Emotional Baggage | A Mixed Media Art Project for Alien Art Hive's INKTOBER PROMPT [#26-Remove]

In response to the Alien Art Hive Community's Inktober Prompts that were part of their Cosmic Creations Edition #6 Contest, Cosmic Creations Edition #6 is LIVE: INKTOBER PROMPTS, members were encouraged to choose a prompt theme from the Inktober Prompts list for their entry into the contest.

After my entry into the contest with Prompt #17 - DEMON which I published on 9/23, I decided to take the Inktober concept one step further. I will focus on the remaining 30 Prompts on the list, beginning with Prompt #1. How fun the themes will be preparing my projects utilizing the mixed media art themes. If a Drabble story (100 words) or other flash fiction emerges, then all the more fun!

Below is my project for Inktober Prompt #26:

My theme for this Inktober Prompt #26 is "Removal". This act can originate from several sources and involve the physical or mental action of casting out unwanted stressors in your life. When I think of removing those stressors, I understand the process one has to undergo to accomplish it.

I remember as a young adult the stresses of adulthood, marriage, children, career obligations and on-the-job issues, and extended family issues. I wish I had the resources available today at my disposal to address the stressors weighing me down.

The term “emotional baggage” is sometimes referred to as an informal term related to unresolved emotional issues, stressors, pain, and difficulties a person has experienced in the past that continue to to occupy our thoughts in the present and affect our present relationships. ¹

As adults, we desire to have healthy connections with our mind, body, and relationships. When we bring issues into those areas that occurred in the past, we are weighing ourselves down with needless stress. Many times, we may not recognize that we are holding onto unresolved feelings, emotions, actions, and reactions that happened in certain situations.

Two ways individuals can recognize that emotional baggage is at play if:

• There may arise negative expectations created during previous relationships.
  These experiences may be unsolved through no fault of the individuals. However, the negative impact of the trauma can affect current relationships. A most common analogy is that of an initial marriage that did not work out, caused significant grief, and the grief remains unresolved. The current relationship may suffer by bringing the negative trauma into it that lingers, attaching the feelings to the other party or interfering with a successful union; and

• Individuals in a current relationship can't forget or forgive.
  If a past emotional incident occurred that happened while the couple is together, the issue was never resolved. The injured party continuously mentions the incident in an attempt to reconcile it with the partner. If the partner is unwilling to resolve it to a satisfactory conclusion, the negative impact will linger. Eventually, the relationship may deteriorate to a point that the union dissolves. ¹

I feel that emotional baggage runs parallel with emotional intelligence. Some individuals never learn how to handle situations in the moment of their occurrence. Others can't work through an issue to a satisfactory conclusion for whatever reasons.

I know for a fact that emotional baggage can affect one's health, both physical and mental, in addition to how one deals with stressful situations. In the end, the most significant problems that result from emotional baggage is how a person deals with others on a positive level. ²

The issues caused by one not being able to release the hurt, anxiety, anger, disappointment, and frustration of past trauma can affect one's outlook on life and that person's future happiness.

In my approach to the theme, I wanted to portray a female torn in two directions. She is trapped in the past by an event that she can't remove from her present state of mind. She can't move forward in the future because she carries the emotional baggage. My thought was to locate an image with a two-headed female to represent the past and future; looking backward and forward.

The remaining images I included in my theme are a stable diffusion butterfly and an abstract image I created in the program, Bomomo.com.

Below are my steps. On the right hand side of the page, I wanted to share with you the filter I used to create the emotional baggage scene surrounding the two-headed female.