Challenge - Courage

Courage - We all need it and we all have it (at least to some degree). Some people think of courage when they see a fire figther going into a burning building or a soldier travel to a far away land, but courage can also be a single mom raising 5 children on a minimum wage, or a grandmother fighting a fierce decease. How do you define courage?

In this challenge I would like you to make a page journaling about

1: someone you know who you feel is courageous

-or-

2: what the word courage means to you

-or-

3: something you feel you need courage to live through.

Feel free to read through the quotes, poetry, etc, below to use as your inspiration.

Courage [link to Wikipedia]

Courage - definition:
mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Titles:
1: One Man with courage is a Majority.
2: Dawn begins at midnight.
3: Courage Under Fire.
4: Have Courage, Be Careful.

Quotes:
1: Sometimes you just have to take a leap and build your wings on the way down. (Kobi Yamada)
2: Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. (Mary Tyler Moore)
3: Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. (Mary Anne Radmacher)
4: Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. (George S. Patton)
5: Creativity takes courage! (Henry Matisse)
6: Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. (Winston Churchill)
7: Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.

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The Cautious Man

There was a very cautious man
Who never laughed or played.
He never risked, he never tried,
He never sang or prayed.

And when he one day passed away,
His insurance was denied.
For since he never really lived,
They claimed he never died.
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I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE
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SAMPLES:
These pages are all some I made a couple of years ago. All are digital art journal pages.

1. This one started out as a letter to myself. About what I wanted in life and how I was going to get there. I was supposed to share this letter, but because some of my wishes for the future involved other people I just could not share. I covered up the letter, did a little art work, and added my small title. I just NEED a little Courage. I still do.

In your art journal you can always cover up things by adding a new layer. you can choose to do this if you want to share your pages, or maybe you want to hide something from yourself. This is especially useful when you use your art journal as therapy. You can write down your most inner secrets. Cover it up. And only YOU will know it is there.

2. In this one I tried to use symbols to define the word Courage. Touching the lions nose would require a lot of courage, but in this one the lion symbolizes all those things I fear.

Using symbolism is great when you just can not find the words to describe how you feel, or what you want to express. Sometimes this can produce some extremely personal pages. People will tell you how great your page is, but ONLY YOU will know the true meaning of the page.

3. There is not much to say about this page. I loved the quote and wanted to use it. You can also tell on this one that it was in my earlier days doing art journaling. I hadnt quite made the jump from scrapbooking to art journals. I am not saying there is anything wrong with my choice of elements, but to make it look like an art journal I personally feel that the shadows should be a little less, and the blending a little more.