Spring Clean Challenge!

It has been a long, dreary winter here in Ohio. 

But alas! The sun has started to make an appearance and the temperatures have begun to rise; birds are chirping a welcoming song and a fresh breeze is dancing all around...

Spring is finally here!

With the change in season comes a change in wardrobe. I started to move my Winter/Fall clothes to the back of the closet and move forward my Spring/Summer clothes. While doing this, I realized something: 
I have way too many clothes... and half of them I don't wear.

So why do I keep them???

This past Sunday, the homily Father gave was on how material items often get in the way of us focusing on the bigger picture of life. We can be distracted when we have more than what we need. Letting go of some of our earthly treasures can be a rewarding and eye opening experience.

I decided to start small and come up with this Challenge!!!

(also it is a perfect way to start off the Spring season)

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

-Matthew 6:19-21

"What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"

-Matthew 12:26

I am very fortunate to have so many great articles of clothing, but why not keep what I really need and give the rest to someone who could really use them? From this challenge, I was able to donate 62 items of clothing.

I challenge all of you to participate and share your experience!!! 

(NOTE: Feel free to customize this challenge to a different number of items you keep or different categories if the above does not apply to you. Everyone is different and unique in their situation. The above was based on what I personally had and what I felt I could keep and give up.)

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

2 Corinthians 9:7

Restoring Stories

Photographs 
are a special moment frozen in time.

Photos are mementos that we take with us all throughout our lives. They hold a remembrance of moments that cannot be recreated. We pass them down to future generations, retelling memories that hold importance in our hearts. Sometimes, a photo is all we have left of a person, place or time. One photographic piece can hold so much history!

Restorations are are a rewarding art form that not only help retell a story, but reopens the imagination. As a graphic artist, nothing excites me greater than a client coming in with a new restoration project and a unique story to accompany it.

Working on a clients photo is a very intimate job. A person is in-trusting you with their memory recreation. Your job is to focus on the story and use your skills to bring that story back to life. 


"Thats what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. 
We instill hope again and again and again." 
-Walt Disney

When going into a restoration, the storytelling questions that need to be asked are: What is the importance of the photo? Who is in the photo? What is their relationship with the client? Where was the photo taken? When was the photo taken? etc. 
Let the client tell you the base of what you need in order to go into the creation. This will help you be in the right frame of mind.

The other set of questions that need to be asked are the technical questions: What would they like seen done? What kind of color scheme (if they want a black and white in color) they would like? Are there are any points of interest that need to be brought up? Are there are scratches, bends or parts of the picture missing they would like taken out or recreated? etc.

Once you get all the verbal details figured out, the fun begins and your imagination can take some creative control! 

You must put personal touches in every corner. The more attention to detail you put in, the more rewarding the creation experience will be for you and the happier your client will be.  

If anyone has a picture they would like restored, please feel free to contact me via email or at the studio!

ABBYabstract@aol.com

330-633-2291

Silence (Part 2)

Keep it down now.

Religion is an incredibly important part of who I am. My love for God has guided me to some pretty interesting places in my life. This past year has been a revelation for me, spiritually. 

I have remained silent, listening close for guidance.

In the silent times with God, I have grown in strength, love and understanding in my faith.

"And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm."

-Mark 4:3

Part 2

I have always believed in God. My faith started at a young age. My mother told me, when I was little, I used to say "I saw angels sitting at the foot of my bed at night." She was so happy with me stating this; she went out and bought me a beautiful portrait of an angel for my bedroom. She said I looked at the picture funny when she handed it to me. I simply shook my head and told her that was not what angels looked like.

I have always gone to Church. I remember a time when everyone I knew seemed to be there every Sunday morning. Going to Church and worshipping God was as normal as going to school or work during the weekday. I began to notice a definite change in the number of people who didn't go to Church during the end of my high school years, and early twenties. They didn't just not go, they didn't even believe.

A lot of people I know today do not believe in God, or if they do they do not like the concept of going to Church. I have listened to a lot of reasonings and excuses. When it gets brought up, I will say I am a faithful follower. I have also said I am a Bible nerd and love Jesus (that tends to lighten the mood and give people a little laugh). I try not to push my beliefs on people to the point they become defensive. I have remained silent in my words and have prayed that they will see God more through my actions. 

I tend to say the same prayer every morning lately. I pray for God to help me try to be a beacon of light throughout the day. I pray that His will be done through my words and actions, so people can see the joy and love of Christ Jesus. I pray for His help, and that He guide me, and help me see what I need so I can help where I can.

The Bible teaches the path to God is a narrow one. I have stood silently in the forest of this life listening for God's voice to guide me to that long and narrow path and help me to remain there...

My husband is Catholic. A lot of people don't know that he was discerning the priesthood before he and I started seeing each other. God had other plans, and I am so blessed for that. I had never been to Mass before, but knowing how important it was to him I decided to go with him. I remember being at a complete loss. I didn't know when to stand, when to sit or when to kneel. I didn't know how to respond when everyone else was. I didn't know I couldn't accept Communion and was amazed at how important it was during the Mass. I have always gone to a Protestant church, and really had no understanding of the Catholic faith.

I started off going to Mass with Bryon once a month. As time went on I began to understand the Mass as a whole. Bryon, having a degree in Theology, was a big help in answering my questions and intrigues. Everything was beginning to make so much sense! For the first time, in a long time, I was feeling a spiritual growth. For so long I was at a stand still. Soon, I was going to Mass on Sunday more than I was going to my own church. 

After much prayer, I recently have decided to join the Catholic Church; the universal Faith. I haven't been this excited in a long while! I know God is leading me in this direction because I have listened. My prayer life has become richer, my knowledge of Church history, from Biblical times to the present, has expanded. My heart has begun to open to a greater love!

I had so many misconceptions about the Catholic faith. The intimate relationship of God comes from every word and every object in the Church and its teachings. I am so excited to be heading on this journey. I am currently working with the priest of our parish every week to prepare me for my confirmation and first Holy Communion. I am learning so much from these meetings, and hopefully by Easter Vigil (or earlier) I will be confirmed. On that day I will be able to accept Communion for the first time as a Catholic.

I will always remember having a fascination with the story of the Last Supper when I was a child. One night, I remember seeing leftover bread out on the dinning room table. I took my small glass of water over and picked up a slice. At the table, I reenacted the story of the Last Supper from what I remembered from Sunday school. This is my body, this is my blood... the feeling that overtook me was one I still remember to this day. I felt love. I felt the presence of God.

As of late, I am reminded of this memory often... I know the day I enter into the Church fully, I will not only remember that, but I will feel exactly how I felt that night: pure. God continues to push me and help guide me to a greater purpose. In my silence, I have listened and learned... and now I shall speak.

End.., for now.

Silence (Part 1)

I have been silent on here for quite some time.

It is weird for me. I am usually the one to come out and speak my mind freely on the topics of life, love, religion, current events and personal experience... But for a long while I have chosen to sit back and simply be the observer. I have shut my mouth, listened and tried to make sense of everything going on around me. 

I have kept a lot in, but in the silence I have made some fascinating discoveries.. 

In the past few months I have found it most amazing how many people have spoken up and have broken through different walls of silence. The sound is a loud, chaotic crash of thunder with bright bursts of lightening! We must keep in mind a storm can serve both good and bad purposes though...

While I have been silent on social media, the world has blown up. It makes me feel I am way out of the norm, when it comes to my friends and peers.

This year I will be turning thirty. I have had some time to reflect on the early twenties me to the late twenties me as of now. The early twenties me saw life a lot differently... Back then I really had no plans for the future. I was outspoken, living for the day, trying new things, surrounded by a ton of friends, etc... I was finding me. Everything was a major learning experience.

I was a bright little girl, a mere speckle in a really big world. I had some great times. I had some not so great time...That's life, after all.

Now that I am older, I am finding my views on love, politics and religion have evolved into something greater than I have ever imagined possible. 

In the next couple of posts I intend to explore major topics which have weighed heavy on my mind. I in no way want to offend anyone; but, lets be honest, a lot of people seem to be offended by nearly anything you say or do anymore. I honestly think that is another reason I have been so silent. I don't want to offend, and I want to be informed on what I would be speaking about.

So please take these words and opinions of mine as abstractions on what I am personally feeling and going through. Everyone is different and there is nothing wrong with that.

Part 1

Early twenties me had no thoughts of marriage or children. I was fine with a boyfriend going out and having fun. I cared a lot about my relationships, but there was always something missing. But I was stubborn beyond all reason. Stubbornness made it hard for me to listen to any voice of reason. I guess I never realized until recently I needed and deserved something so much more. One day I finally sat down, reflected and prayed on finding that right somebody for my life. I prayed hard. I knew what I had to do, and I took that first big step toward finding that right person for me. The person to experience all of life with. True love hit me quicker than I could have every imagined when I made that step. Bryon entered my life like a comforting breeze and there he will always remain to stay...

Saying "I do" and marrying my best friend was the best day of my life. It was also the first time I felt like a true woman. Now that we have been married for a little over a year, we are excited and talking about plans for a future family. I have never longed to have a child so badly. To carry a precious gift in my womb for nine months, and for Bryon and I to provide that baby with love for the rest of our days fills me with joy. the kind of joy I cannot even put into words. For now, we are getting ourselves where we need to be, and then hopefully soon we will be working on adding to our Ferriot household.

Marriage and family life has really made me think, especially with all the women's marches and movements that have gone on in the past couple of months, I will break my silence. Early twenties me was pro-choice. Now I am pro-life. I am at the point in my life where the thought of losing a precious child is completely unbearable. There are so many arguments people make about this topic, but in my eyes, it doesn't matter how early in the pregnancy, or the potential abnormality: it is a life. A precious life. I personally feel there are so many different alternatives to abortion. As far as Planned Parenthood, I feel there are way better options out there for young women... It seems like a lot of women see these two as their only options. But there are so many more alternatives out there.

Early twenties me would have participated in women's marches. Late twenties me will just go for pleasant stroll in the opposite direction. I am not against my fellow women standing up and making a positive change. I suppose I'm not quite on the same page with some women, on some of the arguments being made. I see no change in my rights, and I feel women have held the high cards in the most important of situations, and usually still do (especially when it comes to the opposite sex). We have so much "girl power" in this world we ought to stand proud, while remaining humble. Again, I am a little bit more old fashioned now then I was just a few years ago.

With this being said, I do not think we should live in a chauvinistic world. I think the #metoo movement is a wonderful way for women and men to come together on what is not right, and say no one has to go through such things alone. People should be held accountable for their actions, especially when it comes to indecent misconduct. I will say, I am not for the men and women who are using this cause for attention, or a vendetta. Come on... not cool.

Also, I am for the equal rights of every individual... BUT... There has to be a line drawn when it comes to certain topics. All I am going to say is every person should treat every other person with the outmost respect and show love with a pure heart. A little bit of "nice" will go a long way in our over judgmental world. If we treat each other as equals, maybe we all wouldn't be so offensive and feel as though one group of people have more rights than another? 

Again, I am just breaking my silence. I mean no offense. This is just the start of my personal observations that have been bundling up in my head. 

End.., for now.

Stimulation of the Senses

Stimulation of the Senses.

That is all we want… hearing, tasting, seeing, smelling, touching.. everything stimulated to the outmost extreme. 

In a world of such extremes, we strive to find ways to make these basic senses magnified. We live in a world that is ever changing. We are humans.. we grow bored all so easy. The thing we have to remember is, we don't physically evolve as fast as our hands creations. We can mold and shape things so easily in our everyday lives, so much that we take for granted what we do have at our disposal. Technology expands every second to depths that our comprehension cannot even fathom. We are a world that wants the best, and we want it now... we want to be in the moment now as well as the moment tomorrow all at once. We cannot wait. We crave the feel.. the rush.. the full moons light upon our face bathing and soaking into us a new theory.. a new life. A new expansion of the human mind. 

Our senses drive us and shape us into the people we are today. Now more than ever we try to enhance the basics of what is already there. I sat down the other day and thought of my personal senses and what they mean to me. 

Here is my own little personal synopsis of my life in the abstract.. 

The sense of sound… the louder the better. I have a soundtrack of my life. It changes every year if I find something that fits in better with a certain situation or time that is presently happening in my life. I create a playlist of those melodies, and I turn the volume up. I turn the volume up until my ears hurt.. and perhaps I will turn it up a little more from there. I want to feel the music shake my bones and reach my soul. I want the words being sung and the music being played to make a stamp upon my very existence. I want it to mold me and ever so gently play as as the background noise in my life. Sometimes it makes me feel like I am in a TV sitcom. I often wonder would people like what they were watching, or would they simply flip the channel. I worry too much about what other people tend to think. Music wise, I don't though. Certain sounds and certain songs make me feel alive. Sound stimulates me in the good and bad times. Sound waves are smooth oceans for me. Sound effects my mood above all other of my senses. 

The sense of taste… the more flavor the better. I am not the most adventurous with food. Granted, I have a very healthy appetite for certain items. I am not scared of red meat.. in fact I crave a good steak once a week. I love eating healthy fair like salad and brown rice. My husband and I have made pasta Sunday a tradition in our home, and nothing tastes better than that on this day. Also, nothing tastes better than coffee in the morning and red wine at night. I have favorites, but I try new products of these items to see if I find one that dances with my tastebuds even better. Big, bold tastes can spark a memory you will never forget. The taste of a fine wine can mark a milestone. Every time a taste hits my tongue, memories will be relived. Some meals bring back memories of childhood youth.. a classic bowl of mac and cheese or a simple grilled cheese sandwich (I heart cheese). My tastebuds relive good times for me like a movie in my head. I think we want enhanced flavors because we want bolder visions. (Hungry now). My sense of taste is my memory keeper.

The sense of sight… I wear glasses. In fact, I have worn glasses my whole life and will until the day I die. My vision is very bad for a younger person. In the morning when I wake up, the world is a fuzzy blur of color. Nothing is in focus. It is like I have awoken into a new world. Then my clumsy hands find my spectacles on the night stand. As soon as my other set of eyes fall upon my face the world is alive in vivid HD. Those blurs of color come together in sharp lines. I can make out not only the big details, but the small ones. I love going for car rides and focusing my attention on the clouds and scenery passing me by. I get a certain giddy high in the simple, unnoticed details. I try and see everything in the highest detail. And then I try and see past all that to a different image within the same scene. I feel as though I take my glasses for granted. I am an artist.. I need them to help express the vision I want to share. I want to show people what I see beyond what is there. Vision is an absolute necessity for me. Out of all the senses, I rely on this one the most: inspiration in the sight of a unseen world..

The sense of smell… I have bad allergies. Sometimes this sense is hard for me to get into. I do know my three favorite smells though: fall leaves, my husbands shirts and musky, old books. These smells comfort me. If I am having a bad day and these smells are available to me, I will inhale deeply and feel an euphoric jolt. An instant smile will form upon my lips and all will be good in the world. But as I said, my allergies are BAD. My nose is a continuous trumpet all seasons of the year. I feel as though this sense is the least value to me. But it does know how to perk me up in my time of need.

The sense of touch… I feel the need to touch everything. I don't know if it is part of my OCD, but I have a strong desire to touch the objects around me. My fingers are like little lightening bolts that need stimulation. The greatest thing I have ever touched is my partners hand.. holding hands with my husband makes me feel complete. Through touch I feel love.. I feel an awakening of every part of me. I am alive through touch, and that is something I need reminded of everyday. It makes life worth living for the simplest feel of something important to you. It makes it real.. touch is the most realistic sense I have. It keeps me grounded and aware of life. Connection through touch is sanity. Touch makes me aware of my physically surroundings, and for that I am beyond blessed. To feel and touch is to live. I am alive.

In short.. senses make us who we are. 

We rely on these five basic fundamentals.. that is why we want the amplification. We just need to realize not everything is in our physical hands.. we just need to let our senses continue to grow organically. In time, they will let us know what needs to be heard..

The World as of Now...

Into every generation the rant of "the world today is the worst shape it's ever been" is made in some form or another. What we need to keep in mind is information traveled more slowly back then. It came in the way of radio broadcasts, handwritten letters, public speeches and then on to the advancement of television. It was very personal and took humanly effort to get. 

Today the information hits, but it hits bluntly and emotionless through electronic devices... Technology is improving and expanding every day. Updates upon updates make our lives work more efficient and faster. With one click we can connect with anyone and everything in the world. We can see what is going on in high definition and voice our opinions and views instantaneously for all to see. But we are in a world where our signature is not stamped by us as individual people but by raw technology. It communicates for us, manages us and it thinks for us. 

When there is important news today, here is what happens: alerts pop up on our mobile devices instantaneously. Individuals who are there post videos for us to see and have a sense that we are there. Then people share their thoughts and opinions on social media. Within minutes of something happening the majority of the population will know. There is no time for anything to seep in. It is all there in our hands. The seed is planted in our heads and technology is the miracle grow that helps it spread faster.

I don't have the time or the word space to sit here and type out all the mass amount of news we have been hit with in this half year alone.. Everyone knows what is going on. There is so much hate and so many people divided. Within each division of people  there is such a strong set of beliefs and opinions that nothing or nobody else but themselves matter. People are waking up, picking a side and sticking with it. It is great to stand up for what you believe and push the cause.. But in a loving way, not through hate and resentment. Vengeance is not the proper fuel for the fire. It will only create more flames. Peoples actions speak louder than words, but words are fueling the actions as well. Technology is spreading the cause like a wildfire in a drought.. 

And here I am adding to the online voices.. I am hoping I am adding a refreshing, big glass of water instead of a hot, burning coal. I believe in every individual.. I am not in one particular division because everything needs to be done in love. Forgiveness over hate. We must love one another as we love ourselves. We must listen and act accordingly. Basic fundamentals that make the world a better place.. 

Lately I have been trying to not rely so much on technology. I have been on a social media hiatus as much as I can and staying away from time consuming apps. I have been trying to be more social in the sense of seeking out friendship in person as well as setting out working goals and performing them the best I can. I have been trying to pray more, worry less. When I go outside I breathe deep and give thanks for the day. I am seeing life as each day the sun rises to bring us new hopes while each night the moon brings us new dreams. 

But I never forget there is a lot going on in the world.. I want to help, but not in a way that is rash. We all need to learn to balance our battles in the proper way. I pray for the nation, for every person, and for the generations to come. I am sure this post will be rethought 100 years from now but in a different form. 

We need to think of ourselves not as one but as many. We are all in this world together. Let's make a difference in the right way.

Spring Showers Bring May Flowers

Spring has finally sprung; the world is full of endless possibilities. Each day the sun rises to bring us growing hopes while each night the moon rises to bring us new dreams. We begin to sprout out of our seeds and break surface to meet a welcoming oasis. Though our stories are all different and unique in their own ways we are all brought about the same way. Out of the winter slumber we arise to evolve into bigger, better versions of ourselves. Over the years our climate conditions change though. Some years it is harder for us to expand out. Harsher weather leads to bigger struggles. It makes our days of warmth and peace more valuable than what they seemed before.

The world is a crazy place right now. We are all in a chaotic struggle to be heard and seen. Through politics, religion and lifestyles we are trying to deepen our roots and intertwine with every other around us. It get's cluttered and starts to overgrow. We can only grow so much until weeding out needs to be done. When the wild flowers overgrow too much you can no longer enjoy the simplistic beauty. It is too overwhelming; it pollutes.

I want a simple, clean bed to expand and grow in. I want to be the single flower that stands tall and effortless. Within my box I want to be surrounded by other flowers strategically placed so we can grow beautifully together, a family that is different but in unison with our environment.

I have really been opening my eyes to the world around me. It feels like the world has been changing drastically within the past few months. There are so many voices around us and all of them are talking at the same time.. It is hard to hear when the words and actions get all cluttered together. I have really been trying to find a peace to my days and not let the chaos and stress of it all take over. It has been challenging, and I have still yet to master the craft of zen. But I am working hard to close out the negative and breathe in the positive. I am teaching myself to tune down the voices that don't matter..

Recently I have been trying to make it to Church every Sunday and pray more often. The discipline of it all has been rewarding. Lately, when I pray, I have been making it a point to start off by focusing on the blessings and giving thanks for what I have before asking for help and guidance. It is helping me add more positivity and light into my days. God is love.. and though life can be hard it all comes down to the sacrifice that was made and the power of the Spirit working within us through Christ our Lord. This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine!

To help me with my physical body I have taken up yoga. I am absolutely hooked on the practice right now. In this first month I am more energetic, flexible and calm. I am definitely going to be keeping up with the practice, and I am very excited to see where it takes me both physically and mentally. Namaste!

I am preparing myself this Spring for the busy and exciting summer ahead! This is one of the most important years of my life. I want to make the best of it! :) Let these Spring showers pour and bring me beautiful flowers of joy.