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!

Gateway

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

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

Handmade Artist's Book

I thought I'd share a few pages of my handmade book, since few people have seen it. The book measures 8 x 12.5 inches and contains 20 pages. All pages are transparent acetate, so the pages beneath can be seen through them, creating a multi-layered effect. The cover is basically a folded "box", also made of acetate, and closed with a shell and gold braided cord. Thanks to Colin for doing a great job on the photos. (Really, I was just teasing about the praying mantis thing.) Also, I just learned something- the photos appear opposite the order in which they were downloaded, so the cover is at the bottom. Oh, well...

Slideshow: Angels and Spirits

My daughter made this slideshow for me of some of my pieces which have related themes or images. My son added the music, and- VOILA! Hey, don't laugh; I uploaded it all by myself! Thanks, Caitlin and Colin; you are awesome.

Transformation 29

When I decided to do this daily painting blog, I knew I couldn't post something every single day. I figured it would be hard enough just to put something on here a few times per week. What I didn't realize was just how difficult it would be to do even that. Maybe some of the other painting-a-dayers don't have a day job. All we can do is to do the best we can, as I tell my students. Thanks for looking at my art; I hope you enjoy this one!

Transformation 28

Just wanted to post this quickly before going out of town for a few days. Happy Spring!

Seed Mandala 31 (Moth-man Death-Star)

Sometimes I make up funny names for these, based on what they remind me of. For instance, there are a couple that look like uteruses (uteri?), and others that bring to mind native American designs, galaxies, butterflies, or whatever. There was no intention to make them that way; I let chance or spirit or flow have a part in making these. Like seeing shapes in the clouds, people see completely different things in them - often something to meditate on. well, you might not want to meditate on Moth-man death-star...

Seed Mandala 30 (Dancing Earth Goddess)

I haven't posted much on here lately because I wasn't feeling well. So, to sort of make up for the gap I'm posting two paintings today. This one has been through many transformations and permutations, and finally ended up a dancing Earth goddess. Believe it or not, most of these mandala pieces end up in the garbage. Abstract art is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. Blessed be!

Transformation 24

All of the matter and energy in the entire universe was once contained in "a space so small that it would make a proton look enormous." (Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything) This, according to many scientists, was the situation before the Big Bang. Some experts think there may have been untold numbers of universes before this one, constantly expanding and then contracting back to that tiny point of matter. That we exist in this one is, they say, simply a matter of chance. "Although the creation of a universe might be very unlikely, Tryon (of Columbia University) emphasized that no one had counted the failed attempts." What were the other universes like, I wonder?

Transformation 27

I have no idea what else to say about these. What do people want to know? Does anyone really read these? I'm sure no one wants to know about my dull life; I have no stories to tell, unless I make some up. So instead, I'll quote Carl Sagan: "Not all of our ancestors made the same sharp distinction we do between Earth and sky. The grandparents of the Olympian gods were...Uranus, god of the sky, and Gaia, goddess of the Earth. ancient Mesopotamians had the same idea. The chief gods of the Konyak Nagas of India today are called Gawang, "Earth-Sky", and Zangban, "Sky-Earth". That's where we live. That's where we come from. The sky and the Earth are one."

Transformation 20

This is one of another ongoing series called "Transformations". I guess the best way to describe the concept is that they're based on my own perception of the beginnings/ evolution of the universe, and how everything came from the same source. I'm a sixth-grade special education teacher, and right now in science we're studying the earth's interior and volcanoes. When the earth was not so far along on its way to becoming the planet we know now, it was covered with volcanoes; I had this in mind as I was working on this piece. If you'd like to see more from this series, or of the "Seed Mandala" series, you can view them at my website by clicking on the link at the top of this page. Thanks for your interest.

Size: 7" x 7"; 15" x 15" matted
medium: monotype and mixed media collage
Price: $90.00 includes mat and free shipping