Journaling Through the Women's Center

Late last fall, The Women's Center at Lakeland Community College commissioned me to create two pieces of artwork for them.  One piece was to be a "mascot" that they could easily transport with them to recruiting and program events.  The other piece was to be a permanent, interactive "bulletin board" that would allow for end-of-year reflection from the women of the various Women's Center Programs: SMART (Single Mothers Achieving Real Triumph), WILL (Women Inspired by Lifelong Learning), and WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) and WOW (Women on Wednesdays). It was both an honor and pleasure to complete these art pieces for the Women's Center.

"Women helping women" is both the motto and practice of the Women's Center, and anyone who has had the pleasure of working with these women will tell you that the center has a special place in their heart.  Conducting journaling workshops with these inspiring women is one of the most rewarding activities in my life.

The vision for this artwork began with a quote given to me by the center's directors: "And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~Anais Nin .  I magnetized the bottom third of this 48" x 36" canvas with magnetic paint and created the painting using acrylics. 

I am thrilled to have been able to contribute to this end-of-year project, but the real story lies in the reflection and creativity of the amazing women who have completed goals and experienced success in completing their first year of college - many of them returning to school after 20 or more years!  I applaud your courage and tenacity in finding your voice, overcoming fears and ignoring those who would say "no".  It was a great pleasure to work with you all and to share in your triumph if only for a few hours.

The Journaling Project: Journaled Magnets

To save time, I designed two different floral templates and traced them onto paper.  I applied 80lb copy paper to  5" x 8" magnetic sheets and traced the floral patterns onto them.  I was able to get 3 magnets per sheet. I cut the magnets apart for distributing, but the class cut out there own shapes.  I've found it better to leave as much room as possible around the finished shape to allow for more accurate trimming later.  The class was asked to reflect back over this past year and to think about how they have blossomed from the tight bud.  They used magazines, markers, glue sticks and crayons to transform their blooms.

By the way, did I mention there was LOTS of yummy food? I seem to recall someone mentioning that maybe gluttony should be considered as one of the things we share. We're not only creatives, we're comedians!

The finished project!  Every magnet was an amazing, inspirational work of art. Thank you for sharing, ladies.

It was an amazing morning and I am so honored to have been a participant.  As is always the case with these journaling workshops, I took away with me far more than I left behind.  Thank you all so very, very much.