Arting and Documenting Through Advent

Hi friends,

I'm sorry I've been MIA.  

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Here we are... the last month of 2020. 

As I began to really realize this year would soon be over

part of me sighed outloud.  I mean so many things have happened.  

I've  found myself  kind of  focusing on all the bad .  

Tallying up 2020... remembering annoyances...social distancing, paper product hoarding, loneliness, illness and death, rioting... financial hardships...layoffs,  the list goes on.  

But as I finish out recording 2020,

I pray for my focus to be on  the blessings and 

gifts in all the many everyday, ordinary,  beautiful, little, moments and breaths.  

 Sugarcoat the bad things... never.

Truth always.  

But I'd rather remember the  whatsoevers of Philippians 4:8- 

the true,

the noble, the right, the pure, the lovely, admirable,

excellent and praiseworthy... to think on those things- 

and  the peace of God will be with me. 

So here we are in this season of Advent.

Waiting for our Jesus to come... 

I listened to a webinar this week that was very different from how I ever learned to "do" Advent.   

 ... I  learned alot.  

Like I never really understood how to do an advent wreath.  

We never had one in our house that I ever remember.  

I've seen the pink and purple candles and often wondered how you "do" all that? 

And I didn't know some people "give up" something for Advent like they do for Lent. 

Never even heard of that before??  

What I loved most hearing about was the color purple ... royalty... and 

some of you know my love for Lydia the seller of purple.  

How she first worshipped and God opened her heart.  

Those are some of the things I've thought of  beginning this Advent.

A few things that have  stood out to me these first days.  

Then I started  the book I found in Missouri.   

I knew it was the one soon as I saw her.

Beautiful and plain ... even though she's  falling apart.  

 

Wasn't too hard getting her pages removed. 

And look at all that crumbly thready yummy loveliness. 

I saved every little bit...to try to add back into my journal.

I love the strings the signatures were sewn with...

The first pages of antique books are usually my favorites. 

But this is my most favorite. 

The inscription: Merry Christmas.

I took this out soooo carefully.  

Merry Christmas

1877 in fountain pen! 

143 beautiful years old.  

Her spine was coming unhinged... and a little see through.

 So I tore a piece of fabric

and used thick gel medium to give it some spinal oomph. 

It dried good and strong. 

As I typed that I heard my Mama scold ..

"Girl you need to grow you some backbone!" 

She told me that more than once... 

and now my special book grew her one too.  

I added  book binding tape to her spine too ... and I'm truly just winging it.  

-the whole point is to "hold it together' right?. 

I'm hoping the fabric frays more... -mental note to next time

cut it a little longer than my book.

The inscription page is now glued  inside the front cover.  

After I write  current date and my name beneath it, I think 

I'll add clear gesso on top so it doesn't get torn or  worn away. 

-Or ... get covered up by an accidental  splatter or oozing.  

Then I began finding papers to use for pages  that kind of match my cover. 

I know brown is not very Christmasy to some but I love the earthiness. 

Brown for advent makes me think of the manger.  

This piece of  handmade paper is earthy in that my saved flowers and grasses 

are imbedded in the fibers..  So for me it kinda fits... 

 I've found it doesn't work too great to bend handmade paper- so 

I used that bookbinding tape since it's so wide right down the middle.

I did that on both sides and folded it.  It should hold this paper together and  it will be what 

sandwiches all the other pages inside.

For the other papers I used coffee stained typing paper and watercolor papers

and folded those to put in the middle. 

Then I looked through a big jar of shiny ribbons my mentor Cora sent me long ago.

I found a pretty gold one and some other fibers from other friends.

Gathering them together, I tied them around the spine of my book.

It will be what keeps the pages inside.  I like doing it this way because you

can add things and remove them without any trouble.  

This is how I learned to do it through Kasia's advent prompts

at Everything Art.  

I'm following along this year too.

-  

Past advent art journals I really didn't write in  much. 

But this year  I hope to write this  journey as well.  

... to write what I'm learning... prayers, gratitudes... where and how God meets me...

scripture... where I find sacred and holiness... 

Not being worried how any of it really looks other than 

making ROOM for him in the Inn of this olde  heart.

The truth of things.  

So I also grabbed a stack of really good paper to journal on every single day in fountain pen.

Those will be tucked inside as well.  

After getting the book pages all together I looked through a box of saved papers.  

These all grabbed me and were set aside.  

Especially the faces on book pages. 

I knew I had to use this one... 

Because my truths this week 

have been hard to face.   

Even red faced.

Documenting it all 

 during 

  advent. 

I'm thankful .. His love still comes down.

... even in all the mess we are walking in.

And the little snippits I found  ... like this one..

Emmanuel... are gifts reminding me my God is with me even still.  With us... 

No matter what.  

I wrote a prayer to my Immanuel just this evening.  

Just for Him.  

Sealed in wax.    

It's all tucked inside- 

As I  wait for His coming.  

As the days go  on I'll try to share more.    If you don't mind

all my messy imperfection... come on back. 

Thanks for sharing with me today.  

Until we meet again,

<*)))><