Behind the Art with Melissa

Happy Tuesday!

So happy to be with you all here today.

The page I'm sharing with you today was inspired by one of our journaling prompts:

Lazy: How generous are you to yourself when it comes to ‘lazy days’ and giving yourself a break from the hubbub of life? Do you feel guilty when you’re not producing? If so, why? What inside you, or outside you, pushes you to create or build something in your life? How might you reimagine ‘lazy’ to mean something more like ‘self-protecting’? What would fit into your best ‘unenergetic’ day and how would it change the day after?

I really appreciated this side of Energy. In order to "bank it", we must fuel it, right? It's good to rest our weary bones. Take a nap! Go on vacation! Read a book! Go sit in a mall! (To understand that you'll have to see my Behind the Art from last week.)

For me, it is taking some time with God.

I'm not very good at sitting still. My mind wanders. Or I think about all the things I could be doing instead. But, when it comes to my faith, and how it relates to Energy, it is so important to stop. Rest. Take a break. Protect my soul.

The typewriter transparency is two-fold for me when it comes to this page. I like the idea of being transparent when it comes to my faith. God sees the deepest parts of me and I want to not try to hold onto something that I don't need. Also, the typewriter. It's pretty simple symbolism when one thinks about that... recording thoughts. Writing it out. Processing it.

I used the crosshatch stencil on this layout because I like to think that my faith and the rest of my life are interwoven. It's what holds me together. And taking these moments of resting, finding comfort and peace in those quiet moments, help me be stable and live out the hubbub of life.

I also used some tilting. Think balance. Balancing it all in the day to day! Balancing my energy with moments of quiet time are what will make me thrive in life. I also like that thought of using the feathers. I find feathers to symbolize protection. I'm protecting my soul when I make time for those moments to rest and refuel.

Thank you for joining me today. See you next Tuesday!

Want more inspiration? Visit our Inspiration Page here!

Want to see more Contributing Artist examples? Visit our Flickr gallery here!

Want to join an awesome community encouraging one another to dive deep? Join our Facebook page here!

Are you ready to dive in? Grab a kit, while supplies last, here!