Memories can slip away unless we slow down and name them through art and/or journaling. I had the unexpected blessing of spending a week with my (new) daughter-in-law when she joined our mission trip to Mexico. I wrote down the key words and phrases that described our time together. We share purple as our favorite color, so I used that as the theme color for the background, words, and flowers made out of encaustics which represent the beauty of the Baja plus the beautiful time we spent together. I chose exposed words from a previously painted with white gesso page which also expressed the joy of our growing relationship.
I also included scrapbook items from the trip: a map a few phrases torn from tourist publications, and a snapshot of us together. I toned down the brightness of the words and encaustic flowers on the two pages (left) with a layer of pearl acrylic glaze over all (below). I wanted to choose one key word that expressed my experience-one BOLD TYPE word that summed up the time spent with my daughter-in-law. I painted PEACE with three layers of acrylic glaze, using an increasingly slightly wider flat brush. The finished journal page isn't about "art" or "theology" but about a beautiful (growing) relationship. It is encouraging to experience the presence of the peace of God in relationship, which is what this reflection names: PEACE.
