As I have been working on recovering from my eating disorder, I have been blessed with the gift of time to dedicate to the visual arts- something I never quite had time for when I was dancing full-time.
Throughout the course of my life, scrapbooking has made multiple core appearances- each one captivating me and encouraging me to create "more."
What I love about scrapbooking in particular, is the ability to cut and paste memories and essentially tell a story with colors, scrap papers, stickers, and so much more beyond the actual photographs.
What I love about scrapbooking...is the ability...(to) tell a story...beyond the actual photographs.
Then, when I look back upon the pages, I can easily relive those memories and the feelings I experienced in those moments. Additionally, I am transported to my creative process and the journey I went through while crafting the pieces of a particular page together.
My passion for scrapbooking was ignited during the pandemic, when I decided to make a small scrapbook as a gift to my boyfriend for our one year anniversary. I created "Our Adventure Book" inspired by the movie Up using all of our memories of our first year together. Since then, this has become a part of our anniversary tradition we both look forward to- a new depiction of our year in photographs.
This past year has brought on a whirlwind of emotions for me, but scrapbooking has been one of the "pure" arts in my life that have been able to ground me and bring me peace during this otherwise overwhelming time.
Laying out these memories on a page remind me of my "whys" to recover from my eating disorder.
Capturing memories...remind(s) me of my "whys" to recover
One of my favorite content creators and advocates for recovery, Gabrielle Ferrara
( @therapist_with_a_therapist ) talks about how important it is to determine your "whys" for recovery. In other words, the reasons driving you to fully recover from your eating disorder.
In a recent Instagram post, (HERE) titled "Things That Make Me Smile," I shared several methods I have found to be successful for my recovery and hopefully encourage others to appreciate what brings joy into their lives- scrapbooking being one of the more prominent motivators.
Watch some of my scrapbooking process in my latest video, belowThe best part about these scrapbooks is that they inspire me to experience all the world has to offer, so I will have more to reflect on and therefore create.
I am finally living...
-LivingWithGRACE