Busy day ahead, but I wanted to pop in and share two things!
New cards in the works…
…inspired by this nifty site I discovered this weekend – randomacts.org
Here’s hoping for a lot of little random acts of kindness today!
artist cards
Road Trip Report
Not all, but lots of cards were shared on our weekend adventure.
The ones left and a stash I found while cleaning out a cabinet in the classroom are on their way to a friend on the other side of Austin, Texas.
She was a major supporter of me, as an artist, way back when.
She’s pretty much a major supporter of everyone around her.
She eschews the use of her car; preferring to rely on public transportation and her own two feet. I’m always excited when she is willing to participate in my little project. The cards end up in the most interesting places!
I’ve given up on keeping count. Let’s just say more than a few and less than a lot.
Road Trip!
This is a story about taking 346 art cards on a road trip towards East Texas.
Including this new card:
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” -Van Gogh
I hope a lot of small things come together for you all this weekend.
Gotta go!
Acts of Kindness
I get it. The world can be a tough place: money problems, loneliness, loss, thoughtless people, hurtful words, illness, and the list goes on and on… I understand.
But…the list of the good stuff can go on and on also. I suppose that it’s all a matter of perspective. How do we choose to look at things.
I understand that the host of cranky people I encountered while doing my errands today were probably legitimately having a bad day. But, the sharing of their bad day through their frowns and complaints and generally unkind behavior, did nothing to make the day better for anyone.
What if we all (or just some of us) made an effort to smile at the people we encounter even if they weren’t smiling at us. What if we didn’t gesture rudely at the person who stole our parking place, but just let it go? It’s just a parking place, after all. What if we didn’t get our feelings hurt by the person who thoughtlessly cut in front of us in the grocery line? What if we understood that the rude cashier at the store wasn’t trying to ruin our day?
What if we chose the “high road” and chose to act out of kindness instead of reacting to the unkind and rude behavior of others?
What if?
Here is the World
Out in the world today and tomorrow:
- 40 cards with a quote by Frederick Buechner. This is a re-worked design of a previous card.
- 40 more cards with the Gandhi quote.
- 6 miscellaneous cards I had previously made, but couldn’t laminate until now (Yea for a new laminator!)
- 42 ATC’s that I received in art card swaps.
The art cards from the swaps are beautiful and I love them, but in cleaning out my studio I found them “stored” safely away. I made the decision to share them with the world because I remember experiencing such joy in opening up the packages when they came in the mail. It seems selfish to hoard them when so much work, creative effort, and love went into the making of them.
The world needs more creativity, love and effort – so off they go to bless someone else!
Be the Change
Twenty-nine of the new art card series are ready to give away.
The quote, “We must become the change we wish to see”, is by Gandhi. I’m using a variation of this quote as my “theme” for this year: “Be the change I wish to see in my world”.
It’s a reminder that I am responsible for changing the things that I am unhappy with in my life. Sitting around and feeling sorry for myself and worrying about my problems is pointless. I can’t fix everything, but I can take steps to make things better. Action trumps inaction. Small and steady “steps” will move me in the direction I wish to go. Sometimes it is one step forward and two steps back, but I am finding joy in the effort.
The same thing can be true out in the world. We can change things for the better. Not necessarily in big sweeping efforts, but in small (not insignificant) actions: Kindness, Patience, Love, Thoughtfulness, Awareness…
Let us be the change.
Celebration!
As of this moment…1,000 cards have been made! Over 700 have been sent out into the world.
I didn’t really have a goal like this when I started. Just a vague idea of what I’d like to do.
What next? I guess I’ll just keep making them.
The offer still stands…if anybody else wants to play, I’ll send you some cards and you can share them in your neighborhood. Just send me a note at faithacrestudio@gmail.com.
unearthed 
