Behind the Art with Felecia

My final share for our month of Perspective is for my Lens of Faith layout.

This is a deeply personal project – on the subject I value as much as my own life – my faith. I believe completely it comes before all other things. I hope that it is evident to others that this faith is the lens through which I want to see all things.

There is a song by Brandon Heath that says:

Give me Your eyes for just one second

Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing 
Give me Your love for humanity 
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted 
The ones that are far beyond my reach 
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten 
Give me Your eyes so I can see

My faith has quite literally changed my life. I’ve struggled with so many feelings of inadequacy…or interestingly enough, being far too much. And as I’ve dug into God, He’s taught me to see things much differently. While I realize that my kind of Faith is not perhaps for everyone, I just couldn't side step this perspective in my own life - how much it affects my life. 

Sometimes, when we get very involved in what others think of us, the fear that we are just not “right” is crippling…and my faith has carried me through that. 

The camera stencil is an amazing symbol to use for the "lens" idea...plus I wanted to use the subtle contrast of the Distress paint against kraft paper. Faith is like that - its a step away from where you are, a different angel, a new understanding of the same situations, the same people, the same obstacles, the same challenges that life presents. The thing is that its one step today and then one step a month from now, and then maybe one step another year after that. You sort of don't realize how far you have come until you look back at the snap shots and see...

I choose to believe that Love wins...I call this my "rose colored" lens...to view life through the lens of love, to assume (and expect) the best possible outcome, to point my feet in a direction and go, dealing kindly with all I meet along the way - THIS is what a Lens of Faith has done for me. 

In all honesty, I hope my life shows this...that people don't have to see a layout to know these things about me. BUT, its revealing to write it down, to expose it for myself and to understand fully how much this is part of who I am.

Do you have a lens through which you either aspire to or actually see the events around you? Has there been something in your life that caused you to step to one side or another of where you were and look again at the world around you?

Behind the Art with Jen

Hi artsy friends!  My last page this month with the Perspective kit was one that was simple but I wanted to have a big impact with words.

 

This page is all about my first education rally in which I attended with thousands of other educators to speak out to our politicians in Albany, NY.  We are concerned with the rash decisions they have made in regards to public education funding, mandates, testing, and evaluations.  All of which affect our kids and my job.  I am a teacher.  I care about my student's education and being well rounded people. 

 I used my Cricut Expressions to cut these words out of the paper and added patterned paper behind the words to give them some color!  This is a fun way to add bold elements to your page!

 The letter stickers are perfect for adding some little title words.

 I printed a large photo of the panoramic shot of the rally and then popped up a smaller photo of some other teachers from my district and myself.  I am tired of educators being blamed for all the ills in the world.  We are professionals who care for children's education but we have to follow national and state mandates that we don't always agree with or that no teacher was involved in creating.  Politicians and business people make these choices that might look good on paper and with funding in mind but are not good for kids or for all kids. They do not take individuals into consideration with their decisions.  So many things affect learning:  poverty, family support (or lack there of), experiences, traumas, disabilities, learning styles, hormones, etc... you cannot standardize learning and expect ALL students to achieve at the same rate or with the same results.  It's just not possible but politicians and heads of departments expect just that because they do not understand what it's like to be a teacher and know all of these factors in each kid.  It's frustrating but we will not stop fighting for what's right for our kids.  As a teacher, parent, and community member I want what's best for my child NOT what's best for budgets, data, and big business's bottom line. That is why we rally... that is my perspective and that of over 40,000 + educators in New York State!

Whatever your stand is on public education, know that most educators work really hard to provide the best education we are trained or are allowed to provide.  We are fighting for better and those of us that really truly care about kids won't stop fighting the public's ignorance and politician's skewed priorities.

Behind the Art with Jen

Hi artsy friends!  Jen here to share a favorite page of mine from this kit!  When I found out the focus of this kit was the word "Perspective", I immediately thought of looking up.  I had taken this photo of me in front of Dale Chihuly's permanent art exhibit at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.  There is a ceiling of glass Macchia forms that is breathtaking!  As an art teacher and artist who admires and loves Chihuly's work, I was in awe!

 

So the photos were the inspiration for this page and I knew that I wanted color but didn't want to compete with the colors of the photos.  I picked some of the papers that had bright fun colors and used them in small doses.  The watercolor circle paper from Crate Paper was perfect!  I only used small strips of it so as to not compete.  Then I used the vellum paper  as a background.  

 But I started by using the stencil in a unique way. I loved the shapes in the camera stencil but didn't want to use the whole stencil. I just used a Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft PITT Artist pen to trace some of the shapes in a random way around the paper. I kept it sketchy and created a modern looking pattern.  The vellum pieces really soften the lines but still allow them to show through.

 I love that vellum balloon embellishment!  So awesome!  Perfect for this page!  I loved the cork look of these Thickers too! 

 Could it be that the glass ceiling is representative of looking up at an symbolic glass ceiling?   Hmmm...  But the dots of Distress paint are another fun pop of color.

 Enjoy the little things for sure!  I loved this little tag and used it here.  I also added the paper to the metal embellishment.  So fun!

 This page was just super fun to make!  I was inspired by the photos but all the elements from this kit made it fun to create!