Meri's Musings

There was a time, about five years ago now, when I started playing with images and saying "what if?" What if I crop this image and try this filter? What if I layer this altered image on top of a scan of one of my mixed media pieces? It was a time when I was trying to stay afloat in a sea of emotion. I couldn't alter my situation, but I could alter images, making them softer, more romantic. I could take my sorrow, merge it with creative energy and make myself into something new. A survivor artist. I could create meaning and come fully into my power as a woman of wisdom. I could speak my truth in visual images and words from the heart. From the ashes, a new life. How have you used sorrow as an impetus for transformation?

What event was so enormous, so impactful, that it serves as the hinge point between "before" and "after" in your life? "Defining Moment" - photograph copyright 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian What happened to change your sense of yourself, of who you are - your feeling of ease in the world - - how you relate to others - - your sense of belonging or being cut adrift - - how you choose to use your gifts? These defining events may have changed you for good or ill, but they unquestionably left their mark. These seminal happenings may be outright blessings, horrible burdens, or blessings in disguise. Everyone can point to one or more than one, at least everyone of a certain age and degree of awareness. What's your defining moment? How did it change you? What wisdom did you gain?