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Optimism – believing in the 1% possibility
Here’s the thing. I knew better. I knew how this was going to turn out, yet I did it anyway. I allowed my dog to stalk a rabbit in a neighbor’s driveway on leash. ON A LEASH ATTACHED TO ME WHILE HOLDING MY PHONE. Seriously, I knew there was a 99% chance I was going […]
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I treat my daughter differently
My daughter has often complained that I coddled the boys but make her fend for herself. She is not wrong. I don’t know if its because she is a girl or she is my third kid and I learned a lot through the raising of her older brothers. I believe it is probably both. It […]
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Walking in Circles
All I ever wanted, growing up, was to be a wife and a mother. It was my dream. It came before everything else. I can remember dreamily staring off into the distance my freshman year of college wondering what it would feel like to finally be matched with my soul’s mate, my best friend for […]
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Get a Move On
I have really been making an effort to improve my health and wellness over the last few months and as part of this effort I have been walking. Fellow Champagne Girl, Beth, and I walk about 3 miles (sometimes more) almost daily. We call it “walking our crazy out.” It took around 6 weeks for […]
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Go to the theatre!
Earlier this year, I went to the play “Legally Blonde.” By myself. I’m pretty sure everyone else was there with someone. It did make me a little self conscious. That’s why I stood, staring at my phone, writing a blog post. Ha. I enjoy the theatre. I was in 2 productions in college. One was […]
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I’m such a Martha. . .
Over the course of the past couple of years I have been searching for a deeper connection to God. It began in 2020 when I went to visit my sister in Mexico and visited the Catholic church in the Zocalo in Mexico City. I was so overcome with emotion inside this beautiful church – it […]
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Playing with pinks . . .
I haven’t worked in color in awhile so I played around with some pink in the studio this weekend! I will post some more pics of my progress on some larger pieces soon!
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Notes from Champagne Sunday
We are all creative. Lauren works in theater; Beth paints, stitches, and writes; and I paint and write. We get together each Sunday night to have a glass of champagne and bolster each other through the next week. We discuss relationships (romantic and otherwise), kids, and the general business of being single moms. We are […]
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One Year
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 It was one year ago today my son and I found my ex-husband, deceased, in his home. I am emotional today. I miss all of those things that can never happen – a peaceful existence between us, a fun and growing relationship between my kids and their father, and a hope […]
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Come see me at Panoply and Tennessee Craft!
I will be participating in back to back art festivals – Panoply in Huntsville April 29-May 1 and Tennessee Craft May 6-8. I am so excited to be selected to participate in both of these art shows and am looking forward to meeting fellow artists and being inspired by their creativity! Don’t you need some […]
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New Works: Store Up, Insight, Morning Light
New Abstract Artwork: I love the vertical look of these – like water gently flowing. These have resin over the blue – stunning in person. You can find this piece at the Four Seasons Gallery in Homewood
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New Work: Isn’t it funny?
This piece is one of the few that I have done without resin – it is just dreamy! You can find this piece at the Four Seasons Gallery in Homewood Find Four Seasons on Instagram and Facebook @Four_Seasons_Gallery
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New Work: Expectations
This is my first piece using green instead of blue – it has a more earthy feel and I love it! The resin is poured on top of the color, making a beautiful shine in contrast with the matte finish of the texture. Makes you just want to reach out and touch it! You can […]
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Yearly Focus Words
Have you heard of the trend of choosing a single word as a focus or theme for your year? I have heard this and I have done this before, but without much success on it being an actual focus consitently. What would I choose this year and how could I use these words to actually […]
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One of a Kind
10×20 Heavily textured base with resin & pieces of The Great Gatsby
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New small pieces
Completed a few 5×5 and 6×6 this weekend. These are so much fun! And they look really cool arranged in a collage.
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Dust
“We can’t always assume the broken pieces of our life circumstances are terrible and pointless – not with our God.” Lysa Terkeurst Seeing Beautiful Again (23) This was in the devotional I read this morning by Lysa Terkeurst. She goes on to talk about dust and the pottery process and how something new can be […]
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Trimalchio
“These lights, this brightness, these clusters of human hope, of wild desire – I shall take these lights in my fingers. I shall make them bright and whether they shine or not, it is in these fingers that they shall succeed or fail.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Ups and Downs
12×12 Heavily textured base, acrylic paint, resin, pieces of The Great Gatsby
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Words Bridge
12×12 Heavily textured base, acrylic paint, resin, pieces of The Great Gatsby
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Road trip
My girl will be going to school about 8 hours away from me this fall. This weekend, she drove me and her BFF to the area so she could meet her potential roommate for her freshman year of college. She did a great job, navigating the two stressful cities she must drive through on the […]
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Surrendering MY will. UGH.
God keeps pointing me in this same direction that is no longer making any sense to me. What do I do with this????? I surrender my will and my understanding. Or, I try. Every day. I am TRYING. Ha. This surrendering of my will when I am in a state of confusion is a bit […]
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New Work: Fragile
12×12
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Stacked pieces
I love these 3 pieces stacked to make a new work. They are all available at Kathleen’s in Decatur! Each measures 12×36.
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New Work: Waiting.
“Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them, standing on the edge of the water, scanning the horizon for the tiny ship. Now I wait for Henry. He vanishes unwillingly, without warning. I wait for him. Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow […]
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Panoply 2022 & ME!
Come see me and my current collection of abstacts at Panoply in Huntsville April 29th – May 1st. I am excited to be welcomed into this show. As a teenager, I volunteered for Panoply through the art department of my high school; to be an artist on the other side of this feels like a […]
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New Years resolutions
My resolutions kinda run the year. They aren’t just a New Year’s thing. I revise and add new ones as my life progresses. I always want to get healthy so I am not even counting this one. This year I’ve decided to make some measurable goals to strive for in other areas. I am using […]
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New Work: The heart is slow to learn
“Pity me that the heart is slow to learnWhat the swift mind beholds at every turn.”― Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems
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Words
Words “All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.” – Ernest Hemingway
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Fruits of the 21 Day Fast
I sat in silence most of today. That is unusual for me. Before my 21 day fast from, well – everything (basically), I had to have NOISE everywhere. I could not abide silence. At all. But, that has changed now. It is one of the many things that has changed in me thanks to my […]
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the Journey
the Journey “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but its the journey that matters in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway
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New Work: Moonlight #2
Moonlight #2 20×20 Modeling medium, acrylic paint, resin
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Pablo Picasso
The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston had both a Pablo Picasso exhibit and an impressionist exhibit. Both were wonderful and inspiring. Picasso always fascinates me. I would love to go back in time and crawl inside his mind to see how he sees the world. He pulls things apart and rearranges them on canvas […]
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How long did it take us to realize we were in black and white
There is a long hallway full of bright yellowish orange light in the Fine Arts Museum of Houston. We had made it about halfway down this hallway before we had looked at each other long enough to notice something was off. Our skin was grey. We were in black and white. It was so cool. […]
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Head on collision at 10 mph
I was in a head on collision this morning in a parking lot. A man had just tested positive for Covid and he was FREAKED OUT so he started to black out. And, staring right at us, hit our car. Because of this tiny fraction of time his car is mangled. It was his only […]
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Defining Convictions/Beliefs
I use the word “conviction” because it sounds so much more non-negotiable than the word “belief”. I didn’t even realize I had convictions until a big one was staring me down. And, it took a really long time for me to clearly define this conviction. It was:
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Taking a new booth photo. . .
I spent all day Saturday setting up my tent in my front yard in order to get a more cohesive booth photo. I want to apply to some more shows and actually get in and apparently my all over the place range of pieces is more of a detriment rather than a help. So, I […]
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A running conversation
Matt 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. These verses are a call to continuous prayer – to keep our hearts […]
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Dear Aunt B – the sweetest compliment ever . . .
This is my niece, Maryleigh’s new blog. Check it out. She is a creative and I love the way she is sharing with vulnerability. She has so much to share with the world! I look forward to every post! Here is a link to her site so you can read for yourself https://writingauntb.wordpress.com/ I am […]
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New Work: Vintage Friends
Vintage Friends 20×20 “Constant use will not wear ragged the fabric of friendship.” – Dorothy Parker Textured background, acrylic
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Worry = lack of faith
Worry. As a mom, as a friend, heck, as a WOMAN, worry seems like a natural part of life. I worry about my kids, about my job, about my friends, about ridiculous things – like “does this top really go with these pants?” But WORRY is really just a call to PRAYER.
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New Work: We have such fun
“Oh, let’s have fun.” she begged him. “It’s too hot to fuss.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Heavily textured base, acrylic, resin, coffee dyed pieces of book pages
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Waiting = Patience
Do you have to wait to build a life you love? Today I went to the Van Gogh Emerson Experience with my fellow Champagne Sunday girl. During our many conversations over this adventure the subject of WAITING became a prevalant theme – specifically, waiting for a big change you know is on the horizon but […]
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New Work: Converge
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” -Norman Maclean Heavily textured, acrylic, pen and ink, resin
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Lovely Church Bells
I love Sundays. In my sweet little downtown home I am surrounded by churches. An Episcopal church a couple of blocks one way, a Presbyterian church a block or two another way, and a Methodist church a short walk away as well. I was raised in the Baptist church and the Methodist church growing up […]
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New Work: Invisible Strings
“I want to know you moved and breathed in the same world with me.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald Acrylic on a heavily textured surface, jewelry wire, gold leaf
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The Magic of Disney
Recently I went to Disney for work. (Great place for a conference, by the way.) I have only been there twice before: once when I was in middle school and again with my kids a good many years back. I’d forgotten how magical the place actually feels. It did my soul so much good to […]
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21 Day Spiritual Fast – I need a hard reset –
I need a hard reset – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I need to connect to God and find the direction He is wanting me to go because His directions here recently are quite confusing. I need to find my center. So Jan 1 – Jan 21 will be a period of intense prayer, study, and […]
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New Work: Searching Still
“You see, I am a poet, and not quite right in the head, darling. It’s only that.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay Texture, resin, coffee dyed pieces of The Great Gatsby, acrylic, pen and ink I have two more I’m working on that will look lovely stacked with this one.
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New work: Tornado of Thought Forming
Tornado of Thought Forming 12×12 Mixed Media “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald I overthink. A lot. Ha. I suppose I am of a first-rare intelligence. Heavily textured, resin, pieces […]
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From the studio . . .
I am working on building my collection of abstracts and painting with a friend is always fun. I’m so thankful my career allows me the time to do this over Christmas break. Interested in one of my abstracts? Now is the time to talk to me about it!
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Bittersweet
This will be our first Christmas without him. It is bittersweet. It had been years since he had been sober on a Christmas Day. He felt such guilt at not being the man he wanted to be for his kids that he would become overwhelmed and drink those terrible feelings into much worse ones. He […]
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A lesson in holiness
Recently, as I have been searching for a deeper spiritual connection I have been attending classes at a local church. I am attending to learn about faith and about Christianity. The classes cover the history of Christianity, the beliefs of the different faiths, etc. I have learned alot in these classes. Sometimes, I leave surprised […]
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Lie to me by moonlight . . .
30×30 Acrylic on heavily textured background, pieces of The Great Gatsby, resin, pen and ink. “Lie to me by moonlight. Do a fabulous story.” – F Scott Fitzgerald from Flappers & Philosophers
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What is important
When I realized my life was wonky, long before I divorced, I took inventory of what I used to have and love and compared that list to where I was at the time. I believe, especially as mothers, that it is very easy to let some of the best parts and some of the best […]
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From the studio
Lovely bit of moonlight developing in this one. Now for some torn pieces of The Great Gatsby, some resin, and a tiny bit of pen and ink to finish it off. Off to a beautiful start!
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Updates from the Studio
I had a little bit of time to spend in the studio over Thanksgiving break and I was able to lay the foundations for a couple of new paintings. The circle has so many symbolic meanings and I am a bit crushing on all of them right now so look for a few circles to dominate my abstracts over the holidays!
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Thanksgiving
This has been a strange Thanksgiving. I have spent the majority of my 50 years going to my grandmother’s for lunch and this year we went to the beach with my ex-husband’s family instead. It will be the first Thanksgiving we, my kids and I, have spent without my ex or my grandmother here on […]
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The Christmas I gave up on love OR the Hallmark Man Prayer
This is something I think some of us struggle with after the ending of a toxic relationship. It is glorious though, to know I will be happy alone, or not, but that I don’t need anyone else to make happy happen. . . I embraced the vulnerability that allowing the possibility of love to enter my life again would bring. I also trusted the Lord to deliver what he felt was best for me and I trusted that he would, in fact, deliver. (I also trusted he would take my list into considerations, lol.) This prayer marks the first time I was able to trust in Him fully for years. I prayed and I TRUSTED. This was significant.
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Netflix Series “Midnight Mass” made me cry, after I got over being grossed out
When “Midnight Mass” popped up on Netflix it was Halloween season and I thought it might be a good sorta psychological fright. It was created by Mike Flanagan who also created the remake of “The Haunting of Hill House”. The original black and white version was the first movie to keep me up at night, terrified of what might be in the dark; both movies are loosely based on the book by Shirley Jackson. Flanagan’s remake is sinister with deeper characters and family storyline and I enjoyed the torture of it. I felt the same about his remake of the book The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (which is a book I once taught in my advanced tenth grade English class) called “The Haunting of Bly Manor”. “Midnight Mass” is similar to both of these series in that the characters are deeply flawed, as all humans are, and the story centers more on relationships than it does the increasing horror surrounding them.
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She would have been 107 this month
My grandmother, Mama, lived to be 105. She passed away the January before Covid hit and thankfully didn’t have to deal with any of that. It is funny, we all worried about her health all the time and she never really seemed to. She didn’t really consider death, from what I could tell, even after she passed the century mark. She was up for whatever God’s will happened to be for her. I know 105 is old, but I still feel like I lost her too soon.
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Time to activate one of those infinite DO-OVERS God has gifted me with . . .
Really, I was just looking for a little guidance to climb out of the hole I’ve thrown myself into and instead I get an added emphasis on the power and importance of wisdom – the “she” in line 8 is “wisdom” not some random woman. So, my tasks are to 1) understand where I am: the pit of despair (if you know, you know) check. 2) Seek wisdom to climb out of this pit before Miracle Max is declaring I only want to live in order “to blathe” not check.
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The MOST lovely couple
I spent the majority of my Fall Break in Cancun relaxing with friends, finding my center, appreciating the life God has gifted me. While there, enjoying pool time, God sent to me the most beautiful and faithful woman. She was on her honeymoon and their love story absolutely renews my faith in God and my […]
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Abstract: Cracked Messages
Acrylic on heavily textured background, resin, torn book pages, egg shells; 12×24 “You were my favorite word until the day I forgot how to spell you.” – Michele G Stratford I am exploring more natural texture to add to my pieces. Egg shells were a cracking good time to work with.
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I am Naomi 🙄
THEN, now this one struck me, THEN Naomi said she was too old to marry again. (Ruth 1:12) Now woman. Please. I understand that in her context, in her culture, she did not see herself as any kind of bargaining chip to use to enter a marriage that might save her from the plight of being a widow with no sons and no parents to go home to. But, when I read this I immediately questioned whether or not as a divorced woman with grown kids I am possibly too old to marry again.
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Tennagery People
I was privileged enough to be asked by my daughter to take her and friends to Atlanta to see some obscure band play at the Mascarade. I say privileged because I think she and her friends are comfortable enough with me to be ok with me listening in on their conversations and they trust me […]
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Abstract: Calm In the Storm
This was my very first abstract. The idea came to me when I was prepping a background for another painting. I have always textured the backgrounds with modeling medium in circular shape. My daughter was playing around with resin on some of her paintings and I thought it might be cool to add some small […]
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Abstract: Crossroads
The blue in this one made this painting pop for me. “We have to get used to the idea that at the most important crossroads in our life there are no signs.” -Ernest Hemingway The Hemingway quote is true for my life – I have encountered many a decision that I was suddenly faced with […]
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Abstract: Whirlpool
Some paintings declare they are finished before I had actually planned for them to be finished. This is one of those. I fell in love with it at this stage in the process.
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Abstract: Strong Foundation
The coffee dyed book pages turned out really cool. They are spotted and have a very pretty range of coffee colored hues. I believe a strong foundation in vocabulary gives us the power to communicate as well as understand most effectively. Lack of communication is the root of misunderstandings and conflicts.
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Travel feeds my soul
I have not always loved to travel. It wasn’t that I disliked it, I just hadn’t been anywhere and didn’t know. But once I’d been on my first international trip I was hooked. I want to go everywhere. Today I am traveling to spend time with friends in a far off place that requires a […]
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Abstract: Searching
“Searching” 36×36 mixed media, textured foundation, resin, acrylic paint. “If I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it – keep going come what may.” – Vincent Van Gogh. The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh This one was s departure from the ususal circular shape. It reminds […]
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Abstract: Tidepool
The Steinbeck quote is pulled from a passage describing the wonder of the world and the connection we sometimes feel as humans to all of it – the wonder of being a part of the whole of life. It is a very existential and Thoreau type view of the world. I, personally, think this pull […]
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Abstract: It’s Complicated
I love how this turned out! The texture is so much fun. I delight in finding ways to make texture the focus of a piece and this painting kept me mesmerized. You cannot see in a photo the juxtaposition of matte paint against the shiny resin in the stream – but it is beautiful.
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Work in progress. . .
I love this stage of a painting. It has good bones. It has made it past the ugly phase. It is waiting on those final tiny choices that will make it into something magnificinet. Something I am truly proud of. I feel that way about me, about my life. I have good bones, I have […]
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The opposite of fear. . .
Her faith trickles down like a beautiful golden honey into all areas of her life. It is sticky sweet and hard to wash off and makes her radiate in a glistening sunshiney hue.
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Silly Songs . . .
Life has taken unexpected twists and turns since I spent my days innocently singing along with Bob and Larry. I think of the woman I was and wonder, if I could travel back to her and tell her anything, would I? Would I tell her to brace for what was to come? Would she even believe me?
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A few little birdies . . .
I will be participating in the River Clay Fine Arts Festival in Decatur, Alabama this October and these sweet little 6×6 birdies will be there! I am spending a good bit of time in the evenings and on the weekends creating pieces for this show and I am loving every minute of it!
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Champagne Sundays
Weekly check ins. This is what Champagne Sundays are all about. I have become wonderful friends with my next door neighbor and each Sunday we get together on the front porch and have champagne from my vintage champagne glasses and discuss the week we’ve had and the one coming up. We celebrate our wins and […]
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Living in the moment
Being present as a person who loves to plan her future is, well, sometimes a bit tedious. My head is always trying to look ahead and skip the uncomfortable parts. BUT, what I am finding is that when I cannot see a future, I am more engaged in my present.
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Live like a college graduate
I am thankful for my Lifetime moments as much as my Hallmark moments. I am thankful to just feel again, all of the feels, to have been broken open and set free to experience life once again. Every day is a day for a new beginning or to pick up an old beginning again. I only have this ONE life. That is it! I want to live it body and soul.
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How do I look at such a toxic and traumatic time through a lens of love, and why would I want to??
I was scrolling through TikTok last night, watching the many videos on trauma, toxic relationships, and narcissism that tend to be on my “for me” page, and I recognized myself in literally almost every post. I understand the trauma, I have lived in the toxicity, I have labeled my ex as a narcissist without any […]
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If it was toxic for me, it was toxic for him
But what I could not see due to the bubble I had crawled into to try to protect myself, was that if I was in a toxic relationship, SO WAS HE. He was not choosing to live in a toxic place on purpose. Who would do that? He was miserable too. No one actually wants to live that way. This is powerful now, in looking back. It strips away the animosity I have felt about this period of my life.
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I WILL SURVIVE . . . getting off of sugar. Again.
How I ease myself back into a low carb lifestyle. . .
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When stress eats away my progress. . .
I work in education. This means that this, this month of May, is the most stressful time of the year for me (the second most stressful being the start of school). I gain pounds almost every May and lose them in June. This is unhealthy. It is even more irritating. Buuuuutttttt . . . I […]
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My closet is my happy place. . .
It was like the closet was a symbol of my life if it were put together, neat and tidy.
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How I lost the first 40lb: PART 2
After doing a great deal of research, I chose to eat a low carb/keto type lifestyle as a way to lose weight and get healthy. After much research I found that this way of eating: Reduces inflammation – this is the one thing that keeps me coming back. I have -0- cartilage in one knee […]
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Wait. What?? What do you mean I am not in control?
My ultimate goal when I woke up every day was to see my life and my people through a love paradigm. This is still my goal. How could I have regret if I loved my way through the difficult times instead of allowing bitterness to reign?
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I want to interview you. . .
Have you been through a difficult time that taught you something wonderful about yourself? I want to hear about the wonderful thing! I want to hear about how you changed and grew from your experience. I will be featuring these interviews on a podcast I am creating. This project will focus on stories of everyday […]
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You are sooooo mental (said in my best Valley Girl voice)
Shouldn’t the person we choose to spend our lives so intimately with be chosen, at the very least, with the same standards we use to choose our friends?
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Fatal Optimism (I made that up)
I allowed myself the possibility that happiness could be realized in the paths I had once been so dead set against instead of the one I was so dead set ON. I conceded that I was not giving up on the commitment I made in my marriage, I had lived it out. When I chose to move in a direction that was healthier for me the world opened and welcomed me back (and delivered transformative surprises too!)
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How I lost the first 40 lb Part 1 – GUT HEALTH
Yes, seriously. I went for vitamins, specifically probiotics, first. I had just moved into the house my ex and I had renovated to be our forever home and I had also just asked him to leave for what would begin the downward spiral through his recovery and our marriage’s end. It was a lot to […]
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EVERYTHING is an excuse for cake!
If you have read one or two of my posts then you can probably infer that I am divorced from an alcoholic, have 3 mostly grown kids, and am generally enjoying this time in my life rediscovering who I am and redefining who I want to be. A humongous part of my journey for the […]
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Sometimes it is ok to pivot . . .
For years, I have planned to write extensively about life with an alcoholic, specifically, the lessons I learned about life, love, and grace because of it. Recently, I have been narrowing the topics and making a plan, forming questions that I know my answers to will help other women who find themselves in a similar […]
Bonnie Hedden Hurst
Artist, mom, sometimes writer exploring creativity and the power of vulnerability