This page in my Molly journal is really about layers.

There was so much rolling around in my heart and my mind that I didn’t set out to create anything specific. My only intention was to keep layering until I had worked through the thoughts, the feelings, and everything I wanted to say.

Before I even opened my journal, I wanted to create papers inspired by nature. Molly loved being outside. She found joy in the little things, so it felt right to begin there.

As I painted, it felt like I was having a conversation with the page. Every brushstroke, every color, every layer seemed to carry a little piece of the story I was living. The paint became the words I couldn’t quite say.

Somewhere along the way, something shifted.

Without really thinking about it, I found myself reaching for colors, mediums, and marks that have always felt like old friends. The things that have brought me joy for so many years. It felt less like making art and more like finding my way back to myself.

As I layered paper, paint, and marks, I also layered memories. I smiled at the beautiful ones, cried through some of the hard ones, and slowly realized that maybe this is what healing looks like. Not a single moment when everything is better, but a gentle return to the things that remind us who we are.

I just kept creating until there was nothing left inside me that needed to come out. And when I finally stepped away from the page, my heart felt just a little lighter.

Maybe you have a story waiting to be told with paint.

You don’t have to explain it to anyone. No one else has to understand what the colors mean or why you chose a certain mark. Your creative practice can simply be a quiet place where your heart has permission to speak.

I hope you’ll give yourself that gift today.

Enjoy the process, and always know that you are loved.

Stencils used: These will be on sale

• Stepping stones 5×8
• Eucalyptus Branches 8×10