Thursday, February 28, 2008

Inspiration

Where does inspiration come from? For each person it's different, but I would venture to guess there isn't a person who's truly alive that isn't moved at some level by the natural beauty of the landscape at times. Especially if they're in a place other than their usual surrounds. I think we tend to take what we see on a daily basis, for granted, or lose sight of the beauty close at hand.

This is/has been a long winter for those of us in the Northern Midwest and Northeastern US. It's been cold and snowy. More so than the last few years. After awhile it's difficult to see the beauty in yet again, more snow. But as I type this, that's exactly what I see outside my window. More snow. It's light today, not the heavy wet snow we've had the last couple of snows. It's not supposed to amount to much. Even so, another inch on the ice already on the walk and driveway isn't a pleasant thought. It makes spring seem so much further away.

The good news is, warmer weather will eventually come, and the ice will transform and become water. Water that flows down the streets and into the fields. Water that soaks into the ground with necessary moisture to feed the flowers and plants that will shoot through the last bits of snow and ice with the hope of more to come. Living in the Midwest offers a literal vision of the cycles of life: birth, death and rebirth, in the transformation of the landscape from one season to the next.

It's still pretty, the snow and frozen landscape. It's nature, doing what it does. Offering the hope of transformation. I find that very inspiring.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Art Show Hung

My daughter, a jeweler, and I hung a show yesterday at Scottish Rite Park, a retirement center in the heart of the city. I've uploaded some photos of how it looks. It's the first time I've seen many of my works all in one place on the walls. I included some drawings and paintings here. It wasn't until I had it hung and looked around that I could see my cross over from pastel and paint only, to fiber and paint. It was very interesting to see my "themes" as well. See what you think.


I seem to work on black often. I like the way color seems to pop on it.

Beaches and glaciers - water and ice.

Some of my daughter's work. Wish I had gotten some close ups. I might need to go back and take some.

Prismacolor and collage.

Monday, February 18, 2008

More Art Work

I'm working on some new pieces, but these are finished, so thought I'd post some photos of them. (While images of ice and water continue to float in my head.)


This one is called "In The Beginning". It is pieced and applique'd, painted and beaded. The detail shot is below this one. It's 34" x 39".


I guess I've been in the mood for hand work, as the next one is heavily beaded. It's called "Jeweled Garden". Both full and detail shots are below. This is a small one. It's only 11" x 9".



Friday, February 15, 2008

Courage and Imagination


I took this photo of the female Ruby Throated Hummingbird last fall. It was late in the season and it was cold. She had come to the feeder to start her morning and it just proved too much. She had to shut down, go into torpor to preserve her energy. I have become accustomed to seeing hummingbirds in torpor over the past many years. We've fed them every year for about 10 years now. I've seen them hang upside down on the feeders, eventually fall off and land on the ground. It makes them extremely vulnerable to predators. They are literally helpless. They also look very lifeless. To hold a hummingbird in your hands until they warm up is a wonder. They weigh nothing and then the wings begin to move and their eyes open and they are ready to go!

I am so much in awe of these small creatures. They swoop and chatter and dive at one another to "own" a feeder. One bird book describes them as "fearless and pugnacious". They must be. I wish I could allow myself to be as vulnerable as a hummingbird. Fearless, trusting enough in my own abilities to allow my imagination to soar.

Sometimes creativity comes in waves in small, rhythmic movements toward land from a vastness of ocean depths, and other times it comes crashing in on top of the rocks with a loud roar. The first is easy to become lulled into peaceful complacency. Rather like listening to the hum of the wings of my Ruby Throated friends when they come to the feeder one at a time. This is nice, but it's the wild crashing into and on top of, that's impossible to ignore. I need to be able to make enough noise to "own" my own feeder. There is no creativity without imagination. Imagination can have no reigns. It needs to be able to move into the unknown.

Monday, February 11, 2008

More on Ice



No sun to play off the snow today, and the clouds portend more snow.

I've been reading a book called The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto. He developed a way to photograph ice crystals as they form. He photographed them in different situations, such as with negative words and positive words. With the positive words, the crystals are beautifully formed, but with the negative ones, sometimes they are deformed and sometimes they don't form crystals at all. Love and gratitude form the most beautiful crystals.

This makes me wonder what effect anger and negativity have on the human body as we are 90% water when we are born and 70% water by the time we are adults.

It seems ice has much to tell us.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Colors of Snow

Yesterday, I said I liked the snow, but was ready for some color outside. Today the sun is shining on all the snow. As I look out my window, the shadows that stretch across the landscape appear gray/blue. There are different nuances to the whites, subtle differences in the way the light reflects and bounces off the surface. Mostly blues, but occasionally a slightly pink caste can be seen. The wonder and beauty is that it will shift and change as the day goes on and the sun moves from east to west. Shadows will deepen, colors will shift. Cameras don't always capture the tiny nuances of subtle change, but imagination can.

Today, I will watch the light on the snow and let my imagination go, as I finish other works that have deadlines attached, and finish the paper work. This evening will be time for sketching what I imagined today.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." - Romans 12:2

Thursday, February 7, 2008

February 7, 2008

It's been a very snowy winter so far. Just has a foot of snow yesterday. I don't care, I really like the stuff. I think it's pretty. That doesn't mean I'm not about ready for spring to enter. I'm ready to have some color outside again.

I've been working on a number of things. See if I can upload the photo of the one I just finished. It's called "Ice" until I can come up with a better title. I've been to Alaska six times. I've fallen in love with the landscape, icescape, lighting, wildlife, you name it. This was inspired by the glaciers. I think there are many more icy pieces to come.