Click the image to view the full spread on Flickr. WARNING: Mom, Sis, and other close friends – please read this post before clicking through to the full journal page, so you’re aware of the content.

It’s been an interesting day. Last night, I only got about five or six hours of sleep, thanks to the wonders of modern technology (mainly in the form of  Twitter and Peggle on my iPhone). The day has largely flown past me in a sleep dep’ed timewarp of poking the internet and groggily eating my cereal. I did find a little time to do some art; finishing a journal spread I painted last week and added backgroundy bits to last night. It was hands-down the strangest journaling experience I’ve had to date.

You see, last night I dreamed about my father. He passed away on 11/25/09, after a couple of very unexpected weeks in the hospital. Two months later, and I am still in shock. I haven’t been able to journal about it until now, but I’ve known it was coming. Today, with shreds of my dream clinging to my psyche like cobwebs, the need to journal about it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d read about healing through art journals before, and have certainly been doing so on subtler levels for months now, but never before have I experienced the radical and raw feeling of switching back and forth from grief-stricken tears to the joy of an “Aha Moment”. Over and over, I sobbed, wiped my tears away, added a bit more, and then knew the additions I’d made were perfect because they set me to crying again. Agonizing and joyous at the same time.

I was hesitant to even share all of this, as it is so raw and personal. But art is meant to be shared, especially when it teaches. And I wanted – no, needed – to share with the world my experience of how ART HEALS. It’s a truth many artists have found, but it’s one that finds us over and over again. In the past few weeks, I’ve been reading Elkemay’s blog with interest and admiration. She recently lost her own father, and her bravery to create art about her loss and share it with the world has been an inspiration and a comfort to me. More so than I can truly express. It is my sincere hope that I can share a fraction of that with others by sharing my own experience and artwork.

Peace be with you today. ♥