Callagrace's Blog

It’s interesting to me how the mind works and how it reacts to stressful situations. Stress can incapacitate a person. They can become depressed, angry or experience phantom pain as a result of too much stress. Knowing that my bodies initial response is to become withdrawn and depressed, I decided I needed to start engaging in something that would focus my mind elsewhere. It has been a while since I have forced myself to paint everyday, but it felt like now was a good time to start up again.

I want to start by saying that I would never ask for a different life. I love the life I was given but it can be stressful at times. Things that should be exciting and happy can be surrounded by stressful situations. For instance getting married, buying a home, having a baby, all of these are wonderful happy events and yet when you ask most people, they will tell you it was stressful. So you may be wondering what my recent stressor was and well it is buying a home. My husband and I are delighted, but it has been overwhelming at times. I assume this feeling will continue until I am holding keys in my hand.

I’m not sure what really started the new series of work, only that it came from this exercise of painting when stressed. The pieces have become much more involved and the integration of hands seems to have come very naturally. I initially thought it was due to so many bodies being involved in the stressful activity but now I’m not so sure. I am no longer chasing the meaning merely letting it play out. The images feel like a much more mature body of work for me and I am very excited to see the other works that develop out of this phase. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I’ve included a few images of recent works. You can see others on my daily site, 365Days1Year.com. Enjoy and see you next time.