anonyrrie

Already August

Okay - so it looks like I might just be posting here every few months, but that's okay.  Life is an ebb and flow experience, and I have learned that I need to ebb and flow along with it.   I've really come to understand my need to focus my energy in one direction at a time.  Once I start to divide myself, nothing happens.  

So, what have I been doing?  Mostly SoulCollage® - making cards, holding workshops in my studio, putting together new workshops for the fall.  Below is a sample I made for my October 23 workshop, Beyond Persona: Creating an Intuitive Soul Portrait.  

All the workshop information is here , and if you happen to live in the vicinity of NW CT, please consider taking a workshop in my pretty little studio in the woods.

Other than that, I've been walking my dog, working out, taking some day trips, reading books and making a little art here and there.  I do feel that my tide is turning again though, pulling me towards my paints and wood panels...  so we shall see!

In the meantime, enjoy a morning walk with me and Heidi...

See you around!

Catching up!

I know... I haven't posted anything in two months!  The fact of the matter is that I have been occupied with things other than painting, some quite wonderful and others rather burdensome.  Since the burdensome stuff has to do with mountains of paperwork, I shan't say another thing about it.  Enough already!

So... what's good?  Let's see (lots of pictures - click to see them larger)... 

Exhibition News

I have three of my Mandalas & Meditations paintings in the 49th Anniversary show at the Gallery on the Green.  Each painting is 10" x 10" x 1" - acrylic and mixed media on wood.  From left to right: Shine Within, Listen and Be Present. The show runs from May 22 through June 21.

These two paintings, Bee's Wing (which is featured in Susan Tuttle's fabulous Book, Exhibiton 36) and Asphodel (both 12" x 12" x 1" acrylic and mixed media on wood) are in Artwell Gallery's Square Foot show, opening May 30 and running through July 21.

Studio Project

I have pretty much completed the first phase of my studio project and am ready to start getting creative again.  It's a beautiful space, and I want to thank my dear husband Jol for making it all possible... clearing out his "stuff," putting it new lighting and flooring and helping me move the masses of art supplies and furniture from the house down the hill to the new studio.  Below are some shots of Ethan and Jol removing the old carpet and installing the new floor.

The next shots show the moving-in stage...

And finally, the pictures below show that everything is somewhat organized. The studio is now functional, but I want to get new furniture and decorate the space so it's beautiful and inspiring rather than simply utilitarian.

Jol's shop is right next door in the same building, so I'm looking forward to hours of time spent together in our own little worlds!

SoulCollage®

Last, but certainly not least... After spending a very inspiring weekend (April 17 - 19) in a SoulCollage® Faciliator Training Workshop run by Anne Marie Bennet and Jean Marie Merkel at Wisdom House in Litchfield, CT,  I am now a SoulCollage® facilator.  

Starting in July, I will be offering live SoulCollage and art workshops in my studio.  I'm also planning other events and workshops that I can share with those of you who aren't in my local area.  In the meantime, I invite you to visit my Wings 4 You Coaching blog where I am hosting a SoulCollage® Discovery Circle.  It's never too late to join as this is an ongoing group.

And now, before the day gets too old, I'm going to get outside and enjoy the sun!

Spring Planting

It seems like Spring brings the best art exhibits!  Among these shows is one that has the potential to expand the participating artists' opportunities. Every year at this time,  Artwell Gallery in Torrington, CT holds their Show for a Show exhibition.  During the show, more than 50 major art museums and galleries from the tri-state region view the submissions and select works and artists to exhibit in their galleries.

Flora - 24" x 36" x 1.5" - acrylic & ink on wood panel

I have decided to enter Flora, a painting I did for the Girls,Girls, Girls show at the IO gallery last spring.  She didn't sell and has been hanging on the wall of my office, mesmerizing me with her huge eyes and mysterious beauty.  I almost don't want to part with her, but...  she may plant some seeds of opportunity for me!

The Show for a Show exhibition runs from April 4 through May 17 with the opening reception on April 4 from 6 - 9 p.m.

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Edit - 3/38/09 - I'm also submitting her for Illustration Friday's topic, Poise.  She does seem very poised, yes?  

Word-Art Opening

On Ancient Wings - 16" x 20" x 1" - acrylic/mixed media on wood panel

Tonight is the opening of the 4th semi-annual Word-Art show at the Gallery on the Green in Canton, CT.  Once again, I had the honor of working with my dear friend, Karen Jasper, who wrote the poem "Wounded Bird" in response to my painting, "On  Ancient Wings."  The show runs through April 12, with an evening of readings on Saturday, April 4 at 7:30. 

Wounded Bird

Part 1

A swallow can fly miles, from treetop to ocean cliff,
The wind's undertow buoyantly gliding her
To a resting place warm with possibility.

She is free, lifted higher by duty and family,
Not a thought outside of weather and wind,
Acceptance and choice safely within her span.

But then, jolted in flight,
her heart pumped deep
And she is transformed,

The unknown and unfamiliar
In that very moment,
A broken wing reclaiming

Something lost and ancient
Spiraling deep and desperate
Into the habitat of hidden.

Some species heal their wings
In solitude, licking and lying
In a nest of thin twigs

Healing from within
Until they can fly again,
To and from home.

But other species do not heal
And they tuck that wing
Underneath themselves,

Landlocked and less,
The natural order
Injured inside and out.

That species will push on
Practicing, praying, pretending
That wings are but a crutch;

Meanwhile hoping that reverse gravity
May rocket them up and open them wide,
Heedfully whole to fly again.

 

Part 2 (My Side)

 I fly from necessity

Hovering over leafy trees and endless water,

Following an inestimable path from home

 

Only to return again,

Where I’ll find my roots and rhythm

Deeply tucked in grainy sand.

 

I do not question why I do this--

This destiny of family and fate--

What I cannot fathom I will not change.

 

My twelve feather tail and meager wing span

Weigh in below two ounces,

 Not enough for my survival

 

And yet I maneuver and endure,

I doggedly sing my song

And tuck my broken wing

 

Under my expanding and rapid chest

Until I know if

I might fly again.

 

If I should die here

Unable to lift myself beyond this place

I will fly anyway

 

Straight to this indomitable future

Where I will be an African River Martin

tending and fending

 

Reaching still and always,

Weightless in my belief          

That I was born for just this moment.

- Karen Jasper

Hurray for Snow!

I know... I've been carrying on about wanting it to be springtime with nice warm weather, budding trees and chirping birds.  I still do, but having a snowstorm on a Monday that's  big enough to keep me home all day is pretty good too.  And here's what I did with my free day...

I pretty much finished this painting, except for painting the sides of the wood panel.  I don't know what I'll call it, but it's 12" x 16" x 1" acryclic/mixed media.

Then I made a SoulCollage card using John Everett Millais' The Bridesmaid as a central figure. I've always been drawn to this painting, so I decided to use her as a basis for a Committee card, adding some embellishments with paint, crayons and pen. 

And that was my Monday, a gift of creative time from Winter, who hasn't quit yet.  I hope your day was a delightful as mine...

Silver & Gold

work in progress - 12" x 16" x 1" - mixed media on wood

It's been one of those weeks... and I feel like I've had one foot in the twilight zone.  There's been such a surreal aura around me - weird synchronicities and strange happenings, but somehow I have managed to hold on to my calm center.  

Perhaps all the turmoil has stirred up some creativity, because I've started a new painting that I hope to finish by the end of the weekend.  The story is evolving... two friends, a secret, who knows?  I guess I'll have some idea by the time it's all finished.  I'll simply let instinct and intuition guide the way.

Here's what's I've been hearing in my head as I've been painting:

Make new friends but keep the old,

One is silver and the other is gold.

- from the Girl Scout song 

2/21 - here's some progress on the painting, which I worked on yesterday.  

I still need to do the background and finish up the detail work on the figures and the foreground, both of which are still rough.  The flowers in the foreground are collaged from paper napkins, a technique I first learned about from my friend Lenna Andrews and more recently was reminded of by Sharon Tomlinson's  article in Cloth Paper Scissors. I'm going to need to paint them in, but I really love the fine layer they add!

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2/22

I did a bit more today... I layered on some decorative papers for background texture, and then painted over them.  I also did some more detail work on the figures. Now it's time to let it sit while I ponder the rest of the background.

 

 

My New Etsy Shop!

I have finally taken the plunge and opened an etsy shop, and I am so excited about being able to offer my art directly to you!

I am starting off with smaller original mixed media paintings.  In the future, I plan to add larger works and prints.

I hope you'll stop by and see my new little shop of beauties, and then let me know what you think!

Be Present

be present - 10" x 10" x 1" - acrylic/mixed media on wood panel

{from the Mantras & Meditations series - available for purchase in my etsy shop}

To the Moon

   

Art thou pale for weariness

Of climbing Heaven, and gazing on the earth,

   Wandering companionless

Among the stars that have a different birth,--

And ever changing, like a joyless eye

That finds no object worth its constancy?

- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)

Climbing, climbing, always wanting more, or something just beyond reach... living for the future... believing in "if only"... not stopping to breathe and see and touch and understand that everything in this moment is perfect and as it should be... 

Sunrise

You can

die for it-

an idea, 

or the world. People 

have done so, 

brilliantly, 

letting

their small bodies be bound 

to the stake, 

creating

an unforgettable

fury of light. But 

this morning, 

climbing the familiar hills

in the familiar

fabric of dawn, I thought 

of China, 

and India

and Europe, and I thought

how the sun 

blazes

for everyone just

so joyfully

as it rises

under the lashes

of my own eyes, and I thought

I am so many! 

What is my name? 

What is the name

of the deep breath I would take

over and over

for all of us? Call it 

whatever you want, it is

happiness, it is another one

of the ways to enter

fire.  

- Mary Oliver (1935 - )

Winter Blossoms

blossom - 9" x 12" x 1" - acrylic - mixed media on wood panel 

{from the Mantras & Meditations series - available for purchase in my etsy shop}

We all have contained within us seeds of beauty, strength, compassion, understanding, creativity, love...  seeds that must be nurtured in order to blossom.  The trick is to discover the right environment within which to grow.  It's not necessarily a place, but more a state of mind.  

What does it take to get it just right?  Well, for me it all starts with honesty and self-acceptance; knowing that if I stay true to who I am, that is more than enough.  

The Jewel

There is this cave

In the air behind my body

That nobody is going to touch:

A cloister, a silence

Closing around a blossom of fire.

When I stand upright in the wind,

My bones turn to dark emeralds.

- James Wright (1927 - 1980)

Listen and Reach

listen - 10" x 10" x 1" - acrylic - mixed media on wood panel

{from the Mantras & Meditations series - available for purchase in my etsy shop}

I have been thinking a lot lately about what's most important to me and where I want to go next on this life-journey. Although I am energized by setting goals and making plans, I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions.  If something seems like a good thing to do, I either go for it or put it on the back burner until the time is right; if it's meant to be, it will happen.  Nonetheless, there's something to be said for rituals that challenge us to step back and reflect on who we are –  our values, our dreams, and our intentions to bring the two together - and so I've been thinking about what kind of ritual would help me move forward in 2009.

It's funny how sometimes that universal magic of synchronicity can weave together so many random threads.  As I've been working on my Mantras & Meditations  series of paintings, I've been focusing on being still and simply listening to my inner voice for words and affirmations that are meaningful and inspiring. The practice of creating art around mantras and meditations has been very grounding for me, and I have been sensing myself opening up to new ideas and possibilities.  In the midst of this focusing on words that shape being and action,  I came across a post that Leah, host of Creative Every Day and Art Every Day Month, wrote about Christine Kane's practice of choosing a defining word for the year.  Instead of creating a long, onerous "To-Do" list of resolutions that inevitably fall by the wayside, Christine suggests that we create a one word theme that will serve as a guide and inspiration throughout the year - an annual mantra! 

I chose two words, because they represent a process that is very important to me.  First, I want to learn to Listen more deeply and fully, both to my inner voice and to the unspoken words of others. I want to turn off the static that surrounds me and tune into the messages that come in silence. Then I want to Reach - reach within, reach out, reach for, reach above, reach below, reach beyond the limits I have intentionally and unintentionally set for myself. Listen ~ Reach... my mantra for 2009.  It makes me feel that anything is possible.

What word would you choose?