Clytie

According to mythology, Clytie was a water nymph who fell in love with Apollo who was embodied by the sun. She spent hours gazing at the sun and following its course through the sky. Nine days she sat and watched the sun, until eventually she became brown and rooted to the soil, her face transforming into the sunflower which to this day continues to follow the course of the sun. The sunflower remains a symbol of constancy.

Thus, you have my imaging of this event. And who in their day hasn't been dazzled by the sun.....

Take the Step....

Well, let me say that this holiday season has not been the best, house fires and all day hospital visits and various unluckiness has proven to make this holiday very blah, blah, blah, blah, blaaahh........

BUT, I think you still have to close your eyes, lean forward and let the wind carry you........carry you away from it all, otherwise, you become landlocked and brittle and you begin to crumble.......

The wells of depression run deep in my family and every once in awhile I have to remind myself to let go, lean forward and fly away.....

I think that's why wings, hearts, fly-away hair and general escapism imagery pops up again and again in my more recent art......I'm trying to remember to let go....

Sail Away! Sail Away!

I absolutely love those books and movies that take you away, show you new worlds and sights you would never see otherwise. The authors and artists that create these worlds are absolute magicians. It is these people that I look to for inspiration and wonder and guidance. And it is my desire to attempt what these artists have already achieved, to follow in the paths that they have laid out before us. I want my art to transport if not our bodies, then our minds to new places, new sights. I want my art to tell stories that speak to different people in different walks of life. Perhaps this is a bit ambitious, but what is life all about but trying to raise yourself up and set out to accomplish those goals and dreams that map out our paths........

I suppose these are deep thoughts for Christmas, but sometimes I think the greatest gift is the freedom to follow our dreams....

And so I say Thank you, to those who have gone on before, to those following and to those just tagging along for the ride. Thank you to everyone and everything!

And not least of all..............

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

New Pictures!

I recently watched the movie "Vincent and Theo" and it reignited my love of Van Gogh so.... here a few pictures that were drawn during that time.

Books!

Here are two books that were commissioned for Christmas presents. The black one was my first attempt at using leather and I think it came out rather good. And I promptly made another one right after I finished this one.

The other book is just a plain hardback book. Both have 100 pages, but the black one has thicker, artist paper.

Making these reminded me of how much I enjoy making books and how long it's been since making soon....so more bookmaking projects are on the horizon for me. Enjoy!

Crochet!

So I've recently learned to crochet and here are my early attempts at.....stuff. I really don't know what these things are, but they're fun to make.

Note: Please excuse the messy painting table.

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is right around the corner. Over the past year so many wonderful things have happened. I've taught book art classes, starting selling my own art at open air markets, met new and inspiring new friends. Ended and started jobs. Experimented with new art forms/techniques. This year so far has been quite an adventure. And I carry hope in my heart for the remaining days and the start of a new year.

Animation Station!

Well, here is the aforementioned animation (sans sound) that J and I worked on. It's a bit rough but we had lots of fun and learned a lot. Hopefully, there will be more in the future. Enjoy!

First Friday's tonight! Hopefully, it won't be as damp and I won't get a cold (I'll be very cold but that's quite different). Also, my mom will be there selling her items!

Yeah!

Wish us both luck!

Two Picture Day!

Rainy Day today........ Rainy days make me want to crawl in bed with a good book or burrow into the couch under lots of blankets and watch movies. But, alas, that is not to be my fate for this rainy day. Off to work it is....*sigh*


But...

I hope you get wings!

I like this spunky little guy...no fear..... just doing what needs to be done and soaring above it all.... may his example give us all a little courage and spunk of our own......

Have a great (albeit a rainy, at least here) day!

A sketch or two...

Here are two sketches I did awhile back.... the first one was inspired after seeing the cover of this book.

Mine is really just a sketch and I have no intention of producing this image, I feel it's too similar to the other.

And the second one was just a doodle, more or less.

Enjoy!

New Possibilities!

Consecutive time off always leaves me feeling refreshed and focused....something I lose in hectic day-to-day life. I always gain a sense of possibility and potential and clarity, that anything is possible. The air looks and feels cleaner and it clears the fog from my thoughts. I try new paintings, and daydream and I have a delicious sense of restlessness, feeling as if I could set out and explore and find new and wonder-full adventures. There's nothing quite like this feeling almost like....having wings and being able to take flight.

I also get this feeling anytime I go somewhere new for the first time. In 2007, my husband and I went to Savannah and feeling of hope and possibility and that somehow we would be changed-for the better-was amazing. If I'm thankful for anything this holiday season, it's this feeling, this recharging of spirits.

I think in our everyday life we lose this, the potential, the possibility and the wonder of life. We focus on bills, work, negativity, etc. and we lose sight of the essential truth that makes us human-time spent with loved ones, exploring our world with open eyes and having a sense of wonder and play.....Maybe I've over simplifying things and being romantic, but I feel like somewhere along web connections and networking and multi-tasking and finding out and trying to solve everything , we've lost our selves.........

My solution is this: Trying to retain something of that wonder, possibility and clarity in my everyday life. Looking a little things, focusing on color and light, finding amazement in everything around us, but most importantly slowing down so that I don't lost.