““The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.” ”
― Pablo Picasso
Veterans, Mental Health and Walking on the Moon
OK, so sue me.. nothing in this post will refer to walking on the moon. I am really sorry to disappoint you about that. However, I do want to talk about an important issue that is near and dear to my heart. Many of you might know that I am a veteran. No, I am not a war veteran but I did serve eight years in the Air force. Some were good, some were bad. With both the good and the bad I have made some amazing lifelong friends that have shaped my life completely. I feel that I am privileged to still continue to meet and talk to amazing veterans and hear their wonderful stories.
Today I went to “Voices of Recovery” where veterans share their personal stories of their journeys to recovery. These veterans struggle daily with PTSD, Substance Abuse and Mental Illness. As you can imagine there were a lot of tears but also a lot of strength and courage displayed. It takes a strong person to stand up in front of a room full of people. Throw on top of it personal stories of personal pain and the journey that it takes to rise above it is a daunting task for most. They did it though. Not only for themselves but for others in the room too that also might be hurting. They do it to try to break the stigma of mental illness being seeing as something to be shamed of or feeling that you are “less than”.
One of the things that I do not talk about ever is the fact that I myself am bipolar. I do the very thing that I try to tell other people not to do. I hide it from ” the normal ” people. I am afraid of being judged. I am afraid of being made to feel less than. I don’t think that I want to be afraid anymore. I know that I can help people. Through my experiences, through my art and through my actions. My heart has wanted to reach out for years and help veterans overcome any pain that they have by incorporating art in their lives. I know first hand the impact that art can make during the recovery process. I want to be able to share it with others. The Military and the V. A. has blessed me with so much it is only right to be able to help them in anyway that I can.
If you have any questions about any local ( I am in Louisville) V.A. Mental health needs please ask me. There is a wonderful program that is called The Veterans Voices of Kentuckiana that assist you contact mental health providers for services. Some of the services available are: Individual, group, couples and family therapy, PTSD, and substance abuse therapy, neuropysychological testing, homeless services, suicide prevention, assistance in finding jobs and housing. They do work really hard to help and are a great group of veterans!
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~Odelin~
A piece of my writings…
The night’s air seemed heavier than usual, weighed down with the uneasiness that only death can bring. The castle walls looked thicker and more distant as the villagers crowded into the Stag Stone Inn. It smelled like rosemary bread and old wood. Outside, the streets of Odelin were silent, and the rhythmic bustle of the villagers had died down to a mere echo. Speculations and wild tales traveled from mouth to ear while mead and pear cider flowed from mug to mouth. This, of course, was not the typical crowd for the Stag Stone – no they piled in tonight to hear anything that they could about the slaying of the Queen. Most spun tales of wild wolves catching hold of the Queen while she was picking Lavender and Meadowsweet. Others told of more sinister things like unsettled debts that the King may have had, and the debtors came to settle the score. These are all purely speculation of course; no one really knew what had happen to her.
Concerned whispers made their way through the tavern about the fate of the twins after the passing of their mother.
“Poor things” said a peaceful looking woman with ruby hair. “I wouldn’t mind moving to the castle and being a mother to the little ones myself, if you know what I mean.” She had a playful gleam in her eye as she dug her elbow into the ribs of the old man setting beside her. He just shook his head and furrowed his brow at his mug of ale. A tall thin woman with a nose that resembled a rat was daring enough to comment that she thought the twins were not the Queens at all. She opened her mouth to elaborate but got cut off with the biting words of the man setting next to the red head.
“Merciful heavens Marci watch your tongue, you could be hanged for saying such things!” barked the old man that had been setting quiet up until now.
Marci sank her head and her lowered voice. “Very well, but you know as well as I do” …hiccup… her already slurred words were now being interrupted by drunken hiccups.
“Oh excuse me,” she said as she put a bony hand over her mouth as some sort of graceful gesture ” but, as I was saying, I’ve heard stories from the maids with my own ears Vern!”
Her face was turning red as she spoke. “ I know things that would make even your hair curl!” She tried to make her point sound more solid by poking one of her long fingers into the wooden table but as she did so ale sloshed from her mug making the scene more comical than malicious. The old man just shook his head and scanned the room for any one who might have been eaves dropping.
As the night wore on the atmosphere grew blurrier with each drink and the conversation lulled into silence as the last of the patrons staggered out of the inn.
The uneasiness still spider webbed in the air.
….more to come you would like. Also comments are very very welcome!
Read MoreDreaming in Blue
I am feeling a little blue today because not one person did the art challenge with me. I thought that doing an art project together like this could grow into something bigger and we could really have fun with the challenges. I did not want to challenge against each other rather but challenge ourselves. I know if you are anything thing like me, every now and then you need a swift kick in the bum and a good dose of accountability to get the gears a grinding.
I have all these ideas running through my mind but they never end up amounting to anything… just lost dreams I suppose. I also love the idea of art journals. They are so beautiful and of course I feverishly scour every picture that I can find on Pinterest and four or five hours later what do I have? A beautifully done Pinterest board but an empty art journal. What’s the point? If I want to be the artist that I claim that I am then I need to go and actually create the art! So yes, I am going to keep posting these challenges, hopefully they will inspire you as much as they me!
Read MoreWeekly Challenge Saturday 15th ~ ART JOURNAL PAGE ~ Dreams
For this weeks art challenge we are going to do an art journal page. Now if you already have an art journal you can just make an addition to it. For those of you who do not have one but have been meaning to start one or are just curious about what it is than this is the perfect place to start. If you want to do the challenge and want to use a single sheet of paper then go for it! I foresee in the future us making books to put our creations in anyway so that will be a perfect place for your treasure.
An art journal is a mixed media blank book that represents your personality and mood for that day. It is a visual journal.
Literally the sky is the limit when it comes to creativity, you are only bound by your imagination. They are wildly popular and addictive to make. If you type in Art Journal in Google you will find a wonderful sources for videos, and picture examples. I have included a link to my Pinterest board that I have started of Art Journals that inspire me. It can be found here: Art Journals. If you are not on Pinterest… well you need to be!
Since this is our first project I am going to set theme for the page: Dreams. I wanted to let you know to that there are NO RULES in creating an art journal page. You have the complete and freedom to create what your souls envisions!
A couple of suggestions! Take pictures of your progress, you will love to watch the journey of the project unfold. I look forward to seeing your submissions.
Just email them to: april@amagination.net
~ Happy Dreaming~
Read MoreWeekly Art Challenge
A weekly art challenge huh? I can barely do the challenges that I set for myself daily let alone get something actually finished in a week! However, that is why I think making this an open challenge would be fun! At first I thought that I would make this a month long event, but I thought that I better baby step this and see how it goes. I would like to get you involved to inspire me as well! How you might say? Well, child let me tell you how! I am planning on posting a weekly project for me to do and this is the simple part, you do you your own version of the project and I will post the results on the blog! This is such a great kick starter for the imagination. Also, it is a great way to learn and try something new pushing the boundaries of your artistic levels. The Projects will run from Saturday to Saturday. Fridays I will post the entries and the most creative winner for the week as well as the new weekly project.
Eventually, if we get enough people involved I would like to give away prizes to the winner! For if you have any thoughts or ideas ALL are welcome!
Read MoreBeach Dreaming
Click on the photo to go to the Etsy store if you are interested in a copy of one of the photos or of course you can purchase them straight from from the website.
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