Endings come in all shapes and sizes: from "happily ever after," to "Gosh, am I ever glad that's over." Your art journal is the perfect place to explore, record, and re-imagine a wide variety of endings in your life.
Some of the questions and topics surrounding the theme of "endings" can include:
- Taking a good, long look at endings you've never quite been able to accept: the sudden and unexpected end of a job or relationship; moving from a much-loved home or city; losing a loved one.
- Endings that need closure so you can move on to enjoy and more fully appreciate your current situation.
- Areas in your life that need to end in order to keep your health and sanity, for instance a toxic friendship; a dead-end, low-paying job; an organization that requires far too much of your time with little return or appreciation.
On a lighter note, endings, can also be something to celebrate, especially when the end of one chapter opens the door to a new and brighter future. For instance:
- Graduations.
- Retirement.
- Getting out of a thankless situation.
- Selling a home or business.
- Leaving a job to become self-employed.
- Significant birthdays.
- Moving.
All of these experiences make good fodder for collage, artwork, poetry; creative work that goes a long way toward accepting and even thanking the endings in our lives.
Tip of the Day: If the idea of working with real-life endings sounds too painful right now, or you're just not ready to go there, try this: Consider all the fictional endings you've either enjoyed,or have been disappointed in. What are your favorite book endings? What movies left you saying, "Huh? What just happened there?" How would you change them to create a more satisfying conclusion? And don't forget about all those non-conclusive fairy tale endings. What if Snow White and Cinderella decide they don't want to marry princes after all, or Little Red Riding Hood is really the wolf's accomplice and it's all just a big set-up? Have fun!
6 comments:
The only constant in life is change. In learning to be open to endings (whether we see them as good or bad) we will be much more open to beginnings. There cannot be the latter without the former.
There has to be good endings right? College. Bad relationships.
Thinking about endings is great in story telling. Some things in life though have good and bad endings.
Well done! I don't do art, but they way you discussed endings and explained what you were conveying had me considering and thinking about endings in my life. Could be therapeutic without the art too!
Revisit the Tender Years with me during the #AtoZChallenge at Life & Faith in Caneyhead!
Endings are so complex: sometimes longed for, often dreaded, and always weighted with emotion (at least for me). It can be a difficult subject to work with, and I can understand some people's reluctance to go there. The same applies to creative work: coming to the end of a work-in-progress can be a real challenge, i.e., the thought of never working with your characters again, or wondering if you can repeat the same technique or success. Thanks for visiting, everyone. Great to read your input.
Great idea to rewrite endings of fairy tales.
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