Cath Sheard Art

Tag: art journaling

  • Exercise your art muscles

    ‘Use it or lose it’ is as true for art muscles as any other, although actually I don’t think we lose our art capacity, we just get rusty and uncertain. Simple quick exercises are a good way to stay in touch with your sense of colour, pattern, design, negative space and so on.

    Every week I do the #ColourMePositive challenge on Facebook. The moderator provides a prompt and people share what they’ve created. For me it’s a quick way to warm up my art muscles. This isn’t art with a capital A, it’s more like warming up exercises before going for a run. I decided to (sort of) record my process today.

    I used Distress paints for the bottom layer, Dylusions paints for the stencilling with Tim Holtz stencils, Distress ink to colour the edges of the word strips and  Tombow Mono glue to glue the words down. I’m working on the Tim Holtz glass media mat; it’s on my desk all the time and I love it.

    It was almost finished when I realised, matching my mood, it was a bit dark and dreary considering the quote is about sunshine. I used Dylusions Pure Sunshine paint with Tim’s sun rays stencil, then went back over the orange with Atelier Rich Gold for some bling.

     

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  • P!nk – Courage

    I’m still recording the music I love in my art journals. I enjoy the process, but also it tells people a lot about me. Music is a huge part of my life; I listen at home, in the car, at work, while I cook…
    This is P!nk’s Courage. It speaks to me because maintaining my weight loss means having the courage to face all the reasons I overeat. The courage to dig deep emotionally, face my fears, feel emotions instead of smothering them with food.
    This page is in my large Dylusions journal. Inks: Peony blush, Bubblegum Pink. Postbox red & White Linen. Paints: Peony blush & Funky fuschia. Stencils: Teardrops, Star struc &  Diamond in the rough. Stamps: Dy’s alphabet. Other: Archival ink, Distress ink, white gel pen.
    courage 20190602.jpg

  • No, it isn’t easy

    Trigger warning: abuse, weight loss surgery.

    I’m still recording the lyrics I love, this time it’s P!nk’s (Hey Why) Miss You Sometime. No doubt she was writing about a partner but, for me, this could easily be about food. Yes, food – chocolate, savouries, ice cream. OMG Sante Bars!

     

    miss you 20190603.jpg

    I had weight loss surgery, three years ago this September, and have lost over 70kg. It probably saved my life. But here’s the thing – I’m still a food addict. Surgery is a tool, not a cure. The line “thousand nights I’ve said goodbye, almost lost my mind”. That’s me and chocolate. Chocolate is my answer to grief, pain, shame, embarrassment, loss, fear, boredom, loneliness; anything and everything.

    For me, food does two things. It smothers my emotions, and I’ll do anything to avoid feeling emotions. I’ve lived most of my life carefully flat. And, as an addict, certain food gives me a dopamine hit and my brain lights up with sheer joy. That’s the hard truth of it.

    On book I’ve read on addiction suggests pain and shame is at the heart of all addictions. For me, the pain and shame stems from low-level but damaging abuse as a kid by a friend of my father, and an abusive first marriage. Now’s not the time to write more about it, just putting it out there and parking it for now.

    Despite the weight loss surgery, and a lot of work on “fixing my head”, maintaining a healthy weight will be a lifelong journey for me. If you think weight loss surgery is an easy out, think again.

    And, to finish. I love people, love people’s bodies and think all bodies should be honoured – including fat ones. I don’t hate fat bodies, far from it. My father died of a heart attack at 65, Mum died slowly over more than a decade – my decision to have surgery was to try and avoid what happened to them, and a recognition that I could never lose weight on my own. I have *no* judgment of other people’s bodies.

  • Secret spaces

    There are difficult things happening in our household that won’t be on my blog or FB until we have final confirmation. I’m worried and stressed, trying hard – as a food addict – not to eat my feelings, and searching for the words for how I feel. My art journals are a safe, non-judgemental place where I can say anything I want and it doesn’t matter or hurt anyone.
    Sprays: Periwinkle blue, Vibrant turquoise, Calypso teal, Fresh lime shimmer. Paints: After midnight, Fresh lime, Vibrant turquoise. Stencils: Shutters, Holes, Stars. Large Dylusions journal. Stamps: Dy’s alphabet. Other: Archival ink, white gel pen, Pitt Big Brush pen, Distress collage medium.
    downloading 20190517

  • Angels

    There’s some big stuff happening in my household that I can’t talk about on FaceBook yet. This layout is reminding myself that I believe in my angels looking after me (not God, more the Universe I guess…)
    Paints: Crushed grape, Laidlback lilac, Slate grey. Stencils: Bowl of cherries, Spring flowers, Old school numbers. Stamps: Dy’s alphabet. Other: Pitt Big Brush pen, white gel pen, Distress collage medium & Distress ink.
    angels m20190516