This week is Thanksgiving, and it’s a time when we often think about gratitude and connect with family.

 

 

For the past couple months I’ve been working in a journal I made myself, all with a focus on connections as part of an online art journal community called Get Messy. Perfect, isn’t it? I think I’ve mentioned it here before, but the Get Messy group is a lot of fun to be a part of, and the convenience of an international online community means there’s almost always someone else working in an art journal at any time of day or night.

 

With the focus on connections it seemed appropriate to share my journal here, especially since I was surprised by the way family emerged as a theme. I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised, but I began by approaching it from a much broader perspective so when the old photos kept calling to me (these were only replicas of random vintage photos, not originals) it was unexpected.

 

The other part that surprised me was the way I felt pushed to incorporate photos of myself as well. I almost never do this. So I’m sure you’ll understand when I say this journal ended up feeling  pretty personal.

 

There are many reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving, even in the midst of a year that for many has been quite challenging. I think when we choose to focus our attention on those beautiful things, those which call forth our best qualities and values, we can always find examples of these in real time. It’s a great week to do this!

 

Here are some of my favorite pages and a quick two-part video flip through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!