An eclectic mix of life, art & fiction… and a sprinkle of faith.
The Offering
“The heart of the giver makes the gift dear and precious.” -Martin Luther
I thought that after my last black and white illustration I needed to step up my game. I do enjoy images that can be done in a day, but – as the saying might imply – those quick and less thoughtful things might not come from the heart. It’s like shopping for gifts at the Dollar Store.
So, this is my take on art nouveau. It started out with my whole heart… but today it has dwindled to the right and left ventricles. I read that these make up the lower chamber, which pumps blood out.
That’s all fine and dandy, but with nothing pumping in it simply ran out of juice. I see what my problem is. I don’t love (some of) my ideas enough to persevere. I need something to take hold of me, to spark that passion that makes you want to keep going… to not give up.
That’s ok though. That tells me that it’s not necessarily “my” problem, it’s the issue of not finding the right idea yet. Still, I did work hard on this and if you notice – there are two gifts here.
The gift of the flower, from one friend to the other, and the gift of the “sun,” giving life to the flowers. And those plants are so grateful that they are wrapping themselves around it. Giving it a squeeze.
Speaking of the sun, maybe that’s another part of the problem. With my fixation on a specific object, maybe I’m stunting my inspiration. I initially had the woman holding the sun rather than the flower… but that seemed a little too HOT to handle. Haha.
My original idea of this whole project was to have the sun represent something relating to psychology and, thus far, I haven’t even broached the subject! Another project mishap.
The good news is that no matter the outcome, I am enjoying myself now. That’s a great start. I went from zero to near-o. Close, but not there yet.
That being said, I think that’s enough said for now. I’m going to ponder my next idea and try hard to love it. In the meantime…
Thanks for looking!
Peace & Love.
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Blogging through the Alphabet in 2025
Abundantia
Gratitude is the seed of abundance.
I’ve decided to go ahead with a new game this year, very similar to one I’ve done in the past – a few times. I’m calling this one…
“Blogging Through the Alphabet, 2025.”
So, here we go! I thought of the word abundance for the letter ‘A’ and I decided to explore it a little, just to see what I could find.
Abundance means having more than what is needed or expected, and when I stop and think about it, I have everything I need… and then some. Remember my stalled attempts to eliminate some of my excess clutter!?
So, when I think of abundance, and realize I have everything I need, it creates in me a sense of gratitude. It also helps lift some of that fog that fills my brain when I focus on what I think I need.
Like courage for example. There are things I’d like to do, but I’m too afraid to try. Sometimes I try to imagine that negativity as a ceiling that sits near the top of my head. When I want more of an “I can do this” attitude – I tell myself to “break the ceiling.”
Of course, that sometimes makes me think of the song “The Roof is on Fire,” but that’s a detour we don’t want to take right now.
Anyway. Thinking of the word abundance helps me imagine that there’s no ceiling at all… just the blue sky above. “The sky’s the limit,” as they say.
Removing that ceiling helps me understand that there are no real limits, only what I have imagined, and suddenly I am fearless.
What made the word even more fun, however, was learning that the word abundance comes from the Latin word abundantia, which means fullness, plenty, or overflowing riches – as that’s when I read about Abundantia… the Roman goddess of abundance, prosperity, and good fortune.
Abundantia was often depicted carrying a cornucopia (the horn of plenty) on artwork and Roman coins, from the 3rd century CE, and I decided it would be fun to illustrate a modern day Abundantia (also known as Lady Fortune) for the first post of twenty-six in my new alphabet series.
I was going to include the horn of plenty, reflected in her glasses, but it seemed out of character – and possibly out of date. This is 2025 after all, and rarely (if ever) do I see cornucopias lying around.
Then I considered adorning her with diamonds and pearls, but abundance isn’t about having or obtaining these types of things, it’s about being grateful for what you have, and knowing that it’s enough. Or more than enough.
That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading/viewing… I hope you enjoyed!
Until next time,
Peace & Love.
Check out more of Blogging through the Alphabet 2024
a sprinkle of faith 
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