Cath Sheard Art

Tag: Dina Wakley

  • Out of my head, onto paper

    Out of my head, onto paper

    This has been a rough week for various reasons, so a day of pouring out my heart and head into my art journals has been good for me. I don’t sleep well some of the time, and when things are rough I tend to have bad dreams. I process everything that’s going in complicated dreams, often with my long-dead parents in them. I haven’t been doing that this week, but have been very wakeful, so hopefully getting lots of thoughts down in my art journals – many unreadable – will help settle my brain a bit! People say art is cheaper than a therapist, but I’m not sure they’ve seen my journal and paint supplies 😉

  • Getting down the bones

    Sometimes all I need in my art journals are the bare bones in order to remember an event or feeling. Other times I write a lot; how readable it is depends on the content. I’m generally very open with what I share, but there are times when I can’t have other people reading the text. The ‘feeling let down’ page was one of those rare moments, so the story behind the page is on the back of a tag. I can lift it up and read if I want to, but probably won’t. Getting it written down was enough. Cathartic!

    confusionswhyfoodshushguard

  • Colour my world

    Today’s journal page is in my Dina Wakley mixed media journal; there’s only a few pages left it in, and I can’t get a new one till lockdown finishes. This was done on a canvas page that I put a good coat of gesso on, then scraped on paints, and layered on mark making with my fav Tim Holtz stencils. I used a Dyan Reaveley mask for the person, then wrote round the edges with a Uniball white gel pen. The page was inspired by Niamh Baly, who I follow on YouTube.

    colour my world 20200418

     

     

     

  • Art is good for me

    Art is good for me

    Spending time creating is good for me. Sure, I can go for weeks without creating, but I’ll get a bit ‘down’ and restless. The solution, especially if I feel tired and like it’s all too hard, is to create regardless. Pretty soon I’m sparking again!

    This weekend I have spent a lot of time at my art desk and it’s perked me up. I was feeling ok, but now I feel rested even though I’ve had no actual rest…

    I won’t describe products, journal etc – it’s my usual mix of Dina Wakley, Tim Holtz, Dyan Reaveley and Ranger.

    small journal 04082018dina w journal 1 05082018dina w journal 05082018dina wakley journal 05082018week 31small journal 05082018dw journal 05082018

     

  • Connecting with old photos

    I am using old photos that belong to Tony’s cousin Alison in my new Dina Wakley art journal. Alison has dementia and the photos mean nothing to her, and there is no one to pass them onto. By using them, I honour the memories and build a stronger (internal to me) connection with her, which will help as I take over more of the ‘pastoral care’ as her memory fades.

    In December we helped her sell her home and buy a serviced apartment at Jane Winstone Retirement Village. Sadly, she is already unable to stay there due to her deteriorating capacity. Next week she will move into a room the resthome proper so she can be better cared for. Tony and I are working through the process of selling her apartment back to Jane Winstone, and then getting rid of excess furniture etc. It’s a sad process, and one that I have done before, with my own Aunt J.

    I know this – tell people you love them, label your photos, write down your stories, do stuff you enjoy when you can. Life is short, and memories are fragile.

    journal page 20180320journal page 20180321