Thanks for the challenge-

My challenge and ArtPlay was to actually tell the story of the photo.
Share the story.
I dont tell a lot of stories. I tend to leave the journaling piece to WordART or the textures or scribbles or brushes tucked around and within my ART. But this one simple black and white photo made me want to tell this story.
This simple random click of the shutter was captured by the photographer at my girls wedding several weeks ago. I saw this shot among the hundreds of others and I paused to reflect on this moment and this embrace and my sweet and genuine friend, Marnie. I think you can see by the hug, I adore this woman and there is a story (actually its a book, but I cant share all the chapters) behind this photo and this moment captured by a photographer in black and white that cuts right to the core of genuine love and friendship that developed through the pages of the story. Sometimes, God places people in your life story long before you know the significant role they will play.

Several years ago I took the chance and uploaded my first digital ART page to an online gallery. I was thrilled when I received my very first comment from an unknown person named Marnie. Her words were kind and thoughtful. A few ART pages later, Marnie sent me a message when she recognized some Missouri places in some photos and mentioned she too was from this area, but now living in Colorado. We talked about our common grounds and mentioned maybe one day our paths would cross in Real Life.
A few years later after randomly corresponding, Marnie was planning to return to Missouri to spend the holidays with her family. She and I made a plan to meet up for brunch and chat. When we met in real life for the first time it was as if we had known each other forever instead of two strangers having brunch together. We talked and laughed and chatted and discussed ART for hours and we were oblivious as mid-morning became afternoon. This wonderful scene of meeting up for brunch would play out several more times over the years when Marnie would come to the area to visit her family and friends. The conversations were always filled with ART and recalling pages and events of family and vacations and new adventures and thats how we grew to come to know one another even though we were miles apart.

A few years ago, life took a turn as both of us were dealing with lifes challenges. Even though this sweet woman was miles away, it was her phone calls and words of encouragement and love and support that would guide me through an uncharted territory. You see, she knew the road. She knew the terrain was rough. She shared her faith and she shared her kind heart to help me navigate the detour. Every night for many weeks, she would call me and just hearing her calming voice in her gentle tone speak words of comfort and encouragement was a blessing I truly appreciated. I once told her that her voice was like music to me and she laughed. She said, she always wanted to be an actress and that didnt work out. She said, maybe God had other plans for my voiceI for one, am grateful for how God has used Marnies voice in my life.

Fast forward several chapters in this storySweet Marnies circumstances and my own circumstances landed both of us in the same city just months apart. (Guess only God saw that chapter in our story!) This kind and genuine friend now lives just a few miles from me and she was able to attend my daughters wedding. When she arrived at the reception, the photographer had no idea she was positioned to aim her lens in the direction of genuine friendship and click a simple moment that had been developing on a road that started as two strangers in an online ART gallery. Thank you, Marnie for your sweet friendship and for being a very special part of my story.

Sometimes a picture IS worth a thousand words.

quote-
Genuine people dont come around too often. If you find someone real enough to stay true, keep them close.

Kits by Anna Aspnes
ArtPlay ESHAS DigiART
https://ozone.oscraps.com/forum/showthread.php?s=7d30d43223f88e9af6f335fc91fba138&t=33373
Genuine WordTransfers
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Genuine-WordTransfers-No.-1.html
NoteBook No. 1
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/NoteBook-No.-1.html
NoteBook No. 2
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/NoteBook-No.-2.html
ArtPlay For The Record (brushes)
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-For-The-Record.html
FadedWords Photography
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/FadedWords-Photography-No.-1.html
Story WordART
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Story-WordART-No.-1.html
Foto WordART No. 4
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Foto-WordART-No.-4.html
ArtPlay Sting and Bite (overlay)
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Sting-and-Bite.html
ArtPlay Among Friends
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Among-Friends.html

Page process-
Photo was clipped to the brush of ESHAS kit and both were resized and positioned.
Brushes and transfers and LightLeak were blended into the ART
WordART and quote scattered and incorporated to tell the story across the page
Further brushes added to share this page of the story
Blending modes and tweak opacity to bring out a bit of color to a black and white photo

Thanks for looking and THANK YOU for reading this storydonna