finding ways to flourish in 2020

My curiosity level escalated when new doors began to open during those crazy hazy springtime days! With not much hesitancy, I ventured through those doors to explore what was on the other side.  Spring is the time of year to really get going but we now had to stop going.  Still, I got going with exploring a creative side that I like to believe hides deep within.  

A desire to spend hours lost was brewing!  Being blocked from obtaining that lost feeling from time in my mountain playground, I began to get lost in hours on end via paint strokes, pencil sketches and cross stitches.  Success was had with gathering, in a round about way, the supplies necessary to get going with not going.  The day I began getting creatively lost and from that day forward until the moment I write this post, my dining room table has been covered in crafty tools of some kind.   

With travel plans cancelled, the only thing taking flight for me during those crazy days was being creative.  These are a few of the fifty or so rocks I painted using acrylic paints then applying a fixative so they would survive the weather elements.  They measured in size anywhere from two inches to eight inches.  Of the dozens of rocks I painted, two remain in my possession while the balance sit in peoples' gardens, on friends' doorsteps, on others' mantels and similar places.  I hope they brought a smile to your day!

After decades I got back into the needle craft of cross-stitch.  It was a slow go as we headed into winter, but when those crazy hazy springtime days began to assault us, I dived deep into making thousands of those tiny X's on a piece of cloth.  Total concentration with no distractions was necessary for hours at a time, to cover maybe an inch or two of the material with the X's.  These are the cross-stitch projects I completed. Friends are in possession of a couple of these and the others are reminders on my wall of the beauty out there.  

In addition to the paint strokes and cross stitches, I added pencil sketches to the mix.  I always wanted to be able to lay my version of my photographs onto paper in some way.  During those crazy hazy springtime days I tried my hand at this art with $10.00 colored pencils and a $3.00 sketch book.  Now months later, I cannot imagine how colored pencil sketching will not be a part of my life going forward.  These are a few of the dozens of sketches I created.  I have loads to learn with this art and cannot wait to see where else this takes me.     

I wonder if we were not forced into those crazy hazy springtime days, would I have delved so deeply into paint strokes, pencil sketches and cross stitches!  When I look back over the past number of months, I realize spending hours on end lost in these crafts played a big part in keeping my mind in a healthy place.  I already know right now I will carry on with the cross-stitch and the colored pencil sketching through the coming winter months.  

When you sense a new door is opening 

take a chance and walk through

 with wide open eyes & arms!