tbhu art projects

[prismaticbleed]

(miscellaneous group art projects from sept-nov 2024 at tbhu)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Draw what your innermost self/ soul looks/feels like."



(SYSTEM CORES, REMEMBER THIS!!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Make a collage for the front of a recovery-oriented notebook."



(This is the first collage we ever did and we loved it. There is so much powerful System love and truth in this. Click here for fullsize.)

(note to selves= TALK ABOUT THIS IN FULL LATER)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Make a collage that expresses what past/ present/ future means to you."



(This took us WEEKS to collect and complete, but it was 100% worth it. Everything fit together in unplanned providential perfection. We treasure this artwork; it carries so much love and truth. Please do click here to view the fullsize image.)

(note to selves= TALK ABOUT THIS IN FULL LATER)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Trace your feet, one in front of the other. Fill them with words or images that represent how you see your past steps that led you here, and where you want to go/ see yourself going next. What do your drawings tell you about how you feel about change in your life? Is there anything you'd like to change in your life right now? What is the first step you'd need to take in order to begin to make this change?"



● The "back" foot has LESS words, but they're LARGER. They ALSO speak more GENERALLY/ ABSTRACTLY, with very little sense of individuality or personality. They're also INWARD focused.

● The "front" foot has MORE words in SMALLER fonts. They speak CONFIDENTLY, SPECIFICALLY, & PERSONALLY, with a notable "OUTWARD DIRECTION" to not only hopes/ ambitions, but also COMMUNITY.

✳ This actually shows that I see change as GOOD & BENEFICIAL. I see it as POSITIVE FORWARD MOVEMENT, DELIBERATE & COURAGEOUS, INTENTIONAL & OPTIMISTIC about the BRIGHTER TOMORROWS that are ALWAYS POSSIBLE and AVAILABLE TO ME TO LIVE.

My PAST felt dark & confused, yet doggedly hopeful.
My FUTURE feels luminous & focused-- the REALIZATION of those hopes.

✳ My PAST was SURVIVAL. My FUTURE is FLOURISHING: "FULLY ALIVE"

✳ The FIRST steps I need to take in BEGINNING to MAKE this change MUST BE PRACTICAL & CONSISTENT & DIRECTLY RELEVANT. Even while here, I MUST do SOMETHING HONESTLY SELF-EXPRESSIVE EVERY DAY, something POSITIVELY CREATIVE & MOVED BY LOVE at its heart, AND AS THE SYSTEMCOR(E)!!! At HOME, I MUST IMMEDIATELY schedule in AT LEAST ONE HOUR DAILY for BOTH Leaguework AND journaling, and SET S.M.A.R.T. GOALS FOR IT!!
✳ ALSO KEEP A "PROGRESS LOG" to KEEP TRACK of WHAT WORK I/WE DID & BUILD ON IT as a CONSISTENT, GOAL-ORIENTED (PURPOSEFUL) HABIT!!

(note to selves= TALK ABOUT THIS IN FULL LATER)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Draw a simple symbol that represents your innermost self. Draw a large circle around it. Now decorate the circle to express how your inner self expresses itself outwards."



(The jeweled heart is a reference to Moralimon. The fire around it is a reference to the Core's eternal element. The "flaming heart" image is a direct reference to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The red color is the Core's eternal hue resonance.)
(The gold light above represents all our ideal virtues-- everything that love and truth and beauty and goodness radiate. The darkness beneath is the struggles we have inside-- our illnesses and vices and fears and regrets. It is "blackspace" in a sense. Yet, in that blackness, there is a rainbow-- a prism, even there, radiating from the heart.)
(The black is charcoal and ended up causing fingerprint smudges. We feel this has a strong meaning in and of itself-- how the body leaves its faint marks in black, in that color of darkness, and yet they are in the white space. White gives identity to black, gives form to potential. And the smudges are essentially proof of creative effort. We want to think about this more.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Draw what love means to you."



(My immediate, incontrovertible response was these four. Clockwise from top right: Laurie, Chaos 0, Celebi, Genesis.
Laurie is violet force-waves, black lightning, and red blood spatters.
Chaos 0 is blue ocean waves, hints of green-life glitter, and the red Ruby.
Celebi is bright green leaves, crystal blue wingshapes, and purple hints like flowers.
Genesis is golden light rays, bright sparkles, and deep blue diamonds.
The red heart in the middle is me-- outlined in both black and white.
In unique ways, over many years, these four have taught me what true love is. They have changed my heart forever. I love them entirely.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Draw a line across a page that represents the surface of the ocean. Make it wavy, choppy, or calm, depending on how you see your life. On the surface, draw a buoy that represents you... make sure you connect it to the ocean floor. Draw the weather conditions topside, and the surrounding environment where the buoy is located... also include what's going on below the surface (under the water), which is typically not visible to others."



● the ocean is CHOPPY but feels manageable. I deal with daily challenges, stresses & setbacks, but they aren't overwhelming-- they even cause the forward motion that impels progress & growth, & strength of character through navigating them!

●  My buoy has a bright red light at the top. Red, for me, isn't so much about "warning of danger" as it is a challenge to fight the good fight, and not run away. Red is also the color of LIFE & LOVE, and of HOPE too. It's a creative, powerful, loving hue. It's MY color. The fact that I'm SHINING that light symbolizes my growing self-confidence & self-love, no longer hiding or dimming it.

● My anchor chain is violet. Laurie is my connection to solid ground amidst turmoil. When the tidal waves come in, she keeps me from drowning & always has.

● The ocean floor is gold. Deep deep down, everything is treasure. It's also full of living coral & colored shells-- there is beauty & life there, not barren emptiness. Even the bottom is blessed.

● We're in the middle of the ocean. Life is a voyage, a pilgrimage. We're out discovering!

● Under the water there is LIFE-- air bubbles & fish. It's clear but a bit turbulent, yet these strong currents too are moving us forwards, and the fish can still move freely.

● The sun is indomitable & shining golden light. The clouds are MADE of silver. There is rain in the past & future but in the "now," it's pure sunshine. There is a wind in our sails. And there is a rainbow, beginning in the past & flowing into the present. We are that golden gift.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Write a piece of advice on a scrap of paper and shuffle them all anonymously among the group. Draw an image to represent how you feel about the one you receive."

The quote I got= "Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff!"

My response=



Written on the back=

"This advice strikes me as too dismissive? My response is mixed.
On one hand, in light of a hope of eternity/ a life hereafter, "it's all small stuff" in that it's all "temporary."
EXCEPT IT'S NOT. LITERALLY EVERYTHING ECHOES. EVERY choices & event is a domino, a ripple. There are ALWAYS consequences AND THEY MATTER.
WAR ISN'T SMALL. ABUSE ISN'T SMALL. DEATH ISN'T SMALL.
And if you start GENERALIZING THAT BROADLY, then YOU START TO INVALIDATE ALL "OVERREACTION" TO IT.
Anger at injustice, grief at loss, heartache at suffering, ALL of these things CAN & WILL be "MINIMIZED" and "laughed off" as "SWEATING," as it were.
"Don't worry about it" gets used as a shutdown.
Small victories are brushed off as TOO small.
You end up feeling like NOTHING is worth sweating over.
But LIFE IS HARD WORK AND IF YOU NEVER BREAK A SWEAT,
YOU'LL NEVER GAIN STRENGTH OF CHARACTER.

...and yet overexercising is still a thing, too.
Somehow it IS all "small." But it's small like a wounded bird in the hands of God.
Life has LOTS of VERY, VERY BIG THINGS, and yet, we're just a blip on the radar of history.
We're still a blip.
We're still SOMETHING, amidst the rest of the silent sweep.

Maybe that's the truest point. Don't burn yourself out over it.
Don't STOP sweating, for one. A healthy soul needs the exercise, the effort, the ache.
I guess that alone implies that EVERYTHING is BIG STUFF. Even just deciding what color socks you're going to wear today. It still says something about YOU, your unique values & joys & history. It still matters.
But it's NOT RELATIVE. What's big for an ant is small for an elephant. But every mountain is huge. We all live in the shadow of the hills. And even that little anthill matters. Maybe it's big for the elephant, too, who treasures "small" things, and is more than willing to break a sweat as it moves to never crush it underfoot.
The small stuff is eternal. It's all small stuff. Go fight for it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------