My Daily Enstallment: Purple Haze

Color is hard! I thought I knew how to use color. As a photographer, I know what to look for, how to balance, how to keep it simple. Yet when I tried to color my tangles anything I thought I knew seemed to fly out the window

This week's The Diva's Zentangle challenge # 54 - Purple Haze seemed simple enough... "use purple". Great! Now what shades of purple? Markers, pencils, or paint? Color or shade? How many colors? Monochramatic or complimentary? Paint the background or leave it? How can adding one color bring so many questions?

Then there is the reason behind the color. The Diva picked purple because "it just so happens that Moebius Syndrome awareness day is in January, and the colour for this disorder is Purple. :) " Her young son struggles with this syndrome, and that of course sits in the back of my mind as I'm choosing tangles and colors. I read the piece the Diva wrote about how this syndrome has affected their family and the challenges they face. As a mother, it rips at my heart to think of what they must think and do to make it througha single day.

One thing that struck me as I read her words was their visit with a photographer. We take for granted the ability to look where we choose by simply moving our eyes to this side or that. Her little boy can not. We express ourselves with a smile or frown, her little boy can not. While this weighs your heart with concern for him and his parents, the words that plucked my heart strings were these...

But the truth is, he has an amazing smile. He has such expression in his eyes, you just know when he's happy. And he laughs and coos, just like other babies do. But if you can catch him in the right mood - he has the teeniest tiniest hint of a smirk - and i'll tell ya, it brings me close to tears each time i see it. Because for someone i was told would NEVER smile.... his little smile is the most beautiful thing in the world.

As a photographer this look in the eyes is what drew me into photography. I still remember vividly the very first time I looked in my daughter's eyes and how deeply you can truly see who they are when you look with your heart.

So all of that brings me to this week's tangle. I'm still such a beginner, but the "TUFTID" tangle made me think of all those little nerves having to meet at just the right time and place to produce one little smile. Trying to make one little line meet another helped me realize what a miracle it is for so many millions of nerves to meet at just the right time and place to produce a smile so many of us take for granted. At the center of my tangle is the symbol of the flaming love of a mother for her child, and the beauty that grows out of even the biggest challenges. Thank you Laura for sharing your story with us.