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Gratitude Friday is a weekly ritual I started in order to focus on all the small and big positive things that happened during my week. I invite you to join me, you’ll see how much being thankful can change your life. If you want to know more about it, read my introduction post.

Hello !

Today is a weird day. I was diagnosed this morning with fibromyalgia; many of you are familiar with it and having a lot (!!!) of art friends suffering and dealing with it is what rang a bell a few months ago for me, today just makes it official. My doc tested the trigger points and 16 out of the 18 points were hurting like Hell, so there is no place for doubt.

This week, I am grateful for:

• Knowing I was not inventing the pain and the fatigue and everything else. And having meds to help, hoping it will actually help.
• The support on Facebook regarding my diagnosis is just amazing. Thank you to all of you.
• We are planning a few days vacation in Seattle area for next week. My husband was able to switch the August 1st holiday with the next monday so we will have 5 days together. On friday i will be attending Teesha Moore’s art journaling class, along with Kym from blissatworks and Violette Clark (i will meet both for the first time).
• Art is my best therapy. It is like when creating, the pain is more deaf. It does not make it go away but it soothes.
• I sold another original painting, one i am really proud of. It is “Your Soul Song”, I made a video of it right there.
• I will be doing mail art, which will be a first time. I have a lot of stupid questions raging in my mind about it but it will be fun and i am excited to receive some beautiful art from around the world. Thanks Nessa for organizing it at first.
• I was asked to be part of what will be an amazing project. Writing my bio stresses me a little bit though.
• I received my art supplies orders from Lindy Stamp Gang (where i had a pretty big discount) and Art from the heart, and nothing makes me more happy than new art supplie (or not a lot of things lol).
• My mom will arrive in less than 3 months now and I can’t wait to crawl in her arms for a real big hug.
• I finally love posting my pictures on flickR and the comments I get there. I was not that into it before.
• I finally dared to ask The Universe to guide me toward my $100,000 idea. For me, asking for it is like a HUGE step forward. It is not money to get rich, it is money to finally own OUR home.

I am learning to listen to my body. As I was telling to a friend, this is like pregnancy in the way i am learning stuff about my body I could not have known without this specific moment 😉

If you wrote your Gratitude Friday on your blog, don’t forget to enter your NAME and URL below so I’m notified and can come to read you (you can also join by commenting this post):
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As I was writing yesterday in my Gratitude Friday blogpost, creating is currently more than ever my safety valve, my way of screaming my pain, of doing like nothing was going on, my way of trying to balance the physical pain. Wether it is in my art journal or on canvas. I am not expecting anything  anymore from my artwork, I don’t expect it to look good for example. I just let it flow and usually, it is quite surprisingly amazing to me. It seems like I am less attached to it (at least, I try to convince myself with that) so I can go on and create again and again. And again.

I am what I would call a skinned alive person, even if I am so aware that some had/have a way sorst life than mine, it does not dimish it. And I notice it shows in my artwork, despite the bright colors and fluffy bunny style my pieces can seem to be. Maybe I am good at camouflage ?

This portrait is the closer one to be a self-portrait. Kind of. Not a 100% one, obviously. Can you believe this is absolutely not what I thought this artwork will end as ?

When I was a kid, and struggling with who i am and being brown in a white family (where I was born, not adopted), I was dreaming of being blue eyed. Maybe because at least, this will be something people were expecting regarding my first name («Nolwenn» is a name from Britanny, the celtic part of France where people are blonde and pale and blue eyed).

This mixed media portrait is full of texture, the hair are really pretty (in my opinion) as you can touch the three dimensions, the face is not flat at all and the lotus transfer on her shirt pulled some part of the plaster away (makes me think of peeled paint on walls).

I feel naked. But creating this artwork taught me a lot about me: I finally am more in peace with my origins, and what I am (half and half, not really black not totally white); I have to accept that sometimes the outside does not meet the inside but I can work on it; going forward, as simply as that.
Creatively speaking, she taught me that errors happen and can be fixed. Her skin tone was horrible, now she is not realistic but kind of reminds me of the first characters I created a few years ago, with their greyish skin.

I feel like this painting is filled with character, this je ne sais quoi that makes me smile. A happy content smile.

Gratitude Friday is a weekly ritual I started in order to focus on all the small and big positive things that happened during my week. I invite you to join me, you’ll see how much being thankful can change your life. If you want to know more about it, read my introduction post.

Hello !

I am sorry this Gratitude Friday won’t be a long tchat but I am still dealing with constant pain and typing on the computer hurts my shoulder(s), but I really do not want to miss it.

I really hope life is sweet with you.

This week, I am grateful for:

• The help of my husband while I can’t do much because of this stupid pain that decides to stick with me.
• I ordered the plane tickets for my mom visit, so now this is becoming real. Can’t wait to hug her.
• My Art Journal is my savior.
• I noticed how many paintings i am creating and just how the creative juice is just flowing through me. Experimenting, having fun with plaster, speaking my Truth through my Art.
• My friend Anu, always listening and helping. Even when I am so much in psychological and physical pain that being around me is no fun at all. She sticks around and it means the world to me.
• Pixie Campbell‘s kindness.
• Tracey, the owner of Lindy Stamp Gang, believing in my crazy ideas. And making me a refund on my order because I order the day before they shared a coupon for their products. A lot of shop owner would have just said «too bad for you, you’ll get the next coupon». She is so nice.
• What people share on Pinterest. You can find me right there.
• It’s Friday.
• The tv show «River Monsters» we watch at night.
• My body seems not to like me much but as Suzie Ridler told me: «it is important you listen to your pain», so this is what I try to do.
• I am happy to soon be listing new originals paintings in my Etsy shop. You can see the pretty widget with my items in my right sidebar =========>
• Next week, I hope the doc will tell me what’s wrong with me. I am ready to hear what it is, but not ready to be told «we have no idea of what the problem is» So I am praying to be diagnosed with something. I know how crazy this sounds but when all your life the doctors just check and do stuff for a final answer being always the same «we don’t know», I am tired of this.

I wish you a wonderful week-end, stay safe if you are hit by the heat wave (just so you know, of course we are not, here in Vancouver, where it is like November all over again).

Take care

NOTE: I had to share this video and this message with you Lovelies. Because even if I am not gay nor transgender or whatever, but my life was not easy either. And I can say: It gets better.

If you wrote your Gratitude Friday on your blog, don’t forget to enter your NAME and URL below so I’m notified and can come to read you (you can also join by commenting this post):
[linkme]

Gratitude Friday is a weekly ritual I started in order to focus on all the small and big positive things that happened during my week. I invite you to join me, you’ll see how much being thankful can change your life. If you want to know more about it, read my introduction post.

Hello !

I won’t lie to you, I am not really in the mood of writing a Gratitude Friday right now. But I decided to do it anyway, because it is important to me and I hope it will help me shift my mood a bit.

This week, I am grateful for:

• My mom’s surgery that went well. Now waiting for the results in a few weeks.
• My body is a mess, it hurts and i can’t help but hating it right now. But at least I can feel it.
• My husband who is supportive and trying to help.
• My mom received what we sent her for her birthday and she loved it
• His job, thanks to whom we’ve been to the movie for free watch Harry Potter yesterday, and his colleague who accepted to look after the girls for a few hours.
• I am happy to grow as an artist and to refine my voice.
• I am happy to sort out who is my friend, and who is fake. Surprised that it does not hurt that much anymore.
• I took a selfportrait picture I really like (still doing my 365 selfportrait challenge)
• I’m watching and enjoying great movies at home with my husband
• I am about to order the plane tickets for my mom’s visit at the end of the year (yaaaaaay !!!!!!!!)
• Nori snacks
• I ordered some paint and spray ink in England, costs an arm but gets me excited (can you believe i am more more more happy to have new art supply than new shoes ?)
• I am alive

If you wrote your Gratitude Friday on your blog, don’t forget to enter your NAME and URL below so I’m notified and can come to read you (you can also join by commenting this post):
[linkme]

Gratitude Friday is a weekly ritual I started in order to focus on all the small and big positive things that happened during my week. I invite you to join me, you’ll see how much being thankful can change your life. If you want to know more about it, read my introduction post.

Hello !

Long time no see, I know. I feel a bit guilty for not having published my Gratitude Friday last week but I would have really forced it and it would not have been honest so I prefered silence.

This week, I am thankful for (in the most complete disorder):

• The free 52 MOO stickers I ordered thanks to my friend Melissa. Really good deal as I did not even pay any shipping ! I ordered new business cards from them a few days ago. It’s been a long time since my last order (before this week), but I really enjoy their products.
• Creativity and Inspiration are in full mode.
• Canada Post is back to work. That means the order I had waiting was finally shipped and I can now send and receive snail mail again.
• I finished my first comissionned artwork. I really like it but I won’t lie: I am nervous about what my customer will feel about it (especially since she wants the surprise about the final piece, and just saw the face of the girl).
• I will do my best to join the new «30 days» by Traci Bunkers happening in July. It is simple: GET YOUR ART ON, create something everyday for 30 consecutive days. I will share more about my own rules soon.
• New project with my Trollettes for the summer vacation: we will cook together everyday. It will keep them busy, interested in the food process, and maybe Grenouille will finally stop thinking eating is uninteresting and boring.
• We started a TOP SECRET project together. And Koala is my little creative genius as she found a great painting technique, I’ll make a video with them to show you (see how I try to find ways to work WITH them… ahlala being a SAHM of toddlers during summer vacations ! LOL).
• I got a super idea. Like when it crossed my mind I thought «this is my 100,000 buck idea !» but now, fear is taking over and I have not done anything about it 🙁 It happened at night, it is always when I am interrupted in my sleep that the best ideas arrive.
• I was in John Holland’s radio show last Monday. Happy I followed my guts and called.
• It seems like my improvised healing technique is working. To be developped and improved.
• Goddess Leonie, just because she is the awesome her she is. I can’t wait to finally have the money to join her Goddess Circle.

Summer Vacations are officially here for us. I can’t believe this school year is ALREADY over ! Grenouille will be in Grade 1 and Koala in her last preschool year. They are both super excited (even if Koala wishes she could already be in kindergarten !). We have important choices to make regarding next school year for them and I have to confess I have no idea which possibility is best.

My mom will celebrate her 60th birthday in a few days, and then will have an important surgery. I wont be there for either of it and my heart is in million pieces.

If you wrote your Gratitude Friday on your blog, don’t forget to enter your NAME and URL below so I’m notified and can come to read you (you can also join by commenting this post):
[linkme]