Time's Dance

Time's dance
is carved of stone and bone,

asleep,
dreaming in secret phrases,
once written, invisible
once spoken, silent

born of countless instants,
collected, gathered,
deposited
one by one, one upon another
by the flow of minutes, hours,
centuries

she sleeps
in silent stone
but once
she danced.

Icarus Reborn

This is a piece that I finally finished after several re-workings. I think I washed the figure off and started over at least 3 times; hence, the title. I probably should have just given up, but I guess I'm not made that way. I'm very stubborn about certain things, which can be good or bad, depending on the timing and circumstances. I always tell my students, though, that perseverance is the key to success. As Einstein said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." There's a lot of perspiration in this piece, and I'm NOT re-working it again! (Even I have my limits.)

I think it has a very 'fairy tale' kind of feeling. Fairy tales were a favorite reading matter for me as a child, and the illustrations from those stories have had a substantial influence on my artistic expression. When I was growing up, I often drew princesses, knights, horses, and dragons, which I would then cut out and play with, creating my own imaginary world.

The story of Icarus has always fascinated me. Of course, you could get into some really deep and complicated psychological and archetypal analysis here, but I'll leave that to Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. In many paintings of this subject, Icarus is seen falling into the ocean after flying too close to the sun, and my first version of this piece focused on that moment as well. But then I thought, why not go back to the point BEFORE he took flight, when any outcome was still possible? Why not; it's my imaginary world, isn't it? And so, Icarus is reborn, just at the moment of hope.

The Traveller

Here is the finished version. I darkened parts of the background to hopefully lead the eye back toward the figure, and balance the visual "weight" of the birds. (Thanks, Michael!) What do you think?

Night Trees Meet Sky

Aurora

The extra-cold weather we've been having this winter got me thinking about those far northern places where it's almost always cold. In some of those places, people endure not only the mind-numbing cold, but somehow withstand extended periods of darkness as well. I cannot imagine how they survive such conditions; I whine and complain if the mercury dips below the freezing mark, and hate it when it's already dark at 6:00 p.m. I tried to picture what it would be like, to live in a place so dark and colorless. And I thought about the aurora borealis, which plays an important part in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman. Most of the story takes place in the far north; just reading it made me feel cold. I've always wondered what the aurora really looks like, and if seeing it could in some way compensate for the cold there. So here is my imaginary aurora borealis, to distract me from the cold. You may notice, however, that I couldn't stop myself from including some "ice flowers" in the foreground.

Transformation 32

This is the latest in the Transformation series. The formation of the universe, the slow bonding of one element to another, the making of stars and planets over billions of years- these things are endlessly mysterious and fascinating to me.

Art Teacher

Over the holiday break, I tried to make some headway against the general disarray/disorganization of my "stuff". A teacher friend I was talking to was doing the same thing, and was somewhat dismayed that she was unable to throw away so much of her students' work that she was running out of room to store it. I know exactly what she meant; these things contain so many emotions and memories, so much of the kids' and our own hearts and souls that it's difficult to part with them.

While going through some boxes in my basement, I came across some samples of student artwork I had saved. I was struck by the realization that I was actually not such a bad art teacher after all, and that I came up with some fairly innovative projects. I found these two examples of a collage assignment, and thought they showed a lot of creativity, as well as being pretty amusing. Anyway, they made me smile; I hope they do the same for you.

American Style Magazine

This ad featuring several members of Artists Who Teach will appear in the February issue of American Style Magazine. (My piece is in the upper right corner.) This is really a nice, high quality arts magazine with great images and articles, and I'm happy to be included in the ad. Hopefully it will provide some exposure if nothing else, which can't hurt. Also, I can't say enough about the diverse originality you'll find in the work of the members of Artists Who Teach; check out the site for some inspiration. I feel honored to be a part of this organization.

To logo, or not to logo...

That is the question. It seems that I should have a business card and letterhead, so I'm trying to design something. Here are two I've come up with so far. What do you think?

Four Buddhas

I'm not sure what to call this; I mean, I've never done anything with multiple images before. I'm not an Andy Warhol fan, so I don't think that's where this is coming from. Maybe it's from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of deities having multiple aspects- such as the Medicine Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, etc. I once took the initiation of the twenty-one Taras, which was quite lovely, but no one has ever explained to me why there are so many of everything. Tibetans seem to have an obsession with numbers, but I find it a bit confusing, myself. But I digress, I guess. For whatever reason, I just like these images together; I hope you do, too. Namaste!

Glowing Buddha

Yes, another in the Buddha series- I'm sort of obsessed with this piece and all its permutations. I hope you're not too tired of it, because I'm not finished yet, so stay tuned for further developments! By the way, all of these will be for sale as soon as I can figure out the cost.

1st Place Award

Some very nice things have happened in the past couple of days, one of them being that I found out I won a first place award for this mixed media piece, MOON SHADOWS, at the AGNWG 1st Annual Online Art Competition. There is some very nice work in this show, and you can still vote for the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD until the end of the month. (Shameless plug: Vote for me! Vote for me!)

Another nice thing is that I was juried onto the Artists Who Teach site; you can find my profile here.

And, last but certainly not least, I finally got my electricity back after 6 days. Even though I'm in Kentucky, Hurricane Ike was able to reach out its long arms and knock down countless trees and power lines, leaving 90% of Duke Energy's customers in the dark. You have no idea how wonderful hot water can feel- and my computer still works, too!!

Neon Buddha

A little more Photoshop fun. I took this photo of a statue at my friend's house, and have been playing around with it to see what I could come up with. This is the 3rd of 5 or 6 versions. Which do you like best so far?

NKU Alumni Exhibition Invitation

I was honored to be accepted into the juried alumni exhibit at Northern Kentucky University, where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1993. The reception was Thursday night, and it was sort of strange, but nice, to be in the gallery again. If you're in the neighborhood before September 25, stop by and check it out. I'm sorry this invitation didn't upload very well; I think it had to be shrunk so much that most of the text does not show up.

Pink Blacklight Buddha

Is it just me, or does this kind of remind you of a seventies blacklight poster? Of course, those memories are a bit fuzzy, so I could be wrong. Let me know what you think.

Psychedelic Buddha

Seedling

I'm sure this piece comes from a place deep in my twisted subconscious; after I made it, I realized that it reminds me somehow of one of my favorite childhood pastimes. In fact, it has occurred to me that much of my imagery grows out of these experiences. (Hey, who needs psychotherapy when you've got art?) I used to love making dolls from natural materials I found in the yard or woods, though I had little interest in store-bought dolls. I'd find a twig for the body, attaching a tiny apple or grape as a head. Of course she needed something fashionable to wear, and upside-down petunias made gorgeous dresses; a strand of thick grass tied around it served the dual purpose of holding the flower in place and serving as arms. Snapdragons were perfect as hats. For the little people to live in, I constructed houses of sticks and mud (I invented adobe, who knew?), and fed them birch-seed pies baked in the sun.
This probably comes as no surprise to those who know me well, while some of you may be thinking, "Wow, no wonder her art is so strange..."

Size: 8.5x15
Medium: monotype collage
Price: NFS

Gateway

Another new piece- I hope you enjoy it.
Size: 12"x14"
Medium: monotype collage
Price: $295.00

Illuminated Portal

I thought I'd share some of my recent artwork. I haven't made any more of the smaller pieces lately, but hope to get back to it soon. Enjoy!

Size: 8.5" x 17"
Medium: monotype collage
Price: $289.00 (no mat or frame)

Galactic Mandala

This piece combines two of my foremost interests, science and spirituality. I feel that these cannot be separated from one another, whether you believe that God created this magnificent universe, or you believe that this universe IS God. Either way, they form an indivisible whole; nature in all its forms reveals the divine. We are each sacred parts of the whole, and are dependent upon ALL parts for our survival.

Size: 11" x 11"
Medium: Watercolor and acrylic ink with collage
Price: $175.00 without mat