Growing Into Love

Amplifying Passion
Into recognition of the disguise
Of Love
Bursting Out
Into the premonition of fear
Guarding the heart
Spreading Forth
Around the stimulation
Of directional substance
Proportional Knowing
Expanding the thought
Til intensified dreams
Cultivating Prediction
There all along
Hidden in the depths
Enduringly Hoping
Coming out of hiding
Exposing my heart

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Free Collage Sheet

Here is a free downloadable collage sheet for you all. You may download this sheet by going here to my flickr pages and clicking on the All Sizes button directly above the image. You may also view my free downloadable ATC backs here as well.
I must note that the sheets I post here are from my private collection of images and are free. They are not to be sold or reproduced in any way. They are to be used for creative personal use only.

I will be posting more free collage sheets in the future here. If you would like to know when they are posted, you may subscribe to my blog.

I pray you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday season filled with love, joy, and peace.

Waiting For Him

Though turmoil encompasses me about
All the tyrannical times of pain
I've been undulate round about
Please relieve my suffering
Please take this cup from me
Nevertheless, not my will
But Thy will be done

Why have these storms come upon me
The distress and anguish of soul
Yet I will gladly suffer
In hopes that Your people be made whole
Why?... I love them

Every heart transcends beauty
From the least, small, greatest
Each one is like a rose
I can fully see their potential
Love...is in mine eyes...

I shall but serve Thee
My King, my Lord, my God
Though the cup has been bitter
I still love Thee with everlasting love
I'm still all Yours
If You choose to have me...

Waiting for You still...
Come quickly Love... Quickly
Lest my heart faint without Thee
It is everything to me whether Thou shalt tarry
Come now Love

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Sojourning in this place
Solemnizing Your Spirit
I see beauty and grace
Hidden behind a smile
Yet I've not seen Your face
But I see Your heart
So soft I savore
I taste
Let me breathe You in
Consume You
Capture You
Overcome by desire to have
My intentions...are they good?
Surely not
Immersing into You
An illusory clue
Of glowing fire
My heart plays a harp
Of love songs to You
Instrumental words with soft hues
Passion increasing
Excelling destiny
Captured...Yes arrested
By You
I'm once again All Yours

Art Journal Page
All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Love is Freedom

Love is Freedom
Freedom to Live
Freedom to Be
Freedom to Fly

To be captivated by love is to be free...totally free!
Swept away into a garden of bliss and delight.
Passion ignited by love is an explosion of true and pure worship. You become drove into utter bliss and captured in passion that is fueled by love. Your desire for this love becomes desperate. You live, breathe... You truly love.
The object of your love becomes a spark of desire at every turn and glance. Captivated and invigorated...! You become enthralled into submission of warmth and affection that necessitates your entire being. You become luminous with radiating light from within.

Oh, let Thine light radiate from within.
I'm in love... drunk in love!

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Balance Paid In Full

I am a warrior of love, whose shield is love and my sword is charity.
I am Agape Love! The love that conquers all!
Ah . . . to be drunk with love and saturated into its entire being,
consumed in its purity,
overcome by its beauty . . .
Conquered by love!
With true love there is only selfless giving. Love conquers all in patience and kindness.
Love is pure beauty in its finest form. There is no evil in true love.
Love is a dream I dream; a taste I taste; a feeling I feel; a kiss of energy and life. Love is a rose so delicate, yet one that cannot wilt or fade away. Pull it apart and it will still remain, for its spirit lingers in the depths of majestic surprise and beauty. It consumes your heart before you know it, even as you stand guard and watch.
Ah . . . yes . . . love . . .
Let me drink of thine cup.
Let me become drunk in thy wine.
Let me savor thine taste . . .
Yes . . . love!
What hast Thou done to me my Rose of Sharon; my delightful cup?
Oh Lord . . . I delight in Thee.
Thou ravish mine heart with Thine words toward me . . . my Lord God Most High!

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

A Little Birdy Told Me

A Little Birdy Told Me
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

I spoke to the birdy
It said all is fine
How could this be
With all the cares of life

The birdy told it's secret
It did confide in me
To be happy
All you do is believe

Believe in what
I thought

The birdy started to sing
It is all about the mood
And in Whom you believe

Birdies have no worries
Cause we sing all day
We trust and rely
Without care of things

The secret is simple...
Trust in God and
Just let your heart sing

Mixed media painting collage
All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Noticed

Noticed
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

Upside down
How to start
Processing appearance

I hold onto
Promises
My heart aches

I believed
I trusted
I knew

Falling apart
Confusion of heart
Fear overwhelms doubt

I gasp for strength
Air please
I grow

I believe
I trust
I know

You are
You will
I Am

This piece and poem represents what a heart goes through when experiencing doubt and the fear that stems forth from the doubt. Sometimes we want to run. Sometimes we may want to hide. And it is ok to hide for a while. But when we are ready... then we must face those fears head on with hope that our doubts vanish. And if the doubts don't vanish, then we must find the inner strength to move on. It is during these times that we grow. The purpose is to learn how to grow without giving up.

Collage with painting.
All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Does it matter if I am blue?
What if I was black or white?
What is the color of our skin,
except an outward covering of the heart.

If I was purple, would you see me the same?
What if I was pink or green?

All to often we judge others by the appearance of their outward; but it is the inward that holds the heart.

True beauty is the modesty of a beautiful heart. And the heart is our soul that shines forth and becomes our personality.
It is when we become conscious of that personality that we become conscious of our own heart.

Mixed media oil painting
All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Get Over It!

Don't fret over stuff, just be yourself. Create what you want and don't worry so much about what people think. After all...everyone else isn't living your life, you are. Enjoy It!

I decided to play along the the girls at "Point Blank Period" this month. The prompt was "Get Over It". So I decided I would do a mini book with the idea. I will be filling the little pockets in this journal with pages of writings of things that I just want to vent about or just get over. Each page has at least one pocket on it, so I can tuck them full of stuff.
I also made another little storage book similar to this one. You may view it by clicking here. Thanks for looking. I hope you all are having fun creating.

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Confidential

Confidential
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

Mixed media collage

U R Loved

U R Loved
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

When you care
When your there
When you talk
When you love
When you give
Because you are mine
Because you are you
I love you

Mixed media collaged ATC
Writing and art ©Tonya Ashe

More Numbered Fragments

Two more ATCs in my Numbered Fragments Series. You can view the other cards in the series by clicking here.

Much blessings, peace, and love to you all!

She is...

She is...
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

She looked outside the window
In thought of the dreams
That caressed her inner shadow
Somehow such sweet things

She looked into the mirror
In thought of the seen
That covers her outer shadow
Somehow such lovely things

She noticed how protrude
How deep and intriguing
A wonder of disguise
Yet still the real thing

She peered into the depth
And noticed her broken wings
She picked them up and wept
Then laid them on the sink

She washed them out so clean
And made them both like new
Now she is ready to fly
And face the world anew


This is a poem about our individuality. Each one of us is unique. We all have hidden dreams and desires. There are things we want to achieve as we journey through this life. I believe it is important that we try to achieve these dreams and desires, even when we don't succeed. It is not so bad when we fail to achieve them; it is when we give up trying that ultimately hurts us. We all need hope and something to look forward to. The idea is to never give up chasing those dreams. Never quit when your wings to fly get broken. Just let out the tears and wash off those wings. Put them back on. Then try again. And if you find, it just doesn’t work; then try another path until you find the one that is comfortable to you. And if you never find that path....create one!

Handpainted collage
Writing and art ©Tonya Ashe

Impression of Serenity

Impression of Serenity
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

Away into the timbers
A moment with you
I softly remember

My feet was wet
With moisture from you
Misty morning dew

Your presence bolder here
I savore the time
When I walked with you

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Lady in Waiting

Lady in Waiting
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

My heart has a window
That peeks out to the world
Its beauty is beholding
Its capture is love

Fierce in departure
Time passes slow
Grasping the knowing
Seeing the overflow

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

My Love Overflows For You

My Love Overflows For You
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

Never have I felt so loved
Never have I been so in love
I am so in love with You
I'm so Yours
All Yours!

Art Journal Entry
All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

The Love I Have For You

The Love I Have For You
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

I have walked through hell
And been burned alive
But when I think of You
It made it all worth while

I have carried my cross
Through the stairs of hell
Because I seen my Reward
Waiting for me up there.

Been knocked down
Countlessly to the ground
Yet picked myself up
And still carried my cross

Each bitter step I took
I kept holding on
To the cross of Love
The greatest Love I've known

Broken, scarred, and marred
Bittered in my soul
Yet I've held onto
The love I had for You

Never will I faint
And never get back up
Because I keep seeing You
My bright and morning Dove

Nothing of this life
Or world matters to me
Because I'll have Your Love
For all Eternity

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

In My Heart

In My Heart
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

It is not all about me...
It is about inspiring you. It is about sharing my heart with you. It is about inspiring you to create and find the artist within your soul as well.
Every piece I create is a part of my heart that I share with the world. It took me a while to learn this as I have grown over the years into the artist that I am, but I feel as though I have come a long way from where I started.
We all have a strong desire to be noticed. But the question we all should ask ourselves is; how are we being noticed? Is it our own individuality we are sharing, or individualities of others?
I want to be noticed by God as the unique individual that I am, not by the individualities of others. God made us all unique. He gave us all our own talents and gifts.
You are seeing mine here. It is my heart as the individual that I am. Perfection does not exist here, but an open love for God, others, and a balanced love of myself.

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe

Near To Thee

Near To Thee
Originally uploaded by Tonya Ashe

A life with passion is a gift.
A life with a passion to help others is a gift of beauty, whether the beauty is hidden or open.
I see beauty when I see women who are passionate about helping others.
And yet amazed to see those that are reaching out even by means that go unnoticed by others.
I believe true beauty lies within the ones that are giving not to receive from others, but to just give and help others.
We all should have a deep inner desire to love, help, and give to others. Even if it is just a prayer for the peace of the world, however small, it is a sacrifice of oneself; a selfless moment in time, when the person directed all their thought into the need of someone else. Absolutely beautiful!
So many women suffer because of this selfless beauty to give in their hearts. Some give to every man that comes their way. Some give only at home to their husbands and children. Some have gave to many. I not only see beauty in the ones that only give of themselves at home, but also in the ones that give on the street.
I am touched when I think of all the times that women give out of charity, even if that charity was hidden or only kept to themselves. Some give of themselves to protect others and to lift up others.
I pray today that all women would be released from bondage, the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. I speak life over the heart of every woman, that we all may live in freedom and peace, full of joy and love.

All Writing and Art by ©Tonya Ashe