A Give 52 Final Reflection

Cheryl Houston Art
Exercise P from Y is for Yellow Class
with teacher, Carla Sonheim.

It's been two weeks since I gave out the last drawing of my Give 52 quest and I've been reflecting on what accomplishing the quest means to me.

I wish I could tell you that I'm overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and pride and I've scored a huge deal with an art agent and I'm going to be the next Frida Kahlo, Pabla Picasso and Salvador Dali all rolled up into one while illustrating a ton of books and painting a ton of paintings but my reality is the same as it always has been.

While I am proud of the art that I created and of the courage I had to send it out into the world, for whatever reason I feel a certain disconnect. Maybe it's just that feeling you get when something ends but I feel disconnected from friends, family and community for a variety of different life reasons but at my core, when I ask myself, "Who are you?" I feel more like an artist than I ever have felt before- even when I was in art school. Even though, I've always been an artist. Maybe that was the whole purpose of the quest - recognizing my own purpose.

What happens next is a mystery to me but if I can keep nurturing my talent, following my curiosity, and sharing it with others, I believe good things will come.

Thank you so much for following along with my Give 52 Quest and I hope you will join me on my new website Cheryl Houston Art where I'll continue sharing my art stories on a new blog.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 50 - This Beautiful Life

Give 52 Week 50
Cheryl Houston 2016

I don't remember the first time someone tagged me in a photo of Alisa Burke's big, beautiful flower wall but I fell in love with her work immediately. There's so much to love.

She is my art hero in many ways. Her story inspires and encourages me. 

Her and her husband were living in California and when they decided to have a baby, they also decided to chose a simpler life. They moved back to Oregon where Alisa grew up. They quit their jobs and they developed Alisa's art business. 

Dreams. Goals.

The other really cool thing I learned about Alisa is her parents are potters. Potters. They make pottery! I'm sorry mom and dad, but why couldn't you be potters? That sounds totally amazing! If my parents were potters, I would totally be a potter too! 

I love that Alisa paints on everything. She paints big flowers on her walls, a refrigerator and she recently painted their wood deck. It's amazingly cool. She takes the simple things in life and makes them into art creating a beautiful life. I could go on and on about all that she creates but I feel the need to stop and say this:

Friends, as many of the people on our televisions and in our Facebook feeds tell us that the world is falling apart and they can't believe the hell we're living in, I encourage you to look at your own life. Really look at it. Be grateful for the things and the family and friends you do have and realize that your life is beautiful. 

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 48 - We Grow Love

Give 52 Week 48
Cheryl Houston 2016

Starting at that very young ages of 15 months and 29 months year old, my boys spent most first, third and fifth weekends away from me with their dad. They have memories and experiences that I know absolutely nothing about. Through the years they will have mentioned something and I have to question them about it. When did you do that? With Dad.

Melinda came into my boys lives in 2011 when she started dating Andy, and to me, she has been a blessing.

She cares about my boys and I know because they tell me about her and the experiences they've had together. Having another person love your children is something for a mom to be grateful for everyday.

My most recent favorite story is my picky eater, Drew, announces that he wants me to make lasagna. I gave him my questioning look that said ":I've tried to get you to eat lasagna before and you wouldn't. What's changed?" Melinda made it and I liked it! When I told my sweet husband the news he was happy because he likes lasagna and the joke has become, do I need to call Melinda to get her recipe? According to Drew- Yes! Yes you do!

These moments are small seeds of love planted in the hearts of my boys and where we plant love, we grow love and I appreciate Melinda's presence in my boys lives for today and always.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 39 - I Won't Forget

 Give 52 Week 39
Cheryl Houston 2016

None of us will. Forget.

No voy a olvidar is Spanish for I won't forget. (And if the translation is incorrect and you know it, just let me keep believing it is correct. Muchos gracias!)

What is it that we won't forget? The love and sacrifice that our mothers have made for us.

Week 39 was sent out to my mom in honor of Mother's Day. And I won't forget the many things that I love about her and the many things she has done for me over the years.

I won't forget when I was small we would curl up on the couch together because I wanted to be close to her.

I won't forget the bond she has forged with her sisters and the many family vacations we have had together. They brought my childhood so much fun.

I won't forget how independent and giving she is, rarely asking for help or for anything in return.

I won't forget the picture I have of her in my mind, dancing in our living room, smiling while eating what I think was a cup of ice cream (or some other kind of desert).

And so much more!

No voy a olvidar. I won't forget.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 38 - My Heart is with You

Give 52 Week 38
Cheryl Houston 2016

When I think of Misty I think of laughter, smiles and a genuine love. This lady will love you with all her might and her laughter will bring you joy.

She's so in love with her family. Her husband, Robert and three of the most beautiful daughters a momma can be blessed with: Azlynn, Alanah, and Ava. Seriously! Robert's going to have to beat the boys away with those three cuties.

I miss seeing my friend, Misty but my heart is always with her.

Now, the red bird in this drawing symbolizes something else. When Misty sees a red bird she remembers her grandmother and I wanted her to have a piece of that in her home. So now, maybe she'll think of me too and know that she is loved - not just by her family but by all of the people touched by Misty's presence.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 28 - Blessed

Give 52 Week 28
Cheryl Houston 2016

Oh my goodness! I forgot to post after I got my artwork in the mail.

I made this piece for a man that is in my son, Drew's, life. Drew's dad got Drew in a city league of football when he was in the 6th grade. One of Drew's coaches was Ryan Young.

Ryan is this giant of a man but as nice and welcoming as they come and he has a love for God. He's such a good example for our boys.

Ryan leads Fellowship of Christian Atheletes and he has meetings at Drew's school. The other morning Drew told me he had attended a meeting and I thought about how grateful I was that Ryan is in Drew's life.

As many of my friends say, "It takes a village."

I pray that my children will always know God's love for them, that they will trust in the Lord for the good plans He has in store for them.

Ryan, thank you for all you do for the young men in this community.

This is my gift. I give it to you .

Give 52 Week 27 - Teacher's Pet

 

Give 52 Week 27
Cheryl Houston 2016

Teachers. They're a special breed of people. They take in our children no matter how bratty or stubborn and the shower them with knowledge and love. We all have at least one teacher that holds a special place in our hearts.

And then, when you have children of your own, you get to have a favorite teacher that is teaching your your children! That teacher for me is Nancy Bingham. She was both Drew and JB's second grade teacher. Even though my boys are now in the 8th and 9th grade, I still think of Nancy often. I have a picture of her and my boys from one field day that shows up on my work computer screen slide show. 

I once asked JB, "Who's the smartest mom you know?" And instead of answering right away like he should have he had to take a moment to think about it. Seriously, kid? And then he thoughtfully answered, "Well, I think the smartest mom I know is Mrs. Bingham because she's a mom and a teacher." 

My heart smiled. 

I hope any teacher that may read this knows this: You are doing a great job! You are touching the lives of so many children! You are making a positive impact on this world! We need you! We love you! 

That's you, Nancy Bingham!

Speaking of teachers. Those flowers are inspired by an art teacher of mine, Lynn Whipple. Her art is amazing just like her.

Telling you people. Teachers rock!

This is my gift. I give it to you!

Give 52 Week 24 - You are Magic

Give 52 Week 24
Cheryl Houston 2016

I knew from the beginning of Give 52 I wanted to send a piece of artwork to author, Elizabeth Gilbert. But what? What do you send the person that is so magical that every time you hear her speak you think she's speaking directly to you?

I can't decide if this drawing is a hit or a miss. It's not my usual style and while I have been influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat lately, this is no where as cool as his crazy, bizarre and wonderful drawings but it is mine and it comes from my heart.

Like most people, I first discovered Ms. Gilbert through her book, Eat, Pray, Love which I loved. Then, I listened to her TedTalk about your creative genius and it gave me courage to pursue my art further. Then, in 2014 I saw her in a 4:47 clip from Oprah's Live the Life you Want weekend tour where she spoke about following your curiosity when you don't know what your passion is. It was a freeing moment for me.

I named 2015 my Year of Curiosity and in that year it led me to my passion and my purpose which I knew all along but I realized was I wasn't nurturing it. I read her book Big Magic in the fall. More nurturing of this artist life that I want to live. On the last day of my Year of Curiosity, I was scrolling through Facebook where I saw a posting of Ms. Gilbert's talk titled The Flight of the Hummingbird. I can't even summarize for you with any justice. All I can say is: WOW! This woman has a magical window into the soul of my life and every time I hear her, it's exactly what I need to hear.

I know I'm not alone in this feeling. She is a Super Hero to so many women out there. She brings light to the world. Serious girl crush going on here. I'm beyond excited  to see her speak in May in Dallas! Can't wait.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 24 Part 2
Cheryl Houston 2016

Update: This is me not being brave. I love the above piece that I'm still in possession of but will be mailing off today. I say it's me not being brave because I'm including an additional flower piece.

Why?

Because it's not my normal style and maybe I'm afraid she won't like it and I want her to have something that I think she will like but I don't really know Liz Gilbert so how do I know what she's going to like!

No matter. I've decided. She gets 2 pieces because I'm not brave and because I want to.

There. The end. My decision. Don't judge me!

Give 52 Week 22 - You are Stardust

Give 52 Week 22
Cheryl Houston 2016

How did Wednesday get here so fast?

Faster and faster the days go! And, I feel bad that my post wasn't up this morning, but life happens and I cannot sweat the small stuff.

This stardust piece is making it's way to my online art teacher, Carla Sonheim. I took her art class in 2015, The Year of the Spark. So much fun and my new journaling style was born from her teaching. I love these books I'm creating.

This Friday, the 2016 class starts: Y is for Yellow and I can't wait! This years focus is building a body of work which I'm kind of already doing through this very project of Give 52 but her classes are just so much fun and inspiring that I wouldn't miss it.

I'm not sure where I heard or read this saying about stardust but the piece says, "You are stardust. A magical light in this world." And, I love that saying.

I want to be stardust! I know I have been falling super short of being any kind of light lately. At my paying job, I've been snarky and short and basically carrying around a big, bad attitude but I really want to be stardust.

If you are interested in exploring your creative side you should totally look up Carla's classes. I love her style of teaching and she's an amazingly genuine person.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 21 - Laugh until you cry

Give 52 Week 21
Cheryl Houston 2015

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about my friend, Kristi. Her home was my second home growing up. Well, I spent so much time at her house that her younger sister, Johnanna (also known as Pearl), became one of my best friends.

Let me tell you about Pearl. She has never met a stranger. People are drawn to her like a magnet. Like bees to honey. She will make you laugh until you cry.

The stories I could tell you! There's a book there somewhere. I mean, when you're shoving your friend in a window in the middle of the night because she's been locked out- you know that's just the tip of the iceberg.

She's living far away in Colorado in the snow and I love seeing her two kids on social media. It just always looks like so much fun.

Her birthday was yesterday. I think. I always get confused on which day it actually is because we celebrated it for about two weeks each year!

Happy birthday my friend! Keep living your beautiful life! It makes me so happy to see.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 20 - You're Longest Relationship

Give 52 Week 20
Cheryl Houston 2015

Your longest relationship in life is your relationship with your siblings. I am the youngest of three and my sister, Leigh Ann, is six years older than me though everyone thinks I'm the older one. I blame it on my height and try not to get too upset about it. Hey, I'm the worse about gauging peoples age. In fact, I just assume that everyone is around my own age which is great if you're older than me but not so great if you're younger than me.

So, for my whole life, I've known this lady. My sister. My friend.

It's around my sister and my brother that I feel the most carefree to crack jokes and be stupid and opinionated because hey, I'm the little sister and they accept me as I am.

We haven't always got along but I think that's the natural way of siblings. I appreciate what she's done for me through the years and I just wanted to tell her that I'm thankful for her presence in my life and her presence in our parent's life.

I moved away but both my brother and sister have chosen to stay nearby my parents and there is comfort in that for me.

Her birthday is on December 27th and I always felt like it was not as noticed as it should be because of Christmas. So happy birthday, seester! I sincerely hope it is as wonderful as you are.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 18 - Beautiful Friends

Give 52 - Week 18
Cheryl Houston 2015

Time is so sneaky sometimes. As I was getting ready this morning, I was thinking about how it was Thursday and I couldn't remember if I had posted week 18 of Give 52 or not. Is it week 18? Yes, it is week 18. And, while I did get the artwork in the mail on Sunday, I did not get the blog post up here.

Excuse me while I give myself some grace.

I don't have a good excuse either other than I just didn't do it. I had the time but I chose to focus that time on helping with homework, preparing dinners, journaling in the mornings, and watching television at night.

But, with all of that said, week 18 is no less important to me than any other week. Week 18 was sent to my beautiful friend, Cassie.

Cassie has been my friend since the age of 2? 3? I don't know, forever! We lived across the street from each other. We wanted to be twins. Cassie and Cherylz (that's what her dad called me). When one of us cut our hair, the other one cut their hair. We dressed alike any chance we got. When she moved away to Conroe and I went to visit her we fussed at her sweet mom for not lying and telling the store clerk we were twins when asked.

Cassie is Luci Lemon and I am Tina Tomato. Characters from shirts we wore when were about 5.

She is a beautiful momma of four of the most handsome boys I have ever seen. You should see the mane's of hair these boys have.

And sadly, the theme I am noticing in participating in this quest is that I don't see my friends and family near enough. Or at all! But, friends, that does not stop my heart and soul from loving them. They have touched my life in their own special ways and I hold them with me always. I hope this piece of artwork reminds her of how beautiful she is and how much she is loved.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 17 - Birthday Flowers for My Aunt Sue Beth

Give 52 Week 17
Cheryl Houston 2015

Do you know how you just know someone loves you? You just always feel their love?

That's how I feel about my aunt Sue Beth.

Growing up, I got to spend my holidays with her and summer trips to see her and so on.

One of my favorite childhood memories is of a time when my mom and I went over to visit my aunt, uncle, family and friends at a house they were renting in Rockport, TX. I wasn't ready to go when my mom had to leave so my aunt said I could say. All I had with me was my bathing suit, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops but I had all I needed.

I don't remember  how many nights I stayed with them but I do remember we got up early one morning, I wore someone else's shoes and we went crabbing. We were able to just scoop up crabs in hand held nets and scooped them into the ice chests. It was amazing.

Afterwards, one of the teenage girls staying with them and I cleaned the crabs and got them ready for dinner. Too bad I was such a picky eater back them and I didn't eat any of it.

That's just one of many memories of times with my aunt Sue Beth and her family. I loved when I got older she would say, "Okay, Cheryl, I've had my two drinks now I can ask you about your love life." She doesn't have any daughters of her own but I have always been her girl.

I always look forward to seeing her though those times are few and far between.

Chris and I got married on her birthday 3 years ago this December 8th. I didn't plan to get married on her birthday it just happened it that way but I love something special on the same day.

Happy Birthday early, Aunt Sue Beth!

This is my gift. I give it to you.

How do you live your life?

The Sound of Heaven - from the journal of
Cheryl Houston ©

Do you wake up every morning ready to celebrate your day?

Do you focus on the good things that are evident in your life?

Are you grateful for another day here on this earth?

I know I am because consider the alternative. The alternative of not being alive isn't something I'm ready to experience.

Someday I want to go to heaven and celebrate but not for a very long while still. I have too much to do and too much to experience here in this life that has been so gracefully given to me.

I want to live this life in a spirit of celebration not a stoic, woe is me way. How about you? Let's bring the sounds of heaven down to earth and those are the sounds of celebration! Focus on what is good in your life and be grateful for the everyday small things that we so often take for granted.

Here's what I'm grateful for today:
My sweet husband, our wonderful children, our safe and cute home, our overall good health, the fact that we have jobs to go to that provide financially for our family, for the beautifully hot days of summer, the cool blue water of our pool where we enjoy floating and listening to music, and the songs of the cicadas in our neighbors trees.

What are you celebrating today?

Love Fiercely

Love Fiercely Through Gratitude - From the Journal
of Cheryl Houston ©

I used the Cutout filter in Photoshop in the image above. I love the Cutout filter in Adobe Photoshop. I love playing with the different settings and watching the image going from completely legible to completely abstract. Like this:

Love Fiercely Through Gratitude altered in Photoshop
using the Cutout Filter. Cheryl Houston ©

I see a heart. I see a fox. I see buildings. Fun stuff, right?