Me and the Proverbs 31 woman

ASPIRE

So, a few years ago God really laid it upon my heart to study the Proverbs 31 woman (Proverbs 31:10 onwards). To be completely honest when I really understood what He was prompting me to do it was enough to read through it and digest it. I came to realise how far from that woman I am, and how much I have always aspired to be her. Then, when I could finally face learning how to overcome my short-falls I began to study her. I was surprised when my study actually inspired me, and I began to learn and grow.

I still have so far to go. I realise that even though I know a lot about her, it hasn't really all hit my heart yet.

And then a light-bulb moment! I realised that I can use creativity in my study, in my learning, in my 'quiet time,' if you will. I know, der! Amazing that it took me 30 years to realise this. So I began a journal, an artist journal, on my study of Proverbs 31. My canvas is a spiral bound notebook with brown recycled pages. I have called it, 'Aspire'. Following are some of the pages that I have done, and one that I am in the process of preparing...

These pages and the following ones are basically the text that I am studying. I painted, collaged, stamped, drew, glued, inked and wrote...The writing is done with fluid acrylic paint and a nib pen.

Hmmm... Looks like it says 'Provorb' in the photo, but it really does say 'Proverb' - I promise!

For this page I found this cool webbing stuff, and wanted to use it, so i created a background to see through, tore a strip out of the main page and stuck it all back together. It's a shame you can't really see the ribbon at the top of the left page. It began life as a white sheer ribbon with velvet scrolling (also in white) but I dyed it and inked it and coloured it. I love the way it turned out. It's probably my favourite element on the page.

The next pages are ones I am preparing right now. They are for the first verse, verse 10:

 On the left page the decorative paper is inked and painted, while the right is untreated, not even stuck down.

For me, this is the best way to learn and study.