Anxiety. What if Painting

All “What if” roads lead nowhere

Of course my head has been everywhere. I don’t feel good at all and the pain of this is constant. At first I thought, it’s just more pain, something I can ignore. I still think that but this is a new pain so I worry about not knowing what the pain means. Is my stomach hurting because the fibroid is larger than before or because it’s pressing against my bladder more? Is it pressing against a nerve in my leg making it hurt, too? So many questions and so few answers.

The GYN associated with the hospital that I’m firing isn’t helpful in one single bit. I called them and left a message. They called me back but I was on the other line with my Hematologist and couldn’t pick up. I figured I’d call them back. When I listened to their message they told me that when they call I need to answer the phone. I was like, what did she just say? “When you call you need to answer the phone.” Really? So I called them back and explained on their voicemail why I was unable to pick up and to please call me again. That was three days ago. I won’t even speculate why they haven’t called back other than to say that they are just a bad hospital and I don’t want to deal with them. I guess their unwillingness to be helpful is yet another clue that I don’t need anything to do with them.

I called because I have questions. I figured I could get my answers and then follow through with my plan to wait for the new provider for treatment. But getting answers from them is a joke. I can’t get through and no one is calling back.

Anxiety is high. I’m spending the extra energy on art and books. I did a tiny little drawing called “What if – Map to Nowhere”. It’s based on the understanding that all ‘what if’ roads lead nowhere. Here in bright colors are all the roads going this way and that way, leading nowhere. It’s a reminder of the map that takes you in circles with no resolution. It is pointless to go round and round with ‘what if this happens’ or ‘what if that happens’? So instead of keeping it all in my head I put in on a 2.5 x 3.5 inch wooden panel and put a magnet on the back. It’s refrigerator art ๐Ÿ™‚

Do you need a reminder concerning maps that lead to nowhere? I put this tiny little painting in my shop in the Pay it Forward section. I’ll keep adding tiny art in that section so I can pass along the reminder to keep hoping and keep looking forward. Check it out at www.Sundrip.etsy.com . (SOLD)

Okay, on to the second little tiny art piece I did to relieve anxiety. This one is called Eye to Eye and is also 2.5 x 3.5. The finish on it really brings out the colors. It’s not a magnet though. I’d like to see this one with a tiny little easel displayed nicely.

A few entries ago I talked about Tiny Art. Safe Art where I discussed how this tiny canvas feels safer for me right now. It’s not so huge, like life, and is easier to manage and complete. I’m having a lot of fun creating them, too. It’s something to accomplish that I enjoy and that helps with the anxiety. There will surely be more to come.

I’ve also started on another doll which will be unlike any other doll I’ve shown on Sundrip. She’s not for sale though. I created one a month back and she sold very quickly. I never put her in the shop or showed her on the net because I wasn’t sure how well she’d go over. I did, however, show her to two people in person and one person through email. They all liked her. I’m making another for me because I’m moved to do it. So far I’ve got the body sewn and painted. I’m afraid of showing her because she’s nothing like the other dolls. She’s emotional. I’m worried about the reception so yeah, showing her on the blog doesn’t feel safe just yet. I would be crushed if a cruel comment came in, absolutely crushed.

So, I sit. I wait. I read. I’m currently enjoying The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I paint tiny pictures and sew emotional dolls while hoping beyond everything August comes very quickly.

Faith

Tiny Art. Safe Art.

Sometimes I paint on a tiny little canvas because it feels less overwhelming and very doable. Larger canvas is hard to manage so I don’t mess with that at all but even at times an 8 x 10 piece of paper is daunting, so I pull out a small little canvas and let my mind play.

Lately I’ve painted sunflower after sunflower. It’s my go to art symbol that represents an array of mixed and confusing emotion with dissociation and multiplicity. One thing I recently learned about the sunflower is that when the sun isn’t out sunflowers face each other and sort of share energy.

The sunflower is the absolute perfect symbol of multiplicity. It’s got all those little lives (seeds) in its head. It can be a larger than life support system for itself and others which I find very, very cool.

One tiny painting included in this entry shows a little black girl hanging on to a huge sunflower. The other is a sunflower abstract. Each painting is on a 2.5 x 3.5 inch birch wood canvas. I used acrylic paint and ink then gave them a gloss finish. These little tiny art pieces would have originally shown up in my Etsy shop, however, they’ve been sold.

In between creating tiny art there is more doll making and art journaling, which I shall share at a later date.

Thanks for visiting Sundrip. If this is your first time then, welcome. If you are a regular reader, thanks so much for coming back.

Faith

Mariah the Flower Girl Handmade Bag Holder Doll

Mariah is approximately 24 inches long in her sweat plaid, red dress and white ruffle bib accented with a red flower. In her textured yarn hair she wears one white flower.

Mariah’s golden brown skin was created with acrylic paint on cotton fabric. Her cheeks are rosy red and her eyes wide and beautiful.

If you’d like to adopt this sweet girl, please visit my Etsy shop at www.Sundrip.etsy.com.

Thank you for visiting SUNDRIP- Art for Life

Anxiety. Art. Gratitude.

The Sun Will Rise – Nightmares, Multiple Personality Disorder, eyes and flowers. Watercolor and ink 7 x 10

I’m still screaming and fighting in my sleep about things that happened two and a half decades ago. It makes me wonder if I will ever have peaceful sleep. I feel like I have a measure of peace in my waking hours but sleep is haunted, vicious.

I See – A deformed girl in a garden of eyes and flowers. Watercolor and ink. 7 x 10

Today my anxiety took a turn for the worse. I’ve started seeing things move out of the corner of my eye, things that aren’t there when I turn to see. I recognize this as a symptom of my anxiety. It’s a warning to me that I’ve got to put my best coping skills in the front so I can calm down.

Anxiety really got bad when I received an alert over my phone saying that Indiana is now under a curfew. What perilous times we live in. I was comforted by the fact that the elders from the Kingdom Hall (my place of worship) contacted me to let me know that there’s a curfew and I should take it seriously and be inside for my safety. They offered a few practical suggestions that also helped me feel safer and less anxious.

Tomorrow starts another day, one I do not feel will be any better than today. It will be a mess, but I will meet it with my head up and my heart full of hope.

This takes me to the newest purchase. First off, I sold 4 dolls and 7 art pieces in two weeks so I decided to buy something special for myself. I purchased a leather bound journal for my gratitude entries. I’m so happy with it. I love it.

9 x 5

I’ve got a special pen, given to me by a special friend, that I’ll use for this very special gratitude journal. It’s so pretty in person that I hesitated to write in it for two days. I wrote my first entry today which gave thanks for the people I’m surrounded by that are my family of choice.

Today I took the opportunity to express my love for family and friends by making calls and sending emails. I’m not quite finished yet. I want to make a tiny little difference in their day with an encouraging call, text or email. As I said, we live in perilous times and people are probably just as anxious as I’ve been. I guess I just want to recognize that by reaching out.

That’s all for this evening.

Faith

Kamila the African American Handmade Bag Holder Doll

Kamila is about 23 inches long with shoulder length brown hair made of thin and thick yarn. The type of yarn used adds wonderful texture and depth to Kamila. The mocha color accents her beautiful brown eyes and skin.

What I love about Kamila is her dress. The maroon / rich burgundy dress, which leads down into a holder for bags, is a handmade garment accented by gold paisley embroidery. She wears the dress well.

The body of the doll is hand crafted and hand painted cotton fabric with poly fill. Your doll is a one of a kind, signed and tagged as a Sundrip doll.

NOTE : This doll is not meant to be a toy and includes small beads.

You may see Kamila in my Etsy shop along with other original dolls and original art at www.Sundrip.etsy.com.

Thank you for visiting SUNDRIP – Art for Life

Faith

Sewing with a machine as an amputee

I sat down to hand sew dolls but my hands cramped and spasmed terribly. I thought I’d try to see if I could use my sewing machine despite half a foot amputated and despite significant nerve damage. I had my CNA bring it to the table but I didn’t try anything until after she left because I didn’t want to embarrass myself if I couldn’t properly feel and safely control the pedal.

There was all kinds of anxiety because I worried I’d press the pedal at the wrong time and sew my hand or something. Anxiety was high but so was my drive to find out if I could do it and save myself some pain while making dolls.

When I turned it on I acclimated myself to how the pedal felt under my foot. I got my brain to recognize the new sensation without automatically recoiling. After a few minutes I pushed the pedal with the machine turned off. I got used to that and got brave enough to turn it on.

I’m so happy I tried. I’ve used the machine several times now and what I discovered is that the nerve damage affects sewing ability. Sometimes the stump hurts too much to add any pressure at all or I can’t feel or control the stump enough to press the pedal. Those issues prevent me from regularly using the machine, but when I can I will use it to my advantage.

It’s been a week since I’ve used the sewing machine but when I was able I sewed the hands and legs for six dolls.

My hands want to give me trouble and my feet are a mess but between the two I am able to offer up dolls I’m proud of. They’re now about 25% sewn by machine but 100% homemade. I still hand paint the flesh tone, put it all together by hand and hand stitch in the hair. I still hand draw and hand paint the faces. The only thing that has changed is using the machine to create the arms and legs. Later down the road I may use the machine to help make the doll’s dress. We’ll have to see where my confidence leads me.

As mentioned in my last entry, I’ve started making bears again. I’m not using the machine with these which means it’s taking longer to finish them. I will post my finished products as soon as possible.

Until soon….

Faith

Handmade Bag Holder Doll With Red Hair

Cordelia is about 23 inches long with beautiful long red hair, green eyes with long lashes and a green-blue dress. Her hair long bag holder dress is decorated with fringe and holds standard bags for recycling purposes. You may also hang her for decoration.

Cordelia is a work of art created with hand painted cotton fabric, hand threaded yarn hair, polyfill and upcycled materials. She is a one of a kind, signed and tagged Sundrip doll.

You may see more photos of Cordelia in my Etsy shop at www.Sundrip.etsy.com.

SOLD

Four New Dolls

This is work in progress. Four new dolls. Four new faces on the way in my Etsy shop.

Work in Progress

This is what they look like before their skin is painted, eyes given life and hair sewn in. As you’ll notice, there are no legs. Why? Because these are bag holder dolls in progress not art dolls.

Below is a small gallery of dolls currently available for adoption in my Etsy shop at www.Sundrip.etsy.com .

I’m in love with doll making and have currently thrown my energy into them. For a little while I thought I was finished creating them but the drive is quite strong right now so I will continue to sew, paint and present. I hope you like them.

Faith

Pauline Handmade Original Art Doll

Pauline doll is about 12.5 inches long with beautiful brown hair and light brown eyes. Her cotton, creme colored dress is detailed with lace as are her pantaloons. Her hair is dark brown textured yarn, hanging long.

She has soft, brown, dreamy eyes.

Pauline’s hair can be pinned up or worn long.

You may visit Pauline in my Etsy shop atร‚ย www.Sundrip.etsy.comร‚ย where more photos are available. SOLD

Thank you for visiting SUNDRIP รขโ‚ฌโ€œ Art for Life

Faith

Delilah African American Handmade Doll

Delilah doll is about 17.5 inches long and is sweet and lovable with her bright, beautiful brown eyes. Her blue flower dress is made of cotton and her hair is dark brown textured yarn, hanging long.
Delilah is an art doll made of hand painted cotton fabric.

NOTE : This doll is not meant to be a toy. She is a shelf sitter.

What soft, expressive eyes.

You may visit her in my Etsy shop atร‚ย www.Sundrip.etsy.com where more photos are available. ** SOLD **

Thank you for visiting SUNDRIP – Art for Life

Faith