Letting Go - Guest post by Sheryll

Hello !  My name is Sheryll. I am very new to art journaling,  but have discovered recently that this is one of the simple things that makes me happy.  My job is very stressful emotionally and psychologically and I always find myself all drained out at the end of the day.  But whenever I splash a colour into a piece of paper, the stress just melts away and somehow things are better. 

As I was thinking of what to share in this blog,  I began to worry myself, thinking that whatever I will be doing may not be good enough.  So, the creative block is back. I was trying to come up with something...but nothing happened.   

Whenever I get stressed,  I play with my paints,  I don't have to do anything fancy, but I just tend to lay down different bright colours and somehow, this calms me down and makes me a bit more cheerful.  So, I decided to do this. 

 

After swatching my paints, there were some left over paints and I decided to paint some images and use this as my setting off ground  or inspiration for creating / painting something else in the future.   I don't like staring at a blank page as this really makes me nervous and scared to potentially get things wrong,  but because I was just playing, I am not that fussed.  It is liberating that I can just put paint colour down and not expect anything to come out of it, but simply enjoy the beautiful colours or just simply painting whatever comes to mind.  No planning, no forward thinking...just being in the moment. 

It is always a great feeling to just let go of the things that you are feeling and thinking at that specific moment and letting the paint brush and paint do the talking.   Enjoying that moment where you just shut down and think of the colour that you are going for next.   To me this allows my brain to reboot and think more rationally as I have allowed it to rest from thinking of what a stressful day or stresses that I have.  It also allows me to express my feelings and be able to let go of them. 

 

 

I love creativity, but somehow, I lost this passion for a few years. Events have taken over in my life that made me look at life in a different way.   I have concentrated and worried about things that impacted my creative juices.  Then one day , somehow, I felt that a light switch was turned on.  I have learned how to "let go" of the things that bring negativity to me and embrace all the positivity around me.   My view of the world changed and then the creativity came back. 

I once read a quote that said " One of the simplest ways to stay happy is.. letting go of the things that makes you sad." ,  so, I have included this quote in my journal spread as a reminder whenever I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I decided to put my thoughts and feelings using watercolour paints.  I used balloons as metaphoric images for the negative and positive thoughts I have.  I have learned over the years to let go of the things that are making me unhappy and hold on to the things that make me happy and cherish them.  It's not long until more positivity in my life and I began seeing my life again in a beautiful way.  

To some,  my journal spread may not make any sense , but to me,  it speaks what my heart  feels all the time.   " Art is not what you see, but what you make others see" - Edgar Degas. So,  I say,, stop worrying.. 

Do whatever makes you happy and let go of the things that do not bring you happiness.   I am hoping that like me you feel liberated and see the world in a different light.  

So, go on..try it and let go... 

Thank you for taking the time to read and please feel free to share if you like it..