I Was Here: The Art Journal Challenge
Last Lent, I challenged myself to share my art journals—the beautiful pages and the ones I wouldn't mind throwing away, too. This year, I’m bringing that same spirit to Historiadora. This is a reflection on art journaling, family traditions, and why our stories matter.
ART MAKING
Esperanza Beltrán
5/31/20262 min read
Last year, for Lent, I shared pictures of my many art journals on Instagram and accompanied each with a story about it. It was a scary experience, as I don't feel very confident about my art. To help me overcome this, I posted both my best and worst pages, the ones I'm super proud of and think they belong in a magazine, and the ones I wouldn't mind throwing away if it weren't for my children. Doing this challenge didn't stop me from feeling scared about sharing my art, but it did teach me that I'll survive.
This year, Lent has passed, but I thought, why not bring the spirit of those Instagram posts here? Today, I thought I'd share the first post.
We attended Ash Wednesday mass with my son after many years of not going, and it was very special. It was raining outside, while inside we listened to a bilingual mass. My son is 21 and officially an adult, so it means a lot that he chose to accept my invitation. With that being said, Lent has officially begun, and it’s time to give up red meat (or whatever your version of red meat is).
My mom always gave up red meat on Fridays, so I’ll stick with that too. If, like me, you didn’t know why we eat less during this time, the priest said this today: eating less is a way to be in solidarity with those less fortunate who may not always be guaranteed a plate of food. To honor that, I’ll be making a lighter breakfast and dinner.
The priest also explained that the ash represents humility, reminding us that we will all return to dust when the time comes. That was another thing I didn’t know.
For those who are not Catholic or don’t celebrate Lent, here’s another interesting fact that my friend taught me today and that might be of interest to you: Mardi Gras, which began on Tuesday, is related to Lent! The literal French translation of Mardi Gras is Fat (Gras) Tuesday (Mardi), a day to fatten up before we have to stop eating. They also have Lundi Gras, Fat Monday, because, well, two days of fattening up is better than one, no?
Part of my promise this Lent season is to share what many have asked me about–art journaling. It is something I enjoy and that I think everyone should do. It’s fun, creative, personal, beautiful, and both valuable and priceless. Something to leave for our children, grandchildren, and society.
On that note, in the next 40 days, I will be bringing my private Instagram posts out here to the blog. I'm not really nervous about it, surprisingly. I'm actually kind of excited, even to show the ugly pages, because that's the idea behind Historiadora, to show that writing our stories does not mean pretty and perfect. It means leaving a paper trail that shows we existed, felt, thought, and did.
¡Hasta la próxima!
