Recapping: The Heart

No doubt that art moves the heart. It sure did this week!

Please click the link below to read the blog of a young mom who's baby went to be in Heaven just 9 hours after birth. I sent her a surprise painting to help heal her heart in memory of her baby.

http://www.happinessatthecore.com/2012/08/28/better-days-and-a-lovely-surprise/

This is the painting I did in memory of baby Maya:

I was reminding of my own story of how a surprise piece of art helped heal my heart after losing my precious, Bliss, last summer.
You can check out our post from last year right here. It will no doubt touch your heart!

http://www.lisscatcreations.blogspot.com/2011/09/ecstatic-joy-of-heaven.html

Hard work, Risk, & Prayer

It is that time of year for beginnings. Risks. Resolutions. Goals. Shaking off the old and taking a big deep breath as you dive into something new.

                                            Happy New Years!!!! -2012-

Now can anyone tell me where December 2011 went? I am so thankful that I was blessed to be painting what seemed to be non-stop, up until Christmas. Thank you to each and everyone of you who showed Lisscat Creations some love in 2011. Whether it was purchasing artwork, reposting tweets/ FB posts, or just shooting us a sweet compliment, please know it was all appreciated! 

It's so crazy to think another year has come and gone. We shared with you the struggles of losing our beloved Bliss last year. I am still amazed when I remember all of the support and love that was received.

I'm sure your 2011 had its share of ups-and-downs too. But is a a new year! A time for a fresh start. It's not like there is something magical in the air that allows us to suddenly become productive and successful upon the new year.... but there is a sense of letting the past be in the past, and allowing ourselves to dream and be prepared to be better in the coming months.

Today I read a great post by the very talented, John Tesh. I posted this to our facebook page. (Click HERE to check it out!) It is about not being afraid to take risks. We can never really grow if we are living in fear. I'm sure this is something we can all relate to. So I know for me personally, and for Lisscat Creations, I want 2012 to be a year about taking risks. It might bring us up, it might bring us down, but in the end it will help us to grow and reach other people.

So I leave you with this - Figure out what it is you want this year. No matter how far away it seems, you can go after it with a lot of hard work, risk, & prayer! (Thanks J. Tesh for this!)

Blessings to you all and Happy New Year!

The Ecstatic Joy of Heaven

This is my card 'studio' (aka the corner of my bedroom). It's been a pretty lonely place lately. It's been just over a month since my sweet little kitty, Bliss, lost his battle to cancer.
Every Friday, we had a tradition to sit on my floor together and bust out some new Lisscat Creations cards. Well, thinking back, I did most of the work, while Bliss would oh so helpfully chew on paper, ribbons, paint brushes, and whatever else was necessary in the making of that card.
In Bliss' absence,  I taped a picture of us to the wall in the corner. The only problem was, it didn't help inspire me, but only reminded me of how much I missed him.

So, needless to say, the card 'studio' has been quite neglected. For those of you who have received cards in the past month, its miraculous those ever got done!

Whats funny, er, not funny, but ironic is.... The night before Bliss died i started writing a blog (it was never posted). I was grieving, but was ready. I was ready to let him go, and ready to let his constant playful joy in life inspire me to keep actively following my passions. But as soon as he was gone, any joy I thought I would have was overshadowed by grief, loneliness, anger... all those feelings no one likes to feel. So sadly, I confess, I let myself grieve, and ignored my art that I had wanted to create inspire others.

Then on Wednesday I received a text from a friend. The preview of the text read "In memory of Bliss".
When I opened the message, I saw this....

My dear sweet friend and her amazingly talented husband thought to draw this out for me. I was floored! Aren't you? Its so freaking amazing and beautiful!
For the first time in a month, I was reminded of how a little drawing (made with a little love) could evoke such joy. When i opened the text, i smiled. Really smiled, like one of those big cheesy grins that make your face sore. :-)
So.... THANK YOU so much to Laura  and Marco Garcia for the beautiful picture, and for digging out a part of me that needed to breathe.

On a final note: Since he was young, Bliss endured so many surgeries, procedures, medications, etc. But he was a fighter, and he chose joy. Despite all the pain and sickness, he was always playing and NONSTOP purring. I want to be like that. I want to ignore the circumstances, and CHOOSE JOY.

bliss  (blɪs)
— n
1.	perfect happiness; serene joy
2.	the ecstatic joy of heaven

Glow

I feel like I have 1000 thoughts buzzing through my mind. They all want to explode out onto this blog as one massive deep thought...BUT all of those thoughts must have bottle necked because that one massive, deep thought is not here yet!

I've spent alot of my free time lately trying to nurse Bliss back to health. When he's sleeping I am finding time to paint or read or pray. All the things I need to and love to do, but dont seem to find just enough time for.

I just finished a book called "Heaven is for Real". It is about a 4 year old boy who went to heaven during surgery, and later tells his parents everything he saw. There were so many parallels in this book that mirrored my situation with Bliss. Just from the stress and struggles of caring for a sick one, to the unknown, to  the miraculous outpouring of emotional and financial love from friends and family. Somehow this book acted as a comforting reminder of God's love for me.

The book also talked about how many colors there are in Heaven. It sounds AMAZING! So I was inspired with this weeks painting. In the midst of life there are always gonna be dark days. Things we dont understand. But like a cooling summer breeze, God's presence is weaving its way in and around us while we  struggle to stand on our darkest days.
This is a mixed media painting on canvas with everything from spraypaint to latex paint, acrylic and watercolor. The dark texture in the back was back from layers of spraypaint and droplets of acetone.
I then layered vibrant strokes of watercolor over the top to give off the colorful glowing effect.
This painting is titled "GLOW" - 7" x  9" and is available for $35 (free shipping). If its for you, send an email to melissa@lisscatcreations.com.

Also, thank you to all of you who helped with Bliss. He was doing better, but now is not feeling quite him self again. Healing prayers are still appreciated! :-) Hope you all got your cards that "he" sent out out this week too!

Back 2 Bliss

Well, as most of  you know, one of our very own "LissCATS" just had a very serious surgery. Bliss had a tumor removed the size of my fist, and the Dr's had to physically remove and then rebuild the entire side of his abdomen. The poor little guy is recovering slowly, but thank God he is still here with us, and fighting!
This procedure ended up costing us a pretty penny, or... however many pennies are in $1000 dollars!
Anyone who knows me, knows my pets are my babies! If they have a chance to be happy and healthy, I just can't let money stand in the way of that. So, I've been selling my artwork in hopes to raise money for Bliss' surgery.
Thanks to all of you, we have raised about $600 within a matter of days! Your love and support mean the world to us!
I am going to post some of the artwork that is available. If you are interested, please drop me a line at melissa@lisscatcreations.com
All proceeds will go to support Bliss' surgery and recovery.

WOLVES - 9" x 12" linocut print ($30.00)

HAND OF GOD - 36" x 24" Mixed media on canvas ($125.00)

ANOTHER WORLD - 7" x 15" mixed media on paper ($35.00)

GOOD LIFE - 7" x 9" mixed media on canvas ($35.00)

SOLO ROJO - 30" x 24" Mixed media on canvas ($100.00)

MASKS - 14" x 18" Original painted screen print ($55.00)