Get Messy | October 23rd

Hi all! Sometimes I can't believe that I have stuck with this project for so long. It has opened me up creatively and provided a welcome respite from the craziness going on in my life right now. Some big changes are coming for casa Wisniewski and I have been doing my best to process them. It's always crazy how life can change in a single moment.

This week's Get Messy entry was based on Essay 10 by Ralph Waldo Emerson entitled "Circles." I know I could have somehow used circle based imagery, but the essay is about how things are always changing and this is a lesson especially evident in nature. The passage I used reads as follows:

Life is a series of surprises. We do not guess to–day the mood, the pleasure, the power of to–morrow, when we are building up our being. Of lower states, — of acts of routine and sense, — we can tell somewhat; but the masterpieces of God, the total growths and universal movements of the soul, he hideth; they are incalculable. I can know that truth is divine and helpful; but how it shall help me I can have no guess, for so to be is the sole inlet of so to know. The new position of the advancing man has all the powers of the old, yet has them all new. It carries in its bosom all the energies of the past, yet is itself an exhalation of the morning. I cast away in this new moment all my once hoarded knowledge, as vacant and vain. Now, for the first time, seem I to know any thing rightly. The simplest words, — we do not know what they mean, except when we love and aspire. 

I love the idea that as much as the universe reveals to us we are still inherently unknowing. Life is truly a surprise. All we can do is love and aspire. 

Details: I found an old book filled with botanical illustrations. Instead of just tearing the sheet out and adding it to my book I snapped a photo with my phone and played with it a bit in Photoshop. I then printed it on a piece of distressed bluish/greenish paper. I like layering printed images on top of other printed images.  On the the left I just wrote a short quote. and included a strip of old paper that may or may not be be a piece of Scenic Route I've hoarded for years.

Before I go, I just wanted to thank you. If you left me a comment here, or on Facebook or Instagram. If you liked my work or decided to follow me. I have been inspired by the work of so many people so thanks. I deeply appreciate your time and kind words:)

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal