Art is positively a lifeline for me. As a child, I bled cerulean blue (my go-to Crayola crayon). I was mesmerized by the vibrant array of color options in a 64, 96 or (dare I say) 120 count boxes. My intrigue and obsession grew as I took as many art classes as possible. I explored endless mediums at ASU's Herberger Institute for Art and Design workshops. As my perfectionist personality developed, I tediously refined every little detail of every project. I had found my calling and nothing else would come between me and my true love for art. My passion carried over into every aspect of my life. I found a way to insert art into any school project, craft or handmade card. I hauled my art supply collection to Mrs Thomas' 7th grade humanities class where I was known as the "art girl." I spruced up any mundane project to showcase my personality. At home, I especially loved making cards. I was branding my cards before I knew what branding was. I brought Kari Kards to life with a signature logo on the back of my designs.

Fast-forward to 2013 at Terralever where I created social media content for brands like Massage Envy, De-Solv-It, Fox Restaurant Concepts and Goodyear Tire Company. I loved creating typographical images full of beautiful imagery and patterns. I realized how my childhood passion for art and cards had prepared me for the career I embrace now. When Terralever merged with E.B. Lane to form LaneTerralever, I was honored to design the new website along with catchy social images for our Facebook page. I happily played with the new brand which had only been slightly developed at the time. I took a playful yet dignified approach to the social content which allowed for more flair than the website and business collateral.

Creating these type of images reinvigorated my passion for image and card making. The timing could not be more relevant to create art for myself, from my heart. I experienced a rather tumultuous start to 2015. The devastating events have tested my strength more than ever before. I have surrounded myself with positive quotes and affirmations which I have collected in my journal and the cloud. I want to share my unique perspective on the world by combining my love of inspiring words, art and photography. By unlocking the potential of this vision, I hope to inspire others going through difficult times. I wholeheartedly believe that every person you encounter is battling an inner struggle, so it's so important to spread kindness and compassion to every person you meet.

My fellow libra and dear friend, Erica Tighe, has been particularly inspiring to me. Not only is she a beautiful person, but she is a magnificent artist. She recently combined her creative soul with life experiences that molded her heart to launch a calligraphy business aptly named Be a Heart. I find many similarities between us, other than being artistic libras. We both create from our hearts and love to give back to the community. I am inspired by Erica's tenacity. It is downright scary to follow your heart, but so far, it has paid off greatly as her business expands into illustration, wedding invitations and event design. Follow her on Instagram to see more of her gorgeous work.

I am constantly yearning for an outlet from the daily grind. I want to use my passions along with new art mediums to create pieces that heal my soul and move others. Throughout this difficult period, quotes have been the positive reminder that it gets better. I want to share my collection with others in hopes that they will find peace and comfort in those words. This quote is among my favorites:

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. -Rumi

Stay tuned for more on my future quote pieces. I plan to create prints, cards and whatever else feels appropriate. When the time comes, my desire to own a card shop will manifest. In this digital age, I can imagine my Kari Kard's shop will live on the interwebs. I am certain my seven-year-old self will approve.

Writing is another passion of mine, so when presented with the opportunity to write blog posts for Terralever on design, I did a happy dance. Okay, so maybe that dance was in my mind. But, when you love something and are as passionate as I am, work just doesn't seem like work. Even if I am fine-tuning my articles at 2am (since I always seem to choose timely subjects), I am still chipper as can be. Plus, like any seasoned artist and writer, I thrive on deadlines. You see, my Grandpa, Bob Amento, was a prolific writer, blogger and all-around wordsmith. He chose to follow a stable, lucrative career path in sales rather than journalism, but his love of writing wry snippets and family anecdotes never left his heart. He returned to writing in his retirement not merely as a hobby, but as a lifeline. And when a debilitating skin disease prohibited him from golfing, he turned to writing as a way to exercise his mind since his body was no longer capable.

Aside from writing anecdotes about his childhood and family, my Grandpa wrote a copious amount of op-eds for the Arizona Republic, most of which were sardonic in nature. He was eventually granted a coveted spot on AZ Central as a guest blogger. His repertoire consisted mainly of politics, business and finance. Readers either loved or abhorred his left-wing perspective on nonsensical national or state politics (especially living in an overly-saturated, red state of Arizona).

I fondly remember helping my grandpa with his technological learning curve. (How many 80-somethings use computers as part of their daily life?) As I was helping him upload a new profile picture to his blog, he proudly showed me the snide comments on his blog post. Grandpa refused to encourage such comments by responding. He wasn't there to fire up a debate with conservatives, but rather state his opinions unabashedly. Most people allow other's comments, opinions and statements to ruffle their feathers, but not Bob Amento. I think we can all learn a great deal from him especially in the age of social media and the ruthless comments that pervade these sites. If only we took after Bob and adhered to Thumper's Rule: If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all. Now, my Grandpa would not want this message misconstrued as not speaking your mind. Rather, if your opinion is different from your neighbors, agree to disagree gracefully rather than dragging their opinion through the dirt. I truly admire Grandpa for his unwavering stance on politics, business and finance. No face hiding behind a computer screen was going to affect him adversely.

As a writer, I openly admit my ability to digress. But as a gracious person, I must give credit where credit is due. If not for my Grandpa (and my mother who also passed the writing gene to me), I would not be sitting here writing. I may have grown up winning poetry contests and taking college writing assignments much too seriously, but the ability to incorporate writing into my practical career path of graphic design has been a distinct honor and pleasure. The chance to write something as public as a blog post has been an exciting milestone in my evolution as a writer (and quite frankly the best way to honor my late Grandpa). After each of the two blog articles I wrote for Terralever's blog went live, I proudly printed each article out to present to Grandpa (first writing about branding and then on web design). Because, let's face it. Sending him an email (yes, he had an AOL account) seemed much too impersonal. Allowing my Grandpa to see the fruits of my love for writing gave me a deep sense of pride and accomplishment.

As I write this, I am grateful for the opportunity to share my past blog articles with him. He passed away recently on January 5, 2015 at the age of 93. I come to the realization that I will not be able to show him this blog post, and a raw feeling of loss washes over me. But that feeling is transitory as I know there are computers in heaven. I picture Grandpa up in the vast, blue skies, spry as ever, reading this post and smiling from ear to ear. I know he is writing once again and making jokes about heaven.

I leave you with one of Grandpa's many quips:

Two things I know for sure:

I will always write. I will always use my gift wisely, never to harm but to spread love.
I will always make art. Not to create art for the sake of creating but to move people, to make the world not only a more beautiful place, but a better place.

My legacy will be tangible and intangible as my gifts can be both seen and felt. I lead with my heart and Grandpa, you've left some pretty big foot prints.