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.

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?

Because she believed...

...the stars fell to her.

From my daily journal. Ink sketch filtered in Photoshop.
Cheryl Houston Art ©

A Prediction

I  predict that this quest of Give 52 is going to help me fly and that's why I'm so excited for it to begin in August.

From my daily Journal. Cheryl Houston. ©