I made a huge mistake in a painting I was doing by dropping a painful amount of paint directly in the middle of it. Initially I was upset that I ruined the thing that took me so long to make But I have the sweetest family member who really loves the things I make. Even the ones with the mishaps and/or mistakes.

Her idea was to put it on display and for a while it sat off to the side, always in view. Slowly I started to see a face coming out of the things. So I grabbed a paint marker and started in on some lines.

In the end what I once thought was a ruined painting turned into an Orcish face and I can’t help but think that it was influenced by this tradition we have, rewatching the LOTR movies.

This year it serves as a reminder that we have a choice in all the current chaos. A choice that can not be taken away from any of us.

The choice to decide what to do with the time that has been given us.

Please take care of each other.