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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 !

My life is currently under a huge adjustment, and it is not an easy one. But I know it will get easier eventually, and that I have the power not to stay this angry woman I am sometimes. I can still be the positive thinking and fun lady I was before.

This week, I am grateful for:

• The Facebook group created by Samantha Kira. These women are very supportive and help me a lot in this above-mentionned adjustment.
• The Universe is listening to us and is answering our prayers. Big Time. Now, we have to show we can and will continue our efforts.
• I received my orders from Lindy Stamp Gang and Bluemoon Scrapbooking, and we went to Clipper Street to pick up my order of The Crafter’s Workshop‘s templates (Julie Fei-Fan Balzer’s line is AMAZING). You know how happy and over the moon I am when it comes to play with new art supply.
• I am physically in pain, exhausted doing nothing, cooking and other simple stuff is now a difficult task, but I do know that we will find solutions to make it easier.
• I walked 2.52km (± 1.56 miles) in 26mn and despite the pain during and after it, it makes me proud. I have to do it again.
• Lush’s «Blue skie and puffy clouds» bath thingy makes me happy. I love patchouli and frankincense’s smell. I am happy I indulged myself with one (that will do me like 4-5 baths !)
• I haven’t really work this week and it makes me feel guilty because I should push and just do it. I am grateful to work from home and to have the possibility to manage my time as I want.
• I feel the need to reconnect with the Witch in me. And I notice that my daughters seem to be interested to learn more and more about it. I guess it is now time to pass what I know to them and to dig deeper myself.
• I am asking to The Universe to put on my way my Soul Brothers and Sisters. I feel like this big loneliness hole in me is linked to this. This I don’t know what is missing was not what I though… I need to connect with them, to find them. Or them to find me. I am ready now.
• The medical comission finally met for mom. I don’t know if what Grenouille and I did helped, or not, but it did happen. Now, we are praying that her treatment will go perfectly and start asap and that she will be on her plane to Vancouver on October 18th (if you want to send your good vibes, it is more than welcome).
• My Art Journal is my creative best friend. And I have to say that the Strathmore Visual Journal is a very good one.
• I FINALLY signed up for my Reiki training. If everything goes well, I should be a Practical Reiki Master this October.
• My dear friend Anu launched her coaching website. She is AMAZING, no kidding. I am happy we met thanks to Circe’s Circle and found each other. Go celebrate with her, right there.

Don’t be shy to share your link below if you wrote a Gratitude Friday blogpost, or to simply comment.

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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“Get Your Art ON”, initiated by Traci Bunkers, is back !

This will force me a little to share, as I basically do create everyday or almost… But I feel like I don’t share it enough. Speak of perfectionism…

Here is what I created on September 1st, day 1.

It was just sketching in my art journal while watching tv.

It is 6:28pm. My girls are loudly playing while in their bath, my husband is not home from work yet and my brother-in-law came back from his adventures not so long ago. Surprisingly, my daughters napped quite long today, and to be honest this is a good thing as I am a total mess being around.

I do not recognize the Nolwenn I used to be anymore, and it scares me. It makes me hate me.
I knew that fibromyalgia would change my life, would maybe change me. I don’t know if all is linked or not. I just know that I just don’t like feeling like I do because it does not look like me.

Body image issue is hitting me back in the face, when I did not expecting it at all.

I am moody, sometimes mean, I want to be alone (usually i am just happy to have my relatives around, now it is just too much).

I won’t spread the details, I am just not in that good place I used to experience, not finding this Inner Voice telling me that everything will be alright that I should not worry that much, that I should stop hating myself for what I am (or am not). Praying, begging for signs that do not come or that I do not see…

I just needed to create to shake things, hoping it would shift something.

Not finished yet but I wanted to share the words with you. Hoping it will speak to someone as well…

Yesterday was my daughter 6th birthday. We had an amazing day all together (my husband worked but came home earlier than usual)… I did a bit too much and pay the price today. Can barely walk and I am exhausted. But it was worth it as she said to us that she loved her life so much it was bringing tears in her eyes…

I should be working, the painting I started this week as to be done again (the face anyway. see the pic on the right) and Friday is almost there. I gessoed over the face and hair and will be working on it tommorow. I have not done the two paintings I planned but I am okay with it. I learn to just go one day at a time.

So instead, I do a bit of art journaling here and there… I started my new (5th) Art Journal. I chose to finally use this Strathmore Visual Journal everyone is praising, the bigger one. And I must say this is a good one. Not used to journal on a spiral bound anymore but I appreciate not having to work on spread, I shoud it would bother me; we will see.

Here is the first page of the journal. I wanted something meaningful for me:

I started by painting the background with acrylic paint. Then I used Julie Fei-Fan Balzer’s stencil (with The Crafter’s Workshop) with Lindy Stamp Gang’s Starburst sprays. It bleeded a bit underneath. but that’s ok.

Then, I chose a selfportrait photo I thought was reflecting the feeling I wanted for the page, printed it and torn it instead of cutting it.

I added buttons around, and burnt myself quite hard with my hot glue gun. Twice. And a bit of fabric. Don’t know why, it was standing there so I put it on the page.

And to finish it, I wrote with India ink, black and indigo, with my nib pen (just loving it).

Pretty easy, but I really love this first page.

You can have a glimpse of the second page on this picture. Autumn tones. Sketching in front of Arthur and the Invisibles (which we all enjoyed). Trying new faces, and to draw something that looks like a body. I then wrote some thoughts in her hair, still with my nib pen and some India ink.

I didn’t really care about the background as you can see. Just rolled some paint with my brayer, and I don’t know why the colors did not really blend together as they usually do (?).

I am still kind of struggling with my faces. Envying people who seem to draw so easily, knowing this is not a good thing to do. At all. But I feel like mine does not look….. professional. Not worth money from people. Yay…. I know.
So I am experimenting. I am definately not a realistic artist, not able to draw a proper face. So I have to find MY thing even more, I have the base I don’t want to change. My style is now kind settle and I love what I create and the messages that go through me ! Which is important, in my opinion.

I love seeing others’ watercolor journal pages. Some are just AMAZING !!! I don’t know this medium well (Alisa Burke’s watercolor focused online class is on my list to take when possible). So I am just fooling around with it. See:

It’s not fine art 😉 But I had fun and I need fun right now.

This is where I am at right now… Will be sharing today’s page when I am done with it (playing with paint, stencils, heavy gel medium and spray ink).