Catalyst One Hundred and Seven

Catalyst One Hundred and Seven

March 31, 2010, 6:00 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.

 

Ok! Here’s catalyst number one hundred and seven:

 

Honor a family member.

 

We’re thrilled to have Colette Copeland as this week’s Guest Artist.

 

Here’s a quickie self-bio for Colette:

 

Mixed media artist, living in Toronto, Canada. A frequent contributor to the Stamping group of magazine, and creator of a new rubber stamp line for Stampington & Company.

 

If you’ve never seen Colette’s art, make sure to visit her blog.

 

 

 

 

Here is Colette’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version and more detail.

 

 

 

Colette Says:

This piece honors my late father-in-law, a quiet, gentle man whom I loved and respected. When his eldest son, my husband, died before his time and in a terrible way, he wore a black tie for the rest of his days. He was a dairy farmer in Co. Wexford, Ireland.

 

Technique Highlight:

Mixed media painting on canvas, titled “Da”. Created with an original photograph, acrylics and oil pastels. The photo was lightly sanded in the areas I wanted to paint on (otherwise the paint will not “take” on the shiny photo paper).

 

 

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Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team.

 

Lori:

 

Lori Says:

I chose to honor my husband. He does so much for us and I know I don’t tell him how much we appreciate him often enough. So, this layout serves as a permanent reminder.

 

Journaling Reads:

You Should Know…

1. I appreciate who you are and all you do.

2. I think you are an amazing Father to our boys.

3. You have the other half of my heart. I love you.

 

 

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Shelley:

 

Shelley Says:

For this project I wanted to honor my mother. This is a little album I made for her to let her know what a wonderful mother she is to me. My mother is the kindest, most loving, and sweetest person I have ever known. She was an elementary teacher for 20+ years and she was loved and adored by all. Parents requested that their children have her as their teacher. The reason why….she cared. She loved every single child as if they were her own and she taught them so much more than what was in a book. She displays her faith and love of God in everything she does. Over the years I have come to realize that my mother is one of the most brilliant people I know. I love her for all her quirky sayings, for her committment to God, her husband, and her family, and for her pureness,sweetness and humor. I know that her childhood and young adulthood was not easy ones but it shaped who she is and she is a beautiful treasure. I love my mom and I love her for always loving me no matter what.

 

 

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Karen:

Karen Says:

My grandmother, Maya, was a magnificent human being. We lost her on February 16, 2010 (I wrote a long entry here.) and I will never ever forget her. I love you Omama.

 

 

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Rachel:

Rachel Saya:

My grandmother was the epitome of class and poise. Silent strength and will, compassion and forgiveness. She showed me what it was to create a safe and comfortable home and to appreciate the beauty in the handmade. She personified faith and hope in all that she did and is the little voice inside my head that I need so often to tell me that everything will be okay if I just believe. There was never a time I felt more content and safe than hiding behind my grandmothers easy chair on a Sunday afternoon. I miss her everyday.

 

 

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Lia:

 

Lia Says:

Each of my family members is important to me, I couldn’t honor just one of them. I planned on talking about my late mother or my dad but talking about them would just bring too much pain as I regret how much better of a daughter I could have been to them. So I decided to create this frame using a family picture we took recently. All of us are in this picture, including our youngest member – my 2nd nephew. My mother’s not in the picture but she’s always with us in spirit. She’s in our carbon copied faces – my siblings and I, and she’s in dad’s love and memories. My family is important to me, without any of them I wouldn’t be who I am today, I love them oh so much.

 

 

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Severine:

 

Severine Says:

She left without warning, even before I could say goodbye … Grandma I love you …

 

In French:

Elle est partie sans prévenir, sans même que je puisse lui dire au revoir … Mamie je t’aime très fort …

 

 

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Wendela:

 

Wendela Says:

My family member is Noa, my sweet darling daughter! It’s real hard for her between 3 boys!! So I made this hanger for her, for her new room!

 

 

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Dina:

Dina Says:

I adore my Grandma Maxfield. She died when I was nine years old, but my memories of her are so rich and vibrant. She always made me feel loved and important. Now as an adult, I look back at her life history and am amazed by the challenges she overcame, but the kind of woman she was. I miss her.

 

 

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Larissa:

Larissa Says:

I’d especially like to pay a tribute to the artistic heritage I’ve got from my maternal grandmother, my aunt Ligia and my mother. Ever since I was little I saw them making art crafts, painting canvas and testing every new technique. And the message they transmitted me was that everything they expressed on their artistic works had the power of setting them free and bringing magic to their lives! This is my tribute to my favorite artists, who gave special colors to my life!

 

Technique Highlight:

I mixed some watercolors of mine with patterned paper. I also added a small easel and painted everything.

 

 

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Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “Honor a family member.” I urge you to give it a try. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.

 

Leave us comments with your work so we can share in your creative therapy, too. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.

 

 

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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