Layers of Life

Ah, the complexities of life. We all have a story, layered with triumphs, tears, mistakes, redemption, tragedies, success, joy and pain. Most of our stories are hidden behind our personas, whether they be smiling faces or bitter scowls; woven so tightly together that the layers are unseen, making up one image. These thoughts were on my mind as I created my newest piece, a 16x20 cotton boll in soft pastel. I begin my pieces with under layers of dark black followed by bright colors: turquoise, fuchsia, purple, bright green, gold:

I finish the piece with a unifying neutral, in this case white, bringing the layers together into a single image; no longer separate pieces of the story, but a complex whole...very much like the layers of life.

We cannot separate our stories into separate pieces, discarding some and clinging to others. All of our experiences unite to make us who we are, individuals with layers of story. To me, this is a good and beautiful part of living life; also, something to remember when we daily encounter our fellow human beings, with our myriad of emotions and reactions. We are all living a story. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Back in the Game

"Tree of Life," Ink sketch All wrapped up close together in our little house, we've added a fifth person to our family. My sweet baby is just now old enough for me to steal some time away, to turn my thoughts, for at least a few moments, inward to the world of art. When I look inside and peruse my creative thoughts, I see a very different world. With so much time passed between my last stream of art and today, my life has changed. The birth of a child, the growth of a life, the changing tides of my life to a brighter, stronger place...what images stir within me, waiting to be formed with pen, pastel, paint and paper? It's time for a renewal, to reinvent once again. I find an eager peace in the cycle of my art, that over the past few years I have come to recognize-high times and low times, ever-changing, twisting and turning to the creation of something new. I'm starting slow, with my small bits of time. Searching for what lies within, to see what will surprise me when I use my hands and let my broken, unplanned thoughts take shape. Thanks to a friend and art colleague's recent art, Sunny Carvalho's morning drawings, I'm beginning my renewed journey with "Morning Sketches." Each morning for two weeks I plan to draw whatever comes to the forefront of my mind-no concrete plans, no restrictions-just to see where it leads me. And if this endeavor does not lead me to a new starting place, it still leads me to further exploration of this new, complex and wonderful phase of my life.