Tag: art

The Angel in the Marble

Michelangelo believed that instead of sculpting his pieces of art, he only uncovered what was already deep within. I imagine Michelangelo as a deep artist, a philosopher. He truly believed that when others saw him creating, he saw himself as revealing. Beauty existed before he even placed his hands on the material – he had faith in this, staying humble in his outcomes. We all have a duty and individualized gifts that set us apart by purposes and interests. This is how he saw his own – he had the capability to dig into a masterpiece, find it, and reveal it.

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

-Michelangelo

In the process of revealing sometimes releasing is required. There comes a time when me must learn to let go of what isn’t necessary. And although it may seem like a loss, you may have made room for a masterpiece to reveal itself. Michelangelo trusted in the art of removing and filtering what did not serve purpose. He didn’t dwell in what was lost, he let go and moved forward with even more determination. I imagine him smiling as he worked until the art presented itself. I imagine thoughts flowing through his mind “There you are, I knew you were in there somewhere.” a deep breath in – and then out. “Wasn’t it worth it?” not needing an answer, “Yes” filled the atmosphere.

When we use our gifts that we have rooted within us, we see results that give validation. Michelangelo related all work to the divine. Spiritual purpose. His art was how he communicated with God. It came natural to him. He felt as if he was capable of any piece of work because he was only following what his duty simply was. He was more than capable, Michelangelo became unforgettable.

Michelangelo suggests perceiving the call God has on your life. In a moment of silence and in the moments of passion we become our most intellectual selves. If we take a step back and follow our souls true desire we become aligned in the path paved for us.

J O U R N A L E N T R Y – P O E T R Y

I will open my arms wide to embrace. My hands out to feel. My heart beating to receive. I will clear my eyes to truly see. I will become a portal to let all of life flow through me.

Everything I touch, hear and see – sculpts me into the woman I was always meant to be. What a beautiful world it is when I put down the tools I think I need – instead I become the tool and everything the divine has dreamed for me.

When I am chosen to write, embrace, love, and create – I feel a deep sense of fulfillment seep within me. Intuition floods my bloodstream, a sensual connection, unspoken and rare.

Lord I feel you in the moments where I surrender. I feel purpose in my present, I’ll embrace this connection now into forever – I’ll tell you all about it in reflection and prayer.

-Sadianne Joyce

Eclectic Freedom

NO ONE IS YOU – AND THAT IS YOUR POWER

Rest assured and a deep breath in – you are one of a kind, and one of a kind for a reason. Understand that you don’t need to be understood by everyone. This is what filtered beauty really is. With good practice and soul searching throughout time, I’ve become free from thinking I need to fit into a certain profession, possessions, categories that define who I am. These type of weighing thoughts, or even wants do not exist in my life. This is not where my worth is defined. There’s not certain places I find myself that embody purpose but rather all places.

I value freedom the same way I value love and loyalty – It’s one of the most important aspects of my life. Freedom includes peace to just be. I hold dedication within myself to keep my heart open with not only ease but faith in that ease. I wish for everyone to understand that they don’t need to be defined – they don’t need to fit into a box or a set list of labels. Instead we can resemble all things that weave our heart and soul together. Dreams, ideas, projects, goals, time for all the things you’ve always wanted to do, learn, or visions of who you want to be.

For me, there is gold in understanding that my purpose isn’t in a search but in my current state. I prefer to wake up and be created anew. It truly depends on the day, and at the end of the day it’s important to rest my head knowing I didn’t chase a classification to fit into, I didn’t settle on fulfilling someone else’s expectations or doing what the people around me are doing. Instead I’ll spend my days in leisure with the balance of motivation to be exactly who I am called to be that day.

By nature, I’m only instilled and focused on beauty that resonates within. I wish to be pulled by all that’s alluring to who I am, deeply. I want to be taken to open fields of wild existence, to express and let loose all the parts that shape me. My floating ideas actually keep me grounded. And while some may think free spirits are too fierce, I find that those living in freedom are the most breath-taking creatures to exist. The ones unafraid to be themselves. The ones who express from a genuine place and understand that differences are planted as gifts and it is a pure duty to share.

You don’t have to change pieces of yourself that set you apart from others, these are the parts of you, where the right people at the right time, will show up to admire and love.  

I choose to be limitless. I don’t want to fall under one passion but a multitude. I don’t want to feel pressure when it comes to choosing what’s for me, instead I will be a magnet to all that’s finding it’s way towards me – And when it comes, it will find a home in my ever-growing heart that has a limitless capacity for admiration.

-Sadianne Joyce

Journal Entries: What inspires me? Am I allowing myself the space to create? Am I walking the paths my soul wishes for? A list of collectibles I love. What sparks my rooted gifts and ignites me to dig deeper? Who brings out the best in me? Do I love something for myself because I love it myself? Do I rely on approval by others? Am I fearless in all the right ways? Define eclectic. Define freedom.

My Testimony

 

close up colors landscape picture“The Lord is my Shepard – I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me besides the still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me to paths of righteousness.”

He makes me. He leads me. He restores me.

There was no other way. Every day and especially come night, I had a relationship with God – he came in to protect me. When I think of my childhood I think of my Mother. She had an energy about her that gave me safety. Even when her environment was unsafe, my Mother didn’t allow fear to cross her. Gods protection reminded me of my Mom, but I knew with Gods protection that it wasn’t just me that was kept safe, it was both her and I, my sister, my Father, everyone surrounding me – which made my relationship with God a priority. It’s as if he came to me and I surrendered. I knew that all would be okay as long as I followed this feeling and trusted a higher form of care. As a kid our relationship felt like the greatest, private tale of all time, yet it was real. It was existing, sometimes a gut feeling – I didn’t know precisely what this love was, but I knew I would never move in the opposite direction. And it carried me all the way to the next chapters of my life. When I think of my life and the testimony that belongs to me, there is not a certain moment that was a defining moment. My testimony has lived within me since I came to understand the safety that followed after I allowed God to take care of my family and I. Prayer would blossom out of me. I wasn’t taken to church religiously, but my mind understood the beautiful, miraculous wonders that something much larger had to of been the Creator. I wasn’t religious in terms of following a set of rules but I had an undeniable, personal relationship that I embrace to this day. Spirituality is my movement. Everyone around me knew that my experiences were outside the ordinary for a child my age, I grew up fast. I had no other choice, the same way God came in and took care of my life. Our safety. He made me lay down, rest, and realize he was the only one who could restore all of the hurt, fight and confusion.

My mom received a phone call, I heard the detective on the other line tell her to turn around, they found him. “Where is he?” My Mother asked. The detective responded and told her he would speak to her in person. I pushed my head into the seat and prayed the hardest I’ve ever prayed in my life. In that moment I felt the presence of God surround my being. It was clarification, understanding and knowing that the feeling I’ve been feeling, came over my body in full. I was no longer having just a taste of what my relationship was, I became fulfilled. I prayed so hard I could barely breathe. It was my initial reaction, to speak to God. To let him know that I am here. I am with him. He let me know he was with me.

“Please. Let him be okay.” I whispered. I would soon find out that he was. He was no longer in pain. No longer addicted. No longer fighting control. As I prayed, I felt as if my Dad was taking my hair, tucking it behind my ear, rocking me back and forth, telling me, “I am okay. And you will be too. Your mom. Your sister. The days to come. The man who will fill in. I am not far, I am here with you. I hear you, not in the way I used to. But you are all knowing and you will never go a day without my attention.”

The rest of the night is a blur. It could have been the tears covering my eyes or the sound of the scream I heard from my Mom when the detective told her they found my father dead. I stayed in the car when she went in to have the conversation. Looking at my sister in her car seat I wondered how this could be. Tears fell from my face, my sister in my arms. This was now my battlefield. His hurt is gone and ours will worsen for some time. But because God is with me, I will never fail, the pain will not last, understanding will come over my heart, it will take years but it will come. I will never lose sight of the proof that we have a protective God. My fathers death was a grudge that I held for awhile. Sadness turned into anger and anger turned into anxiety.

I fought to forgive my Father for all he has missed and all he will miss out on, for the love I poured from my small being, feeling as if I could have done better… Wishing I would have done more… I forgave him. For making my Mother a warrior, not because she wanted to be but because she had to be, she was a survivor while sometimes feeling like she was losing. I forgave him for leaving. He left me with the most powerful lesson. He didn’t leave me empty handed and I often wonder if he as well, had a relation with God that offered pure peace. It took me a long time to realize this. He introduced the purest, most powerful love. And this is where my strength comes from, the relationship I had with God as a young age. It wasn’t because of the experiences I went through but because of the faith my small being had. Sometimes we go through ultimate darkness so we are made to kneel down, to have one choice but to give ourselves to the one who holds reason and I made the choice to do so. Even when it didn’t make sense, it does now. And I understand that I have been encountering God in special ways ever since.

With arms wide open and a broken heart, anger in my soul, misunderstanding when happiness was present, unknowingly defending all pain, carefully taking myself out of joyful situations because it felt too good to be true, I remembered that this is not what God would want for me. And most certainly not my Father, who wished with his entire being – to give me the very best. I not only forgave my Dad. I forgave myself and let the weights drift from my shoulders. I let go and let God in, again, again and again. And each time I would find that same feeling of guidance, fulfillment, a sense that I was being waited for. Restoration occurred and I am now the woman I am today because of the witness I grew up to be. There is no other way, there is no other choice, God is the center of my life, and the reason as to why the gospel I take in is so moving.

I pray that those who have their own testimony share their voice with others. I pray that those receiving, dance to the gospel.

I pray that those who have not had the opportunity to experience such a relationship, open their hearts and realize the rest will follow.

Trust in this.

The rest will follow.

-Sadianne Joyce

“It takes courage to give voice to what we experience, the way a coyote howls: not just out of hunger, but out of visceral joy at being a part of the infinite secret revealed. In this way, we’re angels wrapped in skin and fur, racing through thicket after thicket because we sense what can’t be seen all around us.” -M. Nepo

Personal Reflection

“You have to find your own style, and it’s difficult to define what style is. It’s not what you’re wearing; it’s how you wear it. It’s something very personal, and it reflects the way you live and your house, the books you read, the art you have.” -Carolina Herrera

Welcoming Abode + Attire to Studio Strive. A place I will continue to share my soul with my readers but also my style. Style to me has always kept my heart inspired. It’s my walk, my movement, and it’s not something that I’ve created from someone else. It begins as a relationship to what already feels part of me. Sometimes a find feels like a long lost friend. Anyone else have a silk blouse, a vintage frame holding unknown art, a thrifted book or a piece of jewelry, call to them in a way you also feel true love? If not – I’ll explain the feeling best as I can. It’s a form of immediate confirmation. Expression and creation. It’s not materialistic, it’s originality and art. Handmade, handpicked and protected by the heart that chose it.

My blogs new category, Abode + Attire allows me to share my finds, the finds that call me by name, the ones I dance my way to the sound of its voice. Style is so much more than the clothes you wear, the items you buy, what is trending or what relates to fame. Style is the core of your being. What makes you feel good? What adds to your personal touch? Who do you wish to be? If your items would be placed on an authentic quilt, placed as if they were having a picnic between themselves, would they define the best version of you? When the items we own surround us without meaning, our life becomes meaningless and crowded. 

Personal style is accepting who you are, and to begin – we must be aware and unafraid to express all that calls to us. Answer the call and enjoy a life full of creation that resembles the creation that you are. A sight worth reflection. We are meant to have connection, it sets us apart and brings us together. Inspire others and become inspired. Admire style and become style. When we live a life full of art, life never knows boring.

-Sadianne Joyce

Fluency Exposed

Our language will be heard. Will it be understood? A chance we decide to take. One I admittedly love to take. There’s something alluring about walking into an environment and offering all I can be in true expression. There’s nothing more and nothing less that I can give when I am true to everything within. When I speak in a language that only aligns with all I am and all I can be, I soon experience who reciprocates.

Who speaks my language? The ones who understand without actual words. Energy that weaves through present space with ease and communion. Hearts that comfort. A shoulder to lean on without needing to ask. The ones who see simplicity as the greatest luxury. Everything materialistic will never hold the substance that something intangible can. Rhythms that sync and heartbeats to dance to. Foundation of trust and respect that’s constant. Passion that drips over conversations that impact and shift. Understanding that hard work is not only done in a workplace but personally. Value in existence radiates. Those who show up and are undeniably authentic to all that has shaped them. The creators, the artists, the enthusiasts. The ones who celebrate what calls directly to their heart. The ones who celebrate loudly and are unashamed of where their attention admires. The ones who bravely grasp onto what calls them near, even if others do not see the same beauty. The explorers. The ones who have sights, stories and poetic prose tucked carefully in safekeeping of their hearts. An example, an inspiring figure that takes up space in ones own style. A good character who only uses judgement from divine intuition. Those who are easy on themselves, loving always, even when it’s hard. Hearts that are whole, yet have room. Forgiveness and wisdom goes hand in hand. The ones who respond in vulnerability. The ones who expose challenges, knowing that support is not a sign of weakness but a battle to be fought together. The ones who keep faith near and trust in the process. Knowing that our connection alone holds significance, rhyme and reason.

If reciprocation does not take place it is not a time to feel alone. It is a time to celebrate differences, pure formation in truth. Take any failed connection as higher purpose guiding. Take any confused comprehension as understanding that it was never meant to be interpreted. Not everyone is meant for us and this is a beautiful part of life. Not every aspect of life is supposed to reflect perfection. Trust in this. Carry on. And always, continue to speak your language.

Fluently so.

-Sadianne Joyce

A Sculpted Masterpiece

There is a creator within all of us – it’s in our blood. We are a sculpted masterpiece, let us never forget.

As we are many things, we remain human, which allows us to fall into states of seeking, wanting only what we think will fill a void. Without realizing that everything we need is already within us, darkness can arrive. If we feel that our fire is burning out, when we forget, lack, and don’t feel the need to keep adding fuel – we become cold. Light is no longer, the atmosphere dims and our vision isn’t clear.

Depending on the season of my life, I will have an undeniable light within and around me. While other times I need to push harder and gather energy to stay inspired.

When we feel darkness approaching let us not stray too far. Let us remember that we only become lost when we step outside of ourselves. Our resources to regain, refocus and recreate are within us. The creator who created us would not leave us without the tools to become our best selves whenever we are genuinely motivated to put our best foot forward.

When we doubt what we’re capable of we’re putting borders upon our craft and limiting our outcome. Why is it so easy to be hard on ourselves? Why is it so hard to believe that yes, we in fact, can. We can do anything our heart desires. We are capable of much more than what we allow ourselves to know. Excuses are easy when our environment isn’t to it’s fullest potential, but what we forget is that our environment can shift, change and become redesigned by our own hands. Let us roll up our sleeves and become the artist who knows what they are capable of and unafraid to take the leap into movement.

Let us take a look at everything before us. Sometimes all we need is our surroundings to come to a breathtaking stillness. In this stillness we will see what no longer serves purpose. Room for new essentials will be available. I will surrender in letting go. I will move forward in growth, ignited light and conditions that enhance my soul.

We are a masterpiece always, even when we lose sight that everything we need is within. We are all growing, we are all learning, we are all coming home from being lost time and time again.

Our tension releases. Our posture lifts. Our spirit is felt. Our eyes see clear. Our language is heard. Our heart is healthy. Our mind is fulfilled with fresh thoughts. Our body is balanced. Our home is loved. Our tools are useful. Our creation lives.

-Sadianne Joyce

Poetic Prose

“Give me a museum and I will fill it.” Pablo Picasso

Someone once asked me, what does art mean to you? A forever changing answer, a forever inspiring response.

To put in words… I would say… Speaking emotion, feeling emotion. Forgiving and apologizing. Being so real that after I release not only words but energy, I feel naked. It’s change in comfort. The way people look back after walking away. It’s treasures we keep, the gold and the silver. It’s saying what you want to say and feeling like truth. It’s the magic part of life that gives us answers, even when we don’t go looking. The ah-ha moments. The intuitive messages. It’s connecting with the ones like myself, the ones who carry the same mystery in discreet fact. I call it the art of just knowing.

If you were to feel me in the way I feel for you, the depths under surface level would be exposed. I can take someone, some thing in with my eyes diving deep inside. Seamlessly like hands at your sides. Art is forgetting the calm and indulging in a storm. The thunder is heard and lightning is born. The sound of souls that glide, this is when night comes alive – I’ll take you there. I’ll show you here. It’s poetic prose and unheard lyrics. I can switch gears and turn something to music.

A craft so unique a heart craves to eat. I can shape you, form you, I see you in a God’s view. Art is energy that’s contagious, a love that’s courageous, opposite of tasteless.

A burning passion to what calls my name. Perfection in aim. Undeniable attraction, I’ll present you creation Picasso couldn’t imagine.

-Sadianne Joyce

Watch me as I go

Take a moment to remember where you come from. What you have seen. The experiences you’ve gone through alone and with others. After remembering, I like to let go. I can’t let go completely – the miles I have traveled brought me to the person I am today. Some moments are so monumental that I can never forget. But the miles I have traveled are not meant to keep me consumed. They are meant to take me places. Places that have been waiting for me. And I, traveling to them.

The sky pink. I wanted to reach out and wear it. Knowing the tone would compliment my cheeks that blush so easily. The crescent moon soon, so shyly and innocently will let my silver jewelry catch light to shine. Etta James on the radio escaping out of the windows I prefer down in words of “A Sunday Kind of Love”
My hands grasping the steering wheel, lightly. The soft atmosphere accompanied my long drive. The length of time my tires were on the road wasn’t discriminated and I was at ease.
My movement spoke in the way of a child on a summer day “Catch me if you can.” and like the woman deserving of love and love only, on this day “Watch me as I go.”

To beautiful heights and freedom brushing my hair. If I am alone please don’t mistake me as lonely. A life given of breathtaking wonder, I stand tall and in charge of my worth. Paving a path where no trail has ever been. I walk in understanding validation cannot come from outside sources. I find it from within, the fulfillment that I seek. There is nurturing that I must complete and acceptance I must give. There is beauty to be seen and admiration to be felt. I have this power to extend my heart because I am whole, I am one and I have everything I need.

Dig if you must, get your hands dirty to refine and define. Be your own muse and your own greatest company. Celebrate those who have bravery in their souls to allow space in being exactly what their heart desires. Become inspired by the personal style and story others carry. Let it be your pleasure by giving yourself the same amount of freedom. Self acceptance is self love. Never hide all that you discover. Let it float to surface and embrace it in confidence.

Love yourself until your heart is overflowing. There is no capacity. Your heart will overflow and I wish that you let it. Allow yourself to overflow in worthiness, you will be felt by those around you. They will be able to indulge in what you have to offer without making you any less of who you are.

Be consumed for who you are. Step out and know that the path is yours. You decide what is on the sidelines, you decide your pace, you decide how beautiful you perceive the sight to be. Any door you enter will be presented with purpose and authenticity. Stand in love. Sway with the wind. Be wild with your truth and never apologize for the freedom you speak.

Let me admire. Let me inspire. I will do so anyway. My distinctive aura and my exclusive love invites you in. The true you. The real you. The unedited and one of a kind you.

-Sadianne Joyce

A Hummingbird’s Reflection

I remember sitting carefully watching a hummingbird fly in and out of my view. How can a rib cage that small protect a heart that is so vital for survival? How is it possible that something so tiny be so full of life, fast and ready for flight? The color in the feathers gleamed with a glow that felt outside of realities possibilities. The movement of it’s wings were sound of vibration. This small being moved in balance of ease and determination, knowing it was capable.

If a hummingbird were to fly into war, I imagine that all would stop and soon gather around its graceful movement. An intriguing presence would make the battle hush and all would factor the delicacy of its being. Silence would overcome any battleground and because they chose to hear the music, they would be in awe of the noise its body made.

A realization takes place when we mirror the importance of existence. If we wonder upon others with such observation and elegance, it’ll be easier to focus on our equality of worth. We often lack an understanding of empathy. Empathy is often mistaken as wrong or weakness. It’s possible that we are used to living in a world of controversy, judgement and expectation. When we forget to show sensitivity towards others we are forgetting to love the very creation of what brought us all here. Every judgement we make, assumption or fight we choose – we are deciding to be a reflection of that very decision. Whether we choose to see beauty or darkness, the result will speak on our own existence and reflect in our own being. Whether we become better or bitter, we will become the energy of our own response. Our capability of embracing the worth of even small beings – such as a hummingbird, will be felt. Our capabilities will allow us to attract or repel. Grow or stay.

We may see something, a place or person and question upon it’s depth – how in the world can something be so breathtaking? How can something that cannot speak make me understand? How can a sight take away all my words even when I am not speaking? How can someone silence a room just by the energy of their presence? The answer is simple, we can find it in our own reflection of this astounding possibility. By the beauty we choose to see, by the depths we decide to explore, by the risk we brave, by those we surround ourselves with and by simple care of even the small, we mirror what we take away. We determine the power we give our reflection.

When I see something as delicate and beautiful as a hummingbird I allow myself to be in wonder of all that it is and all that I am. The way we question the possibility of something else’s beauty, know that we are worth the same amount of admiration.

Let a monument feel more monumental because you are standing upon it. Know that you are an experience – people will carry your heart in their own. Awaken others by stepping out and into the light by being God created refinement. Be so loving children and animals can’t help but rest their head in your peace. Treat your heart as if it was protected between the size of a hummingbirds rib cages, worship your delicacy, mirror the strength.

Let us fly into war and come out survivalists because we chose to see the beauty and be the beauty.

-Sadianne Joyce

Enhancing by Choice

To be creative means to be in love with life… People are walking exteriors of unique ingredients. We are a place of expression, a sanctuary of thoughts that are crafted by the artist within us. We have a choice to wake up and use our hands to make something beautiful. To use our mind to radiate warm energy. To use our words to inspire hearts to beat. To use our sound to make rhythm easy. To use our eyes to see the light. And so on.

Thank life for being so giving. How blessed are we to have the choice of what we taste? What we allow. How we can perceive challenges as lessons to be learned…

In each day I want to be seen for my energy. I want to be felt for graceful movement. I want to be heard by what I radiate when words are not spoken… And when words are spoken I want to be a sensation of born emotions. I have a choice in waking up and making the most out of the life I was given. I have a choice in enhancing life by giving the gift that was born within me, my creativity.

We can all be creative. Creativity is not a gift that one is born without. We can find it within us, each one of us. It depends on us – are we going to be a supplier of what lays beneath the surface? Creativity is not always a physical creation that we make in front of us but an intangible specialty. Create with your thoughts, your love and the emotion others can walk away with. Create even if results are not immediate. A process is often required for a masterpiece to blossom.

Perfect a tilted object in the way only your magic allows. Reach out until you are satisfied. Give something your touch, you were meant to adjust subjects that call to you. If we have a motive or a dream that entails shifting then we must step foot in it’s path. This desire is not placed with coincidence. Your magic is calling. Your creation is answering.

-Sadianne Joyce

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?”

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”