Category: awards

art, art shows, awards, best effort, digital art, God, honesty, lyme disease, pain, Painter, paintings, pencils, positive, positive energy, show up

Staying Positive Works — Strong Spirit

by Kerry C. Mitchell • March 19, 2015

Strong Spirit

This painting was done in Painter, using oils, liquid inks and pencils. I am using it because it is entitled Strong Spirit. That is what I have.

I started this blog to write about fibromyalgia and lyme disease. My intention was to write how my belief in a God of my understanding, coupled with affirmations, gratitude and positive thought had allowed me to find a peaceful, fulfilling life in spite of these chronic illnesses.

Then, practicing those things led me back to being able to do art, and art has pretty much been the focus of this blog.

Today, I want to write about positive thinking.

I came across the idea of having God in my life and thinking positive about 30 years ago. I began reading a lot of varied books on many religions. I put together an idea of what God is for me, personally. I believe there is something that holds us all together. I believe that we are all connected in some way. I believe that when I, or someone else, does something negative or harmful, it affects us all.

I believe in taking personal responsibility for myself and what I can change. As I read and researched, I concluded that the only thing in this world that is possible for me to change is me. I can’t change you. I can, however, change how I react to you.

This was working fine, and life was going along real sweet. I was a textile/mixed media artist. My work was starting to sell. I was having shows in galleries. I had been in a group show at a very prestigious museum here in Seattle. I won awards for my art. Life looked good. Positive thinking and a belief in a God of my understanding was working.

Oops, I got sick. I didn’t just get sick, I got completely disabled and unable to do anything but lay in bed and wonder when I was going to die. Doctors said I was crazy. No one, absolutely no one would help me.

Friends and family walked away. As they left, they said “Screw, you. You’re a little liar, you’re not sick, just crazy.”

OK. I got mad. I got angry, I got resentful, hateful, mean-spirited, the whole thing. I threatened to divorce my husband of over 30 years. I was one sick, miserable person.

Where had it all gone? What was happening? One day I woke up, and could stand myself no longer. I vaguely recalled what I had practiced just before I became sick. I was very dubious. I figured, this stuff works when things go well, God is there when I’m happy. But what happens when the pedal hits the metal? It’s all gone.

Hmm. Perhaps I had missed something. “OK”, I said, find something to be positive about. What? I can’t remember what I found, but I found one small thing. Like breathing or something. I practiced being grateful. I said affirmations. I worked at it. I was not convinced, but I went on with the teeny, tiny bit of faith I had left.

It worked. Just as negative things build and grow larger and become overwhelming, so do positive things. It built up. I found more things to be positive about.

Don’t get me wrong, it was slow going.

art, awards, digital art, photography

The Dragon’s Loyalty Award

by Kerry C. Mitchell • November 26, 2013

Treasures-4

I’m overcome. I’ve been given two awards in one day.

When I started blogging, I had no idea there were awards involved.

This one is the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. It is given to someone who follows the blog and comments regularly.

Fabulous Jenn at My Fibrotastic Life, gave me this award. She writes an awesome blog and does craft work that she has for sale. So be sure to check out her blog.

There are rules to the award. They are as follows:

1. Display the award on your site.

2. Link back to the person who gave you the award in your acceptance post;

3. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and notify them they received the award.

4. List seven interesting things about yourself.

OK, on with the awards,

Here is my list with links to their wonderful blogs.

Dawn Hosking

Ewa, at Fibromyalgia and Self Disorders

Trisha, at Notes From the Fog

Susan at Owls & Orchids

Heather at Sincerely Ms. Roberts

I also include one of my most loyal readers, Leigh, who doesn’t blog, but reads mine regularly.

OK, seven interesting things about me:

1. I am first and foremost an artist. That is my being, my soul, my everything. I have to do art. It is not a choice.

2. Before I got sick, I was a Risk Manager for a health cooperative. The most interesting part of that job was negotiating settlements of medical malpractice lawsuits. These settlements usually ranged in the six to seven-figure dollars.

3. I have known my husband since 1969 and have lived with him since 1970. He is the best husband in the world. I can’t imagine life without him.

4. I love dogs. We have always owned dogs. After our last dog died, we decided that since we want to travel when Warren retires, that we couldn’t be putting a dog in a kennel for long periods of time.

5. I am totally into social media. I never thought it would happen to me. I started on Facebook and then gradually Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr and others took over. I have discovered that these are great places to post my paintings and get feedback. I belong to several private Facebook pages that are for artists.

6. I am learning to be a photographer. My husband is getting ready to retire in July. We bought him a new camera. While doing this, I realized I already had a pretty good camera. I am learning to do my own settings with it. This will give us something to do together when he retires.

7. I am going to learn Photoshop. I just got a Cloud membership from Adobe. Adobe no longer sells most of its software. One has to rent it. Thank you all those jerks who ripped Adobe off and didn’t pay for their software. But it’s not totally unreasonable. I got a really good deal and opted to get all their apps. Most of them I’ll not bother with, but I will try to learn Photoshop, Illustrator and Lightroom.

My next challenge now is to figure out how to put up a slide show of my awards. That is one of the requirements of these awards. At first, I didn’t want to do this. Being an artist, I’m very fussy about the design of my blog. But now, with all these awards, I feel I should be showing them off. I’m going to copy Jenn, and set it up like she has. Wish me luck figuring it out.

art, awards, God

The Inner Peace Award

by Kerry C. Mitchell • November 26, 2013

I Got the Blues

I have been awarded the Inner Peace Award by Ewa at Fibromyalgia and Self Disorders.

This really means a lot to me.

The rules of this award are to say why you choose to accept it, and then pass it on to others.

Before I got sick, I had started a journey to find inner peace. I had done a lot of reading and soul-searching.

Then, fibromyalgia. No inner peace there.

I spent so many years distraught, crying, screaming and generally just miserable.

Then, slowly, I began to pick myself up. I began to piece things back together.

Then I got treatment for Lyme disease. I had gone 15 years flat on my back in bed with the Lyme undiagnosed. Finally, treatment was started and then things began to come together.

I was able to go back where I had been in my mid-30’s and start to find that inner peace I wanted so much.

That is why I started to blog. I wanted to share with others how I had travelled the path of grief over losing my life and had somehow come out the other side.

Now, I am being really challenged. My inner peace and calm are being disrupted.

I have been on the same dose of pain medication since 1993. I had occasional pain breakthroughs, which were treated with additional pain medication. They never lasted longer than a few days. That I could handle.

Sometime in late summer, I started having pain episodes. I tried to ignore them. But they became worse and worse. Now they have turned into constant pain.

My inner peace is really being challenged.

In addition, I am seeing a new provider for pain medication. This woman seems more interested in trying to catch me making her for drugs than she does trying to take care of the pain I have. It is extremely upsetting and stressful.

The stress makes the fibromyalgia worse, which makes the pain worse, which . . . You get the idea.

But I’ve learned some things over the years.

I believe that God will take care of me. I may end up in lot of pain, but I know he will lead me to be able to handle it.

This current person who is prescribing medication may only be a stopping point on the road I’m on. I believe that there is a peaceful ending to this current side trip.

I so want back the peace and pain-free life I had for so many years. But maybe that is not to be. But I want to live up to this award of Inner Peace.

It came at a time when I really needed it, and it means so much.

Thank you, Ewa. You are truly one of God’s angels today.

I am very new to blogging. So I don’t know a lot of other bloggers. However, I would like to pass this award on to some bloggers who have been helpful to me in my journey to find and keep inner peace.

They are:

Dawn Hosking

Jenn at My Fibrotastic Life

Katarina at Painfully Aware

Susan at Owls & Orchids

I have a good friend, Leigh, who is very supportive of my blog, but doesn’t have a blog, yet. I want to add her name in here also.

art, awards

I Got Another Award

by Kerry C. Mitchell • November 14, 2013

Just before I left for Hawaii, super nice Jenn at My Fibrotastic Life, gave me yet another award. I am so honored.

This award is called, I am Part of the Word Press Family. It was started by Shaun whose blog is Looking for reasoning in to a complicated word.

I am very honored to have received this award.

When one wins this award, that person is to award it to ten others. I barely have started blogging, and don’t know that many Word Press bloggers, so I am awarding less than ten.

I am just starting to get that Word Press is a family. Most days at lunch, I sit at my computer and read the blogs I subscribe to. I’m starting to get to know blogging and bloggers. I really look forward to reading the blogs I am getting to know.

I am mostly interested in other artists and people with fibromyalgia/CFS/Lyme. Those two things are most of my life.

I would like to pass this award on to:

Dawn Y. Hosking, who has been so supportive of me and my blog. Check her blog out here.

I would also like to pass the award to another supportive reader, Daniel Milberg, an awesome photographer.

I absolutely have to award Heather Roberts whose blog is Sincerely Ms. Roberts. Her blog is always interesting with subject all over the map.

I always enjoy seeing what Hanno Phenn comes up with in his art. So I include him in this award.

art, awards

I was Nominated, Now You’re Nominated!

by Kerry C. Mitchell • October 17, 2013

Blues

I was nominated for the Reader Appreciation Award. I am so excited and thrilled. Now I get to nominate six of my readers for this award.

Jennifer Avventura started this award to show appreciation to her readers.

For details, please go here.

I was awarded by Jumping Jenny 444. To check out her fabulous blog, click here. Like me, she has fibromyalgia, but manages to go on with life with a great attitude and never feels sorry for herself. A very brave and courageous woman.

Jenny states in her blog, and I totally agree,

“Yes, I have fibromyalgia, but fibromyalgia does NOT have me!”

Like most of life, the Reader Appreciation Award has a few simple rules. Here they are. I managed to handle them, so I’m sure you can.

1. Award your top 6 bloggers who have commented the most.
2. Be thankful.
3. You cannot award someone who has already been awarded. And you cannot give the award back to me.
4. Don’t forget to tell the bloggers you’ve awarded.
5. If you don’t want to pass on this award, that’s okay too. Just admire it.

Here are the readers who are also bloggers I’ve nominated.

Heather Roberts

Eva Macie

Finding My Inner Courage

Beatrice Desper

Daniel Milberg

Marisa Aceves

I also want to mention Leigh Prim, who doesn’t have a blog, but has been super supportive to me in this venture into blogging.