Inner peace

ARRRRGH

There are times I find myself sounding like Shi-fu from Kung-Fu Panda constantly repeating,
Ommmmmm...innner peeaaace... innnner, inner peeeeeeeeeeeeeeace...!

which inevitably gets me more irritated as I can't seem to get my mind clear , focused and regain that cool, calm stillness that was CLEARLY there not too long ago and now cannot be found.
I find myself in this circumstance most often when I am doing to duties of a good friend/coworker/new friend at a party/bar role and lending my sympathetic ear only to find that the person talking to me is happy to simply WALLOW and really doesn't care to fix the problem, or have a conversation even. They just want someone standing there to talk at so that they don't feel/seem all that insane talking to themselves. And because they are wallowing over a magnified nothing, they can't find anything to be grateful for even if they were one of the luckiest people I've come across.

Truly, I enjoy being there for my friends and lending an ear or two , or three to help vent out some steam over some sort of beverage because we all need that sometimes. I'm even willing to wallow with you and cry it out and throw things together if need be; but don't bring back the horse from the dead just so that you can beat at it a little more and don't lose reason altogether?

This piece was inspired by an acquaintance/friend I've only been hanging out with for a few months. She was super lonely and was having a lot of confidence problems because guys were just not that interested and she had too much pride to let them go and accept that he may have not been the one. Months of "how dare he"s and plotting schemes to make the guys feel horrible and regain their interests so she can reject them.
Never you mind that you're working a minimum wage job but can afford to live in a condo and party daily because your devote family would not let the youngest on the street or go without something she wants, including your rich and protective brother. First world problems, let me tell you!

Either way, she was invading my mind and I couldn't get a string of productivity out even if the world depended on it. So I decided to play in my art journal and let my emotions rule over the pages.

I glued on some bright red tissue paper left over from I don't know what, using...regular dollar store white glue to get some folds to add texture. The I took some paint out (again, from the dollar store) and just painted the thing black. Then brown. The I splattered them using the brush - which turned out to be super therapeutic and there were layers and layers of that until i was done.


As I was starting to feel better, I wanted to do make something on this paper. I am really thrilled about this page because it finally allowed me to use a magazine cut out I've been holding on to for EVER. it's a beautiful vector art and I thought she was fitting to demonstrate inner peace.
I Outlined her with this "PUFFY PAINT" (guess where I got it? the Dollar store) to outline her and accentuate her and smudged Glitter Glue all over her body (that's right, from the dollar store -trend?).

I cut a piece of paper and painted it bright yellow - regular printer paper - and painted the quote on.

It's such a great quote. Truth be told I am sure I drove a few of my friends insane with my wallowing and disturbed their inner peace; but, what can you do but be a friend? Its tricky to learn to be sympathetic but not get so emotionally invested that you lose your balance and ability to do what YOU need to do.
There will also be the cases when behaviours of people you don't care to acquaint yourself with disturbs your inner peace...because it affects you in some way.

Conclusion: art is so much more therapeutic and effective than meditation (for me anyway).

Hope you liked <3

Love always,
Shines