“Found art is created when odd, disparate, unlikely, even long-abandoned castoffs are put together with
other similarly unexpected remnants to create something new and, if all goes as planned, lovely.”
—Found Art by Leanna Tankersley
It’s been five years now since I embarked on an idea, a project, a dream that became my first published book. It’s been said that beauty often emerges from our areas of greatest weakness and pain. Treasure can be mined from the broken, battered places we try to hide. Today I was reminded of that once again and I’d like to remind you as well with a challenge and a giveaway of TWO FREE COPIES of Leanna Tankersley’s new book, Found Art. Keep reading to find out more.
In the pages of my first book, I wrote these words… “Creating altered art requires the artist to find a new way of viewing old or ordinary objects in order to transform them. The ability to see beyond the plain to the possibility is a rare gift.”
I believe that. Now I’ve found a soul sister who believes it deep in her core as well. And she’s sharing the story of her journey into foreign lands, in her life and within her own soul, to encourage you and me to take that journey too.
HOPELESSLY ADDICTED
When you pick up Leeana’s treasure of a book, you will instantly find a city girl not unlike you and me, hopelessly addicted to Diet Coke and a life of busyness that numbs and hides what lies inside her head and heart. As the pages of Found Art unfold, you realize that your own heart begins to awaken and reach for the light, like a flowerpot left too long in the shade.
As is my usual pattern when reading books, I marked the pages with sticky notes whenever something struck me. The quote above was one of those places. Just three pages into the introduction, I found myself stopping, reaching for my sticky notes and a pen. I had to remember this – “odd, disparate, unlikely, even long-abandoned castoffs” – that’s me. I feel like that, often.
NOT AN A-LIST ROCKSTAR
So I read and reread the sentence and felt hope in my heart once again as I remembered that it is the very unlikely nature and experiences of abandonment that have made me who I am today, a woman with a vision to inspire the discouraged, offer hope to the hopeless and give voice to the voiceless. I am an unlikely candidate, not naturally outgoing and good-natured, but more introverted and reserved, not the A-list, rockstar that so easily grabs the limelight.
But I have come to embrace who I am – a sea of creativity… creativity that cares enough to see the untapped potential in so many creative individuals, and committed enough to help nurture, inspire, and motivate others to see and develop their own hidden treasure.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Join me this month in discovering beauty in foreign places. Start by capturing an image of beauty, especially in something that someone else might not see as beautiful, and then help us see what you see. Will you take the challenge today to see beyond the plain to the possibility, especially the next time you look into the mirror and see the reflection staring back at you?
Just sign up below letting us know where we can see the beauty you found. You can post your image on your blog, Facebook profile, Flickr album, Found Art Facebook page, or anywhere else… then link to it so we can find it too!
ENTER TO WIN FOUND ART
I want to hear from you – can you relate to my story, the quotes I used, or the idea of discovering beauty in foreign places? Leave a comment below about what connected with you. I’ll choose TWO LUCKY WINNERS to win a FREE copy of Found Art
For extra entries:
1. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Sample tweet:
Discover beauty in foreign places with a FREE COPY of Found Art from @zondervan & @tasradawson http://bit.ly/FA-bk
Check out Leeana’s images below for inspiration. I’ll be posting MY image later this week. I already know exactly what I’m photographing. You’ll never guess what it is.
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- A collage of texture is beautiful to me. I love the texture of the twine against the rusted-painted iron plant stand. I love the layers of paint on the iron. I love the galvanized bucket holding all the cut brown chipboard. And I love the turquoise desk as the backdrop.
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- This color palate of browns, aquas, and greens is beautiful to me. When I saw this old metal locker buried in the back of a woman’s garage, I knew immediately it was something I wanted to look at on a daily basis. The woman wanted to “clean it up” before giving it to me, but I quickly loaded it in my car before any of the character was compromised.
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- The perfect paint-to-rust ratio is beautiful to me. I pulled this abandoned laundromat cart out of shoulder-high grass and immediately loved what the elements had done to it. I love how I acquired it, the look of the casters, and the way it repurposes perfectly as display/storage.
On Pinterest? 
