Playing with blocks again.....

I can get lost in a childlike place when I start playing with art blocks again! I love the layering of messages and the surprising combinations that emerge. These two new sets can be found here and here on ebay where you can see many more pictures of the multitude of reflections that are possible from each set. May you discover something surprising today...look at your surroundings or curcumstances from a new angle or perspective...let your view be enlarged.

Childlike Hope...

I was so excited to receive my first collage sheets from JoAnna Periotti of Moss Hill Studios. This piece is my first submission as part of her Design Team. It had been dancing in my thoughts since the first time I saw JoAnna's sweet paper doll dress designs. You'll have to take a peek at her website as she will be continuing to add adding beautiful new designs to inspire your creativity! More pictures of this work can be found here on ebay! Well I am headed into the studio. I have made a new committment to myself...first thing in the morning....before chores...before bills...before the to-do list kicks in...(and should be before I get on to check email and end up in blogland...haha)...to start the day by creating one piece of art no matter how big...or small! Releasing the inner musings of my creative world at the dawning of a new day always seems to ease the shadows from the night and put my heart in a hopeful place!

Free My Soul.....

Free My Soul.....

to fully live...

to move without fear....

to create

with uninhibited abandon...

unleash my imagination

to dance in color....

free my heart to love...

and express my passion...

move my being towards

those that will illuminate

my path....

and breathe hope into

the broken places...

Free my mind and body...

to walk through

the open doors...

through risk and into

boldness and courage....

Free all that it is within me

to openly embrace

this gift of life.....

Lani Kent Copyright 2008

New ACEO Dangle on Ebay!

Masquerade.....

"Behind rose-colored glass

and masks that

hide the truth......

awaits the multitude of colors

that reflect from a heart

yet unveiled....

...wrestling...

....yearning for release....

For it is in the setting free

of all that is secret....

all pretense....

that which shields

the soul from light...that a heart's true journey can finally take flight"

Poetry by Lani

Copyright 2008

Original Art Card now on Ebay!

Love Heals.....

"Love Heals"...New Original Art Card Assemblage on Ebay!

Days of healing and new opportunity.....

Thank you so much for all of your heartfelt prayers for my son! Yesterday we finally got the news we had been hoping for that the infection from his surgery has cleared. He is home now recovering and it seems we are out of the woods! We are now focusing on his weight loss and already making gains there as well! He is anxious to join his friends in summertime fun and finally celebrate his graduation!

These last weeks reminded me of a beautiful original canvas I purchased from artist Sharon Tomlinson. You can see more of her beautiful work at AllNorahsArt. I was drawn to this piece as it spoke to me about the common thread of struggle and pain we all share at one time or another and how we can support and encourage each other by offering to carry some of the heartache for a season....that a caring community is a catalyst for healing. I know we experienced that throughout this ordeal with our son and are so grateful for all the prayers, cards, meals, hospital visits, childcare and shoulders to lean on!

I also wanted to share some exciting news! I am honored to have been asked to become a part of the design team for Moss Hill Studios. Artist and friend JoAnna Pierotti has long been a creative inspiration and I absolutely adore her work. She has launched a new line of collage sheets that can be found on her website and in her Etsy store. I just I can't wait to see what creations will be inspired by her sweet designs! So stop by, meet the other design team members and take a peek at JoAnna's blog. I will be sharing more about this new journey as soon as my collage sheets arrive and I have a chance to see where the muse takes me! Hope you all have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

Honor and Give Voice.....

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and sweet comments as my son is back in the hospital and dealing with complications from his previous surgery. My heart is so heavy for him today and it is so hard to watch your child in pain. Many wonderful friends keep reminding me to take care of myself during this difficult time. The best way I have found to do that is to put my fears and heart struggles into art. I found a brief moment of quiet in between trips to the hospital and created another mini ACEO journal as a reminder....that all of our deepest feelings deserve a voice...and a place of honor. This new little journal can be found here on ebay today. May you have the company of a kindred soul today to remind you that you are not alone and always loved!

Share Your Feelings......

Its been hard to squeeze in some time to create lately but my soul desparately needed that release today! The mini journal is actually designed with a sweet little composition book and has an original ATC on the cover and little collage tags inside too. I also played with another set of inspirational art blocks! Both of these new pieces can be found here on ebay! Hopefully next week after hubby's vacation is over (he is in major project mode around the house and backyard), I will find my way back into the studio!




Thought I'd share a little of my husband's garden artistry! His love of gardening always brightens my world and creates a wonderful place to relax and gather your thoughts! May the sun be shining in your corner of the world and if things have been hard...and there have been shadows....may the suns rays usher in warmth and bring light to the darkness!

Seasons of change....

Its been a busy and emotional week! Thanks for all your sweet emails and well wishes for my son! He is doing better every day and was able to attend his graduation ceremony! I know it is such a cliche..but I am really living it....I just can't believe my first born has reached this milestone! During the ceremony, I had this surreal moment when I looked up to the stage and saw the great big sign "Class of 2008". I felt myself floating back to the delivery room and holding my new baby boy in my arms. I remember calculating what year it would be when he graduated high school...the year 2008...which at the time felt like a lifetime away! It was the oddest sensation that swept over me....that he and I had traveled 18 years together! I can feel the whirl of emotions beginning to wash over me these days of what this transition will mean. Whether I am ready or not it is upon me and we are beginning another season. I keep telling him he has time to continue searching for who he wants to be...to figure out what he wants to be. It seems to be the question of the hour from the world when you are eighteen. Its seems so unfair to me that they should feel like they need a neat and tidy answer. I keep reminding him even those of us who are in our late 40's (Ok...that is surreal too!), are still trying to figure that out...are still growing, changing and discovering new things about ourselves....and trying to decide what we want to be when we grow up!

Eight months pregnant and a serious shoulder pad addict! Was I the only one who wore these things under every conceivable piece of clothing...haha! Some merciful soul should have quietly and kindly let me know I looked like a football player! OH my sweet baby...I just can't believe that child is now a young man!

I AM WHAT I AM.....

"He sees the me no one sees...and yet He loves me....and chooses me anyway....His heart reaches for my soul...."

Out of Hiding.....

"You invite my fearful heart out of hiding.....to reclaim my dormant wings and risk the soaring heights of healing"

I wanted to share a new card found here on ebay. I haven't had much time for creating art as our life took an unexpected turn a week ago. I have been staying up at the hospital with my oldest son who had emergency surgery. His spirits are slowly rising and his body recovering. Its amazing how quickly life refocuses and what reallly matters becomes crystal clear. The to-do lists go out the window, little things don't matter and all that does matter is being there for your family! Its been a blessing to have this time with him to just sit and quietly be together as he continues to heal. Hopefully we will be back home by the weekend where his recovery can be bathed in the comforts of home!

Chains of the past......

"There is freedom for the soul
bound in the chains of the past"

New original art card found here on ebay!

Tender scars and secret hurts......

"You can trust me kindred soul... to hold your tender scars...and cradle your secret hurts...together we will walk this journey towards healing"

Where would we be without trusted and sacred cummunity...kindred hearts who walk along side some of our most difficult experiences? While I made this card today I was reminded of how much growth is encouraged when a friend is able to move into our seasons of pain and struggle with us...without judgement or offering simple solutions...without questioning the validity of our hurts...without need to control or try to shorten grief's duration...but simply joining hearts on the journey with us...for the long haul..for the length and depth of the season. My prayer this day is that you have such a friend...and that we can all be such a friend to another. This new art card can be found on Ebay!

Refreshing Time Away.....

Thanks so much for all your well wishes for a wonderful time away! I had the most relaxing time visiting my dear friends in Tennessee and Atlanta! I headed to Tennessee first to celebrate my friend Brenda's reaching her long time goal of getting her Masters in Counseling. I was so honored to share this milestone with her. She and her family have the most gorgeous place out in the country that took my breath away! It was like being at a retreat! Lots of time to just take country walks, enjoy teatime and take the horses on a ride! I must admit when I got on my horse "Belle" and she started galloping like the wind (OK she was probably only trotting) I thought I would pee my pants! I just think horses are the most amazing animals whose eyes are just full of such soft emotion. We headed to Nashville one night and took in the wild country music experience. I never saw so many Harleys in one place! What fun it was to see the expression on Brenda's face when her hubby and girls presented her with a new puppy for graduation! What a handful "Maliaka" (which means sweet sugar in Swahili) is going to be!


We headed to Chattanooga to meet up with my long time pal Christina. We have made so many memories over tea the last 20 years. We always have to find a tea house whenever we meet to share whats been stirring in our hearts about life, faith, family and our hopes and dreams. I traveled on to Atlanta with Christina to spend time with she and her precious family. It was so fun to just hang and do life with them for a few days. Years ago it was running around with our toddlers and now we are getting ready for the graduation ceremonies of our kids! We had some excitement when the tornado sirens went off one night as we were out on a walk. It was wild to watch the sky darken and clouds begin to swirl, the winds picked up, lightning and thunder started up a chorus and the finale was a huge downpour...all in the course of about 20 minutes...then calm was restored. We headed to Marietta Square in the morning for some starbucks and shopping and found the most stunning pieces of artwork! Theres nothing like hanging with friends that are like family and who encourage the next steps in your journey! So I am home trying to settle back in. It always takes me a while to get back in the swing of things and creating again but I hope to be back in the studio next week!

Taking flight.....

"Risk revealing who you are so you can live
in the revelation of all you were meant to be"

I will be taking flight early in the morning tomorrow to head to the east coast and meet up with two special friends of mine. I am really looking forward to some serious "chick" time and just getting to hang with two of my favorite "peeps"! So I will be MIA for the week but hope you'll open yourself up to a new adventure while I am away...take some chances...paint with a daring color...walk through that half open door...embrace risk...get your hands messy...stretch and grow...start a new day...and create a new dream! I'll tell you about my adventure when I get back!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a quiet and relaxing Mother's day. One of my favorite things to do is sit and chat with my boys at Starbucks! Hand me a "double tall non-fat Mocha Extra Hot With Whip" and we are good to go (even my sons have got that order down for me!).I pray this day brought you comfort in remembering and honoring those you love!

Thanks so much to all of you who joined in on the art blessing giveaway! I was moved and inspired by the stories many of you shared about causes that were close to your hearts! I am happy to announce that the three winners of the art dangles are Mere (Victorian Lady), Becky (Heart in my Hand) and Cheryl (Signs of the times)! Congrats and I will be contacting you for info to send the dangles out to each of you!

The Healing Journey.....

"The healing journey begins with the
first courageous step...Trust your heart"
New original mixed media collage on canvas which can be found here on ebay! Also listed a new set of inspirational art blocks! Thanks so much for peeking in on me today! There are a couple more days left to sign up for my art blessing giveaway a couple posts below! The drawing will be held on Mother's Day! May life offer you a new door to open...a first step to take today! Creative Blessings!

New art cards to share....

"In her brokenness she became real"




I am often asked where the phrases or sentiments I put on my art cards come from....or how they come to me. I found myself really aware of that process as I created today. Many times the musings emerge as I reflect on the tender words a friend who came along side my own journey might have shared with me, or thoughts and feelings that have stirred deep within my own heart....wrestlings, longings, fears, hopes, dreams. There are times when I am thinking of a friend who is in a heartbreaking situation and what she might need to hear. Then there are the moments when God is whispering something I need to hear or gently inviting me to learn through a difficult lesson. They seem to arrive at unexpected moments and always in a way that feels like serendipity! I hope these speak to you and stir their own unique meanings for your journey. These new art cards can be found here on ebay. Be sure to take a peek at my giveaway below and join in!

Art Blessing Giveaway!

Well its that time again!!! I love the opportunity to give away blessings of art and have three art dangles I thought I would offer this time for the Art Blessing Giveaway! I have been thinking so much about the wonderful ways that we can reach out and help others in need and all of the worthy causes there are to support. I wondered if you might add a note with your comment if you are participating in the drawing and share briefly about a cause that is close to your heart, or one maybe you have supported now or in the past, maybe its a hope or dream that you have to help a particular group of individuals, an animal shelter, reading to needy kids, a big sister program....the possibilities are really unlimited! I just thought it would be encouraging and uplifting to read about all the ways our hearts have reached out in the past or hope to reach out in the future....a chance to pause and maybe even consider new ways that we could support those in our communities and our world! Sometimes its the smallest of gestures that can usher in the deepest of changes! So if you would like to join in the giveaway just be sure to leave your contact info in the comment as well and on Sunday, May 11, I will draw three names for the art dangles pictured in this post! May you find hope as you awake to each new day this week!