Behind the art - with Kiki

Hi everyone! Kiki here with my behind the art for this layout, Which Way Are We Going?

I have to say that when I received the Wisdom kit, it surprised me, and really got me to thinking. I was surprised because everything was so pretty and bright, with oranges and teals. It is a very upbeat, positive kit in terms of colours and embellishments. It got me to thinking though, because when I thought about the theme of wisdom, I didn't feel positive. I just felt the lack of it in my life, or the apparent lack of it.

Using this month's Wisdom kit.

For this particular layout I decided to focus on using all the arrows that I found in the kit. To me they symbolized direction, and a pushing forward. I also found that it was easier to use the hard lines of the orange paper and the larger cut arrow to show the direction or heavy push I was feeling inside.

I chose to focus on bold colours and lines, the arrows all pointing in the same direction. And I knew right from the start of layering these pieces, that this was going to be a photoless layout. This was going to be journal-based, an expression of what I was feeling about wisdom, or rather the lack of it I was feeling.

I really felt like society is pushing us forward despite not having their decisions based solidly on true wisdom. As my journal reflects, we often hope to elect and follow people that are wise, in our government, our society, our spirituality, but are often left feeling without direction, or misled and being pushed in a direction that we don't want to be, and so I was left with the questions of which way we are going as a society. Honestly I don't really know, but I also know that going forward is probably the only way to find wisdom, by learning from mistakes others have made, and using that wisdom to move through life.

Once I had put that onto the page, I felt a little sad, but quite glad that I had expressed it, because it came from a part of me that expressed a need for understanding, a need to state what I felt was going on around me, without creating open conflict or discussion, because I wanted to just think about it myself and process it without dialogue from others. And it gave me a chance to reflect on my surroundings and what I can do to change them if I see a need. This layout by far has been the most open and raw journaling I've done in scrapbooking, and I'm glad to have done it.

Take some time this month to use the Wisdom kit, and think not only about your wisdom but how wisdom in your current surroundings affects you. Dig deep to find something about it that you may not be comfortable saying out loud, but once on paper will help you process a feeling, or emotion. You may find that sense of release, relief or peace once you do scrapbook from the inside out.

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