RoYELLOWgbiv

It's hard to believe it's the third Thursday of the month already!  Though I've been anxiously waiting for signs of Spring - which I'm beginning to see, though none are yellow - time still seems to fly by.  Paradoxical, isn't it? Coincidentally, in fact, I believe today is the first day of Spring, also known as the Vernal equinox, when the sun crosses the plane of the equator, making night and day approximately the same length all over the earth. Here are a couple of graphics for you (sorry, not yellow):

Since I'm not seeing much yellow in my surroundings right now, I thought I'd start with some of my favorite flower photos from Glacier National Park, in the northwest corner of Montana.

Oh, yes, it's a glorious place!



Next, a selection of  some of my older pieces of art that prominantly feature yellow:

 Transformation 24

 Gateway

 Transformation 4

Icarus Reborn

And finally, here is what I'm dreaming of:

Head on over to Jennifer Coyne Qudeen's beautiful blog for more yellow!

Happy Spring (or Happy Fall, as the case my be), everyone!

New Work: Vernal Equinox

I have finished one of the pieces from my "Work in Progress" post, and wanted to show you what it looks like in its final incarnation.

The title of the piece is Vernal Equinox, partly because I started working on it around that time, but also because these were the pathways around which my mind traveled as I made it. According to Wikipedia, an equinox occurs "... when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator."

 illustration from Wikipedia

  There are two equinoxes, one around March 20th (vernal), and the other on or near September 22nd (autumnal). On these two days, the length of the day and night are equal- hence, equinox. Originally the festival of the pagan fertility goddess Ostara (Oestre), the date of Easter is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. From the equinox until the solstice, the days lengthen; it is the day that "light overcomes the darkness".  Since it was the first new work I had begun since sometime before Christmas, and the spring equinox signifies renewal and rebirth, it seemed a fitting title.



Usually, I simply list the ingredients of the piece underneath the photo, but I thought that this time, it would be fun to do a pictorial list instead.  As you can see, I'm easily amused!

 I suppose this could be categorized as either a material and/or a technique- decollage is exactly what it sounds like. First, you collage; then, you de-collage- also known as tearing off what you just glued on. It seems like this would just be a slow way of getting nowhere, but it can create some interesting textural effects that you couldn't get any other way. In the case of this piece, I took some of the ripped-off pieces and glued them onto my substrate. Upside-down, actually- I used the back side of the papers as the front. I hope that wasn't too confusing?

Found objects: here are some of the objects in one of my drawers marked, "metal things". 

Soft pastels: I used a mixture of reds to get that reddish-salmon color for the background of the upper part of the piece.

Embroidery floss was used for the stitching. I keep buying more colors, so now there's not enough room for all of them in the box; consequently, it's a mess.  Time to get a bigger box.

Metallic pens: I originally bought these Pentel Slicci pens to use with the guest book for my daughter's wedding. They write very smoothly, and seem to resist drying out.

Gold paint crayon- It's very hard to find these any more, but I just bought this one on etsy!

Vintage map (not this exact one)

Maple seeds from my yard. Photo by Laura Bell.

 Acrylic gel medium- you can never have too much, right?

Brass mini-brads- not even I am pathetic enough to get excited about a photo of brads.



Well, the pictorial list was a lot more work than the usual way, but I kind of like it! What do you think?  Now that school is out, I hope to be posting a bit more regularly.  A demain!

World Dharma Mandala

I made this collage during the winter, but wasn't able to photograph it until now. I photograph artwork outside on a sunny day, in open shade, and this weekend, the weather was cooperative.

I was talking with a friend last night about the spiritual significance of the equinox. Because the day and night are of equal length at this time, she associates it with balance. Balance, always something to strive for, but difficult to achieve. Balancing all the aspects of life- the work, the play, exercise, sleep, time for making art, time spent with others or alone, finding time for all the tasks that must be done, yet somehow finding time for yourself. Balance, so we don't fall. It's easy to feel overwhelmed, too busy, frazzled, out of balance.

Looking at this piece, I realized that it is about balance. The mandala form is radially symmetrical; it is balanced in all directions, as is the wheel of the dharma. We seek balance within ourselves, as humanity must seek to live in balance with the earth. May we all find that balance.

Vernal Equinox

Finally, the first day of spring is officially here. As if they knew, the very first daffodils bloomed, their little yellow faces shining back at the sun. The magnolia buds will open soon, perhaps even tomorrow. Everything seems so new, in a cycle as old as time.


An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the Sun being vertically above a point on the Equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens.
The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long. It may be better understood to mean that latitudes +L and -L north and south of the equator experience nights of equal length. (Wikipedia)



Christianity and other religions associate three themes with the vernal equinox:

Conception and pregnancy leading to birth six months later at the time of the winter solstice. The Bible appears to contain internal evidence that Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) was born in the Fall of the year. Some suggest that the early Christians set Yeshua's birthday, Christmas, at the approximate time of the winter solstice. That would have placed his conception about the time of the spring equinox.
Victory of a god of light (or life, rebirth, resurrection) over the powers of darkness (death).
The descent of the goddess or god into the underworld for a period of three days. This is such a popular theme among religions that mythologists refer to it as "the harrowing of Hell." from http://www.religioustolerance.org/spequi1.htm