Grace Croughan
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Grace's Newsletter

Do you have 5 minutes?

5/15/2020

4 Comments

 
“Oh but I have no time for that . . .”
​

I hear this often. In fact I probably say it too. But really it all comes down to your frame of mind.

For around 6 years I was a caregiver for my dad. He had a host of illnesses and dementia made things more complicated. When I look back I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted but kept going on by just focusing on the task at hand, living one day at a time. There were so many calls to 911 for an ambulance, emergency rooms, trips to doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, tests. . . We put him in a hospital bed in our family room which was open to the kitchen so he could see us and feel included. I set up the office as my studio which was also on the same floor so I can hear him and easily check on him.

I don’t know if I did this consciously but I started to utilize the little bits of time I had here and there. I did small pastel drawings. So that’s how I got started on Facebook. I started posting one small pastel painting a day. People liked them and came back to see more. They didn’t take too long to do. They were done with snippets of time here and there.

Many people thought I had lots of time to paint. But honestly, it takes your full time and energy to take care of another human being, to keep them comfortable, stable health-wise, and happy. But when I had a little time, I would just go into my office/studio and draw with pastels. I kept them small and loose.

So, what I’m getting at is that you can do this too!

But first you have to claim a space or a spot in your home where you can leave out your art supplies. You don’t want to be spending the time in set-up and clean up all the time. So when you have just 5-10 mins you can go there and put in a few strokes of colour. Not into pastels? You can just sketch with a pencil and paper, draw an eye, a nose.

My daughter wants to learn Japanese. She got an app on her phone and is spending small amounts of time every day. Just yesterday, my mother and I were speaking in Japanese and she could kind of follow along and knew what we were talking about!

Now is the perfect time, while you’re stuck at home, to learn something you’ve always wanted to but thought you didn’t have time for. YouTube is full of free information. You can also learn so much by Googling. (my husband loves to tell our kids, “when we were your age we had to actually go to the library and find books to get information. Now you just have to Google it!”)

So, if you have even 5 minutes, I encourage you to pick up something you’ve been wanting to learn, start knitting, learn a new language, practice a passage on the piano, ok you can also have a nap. Lol
Picture
Here's some of the small 5"x7" pastels I did back then.
​You can see more on my Small Daily Paintings page.
4 Comments
Karen Boyle
7/15/2020 07:20:49 pm

You are so talented Grace and a very caring, loving person (taking care of your dad) I am so blessed to be able to see the beauty in all of your creations! Thank you!!!

Reply
Grace Croughan
7/16/2020 09:43:12 am

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me such a warm comment Karen! It sure brightened my day!

Reply
Lorraine Cooper
12/4/2021 08:36:25 pm

Hi, I discovered your work on Pintrest and fell in love. Your story is so heartwarming and I can relate. I am a retired nurse, I was also a care giver for my mum in law who was bed bound with cancer. She was paralysed from the waist down and needed a lot of care for approx 4 years. At the time I was working, raising a young family and barely had time to breath.
After she passed I was diagnosed with a blood cancer so my journey began. Thankfully after chemo etc. I have recovered and then was diagnosed with MS!!
That ended my nursing career but I am a true believer that God always provides opportunities, we just need to listen and act.
So I am physically disabled I am in a chair, lost my sight in one eye and am visually impaired in the other (unbelievable but true). My children have long since married and left the nest giving me 5 beautiful grand children.
I began working in mixed media, loved it but wanted to challenge myself, then watercolours. Oh I can't describe the joy of watercolour it is so relaxing and hypnotic., Now I am dabbling in acrylic.
Your art challenges me to do more and I feel so blessed to join the art world in a small way.
Thank you for listening to my story - more importantly thank you for sharing yours.
Kind regards Lorraine

Reply
Grace Croughan
12/4/2021 10:07:20 pm

Hi Lorraine, I’m so touched by your story. You have such a kind heart to take care of your mother-in-law. Some people don’t even care for their own mother, let alone a mother-in-law. And for 4 years!

When I read about everything you’re going through, you could have easily become hardened, cynical, and angry, but I don’t get that feeling from your words. You seem positive and full of life. It must be your faith in God, and I’m so happy that you believe God always provides opportunities. I believe that too. Sometimes we can’t see it right away, and sometimes he doesn’t answer in the way we want, but He is always there for us, giving us strength to make it through whatever we’re going through.

I’m so happy you discovered art and that it gives you joy. Dive in to it more and more. Keep painting. There’s so much you can learn on YouTube.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. You inspire me. I’m so happy you found me and reached out!
Let’s keep in touch.
Have a nice evening,
Grace

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  • Home
  • Shop
    • Print Shop
    • Available Original Paintings
    • Promises and Possibilities Collection
  • Gallery
    • Mountain Dreams
    • Mountain of Hope Collections
    • New Beginnings & Hope Collection
    • Acrylic Paintings on paper
    • Small Daily Paintings
    • Pastel Landscapes
    • Pastel Portraits
  • About
    • Bio
    • FAQ and Terms
    • Where you can find my work
    • Newsletter
  • Contact