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