True Seeing is Within

I take many photos and life is so busy at times that I end up with images that I don't get a chance to really look at until a good deal of time has passed. That is the case with these two. My daughter and I had taken a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Peaks of Otter Lodge. We walked the path that travels along the pond and into the woods. It's a wonderful way to enjoy a bit of nature when you may not have the time or be up for a hike. The "sea of ferns" that we came upon in the woods stopped us in our tracks. It was lovely and that beautiful new green of spring that made our eyes happy after months of winter.

“After all, the true seeing is within.” ― George Eliot, Middlemarch

A Sea of Ferns 

This patch of ferns made me think of a spot behind my aunt's house where I would sit as a child, a book in my hand and my dog only a whistle away.

Like the Moon I Will Rise

Like the Moon I Will Rise  
Created with the thought of strength in mind, of not giving in even in the face of hardship or negativity. Of rising up and shining.
5x7 
acrylic and graphite on canvas
$60 (am happy to ship) 
Message if interested or need more info. xo

I managed to squeeze in a walk this morning. So glad I did. It was chilly but magical, listening to the crows calling overhead, the leaves crunching underfoot. And oh those leaves. I love them. So much beauty in every single leaf. #leafportaits

Isn't it lovely?! 
I took part in a really neat collaboration. First we all started with a stick, or a brush, (or something along those lines). I had a knitting needle in my bundle and two old dried up "oops" brushes. I bound them with some wire and thread and then it was sent on to the first artist in my group, she added to it, and then sent it to the next, and so on. I'm thrilled to say that my wonderful "traveling stick" has returned home adorned with blessings and good juju. So much beauty! I just need to figure out where/how to display it so I see it everyday! Thank you so much to artists Jan Bumm Aughey, DeeDee Catron, and Camille McCoy and to the artist who arranged it all-Tina Walker! xo

When Orville Dreams

I still need to take better photos but yesterday I finished my nutcracker that will be auctioned off at Southwest Virginia Ballet's Nutcracker Ball along with several other nutcrackers! 

“When Orville Dreams” acrylic, wire, paper, resin, stone, fabric, foam, wood 

“I got more thrill out of flying before I had ever been in the air at all- while lying in bed thinking about how exciting it would be to fly.”- Orville Wright. 

I love this quote and it felt like a wee touch of serendipity that I came across it last minute, after the piece was close to finished. I love how it fit the theme so much that instead of painting the ocean waves of Kitty Hawk on the base I decided to stamp the quote.
Throughout the year I’ve been thinking a lot about rising above, about flying, about planes and flight and space. That in combination with my deep love of the Outer Banks seemed to come together in this nutcracker.
I chose to paint Orville and not Wilber because Orville was the shy one who made candy and played the mandolin. Plus, I liked his mustache.
I made the origami birds from map pages and painted clouds on his hat because I pictured him daydreaming with his head in the clouds, imagining himself soaring with the birds in the sky. A red stone heart was resined in his chest, dragonflies painted on his sleeves, and wishes as stars placed in a jar and wings on a red string. I painted a plane for him and a tiny suitcase. Then, once all of that was done, I stitched a tiny aviator scarf for him as I also read that he was a dapper dresser.
“"No bird soars in the calm. If you want to take off, you have to take off into the wind. You need the wind. The wind will make you." That’s my favorite quote from his journal and those are the words I now have written and placed in my art space as a reminder to use difficulties as stepping stones to achievement.
And here are a few photos of nutcrackers I finished in the past for the auction:

Apples Galore!

Sunday included a wonderful visit with my mom and then a nice peaceful drive out to Johnson's Orchard. I can almost taste the yummy apple pies and crumbles. Autumn is my far my favorite season. October my favorite month. There are so many things to do that I hope I can fit them all in before the month is done. Pumpkin patch. Pumpkin and apple themed baking. Long walks in the fallen leaves. As many of those walks as I can manage. Sipping cider by an outdoor fire. Perhaps even a haunted house this year if I can convince anyone to go with me!

Wordless Wednesday

Like Running Water

A bit of early morning collage fun in an altered book. In the land between her laugh was wild and free. It rippled like running water.

To The Realm of Stars

“I want to feel both the beauty and the pain of the age we are living in. I want to survive my life without becoming numb. I want to speak and comprehend words of wounding without having these words become the landscape where I dwell. I want to possess a light touch that can elevate darkness to the realm of stars.”- Terry Tempest Williams To The Realms of Stars, mixed media, 24x24 inches on cradled birch board Oh gracious, this painting has been a journey but I am almost finished. So many failed paintings underneath. So much scraping and covering and scraping and covering again. But if that hadn't happened there wouldn't be the yummy layers that appeared as if by magic. I still have to paint the sides and I'm contemplating a bit more in the sky, maybe more stars. It's been in progress for a while but I had a bit of time this weekend to walk in nature and think and daydream and that made a huge difference once I stepped foot into the art room yesterday. And (this surprises me) I am feeling a blog post coming on as there is so much more I want to say about this piece. But errands are calling...hopefully there will be time for writing and finishing this up tonight. xoxo

He Rode a Horse Named Midnight

Update: SOLD (so grateful) 12x24 “He Rode a Horse Named Midnight” The first time he rode a horse was when he was seven. Excited and anxious, his heart beat hummingbird fast that day. That was thirty years ago, give or take, and there were moments with a field stretched out before him in beautiful golds and browns that he felt that quickness in his chest again. He felt like he had wings when they raced across the earth. Only then was he light and unburdened and free. 12x24 mixed media on a birch wood cradle board

Yay!

So happy to get an email letting me know that I had two photos (Divining Forsythia and Night Passage) accepted into a photography exhibit at PhotoSynthesis, LLC in Manchester, Connecticut! Juror- S. Gayle Stevens. Theme- The Witching Hour: Imagery From Darkness. It was my first time entering a juried show and I was incredibly nervous about it and almost didn't enter. Really glad I was able to silence that @#$% inner critic, at least long enough to fill out the submission forms. The show will be October 15-November 12.

A quick shot from yesterday's work space. I think the horse piece is all finished. Maybe. :) I'll wait a few days to be sure and then go back with fresh eyes. I don't know why but it's turning into one of my favorite things I've ever made. I've gotten pretty attached to it. Maybe makes me think of the horses my sister and I rode as children. Those were such good memories with my dad. It's titled- horses lend us the wings we lack.

Last night it was raining and if you know me well, you know this is my absolute favorite time to hide away and create/paint/make things. I was in the art room, working on a piece, a horse and rider, but was waiting on the next nudge from the muse. So, I thought while I wait I will work on another as there are many (too many-I'd be embarrassed to say how many) unfinished pieces propped here and there. I reached for a large wooden panel I'd started months ago. There was an image of the Roanoke Star and the words "full of love and light" scratched over and over, a mantra, into a layer of heavily applied gesso. I lost myself in song. Aurora's Runaway was on repeat. Loud. "I was dancing in the rain and I felt alive and I can't complain....take me home where I belong." Her voice is so freakin magical. And before I knew it the board was covered with bits of color representing our experiences along life's journey and the image of the star was buried. The marks in the white paint at the top were divine messages and intuition that guides. The circles at the bottom, stepping stones. The orange, a meandering path. The red was home, the heart. And through it all I love that the words "full of love and light" can still be seen in some spots and felt. I love the texture and the bumpy parts. Where I Belong- 24x24 inches-acrylic, graphite, oil sticks, water soluble crayons Sides are painted and it is ready to hang. Message me if interested. xoxo

I've been missing the ocean, longing for it as it has been way too long. I NEED to wade along the edge, breathing in the salty air and daydreaming. For isn't a windy and wild Outer Banks beach the ideal spot to let thoughts get carried away? The last time I was there I was playing with writing a mystery novel. It's a story that made it through a first draft but then was shelved. Sadly but perhaps it was not the time. I'm thinking of digging it out again and maybe that is partly why I long to go back there as I associate it with this story and my notebooks spread out over the rental house's dining room table as I plotted and planned and scribbled madly. I'd love to finish the story if nothing else, for myself.

Roses from Sadie

Taken with the beloved Hipstamatic app.

Hello Darling

“True love will triumph in the end—which may or may not be a lie, but if it is a lie, it's the most beautiful lie we have.” ― John Green

Still some spots left for one-on-one Photoshop/iPhone photo classes. Message me if you need more details. Thanks! 

So much wisdom already this morning at the hospital. 

Me: Do you wanna do some art with me today? We can paint. I have watercolors.

8 year old boy: I know about art. I know a lot about it. I paint my feelings. It's important.

Me: :)

“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?” ― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Letting Stuff Go

I had the day off today from my part time Artists-in-Residence job at a local hospital. My mother is visiting and she is keeping me company as I straighten the bookshelves. I'm doing a fair amount of decluttering lately and it feels so freeing! It seems like a very necessary step in my new life. Less to be distracted by, less to weigh me down. Keeping only the useful and truly sentimental things. And I have hoarder tendencies. This is good for me.
There is now a stack of give-a-way books, along with a stack to sell, and a stack to read again soon. I hope to eventually go through every shelf, every drawer, every nook and cranny, only keeping the things I really love.
Are you doing the same? Seems like so many of us are. This might be helpful to you--I downloaded the Bookscouter app onto my phone. Have you tried it? According to the app I will be getting some cash for the "to sell" stack. Perfect for a small day trip with my daughter.

Starting Over

"Sending Love"

(prints available-send a message if interested) 

This is a wonderful (and sometimes scary) new chapter in my life. I've gone from being a stay at home, homeschooling mom to learning how to support myself and my daughter with my art. I want/need to document this. Maybe I can meet others also seeking the same and we can inspire one another. I could have stayed with my wordpress blog but a blank canvas seemed more fitting. I'm also cutting as many corners these days as possible and blogger is free. I'll be ending my tricia-scot.com soon. My stack of business cards has dwindled to just a few so this is a good time to start over. I'm pulling inward, cleaning house, and simplifying my life in every way. 

The above is my latest piece. 

I first restored the image of the girl. I knew what I wanted to create. I could see it in my mind but the hand resting on the chair was all wrong. I used another hand and box from an image I'd taken of my daughter. It took quite a bit of work to blend in and make it look natural. I had to draw in the bottom of the box. I then added the rug layer, the background layer, the constellations and hummingbird all in separate layers. 

I chose the constellation of the fox catching the unsuspecting goose to represent hurt and pain, corruption. She's releasing LOVE into her surroundings, despite the pain, even more so because of the hurt, opening up and sharing her heart. It is the only thing she feels she has control of, in a time that seems so uncertain. Because a sweet friend gave me that advice this evening when the news of the world and my own "stuff" was more weighty than I could manage. A thank you to Olivia for being the left hand model. The box is an old one that was made a grandfather of hers once upon a time.