Cabinet of Curiosities {Destination and Reflection}

Well, we are on our last prompt for the Cabinet of Curiosities Challenge that Bonnie and I have co-hosted. What fun these several weeks have been and seeing everyone's interpretations of the theme each week has been awe inspiring!! Hope you've all enjoyed it as much as we have.I'm curious what you all do with your work, do you display it in your home or studio or keep it in a drawer for safe keeping? I tend to display mine and wanted to show a couple of my "Cabinet" challenges here. I went and bought an orchid last night. I needed some greenery in our house. It seemed for a bit there that spring wasn't far away, and now the snow and sleet have come and spring is fleeting, so I needed a little pick-me-up. I thought it looked nice with the green of the {Collections} collage and the {Inspiration} framed piece. This little plush owl (below) is from Anthropologie and I paired it with my {Explore} assemblage. I liked the comforting look of it all together, so I thought I'd share.On to the topic for the week....destination and reflection. I know, I know, art is all about the journey not the destination. I agree. However, when we come to the end of a project like this one, you can't help but want some sort of closure. I consulted Julia Cameron's book Finding Water (one of the sequels to The Artists Way). She talks about how we must finish a project to get that burst of energy and inspiration to propel us to start another. She talks about finishing anything, whether that is mopping the floor, mending clothes, building a shed...or finishing that little art project that's been sitting in your studio for months. Then we can start another. So that's what I did!

I took my first online class from Shimelle last fall. It was called You Think You Know Me. She picked ten topics that we were going to dive into and make a mini book about ourselves. This was a somewhat daunting adventure, since I never take pictures of myself and rarely scrapbook beyond my family...mainly my kids. I wanted to take on the challenge. I had just recieved this card (above) in the mail from my sister and it inspired my color palette and mood for my book. So here's how it started...

I bought this mini album by Making Memories that had a (somewhat) clear cover and put the card inside.

Here are my first five pages that went smoothly. The biggest challenge was finding pictures of myself that went with each "mood".

That's where I stopped, and it sat...and sat for several months. I had it displayed and visitors would look at it and I vowed to finish it some day, since it really was a fun book to make. So after reading about getting creative energy to start something new by finishing something unfinished, I took on the task and did the last five moods. Again, it was hard to find the "right" pictures. After deciding to venture into some old photo albums from my childhood, that really helped me finish this project up.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this seemingly unrelated project. So for this week, think about some things that are unfinished in your life. Is there something that you could complete that would give you a burst of energy to start that project that you've been thinking about? Maybe its finishing up the other themes for the Cabinet of Curosities. Maybe it's something unrelated. If you are caught up with everything in your life (lucky you!) then do a piece of art on this theme of ending a journey, reaching the destination and reflecting on where you've been. Can't wait to see what you all come up with:)

Finally, here's something to think about....
Destination: all the discoveries beyond the horizon that are whispering your name. How do you recognize them? When they appear, your senses will celebrate exuberantly. Here's to whatever comes next!!