What if I told you art journaling saved my life?  Sounds deep and dramatic, right?  As fate would have it, it’s true.  The unthinkable happened to me.  Not only did I lose my husband to a plane crash, I lost my two precious boys, Morgan (8) and Parker (6).

I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom and my family was my life, my purpose.  As their souls rose up to heaven, I felt mine leave my body.  I was left with a shell of a human being.  I poured my heart out into several written journals.  It wasn’t enough, because there are no words for a person who loses their spouse and children.  

I’ve always loved doing art projects ever since I was little.  So, I pulled out my art supplies and decided to play with them.  Seeing artists combine mediums, I thought that would be a good way to experiment with what I had.  I had no idea how cathartic it was to express myself visually. I went beyond what a written journal could do for me. That’s when I decided to combine mediums with my written journal…and thus, my art journaling came to fruition!

I could use color to convey emotions, try different art materials to add to my creation.  I could furiously paint out my anger, use watercolors along with tears to convey my soul-crushing grief. I could paint while meditating on their precious faces and I could go deep within to find the strength to go on without them.

Art journaling allowed me to develop as an artist.  Now I was expressing myself through paintings!  I felt this was my new calling.  I loved how gratifying painting was, much like how art journaling was for me.  However, I didn’t necessarily enjoy the thought of showing in galleries and selling my art.  Art journaling was calling me back home.  Ideas began brewing in my mind as to how I could share this passion of mine with the world.

Fast forward to today:   I have since found love again with Steve Livingston, now my husband whom I love so much. We later adopted our son, Gierma, who is the kindest soul in the world.  I now have an amazing family again, but that’s not all.  Through art journaling, I’ve found another purpose to my life.  I am now a therapeutic art coach who loves sharing the healing powers of visual journaling.