This spring seems forever in coming, but its finally here! It’s these little discoveries of fleeting life that have always spoken to me. Bird’s nests, a fully formed plant where there was nothing, a flower that just opened it’s petals…
and of course – a sweet sleeping dog.
I spent a great deal of my childhood out in the woods and into my adulthood. I love hiking and I usually start just as soon as winter starts to let go and I will hike well into the first snow. I love watching all the changes and greeting old friends. Finding out that I am descended from a long line of farmers and artists explains why the seasons and the outdoors speak to me so deeply. There is always a secret ache in me to have a garden, to know the seasons and to brings in birds and bees and participate in a battle of the wits with furry critters (the squirrels always win!) but more than that – it’s the quiet mind in soaking up sun and listening to leaves rustle in the wind…
That is really what drives my need to make art.
And dogs.
At last – the glue has dried, the hardware installed, and now it’s time to share what has been an exciting and scary piece to create!
“Shrine to Heart’s Ease”
This piece is an expression of the love I have for a particular flower – the Pansy. Also known and a violet and Heart’s Ease, this lovely flower has many connotations of gentleness, joy, and healing. This piece also is an homage to the beautiful prayer shrines I had seen as a young girl in the Carnegie Museum. I loved that they were portable, beautifully painted scenes one which one could focus their consciousness on the divine. It has been a life long ambition of mine to create such a piece. This is only the first one – I have plans in place for a second one! The poem on the doors was one I wrote myself – as a mantra to remember what makes the pansy so special to me – the image evokes the loveliness and gentleness the flower represents.
I just HAD to light the interior! It is hard to capture just how beautiful it is when it is lit in a dark room.
I really cannot wait to start on the next one!
Work In Progress Secret
I am still diligently working on my secret project! It has so many pieces and each one is very detailed. I am learning a lot from diving into this thing without knowing what I’m doing! In a way this is how I experimented when I was a kid. I’ve never really attempted anything quite so detailed and ambitious and I am loving the process. It’s very cut and fit now!
There are MANY other things brewing in the studio. I am still digesting all of the things I have picked up from Illuxcon. I have spent a great deal of time since then shifting priorities, opening up more options on how I create my work. Exciting things are happening.
The Derps are developing into something really special and I can’t wait to reveal the first one! I will be starting up the drawings again soon – look for them on my website and in the store!
Also I have not forgotten the other two portraits in my Star Trek suite. They are on the table getting bits of attention – they will be up soon!
So many exciting things happening here!
Even studio pup is pooped!
Bella Sleeping – sooooo cute!
