Growing up my grandmother gave me lots of life advice. I think the most important advice she gave me is this; Do not let your heart be the lead when making important life decisions, use your brain. Now, I know that sounds harsh, but to a kid that made a lot of sense.  After all, how could my heart possibly help me to make a big life decision?

One day I walked by a paint brush laying on my kitchen table. A brush left laying there by my granddaughter, Maddy. I clearly remember picking it up, twirling it through my fingers and flicking the bristles back and forth across the top of my fingernails. Something about the way that brush made my heart flutter and my brain wonder intrigued me. This was the first time in my life that I had refused to follow my grandmother’s advice and instead made a decision based, not on logic, but on a deeply emotionally charged heart full of pain and yearning. I jumped in feet first and never once thought about the consequence of my actions. Seriously, what could happen to me by doing this? I was looking at a paint brush, then I was playing with color, paints and oh the joys of gesso, ideas just poured out of me. All kinds of beautiful, wonderfully colored views. It felt like a rebirth. I felt new again, I felt shiny and bright again. I am an artist.

Painting on canvas was part of an awakening within me. This was my way of explaining that sometimes you just have to go with what your heart is telling you. Don’t ignore it, or try to make it logical, just jump in feet first.

I have painted many canvases with some kind of hearts either attached, made out of newspaper, made out of plain paper, brightly colored, hearts with words scrolled across them and I have painted many different things since that first canvas. I joyfully subscribe to the yearning for creativity in my heart and not the logic in my head. The stories in my heart are endless. My story is to be continued……… What stories do you have in your heart?