Dust, Blood, Bone

My hands were meant to craft just as my mothers are and her mother’s were. I have learned to paint, to cut, to write, but beyond my physical capabilities, I was born to create. In my mind, I have always been an artist. It is in my blood. It is in everything I do. The way I talk, I walk, I exist is artistic in every way. Without my art, I would not be who I am today. My art has made me proud, more confident, and stronger as a human. It is my release from pain, my exclamation of excitement, my representation of love. It is how I share pieces of myself with those around me.

I have always been a writer, it is what I pursued my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in while attending school. Since graduating, I have taken on a 9-5 job but in my spare time I still try to write. However, when the words won’t flow, there is one thing I love to turn to… and that’s my other form of art. I paint, then I cut up photos and build a mosaic. I create collages inspired by love, appreciation, and friendship.

For each of my friends I chose unique things to paint in the shape of a heart that would take up most of the canvas. My first was the one with the green and purple bursts of color coming from the middle in the shape of a heart. This one was given as a White Elephant gift at Friendsmas. In the middle is a collage of photos of me and my dearest friends. While looking over the cut up photos on the canvas, we sat in one of their living rooms before a fireplace. It was a sweet moment when it was unwrapped and I will cherish that memory for the rest of my life. Sharing something so personal with those you love is difficult, and this was my first time, but they loved it more than I ever could have hoped.

Then on my 30th birthday (during a 1920s themed murder mystery party) I gave the other two in our friend group their own canvases. For one, I painted a giant sunflower in the shape of a heart because those are her favorite flower. For the other, I painted a tree sprouting from the ground and growing in every direction, also forming the shape of a heart. She was always drawing and painting trees in college and even got one tattooed on her arm, so I felt it the best fit for her. For both of theirs, I added in our names for a slightly different touch than the first one. I put many hours of work into all of them, but especially the last two as I attempted to be more intricate with the paintings and the photos.

Throughout our lives we learn not to run with scissors, to hold them carefully, and to use them with caution. To this day I still remind myself of these things as I trim blue skies from portraits and trees from borders. As I shape the photos into something meaningful while using a pair of sharp knives cleverly pieced together for practical use. Without tools to create my work, such as scissors, pens, brushes, paints, and canvases, I would not have the art that rests at my friends homes and hangs from nails on my own walls.

Now, my husband and I are in the process of buying our first home where we will adorn the walls with my art as well as his and his daughter/my step-daughter’s. We will decorate tabletops with painted ceramic pieces, walls with different forms of personal expression, and everything in between with what we love and what we make. Art is who we are. Writing, painting, coloring, cutting, creating, that is who we are. Crafting is in our blood, and until we are dust and bone we will continue to put ourselves out into the world through our chosen media as I hope all will do.