Life and tightropes

I don't know what your life is like, but I guess that it's like mine - with ups and downs, just like every other life on this planet.
Sometimes I have more ups, and sometimes the downs dominate.
To me, it's like walking a tightrope. One can lose one's footings. it's a balancing act. and sometimes it just means hanging on to that "umbrella" in order not to fall off ....
I made an illustration about it, based on Psalm 46:1 :
~God is our mighty fortress, always ready to help in times of trouble~
Hope you like it!

dreams on a leash

from time to time i do some serious pondering ... and it struck me that i often put my dreams and wishes on a leash - or hardly allow myself to dream anymore. although i've got a lot of dreams. some are small and feasible (with a little time and energy and money) and some seem absolutely impossible to realize. i've given my dreams permission to fly and be free. maybe someday some will return back to me, fulfilled and a reality. who knows? miracles still happen.

sweet fonts

as an artist and card designer, I just love fonts, in every form and fashion. Surfing the net, I came upon a sweet blog site featuring - among others - sweet fonts for free. If you want to use their fonts commercially, please see their TOU's.
Have included their button/link. Enjoy!

Föhr - a little German island situated near the Danish border

I spent four weeks in a clinic in Utersum, a very small village in the eastern part of Föhr. It was great, the clinic was situated on the beach. It was a wonderful treat after the chemo treatment. No cooking, no cleaning, no tidying up.
Instead I had different therapies every day, physical exercises, swimming, health tips... I took long walks on the beach, explored the island and even managed to paint in the evening....

I've included a few images. The houses are covered in straw roofs.

A typical "Strandkorb", a seating place that protects you from the wind and the sun...

And wonderful sunsets!

The skies were wide, there was breathing space and lots of space for the soul !

And some roses I painted in the evening and made into a card for cancer survivors :

My book got published

I'm very happy to say that my book got published (Text and illustrations by me).
I worked on and off about two years on this book, which had started out as a private collection of musings/paintings....... I had sent off a manuscript to a publishing house and was very exited when it got accepted, especially as this news came after I was just recovering from a round of chemo treatments.
It is a christian gift book and available in all bookstores. Language: German.

http://www.amazon.de/gibt-jemanden-Barbara-Schreiber/dp/3880875685/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1311788216&sr=1-1

cancer and encouragement

I'm happy to say that slowly the effects of the chemo therapy are wearing off. It's great to take part in life again, to move around, to see my hair growing again, to know the ordeal is over. During the treatment, my emotions were on a roller-coaster trip. I just clung to God, hanging on for dear life.

I painted these tulips yesterday and made an encouragement card for cancer patients out of it. The verse on the front of the card reflects my hope and feelings during chemo therapy:
"Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me" ~ psalm 23:4 ~

encouragement cancer patient, christian by barbaramarion

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 is one of my favorite psalms. Through the ages it has touched the soul, has comforted in difficult situations. There are not many verses and the wordings are simple, yet it has a profound impact on a sad or hurt heart.
As I am presently thinking a lot about this psalm, I thought I'd make an illustration. With a sheep, of course, since we humans are so sheeplike in our wanderings and drifting offs.

This image can also be bought as a card.

'New Baby'Cards from Greeting Card Universe Artists |Judy Adamson's Art and Design blog

An artist friend of mine creates sweet watercolor cards, here is a link to her blog featuring handmade cards celebrating "new babies".

'New Baby'Cards from Greeting Card Universe Artists |Judy Adamson's Art and Design blog

art therapy

I have always painted, ever since my childhood. Painting/drawing helped me when things got rough around me. I could immerse myself into another world, soothe my soul.
It also helped me capture the beauty around me.
I guess there are lots of reports out there about what happens in the brain and all the neurological synapses that go wild when a person creates, be it art, music, or a great culinary dish. Creating is so inherent in human beings. Unfortunately, this love of creating gets lost some time in late childhood when other things are more important. And after adolescence comes the time of adulthood with all its responsabilities. People often just don't have the time anymore to create, their time is taken up with a job, a house, the kids, the taxes, the hassles.....
Which is very unfortunate.
For me, creating is not just a nice way of passing my time. It satisfies a deep longing in me, refreshes my mind, helps me sort out problems, gives me peace.
No wonder that art is considered therapeutic and is widely used as a means of treating patients, be it in hospitals, rehabs, therapy centers....

In the past, the people in my drawings and portrait paintings were mostly sad and serious.
Now I just love the primitive folk art and mixed-media style, with its lightheartedness, childlike approach. It may not be considered "serious art", but it is a lot of fun to do and makes me smile. Even if it is very "cutesy".

pink folk art girl, mixed media by barbaramarion

drawing and photoshop fun

I just love making illustrations and mixed-media and sitting for hours in front of my computer, fiddling around and having fun. The illustration itself took only 15 minutes, the fiddling around nearly 3 hours.
At the moment my favorite colors are turquoise and pink, maybe because it's spring and the colors around me are still soft and gentle.
A few years ago i never would have favorited pink, it being much too girly and sweet, but in combination with green the sugary feel to pink is minimized.
As with every artist, i notice that my tastes and style evolve over the time. Things that a few years ago would be unthinkable are now my favorite medium, for example collage. Collage can be so sublte, full of texture, meaning, it's become like an addiction.

some flowers for your birthday, folkart girl by barbaramarion

sids and mothers who die too soon

don't quite know if this is a thing one can blog about, or if it is too personal. but here goes.
maybe because it will be mother's day soon, but at the moment i feel sort of pensive ....
my mother died pretty early, she was 54 years old and it was very unexpected....i still often think of her...
i also think about my little daughter, who died of sids, a long time ago.
i was painting today and this is the result... i wanted to do something completely different but the painting sort of painted itself...
fact is, that i believe in God and believe i will see my loved ones again when i die and that gives me peace and makes the pain much less.
this painting is vey personal... guess it shows.

now let's add a bit of color to this blog

it's spring - and that means everything is starting fresh and anew - flowers and buds and leaves and birds busy making nests - and i'm starting fresh and anew also - after the dark, cold winter months and having to cope with cancer and chemo-therapy  i'm very glad to see the days getting longer, the sun getting hotter and my strength slowly coming back.

i'm very happy that i managed to draw/paint an illustration, the first painting since seven months!