Arbitrary Advancement

I've been such a slacker lately, at least as far as art and blogs go.

I used to be so consistent at both.  You can look back at those days HERE.

When I first started making art, I used it as a distraction from emotional pain.

I grew to the point where I used my art to process emotions, instead of as a distraction from them.  I used art work through things.  I could put my problems down on the paper and then look at them in a logical way, instead of having the same thoughts run through my head on an endless loop.  In many ways, art kept me sane and saved my life.

Eventually, I stopped doing much art.  Sure, here and there, for a challenge or for fun...but not like I used to.  Not the kind of art that I needed to do so I could feel ok.  I didn't have to do it.

I realize now that all the coping skills I picked up from my time of daily arting and blogging somehow sunk into my brain.  I didn't have to do those things to get results anymore, it became natural.  I think I may have ended up fixing myself.  I feel normal...as normal as I can be.   I am...dare I say it...happy.content.whole.   

But I miss art now.  I miss blogging now.  I'm not in the same place I used to be, but there is a place for those things still.

So I decided to challenge myself.  To get back into the swing of things.  And to be honest, to use up some art supplies so that my husband can't accuse me of being a hoarder...

Arbitrary Advancement
-Crayola erasable colored pencils
-Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers
-Dina Wakely Scribble Sticks

This is the first page and blog post in a series of what I hope will be at least 26 days of daily arting and blogging.

I needed a place to start, and what is more simple than some ABC's?

I found the words arbitrary and advance in an old dictionary I keep for art purposes. 

Arbitrary's first definition in my dictionary is "not fixed by rule or law".

Advance means "to go forward" and "to improve".

So the goal for this challenge is to make art daily and share it via the blog.

There are no rules...ok, there's one rule for me: use alphabetical letters to inspire my art (in the form of my dictionary pages)...but if you want to play along, you don't have to follow my rule!  And the constant goal of forward motion.  Falling forward into improvement if you will.  

So I hope you like my art, but more than that, I hope it will inspire you in some small way to create your own art!  And nothing would make me happier than if you shared it with me by linking it in the comment section.  It doesn't matter if you draw/paint/sew/create with yarn/carve wood/etc...I'd love to see anything you've created!