Art Journal - Psalm 16:11

I've spent the last few months visiting a whole bunch of doctors trying to figure out why I've been feeling so lousy. I had just about given up on life for a while. The headaches, dizziness and blackouts were terrifying and debilitating. Add to that the horrendous pain in my neck and down my back with numbness in my arms and hands and doing anything just seemed so impossible.

There hasn't been one definitive answer other than to rule out really bad neurological stuff for which I am so grateful. Turns out I've been experiencing a storm of unrelated conditions! The neck and back pain is the acute result of way too much repetitive motion. I've been going to physical therapy for a few weeks and the pain relief is such a blessing. I'm also strengthening my weakened muscles so I don't find myself in the same state again.

As for the other distressing symptoms, the consensus is that the headaches and dizziness are partly the result of my allergies getting worse and partly from the mess in my neck. The blackouts appear to be unrelated to the other conditions and have not returned since I started to reduce my dosage of estrogen. Looks like I will be facing life without that little crutch because the very real risk of stroke. Yikes!

While I have been convalescing I decided to get out the art journal that hasn't seen any love for a couple years and just do some doodling. It was good to force my hand to hold a pen. Even though the result is pretty wobbly and imperfect I'm so happy to finally create something again. 

Psalm 16:11 is a favorite Bible verse. I love how it makes our relationship with God clear. He will give us guidance and fill us with joy as we seek Him in our daily lives. And that prepares us to enjoy eternity living in the light of His love.

I did the initial doodling with a pencil then drew over that with Copic Multi Liner pens. I colored and shaded with Copic Sketch markers then added some color in the background with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink using a Mini Ink Blending Tool. I left room on the bottom of the right page to add some journaling later.

My journal is the large Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Journal.

I want to thank everyone for your prayers and kind comments. ♥

blessings,
nancy

Trying a little Art Journaling

I took the plunge and got an art journal. I looked around alot and I finally settled on the Dylusions Creative Journal by Ranger. I liked the size and the plain cardboard cover. It has a manilla pocket envelope inside to hold sketches, ideas and bits and pieces to create with. I also got some Distress Paints, Dylusions Ink Sprays and a couple Hero Arts Stencils. I already had some Claudine Helmuth Studio Paints and Multi Matte medium so there was no more excuses not to get started.

Here's the new loot:

I wanted to just play with this first page, I really had no plan for what this would look like when I was done. Probably not the best start, ha! I'm hoping my process will become more refined and the final pages will look more polished but for a first effort I think I'm pretty pleased.

I did lots of doodling. I found it's hard for me to just let go and doodle, my need for perfection is very strong and doodling just doesn't fit the mold. So as a first attempt I'll give myself a passing grade and hope to play with more abandon next time! And yes, there will be a next time! The title, a favorite Bible verse was computer generated with a freebie font called Pea BMad.

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

If anyone is interested, I will be adding a step by step photo tutorial to a new tutorials blog page soon. I'll let you know when I get it done.

blessings,
nancy