Cyme and Pink Ribbons
I truly believe in the healing powers of drawing and meditative art. Here's my little story:
November 11, 2010 marks the day I was first diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic cancer. Exactly a year later -- November 11, 2011 -- I was declared in remission and cancer free (you're never declared entirely "cured"). I still had a long road ahead of me, with multiple surgeries and very slow recovery. As you can imagine, this date -- 11/11 -- became an important milestone.
Guess what? 5 years later, I FORGOT the date, and only realized it the next day, November 12th!!!! It was a truly wonderful and indescribable feeling. [clear]
What's interesting to me is HOW I was reminded of the date:
After completing the weekly Facebook Group Shading Challenge tile -- this week we focused on CYME, a flowery petal-like pattern -- I realized that this tile turned out very unusual compared with my usual style, it's super soft with pale pink and grey colors.
The final picture looks to me like some sort of alien cactus flower pushing against the the wind, with pink ribbons flying away, and lovely red gemstones. I wondered WHY this tile turned out the way it did.
When I finally realized the date -- November 12, the day after my personal milestone -- I was suddenly struck and overwhelmed by the powerful symbolism associated with the pink ribbons and the flower pushing against the wind.
As you can see, even though I forgot the date, somehow my mind needed to celebrate this very important milestone - I'm still here, and making every single day count!
I used grey copic fineliners and brown ink pen to create the lineart, and copic brush nib markers for the shading. The pink tint was created with pink and white colored pencils, while the gemstones were created using colored pencils and markers. You can find a complete list of my favorite materials here.
Here's a progression for you to download:
The powerful healing this one single tile brought me reaffirms once again how important it is to create art!
-Eni