What whAt? #Scandal in the making #gossip or truth

Back off #paparrazzi

there is a scandal in the making

Stay tuned for

truth or #gossip.
Yes, I wrote a book.

the #adoption process; counting the cost

When I was in Haiti a five years ago in the orphanage where
we were adopting from

  (the little girl we were in process of adopting)

I met another adoptive mama   

there meeting her little girl for the first time!
(I got to witness the beauty of it!)
She is a beautiful spunky gal

that is now on her 3rd adoption
of a little boy Belief  (from Congo).
She also has 3 young boys at home.
(she is going for a 6 pack~ LOL)

I know all too well the cost (and heartbreak) of adoption

Here is where love dolls began~

When I first met Dieunka, she didn't have any toys

so I made her a doll

the back story of

the Love Doll began with my own adoption process;

which if you are a long time reader

or know me in real life

know ended in unfortunate heartbreak
by someone we called a friend

(due to fraud, long painful story)
the adoption process is not an easy journey! 

I don't want to ruin the happiness of  Melanies' current adoption
(So the TELLING of my story is for another day) 

Mels' family is working hard to fund raise

and I'd like to help them

(and its healing for me to make these dolls for the purpose of adoption)

so I've made this art doll

(she has been named Zoe)

that she is going to raise $ with~

The stages of her birth

(and her adoption story coming soon)

There is another to come as

I'm making her another doll as well.

Pictures coming soon~

What is a #Hipster? or Pop Culture #Embroidery

I had to get a googlecation

(educated by google)

on what a hipster is?

I obviously needed to know

I mean I recently seen #hipster

tagged on a friends instagram...

which drew me to the ?

err What is a hipster?

my first hit landed me here

hmmm..then I clicked onto

the video below.

hey I kinda like the groove~

uhhuh getting a better understanding

Then I start reading the comments below the video.

YIKES

hipsters got haters

then I accidentally hit something

and the video below 

interrupted the first video

Right when they were getting interviewed on the street

My fan in the RV kicked on and I couldn't hear

so I had to go plug in the external speakers 

then go back to hear what they said~

Can I conclude hipsters don't want to be hipsters?

*scratches head*

After watching the video, pausing at the drama of hipsters

I realized

I was actually in the middle

of searching pop culture embroidery

because I'm photographing

my original

embroidery designs  

and don't know what to label them as..

when I realized I know nothing 

about Pop Culture

  and/or what a hipster is, nor how to label myself.

HMMMM Does that make me a hipster?

Ehhh probably not because I'm 42.

(uh I think)

 Sheesh my mind is as tangled as my embroidery floss.

Stay tuned my original embroidery designs

 coming up next.

Frida Kahlo guitar Assemblage& State of Decay Polaroids

This is an older piece but one of my favorite assemblages still to date.

My oldest son reclaimed the thrown away guitar 

proudly bringing it to me to "make art with".

He was about 8 at the time. (now 18)

My sons are so sweet~ 

My grandma has these beautiful peonies

and my sweet youngest son (14) picked me some.

It's been rainy and cool

which is always my favorite painting days

 so I'm working on 

    Polaroid paintings.

Life is beautiful!

Live like a Warrior~ performed by Rachel Nicole

Vote here for my beautiful friend Rachel Nicole

when she wins she gets to

  perform “Live Like A Warrior” on stage with Matisyahu.

 Performance will be filmed and featured

 on Matisyahu’s online properties.

Come let's vote now! 

(can vote 3X a day!)

You can't advance without adversity! This is MY DESTINY!

Love for hate. 

Anyone can return love when appreciated and loved in return. 

There is no power in that!

What extra ordinary are you doing?

My story of what walking this out has done

 through the faithfulness and power of a MIGHTY God~

COMING SOON

Seriously Who doesn't love Free ART! Coloring Art Zine Giveaway via Instagram -Facebook

If you have an instagram

    and want to be entered in the giveaway

repost, tag #iWANTit & #foundthingsart

and go 

comment here with 

your username ie: @foundthingthingsart

so we can follow you

I will be drawing 2 winners starting 

FRIDAY, SAT & SUN  JUNE 

for a total giveaway of 12 zines!

#timetocolor

Artist Coloring Book Zine Art Freebie Giveaway #iwantit

DETAILS HERE

The Art of Crochet, My Dreadlocks, and an Art Journal

My life is ART filled and amazingly happy!! 

Lots of NEW things happening. 

Giveaways

New publications

just to mention a few.

Come LIKE  FoundThingsArt on facebook to find out FIRST.

art journal

5 years ago at the beginning of my dread journey  

                                                       Loving my mint green thread!!

The Road leads home :traveling in the Winnie

So our recent travels have lead us to park under the tree that I used to pick my own switches from.

Yeah that would be my grannys' house. 

My favorite memories are snappin beans we picked from the garden

and this clothesline.

Funny the simple things that stick in our memories, eh.

{I may have even forgot many of those switches.} 

When I pulled up in the drive the other day is was so off to see my Papa 

hanging clothes. My heart ached at the realization.

My Grandma can barely use the line anymore due to a stroke. You can see the nasty ugly scar here .

My  oldest son has fallen in love with our new dog. 

My mom and my youngest.

Our cute little traveling companion.

80s splatter paint: classic

i think i was in jr high
when i did this to my room
at my grandmothers house~

errr i didn't ask permission
either...
luckily my grandparents weren't mad

i love that its still there.

Pursuit: definition of my occupation

All my days

an Abandoned heart

Whom have I but you.

The endless search

the fragrance of Love 

Out of the depths

I learned to pray

i. love. the way. you move. {me}

I am lovesick.

Love my Life!

My grandma, mom and aunt

 My mom 

My oldest turned 18 last week!!

and My youngest man they grow up so fast!

So proud of these wonderful young men! 

                                                                    I am incredibly blessed!

Divorce: Do not trade a Promise for a Lie

I won't trade a promise for a lie.

To begin where I left off...
          YES!!
     this is a love story.
I have to go back however,
to what I call "altars of remembrance".
I have to go back because it took the depths {of brokenness}
to perform my deliverance.
I had a heart transplant.

 It was a necessary surgery for me

                to truly understand

what and who Love Is.

I AM.

Love Is, I AM.

This may be hard to
understand at this point,
but please stay with me.
I'm painting a picture here
and the outline must be in
place before I can add
the details.
WHAT?
WHY?
I've gotten this question plenty.
To explain what came out of the depths
and I have to go back into the depths.
Come follow my pen,
let me show you brushstroke
by brushstroke.
Its a masterpiece that one must watch oneself.

 Unless your willing to sit with me
                   and feel it,    

   it's really quite unbelievable!

Why must I tell?
Why must you read?
Because I too once thought that
this would never happen to me.
I was blind, but now I see.
Do not be deceived by smoke and mirrors.
 It affects you too.
At some point you will recognize the realities.
  It's in your family. It has affected those you love deeply.
      You may not know. You may know.
      It is not a respecter of persons.

I wrote the highlighted excerpt below in the midst of betrayal.
Even then I knew there was a purpose.

Let's sit in "that" moment for a bit. 

As time slowed to less than seconds

 I had in full view a mirror image of my heart transparent. 

I was living in anesthesia prior to that moment. 

Suddenly I watched in unbelief my heart erupting flesh blood.

Awakening I felt the sharp edge of that scalpel at the very moment of incision.

 It was a divorce of my former self.

I knew. It was time.

I could not escape the scalpel.
The incision was made.
Either way was death.
To ignore it didn't make it go away, I was dying anyhow.
The excruciating pain awoke every nerve.
My heart was pumping blood everywhere a midst my opened chest.
My hands immediately tried to cover the opening and apply pressure.
Shock rang through me.
There was no way out on my own.
I could not avoid help.
Death was pounding at my door.
I was covered in blood.
I was desperate.

I feel lead to share my struggles simply because I know I am not alone.

 I know there are many others who are or have been where I am. 

Ache and loss is great.

 However they are not greater than the Divine. 

I want you see that I've gathered all my broken pieces, instead of sweeping them under and away, 

I'm going to lay them out. 

Why?

 Because when I brought them to my Rescuer

 and laid them down at his feet,

 He motioned for me

 to pick them up.

 One by one. 

The first piece was jagged and sharp,

 it left cuts on my hands as I put it in His. 

What I saw as He closed His palm 

and what was revealed at the release of His grip,

 made my eyes WIDE with delight

        at the revelation. 

When he released it to me, 

and entered it into my being, 

I gasped and staggered

 at the strength that filled my core.

 His powerfully Majestic 

      voice   e c h o e d   throughout me.

"Do not replace a promise for a lie"

What occupy's your mind determines what eventually fills your mouth,
 your outer world showcases all that has dominated,
 and at times subjugated your inner world.
                       -Dr. Cindy Trimm


WORDS ARE POWERFUL. What begins in your mind most often becomes you.
 Over the past year I have endure great hardship and loss. 
So many times my thoughts were filled with questions. 
Many went unanswered. 
There were moments I did not have the strength to get out of bed, yet I had to!!
I did not give up, despite times of weariness!
 I kept fighting back with my words, 
with Divine Words. 

The Creator spoke 
into the
 unformed void darkness 
the existence of LIGHT!

 Do you get that, it was unformed, a VOID darkness! It began with a void! {With darkness!}
 Do you have a void in your life right now?
 I know I have been facing this VOID for over a year now.
 I have been speaking to it!
 I questioned "hey VOID are YOU LISTENING?
~I'm COMING OUT ALIVE! 
YES I'm speaking to you DARKNESS-
 to all the lies I've been told, to all the lies told about me,
 to all the doubts, to all the doubters!
 The silence that I've been captured in is NO MORE! 
I have authority with the TRUTH.
 Not a version of the truth,
         but the fullness of TRUTH



Again this was written not quite 4 years ago, 
It is such an important journal of my mindset. 
When I began gathering all my journal pieces 
from this time period, I was amazed at the clarity I had.
As I reread these bits and pieces I can see Divine
            hand-prints
on everything I wrote or drew. 

The very thought of this causes
my heart to pause
in gratitude of a 
God 
who sees. 

You see this is really a love story.
This is {our} love story.

I was in the midst of a vicious attack from
someone I trusted most.
My mind was somewhat confused. 
The biggest question 
"What had I done to cause such vial efforts?"

Wait, go back how can this be
          a
love story? 

I have come to this GRAND canyon. A vast empty and deep space that is so much bigger than me. I'm standing at the edge, agreeing this is remarkably unfamiliar now, knowing that I must not settle for comfortable any longer, and still yet I hesitate. There are times when I long to go back to the comfortable, even though I know there is no true security in it. As I stand here before the canyon, observing the enormous expanse, my natural eye is overwhelmed. There is a hovering silence of the unknown. My breathing echoes in my ears. Sometimes it is louder than I can bear and it hurts my head. I've leapt over previous familiars though compared to this monster, they were obviously only cracks. There is NO way that I can leap over this one.

I wrote this almost 4 years ago. When I wrote it, I thought it directly related to the heart shattering realization and deception that occurred by a family that I trusted concerning the adoption we were in. The beginning of much brokenness in my family and my life was exposed at this traumatic point of my life, our lives. 


Now this is where I wish I could translate my spiritual state to the natural! I have approached moments recently where my natural being starts screaming, pounding and stomping !!ENOUGH!!, and I momentarily lose focus. My natural says don't fall into the expanse!! My spiritual says, you must go in the depths to get across. CONFLICT! The warfare ensues! I find myself tangled in the beauty of being the created.

                     "I must go into the depths to get across."


I have been in the depths since 2009 when I wrote that. This is the disentangling of my story coming out of the depths and emerging anew. It is a painfully beautiful story of redemption. It was only through the carving depths of betrayal that I encountered freedom, true freedom. 

       We are responsible for the stories we tell 

and for those we choose not tell. Our silences speak volumes about whom and what we value. - Rabbi Sandy Eiseenberg Sasso

Most often I choose silence in respect of differences. Quite often this gives the wrong impression. It can say, I agree with you, your opinion has more value or truth, I'm absorbing what you said, I am weak, well you get the idea. In the area of my life that this currently applies to, its none of the above. 

Timing is important. It is not weakness, it actually takes a DIVINE strength to keep my mouth shut!

lThe most incredible part is, 

when you are released from silence, 

it has this poetic revival of solace that dances 

amongst the rain. 

There is absolutely no force that can 

withhold 

the inextinguishable rejoicing!!

this IS where I pause {to dance}

     because I'm RELEASED!!

In the meantime while I dance

catch yourself up on reading here. 

16yrs today and still married!! 

Yes today is a beautiful day to celebrate!! 
{even in the midst of our brokenness} 
I'm celebrating~if you only knew the details of what Yah has done!! 
{even in the midst of our brokenness} 
This day began with the slow unfolding of my story. 
{even in the midst of our brokenness} 
A beautiful journey of the revelation of what True Love is will be brought 
more into the light over these next days, weeks and year on my blog. 

You really don't want to miss a word!!

Break out the oil crayons!

Its a grown up coloring book,
Uh no its a zine,
Nope its mixed media
-err maybe a collage pack
Uhh Nah its all the above
&MORE!

HOWEVER your inspired
Read it
Paint it
Color it

Journal in it
Collage on it
Take it apart
Cut it up

For the love of all things found
just go ahead & get one!!


Once you have fun creating something out of it
send me a photo and I'll post it them!

Love your dreadlocks!

SO many choices.



Available in the etsy shop

The art of Dwelling

Fun NEW things

more available here-

{Love} this "new" scarf I scored at the "bins"-goodwill!





AND more will be loaded in next few days in the etsy shop, so keep checking, PlUS new artwork!




battery operated-WINNE size!! woot woot!







My Life under the beauty of TREES~




LOVE!!

Life is GOOD!!