Footsteps

I recently did some painted pages for a poetry-themed bag book. I did the images and then wrote the verse. In this case, I put the verse on the wrong page ... so I decided to use the same verse on both.

Getting Back to Your Roots

I did an art journal page to go along with some writing for Sunday Scribblings this week.

What are in your roots? Which events have the power to change the direction of that growth?

Tragic acts of violence such as the Virginia Tech and Columbine High School shootings shake me to my very core and stir my soul. My childhood was disturbing … full of trauma and controversy; those feelings of hatred and anger, desperation … feeling like an outcast … the tendency toward self-mutilation and that sense that I was an explosion waiting to happen -- I see those same things in these shooters. It is with great unease that I admit how close I came to wearing the shoes of one who keeps that chain of violence going.

I was one of the lucky ones that crossed paths with counselors that helped me change my destiny. Still you must wonder … what is the difference between me and the shooters. I found my way back to my roots and my roots were planted in whimsy and happiness … yet not everyone is able to make it full-circle back to that beginning. Sometimes events occur that change your path and you feel powerless to stop it.

Perhaps it depends on which is stronger … your roots … or the pull of events that gnarl and twist your branches changing the direction of your growth.