Thursday, March 17, 2011

Quiet Courage

Mary Anne Radmacher


Lately I've been spending quite a bit of time feeling courageous and simultaneously very fragile.  I am definitely used to roaring my way through life. Barreling ahead, taking action, making an impact.   This quiet courage thing is a whole new mindset and a way of being that is not yet comfortable.  AT ALL.  At the end of the day I whisper to myself: I will try again tomorrow.  And then the next day comes to an end, and then the next, and I DO try again through each tomorrow.  And I remain quiet when I want to roar because I don't have a clue what to roar at or about and truth be told, I'm kinda tired of roaring anyway.So my days are full of trying and my nights are full with promises of trying to try.  Again and again and again. And in between the trying and right along side of it I make art.  I found some interesting kid's books at our library's used book sale, so I adopted a few and did my best Dr. Frankenstein (or do you say Steen?) impression.  I dissected and sewed and taped and glued and created a lovely new book from an old, discarded relic.  So lovely that it was bought before I even had time to think about selling it.  It was bought as a special gift for a special person and I hope he loves it as much as I loved creating it.  Here's a few photos of the finished book:
David Goes to School - front cover
Inside cover with vintage library check out card;
 a real card but not the one for this actual book.
One of over 50 inside pages.
Lots of pockets to hold lots of memories.
Did you have a Tiny Tears doll?  I did!

Books are so much easier to re-create than people, but as I continue working to piece together a lovely new Laure from an old discarded relic, I will indeed remember to try again tomorrow. And tomorrow.  And tomorrow again.  Roar.

8 comments:

  1. Great job on the journal. I love the library pocket page. I'm visiting from the ROD class. I just started and am so inspired by the pics that you are all posting. :)

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  2. Thanks for the feedback, Kimberlee; you'll LOVE working on ROD journals!

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  3. Laure, you are quite a talented writer as well as artist. I read your posts with interest. I also live with fibromyalgia with bipolar disorder thrown in for extra fun! Thank you for your candor about your struggles. It reinforces to me the fact that others also struggle and survive and understand.

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  4. I´ve been here for the first time today via Alphastamps, and I must say that I love your blogheader - cool stuff!

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  5. Adorable! So much fun to see - thanks for sharing!

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  6. I appreciate your comments. I do struggle, mightily at times, and yes, I do survive. I think the more we go through, the more we understand. Maybe it's how we learn tolerance. You're a survivor, too, and I wish you strength for the journey. Be gentle with yourself and I'll try to remember to do the same for me. Peace,

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  7. Love your journals. Thanks so much for sharing and I enjoyed checking out your blog. Laura

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  8. Thanks, Laura, and right back at you. I'm following your awesome site!

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Thanks for visiting Chaos and Art. I appreciate your comments and hope you stop by again soon. Until then, create a little havoc of your own!