Letters from my pen pal | She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies,

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meets in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellow’d to that tender light

Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impair’d the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress

Or softly lightens o’er her face,

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek and o’er that brow

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,—

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent.

~~~~~

An old friend of mine has decided she wants to reconnect with me on a deeper level than just social media. It has been years since we were once inseparable. We were the best of friends, and at times {when it came to boys} the best, yet closest, of enemies… We had our similarities, and we had our differences, but neither of those two things kept us from creating bonds, making memories, and confiding in each other about the mysteries of life, of the future, of the present, or of the past.

Perhaps it is me who is thinking this reconnection is meant to be more than the surface element shows. Perhaps, it isn’t me. Maybe, just maybe, I’m reconnecting with her for a purpose?

It doesn’t matter the reason, not to me, not right now. The mystery of it will reveal itself, just like life unfolds itself in ways you can’t predict, nor wait patiently for.

She has gone through so many things I’d have never been able to predict since we lost each other. We finished school, I met new people, stayed with old people, found myself… just the same as she had. I have spent almost nine years away from my home state now, and have lost too many friendships because of it. When I decided that I was meant for something bigger than myself, or even before I knew what I was doing in life, I think that is where our paths began to split. Or maybe, run separate parallels until we headed north and south, or east and west. Or maybe, just east and northeast.

Either way it panned out, we had different paths to discover. Perhaps those paths would one day converge when we least expected. For us, this converging point was this week. I’ve learned a lot about her from just one letter. She’s struggled, she’s survived, she’s recreated herself, and she’s bound for something more than what she once was.

It is because of her story that I felt inspired to create something new. I like to make things. I especially like to try new techniques. I’ve been reading about clipping masks a bit since I found a really interesting photo tutorial for inserting new backgrounds and was really interested in learning how Emily made her book page pieces for September. I knew the process wasn’t that difficult, since I mostly understand what’s going on with what tool in Photoshop now, so I wanted to take the time to learn how to do it myself. I also referenced a YouTube video and found an alternate way of doing it {which I also tried and it worked successfully} and that was probably because this one was a text clipping mask, while Laurie L‘s was an image clipping mask. They basically do the same thing…

Anyways, this Beautiful Girl is in my life again, and she’s inspiring me to create digital art {kind of} about her life, or for anyone who can relate to the art itself. I’m not sure at the moment if she wants me sharing, so for now, my Beautiful pen pal will remain incognito.

Here is what she inspired me to create.

Each of these designs used the clipping mask and then had new fills placed for the background after the clipping.

Please feel free to click on these and then right-click the enlarged 5×7 image, save, print, give away, or do what you please with these art pieces. And, remember to come back and see how she has inspired me next. You’ll have to be patient though, because we are using the ol’ traditional snail-mail delivery method. There’s nothing like pen on paper {or hand cramps telling you you’ve written enough}.

I hope that some of you who feel like you can relate to these art pieces, perhaps in ways that you find you have changed your life for the better, or just inspire to become something bigger than you are now, will find joy in these prints and display them in your homes, at work, at school, or wherever seems fitting, to continue you to be the change you desire; see yourself as that Beautiful Girl {or Guy} and embrace how you have been able to come out of what your past entails.

With Love,

ELISE