Zink, Melissa

I thought I would end the challenge with art.  I am so glad that I participated and have met some really inspiring artists and writers in the course of the journey.  Many thanks goes out to Arlee Bird and the team.   I will still be trying to get to all those who I didn't get to visit during the challenge.  On Monday there will be a reflective post.  For my Z post  I came across Melissa Zink, who's hometown is Taos, New Mexico.  She is an artist that I admire who makes mixed media wall art and bronze sculpture.

Youth

As a creative exercise on Art, Heart and Healing course by Tamara Laporte we had to do an altered book celebrating our lives.  One of the pages expressed what we would say to our 5 year old selves. Between the ages of 5 and 11 I was bullied at school feeling powerless and unable to speak up for myself, in those days I don't remember any campaigns about anti bullying or even childline.  I didn't tell anyone at the time and just hoped it would go away.

I don't remember anyone telling me how bright or gorgeous I was or how maybe some day I could speak words of encouragement into someones life. It took years of reflecting, reading, and faith to come out the other end, though the inner work is a continuous thing. 

This was a really good exercise - all the things I would say to a young child now to encourage and support I said to my inner child.  Words definitely have power and you can encourage or tear down someone by the words that come out of your mouth.

Ephesians 5:19 encourages us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit....

Xylophone 'Forest'

I have always liked the sound of music played on a xylophones. As a child me and my brother would go for adventures in the forests of Hampsted Heath, spending hours pretending we were explorers, the sweets in our pockets would be our energy supplies and we had the power to become invisible to other alien life forces that would also roam the heath, many great memories were made.

This is video set in the tranquil setting of the forest, using a giant xylophone...It's amazing the lengths companies go to advertise their products.  See if you can guess the product before the video ends.

Watersoluable Ink Pencils - Inktense

I got a 12 set of these Derwent Inktense watersoluable pencils for Christmas.  They are vibrant as a pencil and when you add water to a drawing don't loose their colour or brilliance.  Once you've added water and they dry they become permanent which makes them ideal to use with other mediums.  They can also be used on fabric, and I'm playing about on a few other surfaces to see the effects. They come in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48 and I've seen a 72 pack set, (these are on my wish list!) If there ever was a pencil to recommend it would be these.

Variation on a Theme - Reusing Journal Pages

Following on from the online course I did from Strathmore I decided to rework another journal page, this time using photoshop.  This piece was done using water soluable crayons in one of my journals. 

I decided to use photoshop (elements) to smooth out some of the lines down the centre of the page and try making the piece a bit more vibrant.  I'm by no means an expert on photoshop and am learning as I go on.  I brought a copy of Susan Tuttle's Digital Expressions to learn a bit more about using photoshop creatively.  I haven't finished this piece but wanted to share progress so far.