Doodles

This is a hand-signed lithograph created from an original painting in watercolor and ink. "Seasons of the Soul" originated as individual doodles in my sketchbook years ago during a period of personal crisis and self-acceptance. (From left to right, the icons are subtitled: Confusion, Resistance, Submission, Acquiescence, The Plunge, Rebirth, Fortitude, Elation, Symmetry, Harmony, and Moving Out.)It was not until a year or so later, as I flipped through the pages, I saw the progression. I drew the figures again in a line and suddenly their meaning became clear. It was a never-ending story of life and growth, healing and becoming...like the seasons, always repeating yet constantly evolving.
- Stephanie E. Robinson

for⋅ti⋅tude 
–noun
mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously

Noun 1. elation - an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
bliss, blissfulness, cloud nine, seventh heaven, walking on air - a state of extreme happiness
mental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state - (psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic; "a manic state"
high - a state of altered consciousness induced by alcohol or narcotics; "they took drugs to get a high on"
high - a state of sustained elation; "I'm on a permanent high these days"
depression - a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity
2. elation - a feeling of joy and pride
high spirits, lightness
joy, joyfulness, joyousness - the emotion of great happiness
euphoria, euphory - a feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation

This piece of art is one of my favorites. Throughout the years of my life ... I have felt connected to the Doodles in this lithograph. Sometimes, it's hard to recognize exactly where I am in the "Seasons", but it's so easy to know where I've BEEN. I spent several years of my life smack-dab in the middle of Resistance and Acquiescence. It was SO freaking frustrating for me because I wanted to be so much stronger than that. I just expected more out of myself. I feel like moving to Colorado on my own and separating from all things familiar was certainly "The Plunge". At this point in my life I teeter back and forth between Fortitude and Elation. It's been a very rewarding journey for me.

For years, I could close my eyes and imagine what a Colorado tag looked like on my car. Then I moved here and didn't have the courage to actually switch out the damn tags! It seemed like such a commitment to change. A commitment that I couldn't make ... until this past Friday :)

Witness Fortitude and Elation :)