Greetings all! I apologize for being AWOL for ages. My mental health is doing really badly and, while I am still looking for treatment options that will allow me to do normal things, in the meantime I can't make art or do much posting online. But I did want to share a link with you guys. Not long ago, a dear friend of mine got a blog for the first time. She's using it to post thoughts, DIYs, sketches, and her AMAZING artwork. (Yeah, I'm biased, but she really is an awesome artist.) You should totally take a minute to check it out! :)
artneverythingelse.blogspot.com

BPD Awareness Month 5, a photo by incompletethoughts on Flickr.

Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month

Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month, a photo by incompletethoughts on Flickr.

Just something I threw together in light of the fact that today's the first day of BPD Awareness Month. I hope to do some better designs before the month's over, but that depends on various factors.

I was diagnosed with BPD last year. It's a hateful disease, the way it undermines a person's sense of identity and corrodes their relationships. You feel like you are made of glass, and struggle to keep from clinging to anyone who seems like they could be a lifeline. There's quite a strong stigma against people with BPD, too--they're often seen as manipulative and leech-like. But they're still human beings. They still have hearts and souls, they can still dream and love.

check out this page on my tumblr to learn more:
prettyparadoxical.tumblr.com/bandw

berry bokeh

berry bokeh, a photo by incompletethoughts on Flickr.

Not gonna lie--Flickr is a pretty intimidating place for an amateur photographer. But I'm determined to persevere--I think I can learn a lot from the experience.

dew on clover

dew and fog1, a photo by incompletethoughts on Flickr.

in addition to recently getting a tumblr (see this post), I finally got a flickr! which is something I've been leaning toward for awhile. check it out! :)

maple embrace

Until I moved out of my parents' house, my bedroom window looked out on this tree and two of its companions.  The other trees were so linear in shape, whereas this maple's boughs curved gracefully like arms, stretched out toward the window as though to hug me.

As a child with strong Asperger's tendencies, I tended to get upset fairly often. I'd run up to my room, plop down on my bed in front of the window, heave it open, and let the indignant or humiliated tears stream down my hot cheeks. As the scent of the outdoors touched my nose, the three trees would stand there watching, silent except for the rustling of their leaves, making dappled patterns dance on the neighbor's lawn below. As the minutes passed, the calmness of the whispering leaves, the stillness of their thick trunks, would creep into my heart, and the inner turmoil would drain away as a wispy breeze dried my face.

Later, when I was in highschool, there was born within me a great interest in the concept of beauty. I was researching C.S. Lewis for a schoolwork assignment, and thinking back, I believe that was a turning point for me on the path to becoming interested in art. I remember gazing up at that tree as the sun sank down behind it, turning its leaves into shining emeralds. I'd listen to the bittersweet melody of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Ah, Leave Me Not" as sung by the King's Singers as my eyes followed the lines of the branches and caressed the texture of the bark. Is it possible to be taught the meaning of beauty by C.S. Lewis, a tree, and a song?

Now, even though I no longer live at my parents' home, I've asked my parents to contact me immediately if our neighbors ever decide to chop the tree down--not that I could do anything to stop it, but I'd want to know. It's done so much for me that to lose it would be to lose a friend.

The photo is my own and is therefore © Rebecca Coleman 2011, all rights reserved.

suspended in air

This photo was taken by me and is therefore © Rebecca Coleman 2011, all rights reserved.