Getting My Hands Dirty

When I’m anxious I make small terrariums in glass jars. I make dry flower arrangements from flowers I’ve purchased or flowers donated by friends. I often get a years worth of lavender from a friend when she cuts hers back. I love that stuff. Thank goodness I don’t have allergies.

I have all kinds of terrariums and terrarium supplies, stuff I wanted to add to my Etsy shop. I haven’t added them because I have no idea how to ship them so I’ve started offering them locally. So far so good. I love getting my hands in that soil, placing driftwood, hand picked stones and tiny little plants into little landscapes.

I’ve struggled with depression recently, depression that feels too heavy to manage alone. Today I made a bit of extra effort to get out of bed and get into something productive which meant working with the fish and terrariums.

I’ve turned a 6 drawer wooden dresser into a feature garden with some of the drawers holding garden supplies like gloves, planters and terrarium supplies.

I’m happy to say my home grown ginger is doing well. I stopped growing yellow turmeric and started with white because I hear white is medicinal. I personally think it works better but I prefer the taste of the yellow. I have sweet potato plants also but they’re only ornamental. I’m not attempting to grow taters here. I’ll tell ya what though, I’d do well to try spinach next year because I go through that stuff quickly.

Today when I was going through soil I kept smiling because it was rich and beautiful. I was way too happy about soil. lol. That’s how I know if my anxiety relief choices work, if I can feel it inside. I touched the soil and thought, ‘That’s what I’m talk’n about right there. Wow.” I’m going to say I reached the desired results while playing in the dirt.

So, what does the painting above have to do with anything? The painting is called The Resolution. I’m going to copy paste the description found on Redbubble where prints of my work are sold. First though, let me explain that the painting is significant now because I need very much to walk out of darkness, and I intend to. The first part of the copy paste is information found in my Art Therapy Gallery.

I have personal color significance and symbols in my art therapy work.
Red: red is sometimes anger but mostly it symbolizes strength, stamina, self worth and positive inner feelings.
Blue and shades of purple symbolize birth rights such as the right to feel safe, the right to speak, the right to say no, the right to LIVE.
Green – growth
Yellow– cowardly acts, fearfulness, weakness, filth and deplorable acts.
Orange (mix of red and yellow) = ambiguity
The color black has come to mean that something or someone is hollow, empty or lifeless.
White – in art therapy only usually symbolizes a perforation, splitting, explosion or implosion.

The painting called Resolution is an original acrylic and oil painting on 6 × 9 heavy paper. If one goes by color code alone then the painting would show strengthened figures walking out of hollow, empty, stress filled cave on the brink of falling in on itself. The figures around show all the emotions that anyone would feel when they walk away. They may not be starting over, just leaving behind what needs to be cut off. The floor the strengthened figures walk on is a ‘slippery’ one. It is of blue, white and black. Will they emerge with the right to be? Without a doubt they will.
Art Title: Resolution

The Resolution is sister piece to the painting below called Pull to Pieces. Both are part of my Madness in Color collection on Redbubble.

Thank you for visiting Sundrip
Faith M. Austin