The Search For Validation. 💟
Last time I checked, there wasn’t a scale for kindness, morality or sense of humour. There wasn’t a grade system for your ability to be swept away inside a beautiful song, or a book, or a poem. There’s no number that can be assigned to the impact your art can have on others, or the way your lover holds you when you come home defeated after a bad day.

I love social media, and I think it can bring all kinds of beautiful things into people’s lives - connection, art, sharing someone else’s joys, the bond of humanity across cultures. Social media essentially brought me a career in something I love, so I owe social media quite a lot.
That said, I’ve found it quite difficult to separate my art from the number that sits next to it. I’ve struggled with not questioning myself when faced with 200+ souls clicking a button to unfollow my work each time I share a new piece. Social media is rewiring us to find our validation in our phone screens, and I can promise you - it’s not there.
I’ve decided to start up a blog - somewhere with no measurements or numbers - to put all my thoughts and behind the scenes. My first post is the making of this image, as well as my journey of social media, and how it’s affected my self esteem. It feels exciting to be taking care of my “art & soul” (see what I did there?) a bit better!

www.rosiehardy.com/blog

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Channeling my inner Pocahontas with leaves, leaves and a few book leaves!
My old apartment lease expires in two days, and I’ve been getting super sentimental about it. I’m leaving behind nothing in the way of furniture (or even dust, for that matter), but I am leaving behind a lot of memories - in fact, the entirety of my happiest years in adulthood were spent there.
This fills me with nostalgia and melancholy more than sadness, because the chapter I’m moving into is so exciting - I’m the most loving, fulfilling relationship which has the strongest friendship behind it. I never used to be able to see myself giving up that apartment and living with someone, but with James I couldn’t see myself living without him now. I’m (still) (constantly) learning to let things be, let old memories lie, and have made both physical and literal room for all the new moments comin’ for me. It sounds so corny (because it really is) but I am so happy to be starting this new chapter of my life! 😊🍁

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Childhood is not from birth to a certain age - childhood is a state of mind. The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.” ― Edna St. Vincent Millay
I’ve absolutely loved being a kid again today in my cardboard armour!
But if I'm being honest, and I want to always be honest... accessing that magical, childlike essence of life has become a bit of a struggle for me, these last few years. You know what I mean - the ability that the open-hearted possess to be totally floored by a sunset, or moved to tears by a sentimental thought or a kind gesture - life has felt a little less vibrant for me lately. My biggest fight right now seems to be batting reality away with a big stick (or in this case, a cardboard axe!) and keeping it away from what’s left of my childlike heart. It is to not let the awful things people do ruin my idea of human nature. It is to remain curious, despite all the answers to the questions I quite liked having unanswered... Who wants to join my cardboard army?! I think it might just be the best fight there is. ⚔️

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(flashback from my 365s)
"Strange, how we decorate pain." - Margaret Atwood
336/365

The Decorator 🎨

I'm now in the last month of this project, and the past couple of days I've been thinking about it coming to an end - excitement in thinking I'm actually gonna complete this and have free time again (!!!), but more so marvelling at how spectacularly different I feel now, compared to last year.
I started this project in the depths of hopelessness, with a massive hole in my life which I could barely find the positivity to start fathoming, let alone start considering how to fill it. I chose to decorate my pain with art, pictures, quotes - stepping back every single day to give it a good hard look, right in it's eye. It makes me feel all crumbly inside when I think of how far a journey it's been!
Only 29 days to go! ❤️🌼

Tags:   LR_TheFader

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Like nature, like life. The storm will pass. The night will end. Spring will come. - Carol Morgan

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