Obstructed for years,
Creative juices now flow
Finding their way home.
A few weeks ago, a friend asked if my husband and I wanted some of the left over wood from the construction of her new house. She wondered they could sell it at the thrift store my husband manages. We loaded his truck with scrap wood of various shapes and sizes. With my friend’s blessing, I saved the pieces that wanted me to paint on them. I like to use the knots in the wood as faces or halos and to look for wings and things in the grain.

Close up of an angel I painted a few years ago.
The following week, I had just left the local bookstore in a shopping village downtown, when I was drawn into a new store that only sells locally made arts and crafts. Entering this store for the first time, I felt good vibes. Much of the art hanging on soft yellow walls was painted on or cut out of wood. I showed the manager photos of my art from my phone. We scheduled a time to bring in my work to show the owner.
Then, on that same morning, I went to a yoga class I had not been to in two weeks. After the class, my book came up in conversation with one the studio owners who happened to be there. She asked me to do a book signing there this summer, maybe along with a workshop.
The next week, I met with the owner of the local art store. SheΒ liked my work and agreed to hang it. I just needed to set prices – not an easy task.
This morning, I dropped off 24 pieces of my art ready to find new homes. It was like sending little pieces of me out into the world – uncomfortable, yet exciting. It helps to remind myself that they weren’t doing anybody any good collecting dust in my spare bedroom studio.

I call her Umbrella Angel
Now, I seem to be finding all kinds of things to paint on at the thrift store – wooden trays, boxes, and wood cut outs to be re-purposed into “canvas.”
All of these opportunities are things I did not consciously plan. They were not on my list of strategies to build my creative new life.
Yet, at the end of last year, I made the decision to quit my long time counseling career to focus on art and writing full time.
I believe the universe is conspiring, as commissioned by God, to work on my behalf. At the same time, I’m going with the flow: walking into that gallery I had not planned to go to, going to the yoga class on that particular day and time….
(It’s the same flow my high school sweetheart was going with when he found me 39 years later.)
Sometimes these things take a while. I loved art and writing as a teenager, but chose a different career path. Now, at the age of 61, I’m finally coming back home to my art.

“The Gift,” which I painted on an old wooden box top two years ago, has been waiting patiently.
If it can happen to me, itΒ can happen to everyone.
Never
give
up
on
your
dreams!
June 1, 2017 at 1:48 pm
π
June 1, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Thanks, Tink. π
June 1, 2017 at 3:16 pm
Wow these are beautiful. I love Umbrella Angel too! Wow! π
June 1, 2017 at 4:58 pm
Thank you, Michelle. I appreciate your enthusiasm! π
June 1, 2017 at 3:53 pm
Lovely!
June 1, 2017 at 4:44 pm
Thanks, Harlon!
June 1, 2017 at 5:18 pm
I just loved reading this Joanna π The flow is a beautiful thing and the synchronicities that happen as a result are WONDERFUL!! I’m so happy for you and I have a really good feeling for your newfound idea of finding vintage boxes…etc…i think the pieces that want to be painted will jump right out in front of you π
Sweet blessings β€
June 1, 2017 at 10:30 pm
Thank you so much for your support, Lorrie. Sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming the way some things have fallen into place, but then, I have been dabbling with this for awhile, and now, it’s time to be an artist. I appreciate your good feeling! π
June 1, 2017 at 11:14 pm
Enjoy this time, JoAnna…beautiful artist! π
June 1, 2017 at 11:43 pm
β€
June 1, 2017 at 9:33 pm
So so beautiful!! ππΌπ»ππΌπ»π
June 1, 2017 at 10:31 pm
Thanks, Trini! β€
June 7, 2017 at 1:11 am
You have such a great blog! So many quality posts.
π¦ I wish I had more time to check it all out
Thank you for finding time to stop by my page so frequently. As soon as things slow down for me a bit, I plan on binge reading this site. Really great content!!!
June 7, 2017 at 4:59 pm
Thank you for that lovely compliment! I understand about time. I always spend time on the blogs of new followers or commenters, but life has a way of distracting me. So feel free to nudge me. I stopped by your page frequently because I liked it! π
July 7, 2017 at 9:43 pm
I like this! βΊοΈ David Wilcock has a book about synchronicity in reading right now. Thanks for the post βΊοΈ
July 8, 2017 at 12:35 am
My pleasure! It’s a fascinating topic. Thanks for reading. I’ll look that book up.