative word here.

6.  I am easily distracted… think Dug from the movie UP and his collar that allowed him to “Squirrel!!” talk to people…  This is me, although my husband would likely argue my attention span is even shorter…

7.  Maggots are my kryptonite… I can handle snakes, spiders, beetles, bugs, all manner of reptiles and amphibians – but if I am encountered by a maggot I cannot handle it…. it’s quite pathetic…but I will hug a snake any day of the week – I have even been bitten  by them and know, logically, that they are more dangerous if not treated with proper respect…but this tiny insect larvae will leave me near tears and frozen in terror….

I have been enjoying so many blogs lately…but the blogs I would especially like to nominate are as follows:

The Broken Light Collective

Book of Bokeh

Wild Goodness

Reveling in the Overflowing Grace of God

Simple Pleasures

Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse

Blooming Lotus

Living Shadows

A Victims Journal

Mum..How Much Longer?

My Levels of Not Okayness


I’ve been thinking a lot about Dante’s Divine Comedy…specifically his Inferno and I have decide I have 7 levels of my not-okay-ness…I know this is not grammatically correct 🙂 But it’s the best way I can explain it…  Here’s how it goes…  In this scenario I knock my contact solution off the sink edge due to my infinite clumsiness…

Level One: I have no reaction… I just pick it up and put it back.

Level Two: I take a deep breath, sigh, then put it back.

Level Three: I take  a deep breath, huff, blow, slam it back down.

Level Four: I growl at the contact solution, pick it up, slam it down, huff, mumble and clench my fists…then take a deep breath…

Level Five:  I growl, glare at the contact solution, leave it there, huff, sigh, take a moment to calm myself down and take a deep breath.

Level Six: I yell at the contact solution, I glare at it, I kick it across the room, yell at it some more and pick it up and slam it down.

Level Seven: I yell at the contact solution, sink, mirror and any inanimate object around, I pick up the contact solution and throw it against the mirror, I cry, I pick it up and throw it again.

Does anyone else have days like this filled with irrational emotional craziness?  I hate this rage…this overly emotional out of control feeling….I certainly don’t want to  go through life feeling like this… How do I get a handle on it?

Summer Days


Manarda (Bee Balm) blooming against the sky

Manarda (Bee Balm) blooming against the sky

 

This guy landed on me while I was pulling weeds.

This guy landed on me while I was pulling weeds.

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Broken Reflection


Broken Reflection

Taken at Suwannee River State Park… Some days I don’t know which way is up… some days I feel lost in Alice’s mirror and I can’t remember who is real – me or my mask. Some days my world feels upside down and the ground and sky cannot be distinguished… Inside I’m begging for someone to show me what is real and what is a reflection from the funhouse of mirrors in my mind.


Stained

Taken at Savannah Lock and Dam Park… I took this picture to capture the way I feel… stained, tainted, broken, polluted…but still strong – and worthy of redemption. Somehow strong and beautiful in spite of the damage.

Make a Wish


One of the best parts of Summer Magic is wishing on these...

One of the best parts of Summer Magic is wishing on these…

I remember when I was a kid I took every opportunity to blow these as hard as I could and make a wish…. Did you ever do that? What did you wish for?

I wish......

Stand Back!


Taken summer 2013 in my front yard on my Passion Flower Vine

Taken summer 2013 in my front yard on my Passion Flower Vine