It's Friday, Friday, Friday!

A quick post today before the weekend...

Here are some amazing blog posts I've read this week and videos I've watched:

• Julie Fei-Fan Balzer finding inspiration on a trip to Provincetown and showing how she sees art layouts in almost everything!
• Every single video by the "One Minute Muse" on You Tube;
• Watching this beautiful canvas come together by Christy Tomlinson.

The One Minute Muse videos inspired me to use modeling paste on this design, which I did for the Mojo Monday sketch challenge, as well as for the Run With Scissors Day 27 Prompt, which was "what touched your heart today."  Here's the sketch, and here's my interpretation.  It's hard to see in the scan, but the circles around the main design are all raised with the modeling paste.  It was so much fun and I hope to use it more. (Next time, I'll remember to take some pictures of the process.)

What touched my heart yesterday (and frankly touches my heart daily), was my sweet husband tip-toeing into our room at 4:45 AM to go to bed.  He works four nights a week, and tries so hard not to wake me when he comes home.  He wakes up every day at noon, and then does all he can to give me time to paint.  He does the laundry, keeps the kitchen clean, takes our younger daughter to many of her afternoon activities, and is just the nicest, kindest, most open-hearted person I have ever met.  I learn compassion, patience, and kindness from him on a daily basis.  So yesterday morning, when he unintentionally made some noise when coming into our room, I thought it's fine, because every morning just gives me another day to love him.  (collective awwwww.....)   I'm going to link this up to Try it On Tuesday's Anything Goes Challenge, and the Anything Goes Challenge blog, which has a Polka dot with a birthday theme prompt.  I think this would make a nice birthday card, don't you?  Also, please go to Paint Party Friday and check out this, and all the great work there.   

Day 28's RWS prompt was to "list 10 journal prompts that you could possibly use in your journal, after this class is over."  Over the past few weeks, I have been cutting words out of the New York Times' headlines to use in art journaling.  I randomly pulled out 10, and created prompts based on them.  It's hard to read my handwriting, so I'll write them below.

1.  Taking a Chance:  When did I take a chance - a leap of faith - how did it turn out?

2.  How Well They Teach:  Who do I see or have I seen as important teachers in my life?  What did I learn?

3.  Inventing the Future:  Where do I want ot be 5, 10, 15 years from now?

4.  Sacrifices:  What have I given up in the past to live the life I lead in the present?  What would I give up now to lead the life I want to lead in the future?

5.  Radical to Mundane and to Radical Again:  What once seemed new that now feels old and boring?  How can I see it as new again?

6.  Future Imperfect:  what is different about my life than what I once expected it to be?  How is the way it turned out perfect or imperfect?

7.  Triumphs and Defeats:  What do I see as triumphs and defeats in my life?  What have they taught me?  Have I ever learned more from "defeats," than "triumphs?"

8.  Security:  What makes me feel safe and secure?  Where do I go for comfort and refuge?

9.  Divided by God: What does "God" mean to me?  How does "God" or the sacred figure in my life?

10:  Friendship:  What do I value most in a friendship?  Who best embodies this in my life?

11:  Lifelong Fan:  What have I consistently been a fan of, or valued, in my life?

12:  Sink or Swim:  What challenge do I need to just "jump in" to?  What does "sink" mean to me?

If you use any of these as inspiration (and feel free to do so), please link back and let me know!

As always, thank you for visiting! If you are so moved, please leave a comment. Hearing from you means the world to me.