Catalyst Twenty-One

Catalyst Twenty-One

August 3, 2008, 9:33 am
Filed under: catalyst

 

As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us. We will do a drawing for the RAK and announce the name mid-week. Make sure to read the RAK section this week, we’ve made some changes in the RAK qualification rules. And if you didn’t join us before, we hope you do this time.

 

Ok! Here’s catalyst number twenty-one:

 

What’s your first memory of love?

 

We’re very excited to have Wilna Furstenberg as this week’s Guest Artist.

 

There are many people who inspire me but Wilna’s art absolutely blows me away. She has a magical way of combining art, photos, and words. Her work is so lyrical, elegant, touching, and personal that it’s impossible not to be inspired by her.

 

A native of South Africa, Wilna now lives in Canada and in 2006 she won the CK Hall of Fame and the first Making Memories Idols contest. She was also a finalist in the KI Memories Album Contest. She is a contributing artist to Making Memories’ idea books, as well as a sought after teacher which lead her back to South Africa in 2007 and to the Scrap Ect event in Nashville, USA, in April this year. She is also on the design teams for Making Memories and Scrap in Style TV.

 

You can see more of Wilna’s art and read about her at her blog. I am awed by each piece she creates and this week’s catalyst is no exception. We’re so delighted to have her here.

 

 

 

Wilna’s art with this catalyst is below and you can click it to see a bigger version. She also sent some detail shots which go with the technique highlight so you can also click on that image to see a larger version.

 

 

 

Journaling Reads:

One of my first memories of love is actually one that still defines me, 35 years later. I remember when I was almost 5 years old, my mom would put me to bed at night and every single time, without fail, I would ask her if she loved me. She would say: Yes, of course! Then I would ask her if she loved me more than she loves Jesus. And she would say: No! Funny enough, even though I was only 5 years old, that answer made me happy. And today, thinking back on it, my mother’s answer really made me think about how much God loves me. After the tucked me into bed, I would lie awake and talk to Jesus and just sense His wonderful love and presence. I can honestly say that when I was old enough to learn about John3:16, I already knew what it meant. Thank You Lord, for being my first memory of love. and I know you will be my last too.

 

Technique Highlight:

One thing that I love about art, is the ability to create double meanings and hide them for only me to know about. In this page, I used layers to tell more than just the story. Layers can be used a s a technique and I just want to show you in this page, how I layered elements. First of all, I layered 3 pages to achieve the look I wanted. On the ledger paper, I used some watercolor paint that I applied in layers. After one color is dry, I would add another color on top of that. I adhered the ledger paper to the peach colored background and made some holes in the paper and from the back, layered the black and white pattern. I used an old book and layered a few papers and cut out the butterfly. I love the feeling that the butterfly is flying…because of the layers. I not only latered the ribbons and lace with some wall paper, but also the chipboard font…

 

This page was directly inspired by a page Debee Campos made a while ago. When I saw the page, it took my breath away because of all the layered elements and incredible artistry. I am so excited to see what you come up with…

 

 

Thank you so much Wilna; we’re truly honored.

 

 

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Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team. This week was particularly interesting to me since we all interpreted the word love and the kind of love differently. Click on the photos to see the bigger versions.

Severine:

Severine Says::

My first memory when i think about my first flirt is the heart beating very strong, the hands are moist, and all is beautiful!!!

 

 

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Christine:

 

Journaling Reads:

My grandmother was a very special person to me. As far back as I could remember, she was always very loving. In fact, my first memory of feeling loved was during the times I spent with her. She took care of me when I was a young child and during the times when my parents were at work. I remember her taking me to the market and buying popsicles and treats for me. My fondest memory of her was during the times she would try to get me to sleep during my nap times. She would put “pretend make-up” on me to get me. She would take her fingers and gently stroke on the “foundation” across my forehead, down my nose and chin. Then she would brush on the blush. Next would come the eye shadow across both eyes. By the time she finished adding lipstick, I was practically asleep! I laugh when I think about how much I enjoyed it!

 

Thank you, Lola, for taking care of me and making me feel so very loved by you! You truly have touched me with your love!

 

 

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Becky:

 

Becky Says:

My first love, very dramatic things happened with that boy. I would much rather forget the details of that relationship.It is part of my life, part of my story. A story of a teenage boy losing his mother and his way, a story of violence and attempts of suicide. I choose to remember that I Lived through it,that I Learned from those experiences and I Grew stronger because of them.

 

Journaling Reads:

My first memory of love is one I would
rather not think about. Teenage love gone very bad. I can’t tell you how Lucky I am to have found my husband, He is the only love I want to remember. July 2008′

 

 

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Fran:

 

Fran Says:

My first memory of love is my grandmother. Grandma Miriam and I had a very special relationship. From the moment I can first recall she would sing to me, teach me, and talk with me. Her lap was the place to be when I needed to feel loved. Her voice on the phone was the voice of reason the voice of support.

 

Grandma’s love for me was a huge building block in my self-esteem and the growth of my relationships in the future. Thank you, Grandma, for loving me.

 

Technique Highlight:

Quilted piece. I used a photo of my grandmother that I turned into black and white and printed on inkjet prepared cotton poplin. Photograph is colorized with colored pencils and then stitched.

 

 

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Anita:

Journaling Reads:

I never knew love until you came along. Oh I thought I knew but until you hold a newborn child in your arms its just not real. I love you so much and it hurts to see you make mistakes. I know you will eventually come around but until then I have to just allow you to make your mistakes. I will always love you no matter what.

 

 

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Lori:

Lori Says:

It felt really great to remember this moment. It’s one of those times in my life that never had any resolution. Girl had crush on boy. Boy was older and had crush on girl. Boy was embarrassed to like younger girl. Boy ignored younger girl. Boy teased younger girl. Girl moved away. It’s hard to remember just how powerful those first crushes are. I truly thought it was love. It wasn’t until I met my husband that I learned what true love really is. It wasn’t until I had my children that I learned what that love really is; the lay down your life for kind of love. But, that first crush was a whopper!

 

Journaling Reads:

You were two years older than me. Our brothers played soccer together and we would play on the playground equipment instead of watching the practice. I remember teasing you and throwing your soccer ball far away. You retaliated by pinning me against the bridge and threatened to kiss me if I didn’t get the ball. I didn’t get the ball, but we never kissed. I spent two years thinking you were my first love. It took me a long time to realize I never even knew you. Even so, it was a powerful crush.

 

 

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Karen:

 

Karen Says:

As soon as I saw this catalyst, I knew it was going to be about my first boyfriend, Levent. He and I were best friends for a long time and then he suddenly decided he didn’t want to talk to me for a week. After going through one of the longest weeks of my life, he came back and said that he was in love with me. We started dating pretty soon after that. There are many joys Levent brought to my life but the most precious gift he ever gave me was to show me that I was worthy of being loved. And for that I will be forever thankful to him.

 

 

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KL:

 

Journaling Reads:

my first “true” memory of love is of this ring and the wonderful man, my husband who gave it to me. of course i’ve been in love before and i have felt love before but until i met my husband i had never felt it as complete as i do now, i had never experienced unconditional love from a man like i have felt his for me. it is a reflection of him and his love
for me; innocent, complete, non-judging & strong.

 

Technique Highlights:

my work this week is actually created by using the reverse side of a stretched canvas. i painted the wood stretchers with crackle paint and the edges with golden pearl mica flakes and then simply collaged elements i loved on top. the interior has some scrap paper and a little altered manila tag with a picture of our wedding ring.

 

 

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Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “what’s your first memory of love?” I urge you to give it a try. Embrace the healing power of art. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.

 

Leave us comments with your work and we will send a RAK to a random participant. You’ll have to link your art by Sunday night, August 10th, midnight PST to qualify for the RAK. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group. There’s a small change in RAK rules: to qualify for our weekly RAK drawing, all you have to do is do art around ANY of our catalysts. It doesn’t have to be the one from this week. We believe in the healing power of art and we want you to pick whichever catalyst inspires you the most.

 

For our RAK for this week, we are thrilled to be giving away the beautiful Citrus Grove kit from, Coordinates Collections.

 

 

 

Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.

 

Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.

 

 

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