Follow your bliss...: April 2017

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Going with the flow...

Going with the flow, sketches, 4/23/2017

I made an artist book last weekend...I have a feeling that I will be making more...

A pile of pages

I used various rag papers, torn edges, India ink wash, a white sharpie, and archival boards and paste to piece it together - I had so much fun making this, it was very random and going with the flow.

My "toys" (tools)

Inside cover

I wrote in the poem "Little Things" by Julia Abegail Fletcher Carney on the inner back cover.

the stack of pages

The page on the left is my selfie...my left hand print (cuz I'm a lefty.)

My artist statement side one

Going with the flow…a Sketchbook (subject to grow more) Handmade book – archival boards + India ink, rag paper - hand torn – brush – ink wash - rubbings on wet to dry paper (often sheets

Used as blotter paper made interesting marks.) Random mark making – these are the things I have no words for- 4/23/2017 Laura J. Wellner

Artist statement side two

There is a lot of energy while making art – raw experimentation. Looking, waiting to see what will

happen – impulsive – there is no right or wrong – no up or down – no top or bottom – no right or left.

Inspiration asks no questions it just is –

Loosely bound

Me and Fibromyalgia...the good news is, it's not going to kill me.

I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2007 after years of being told my illness was all in my head. My Fibro is everyday fatigue with body aches, mostly tolerable, but when I have a flare-up, which can be triggered by stress, hormones, or being over tired from over-doing it, I get the full body pain, including chest pains (yes, these are scary, like an elephant standing on my chest.) Thankfully, it doesn't hurt to take a breath, but I feel breathless, I just do yoga and breathing exercises to stretch and breathe to ease through the worst of it, NSAIDs help to cut the pain, and naps are always a necessary thing when needed (but hard to do while at the day job!) It's a balancing act to manage, I take advantage of the good days, lay low on the bad ones, and very often, push through in spite of the bad days...some mornings I wish I could stay in bed, but I'm glad that I get up and about, very often 'the kinks' work themselves out. I refuse to take the recommended pharmaceutical band-aids on the market, I tried one once, and I don't like feeling like a zombie. I keep active with my creativity, I think that's the key to my overcoming this obstacle every day...and I have my Fred and our son, five cats, and one dog named Max.