Today I read something interesting on Kelly Rae Robert's blog. If you don't know her, she is a painter among other things. She said:

I always know when I need to make a change  - it's usually when something is no longer fun and feels more like a burden. That's what's happening here, and I'm paying close attention.

I can't help but feel that she is talking to me. She says:







Read the whole post from Kelly Rae here.

Today as I sit and write this post, it is my number 100 post for this blog. This blog started as fate would have it, on the 26th of October last year. I don't know about you but I really like mornings. There is something extremely sacred about the mornings. Everything is possible. Nothing is written.Yet.
I'm not sure what this day will bring yet. Yesterday I spent a lot of time with my website again. Initially I just wanted to change a few things but then, as fate would also have it, all my changes from last time (where I spent 2 full days on designing it) had NOT been saved. And so, is it fate handing me a hand, helping me to change it again, to improve and to stay true to my purpose? When I work with computer, I enjoy it for a couple of hours. Then I get tired. I get sad, and I get frustrated. Then I have a break and come back. Return to my vision and keep working.
Maybe it's stupid. You know, maybe I should have someone just do my website for me, fix it up, make it licious. But I can't. Not right now. I want to know that I have given it my all. Because that's what I believe in. Giving it all. Not giving up.

When I started my blog back then a year ago I didn't know how it would look. It has changed appearance many times. All I know is that I wanted to write more, and I still enjoy that. So it's 1 year and 100 posts that tells story about my art, my life and my garden, my dreams and hopefully also my fears.
One of the things I believe is that we let each other see inside who we really are as a person. I remind myself this again and again. It means to tell the whole story. Not just the accomplishments and the goals made. But also the struggles. The meaninglessness. The frustrations.
I could be better at those last parts.
This is the end of a circle. A first circle. Like a New Year's day I celebrate this day as a landmark in my art and story.

Thank you for being here with me.

I wanted to make a card design, a drawing for a woman I know, who was very ill. I thought about this a lot. How do I create something for someone who is dying?
Most of our greeting cards are based on "Get Well Soon" or "I am thinking of you", but in this case there is no getting better. There is no getting well.
So I thought about it a lot. I wanted to make a heartfelt card. One that wasn't superficial, one that wasn't like a lot of other cards. One that was really special, one that really meant something.

The truth is I never got around to it. In a very short time my friend was diagnosed with cancer, and in a very short time she died.

I guess not all questions can be answered easily. And for this post I have no pictures. Right now, there is no image that can explain this complexity. Living and dying goes hand in hand. And there aren't always words, there aren't always images.

But there is me. Living and breathing. Thinking. What is the greatest gift we have? It is life itself. No person, no thing, no relationship is bigger than that. Life itself is greater and will endure more. Even death.

I have a 100 followers on Instagram!

This is really sweet! I can't believe it, it is such a nice number! :) That made me happy and confident that people like what I am doing. That they want to see my art and follow my updates. I really enjoy taking pictures too, and I am excited about this particular community because it's based on photo sharing. So nice. And THANK YOU! Thank you Stars, Universe and Soul! This is amazing!

He sold some of my cards in his shop! 

He sold some of my cards in his shop! 

He sold some of my cards in his shop! 

Quiet Reflections

You've probably noticed that a lot more is happening on the blog now than before. I have been trying to 'work' this blog for a long time and I 've had a lot of questions and worries about it that kept me from blogging. To be truthful, I was afraid to blog. And afraid to share my thoughts. I wanted someone from the outside to come and tell me that I was doing alright.
In the meantime, I wasn't blogging. I was keeping to myself. A lot of thoughts, inspiration and ideas, just kept them to myself. In the end I got SO STUCK and felt so limited that I couldn't make anything work! Not in the studio, and I couldn't open up! I was shut down, holding back all this light (which it, essentially is, right?). I felt I was no good, my ideas weren't working. My flow wasn't there.
So what happened? I wrote down my thoughts about blogging. And I realized I had a lot invested in other people approving my work! As soon as I started to connect with that person inside me who really wants to blog, I noticed there are heaps of things she wants to talk about and communicate. And it doesn't matter if other people approve. I am not doing it for them - I am doing it for me! :D

Happy Sunday everyone!

Thank you for supporting me, thank you for making this happen!

Thanks for the love and nurturance I am surrounded with!