Mindful Mandala

In April I will be teaching a workshop for the Hoffman Center for the Arts. I'm calling it Mindful Art. They asked me to create an image for publicity. It started out to be a personal mandala, but quickly turned into one about my thoughts and feelings regarding my children. It's amazing how impossible it is to keep yourself out of your art. I had a wonderful conversation about this with a fellow artist during my opening reception for the Hoffman Center in January. It reminds me of a thought that often comes into my head, "No matter where I go, there I am." And obviously, no matter where I go, my kids are with me heart and soul.

Family

I came across this little sketch I did over Christmas. One of the highlights of the holiday was watching my husband, Andrew, interact with his brother and his mother. We are all unique individuals. We all lead our own lives. And yet although we come and go and only occasionally cross paths, we are connected. We are bound together. And the unity we create as we share our lives is a beautiful creation indeed. 

Grateful Heart

I realize it is December, but I'm not ready for it so I'm spending one more moment on being thankful instead. It's not that I can't be thankful in December, it's simply my way of rebelling against the passing of time. And speaking of the passing of time... I've spent so much time getting ready for my art show (did I mention it opens this Friday?) that I hadn't realized that two months have passed since I did a zen doodle. Wow... It felt so good to let my mind wander and my hand create. Or was it my hand wandering and my mind creating? No matter. I was able to focus on my gratitude and let the shapes take care of themselves. 

My Safe Place

She's not looking as content as I would have liked, but she is in her safe place. This is my concept drawing for the next painting in my series on "Comfort". Several years ago I was introduced to the idea of having a "safe place" in your imagination so that when times get emotionally hard you can envision yourself there and it can help you de-stress. A chair is not that safe place for me. That kind of safe place is so individual to each of us, that I couldn't begin to visually express it. But I do think that most people have a chair at home that is "theirs". I think for most of us, at the end of a long day, sinking down into that little piece of home can definitely bring a sense of comfort. In this space, I get to be me. In this space, I get to call the shots. In this space, I am safe.

Soft

Again, this is only a charcoal concept drawing, but it the beginning of the next painting in the series. As I was considering the idea of "soft" I imagined many soft things. However, in the end I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. So she will be lying in and on and under feathery softness. I have to admit that working on this made me want to curl up in my bed and take a nap... 

Warm Embrace

This is a charcoal drawing I did as a concept sketch for my next painting. Still working with the idea of Comfort, this piece will be about embracing. Often an embrace is pictured with two people in a hug. But I wanted to capture the idea with just a single figure. When I think of being embraced, enwrapped, cuddled, and snuggled in comfort, I think of a warm, soft blanket. I want her to have a look of appreciation and familiarity more than a relief from fear or struggle. I'm having fun with the charcoals. I'm not spending the time on them that I do with the paints, but just playing with them again is fun!

Warmth... Charcoal Drawing

I'm still pondering the concept of comfort. What is it that provides comfort? How does comfort feel? For me, comfort is warm. After a long winter I long for a sunny day when I can stand with my face to the sun and feel the warmth on my face. On a stressful day I can face the sun and feel the calm seep into me with each ray of sunshine. The comforting embrace of my grandmother felt as warm and penetrating as the heat of the sun. Let the sunshine in!

Comfort

I realized today that I've been so focused on painting that I've neglected my sketch journal as well as my artist dates. I've been pondering some emotional things the past few days and one theme that keeps returning is Comfort. How does one visually illustrate comfort without any figures? I can think of objects that symbolize comfort, like a blanket, pillow or teddy bear. I can think of comforting people like mothers or grandparents or friends. But comfort in and of itself? I think of warm, soft, encompassing, safe.

The Light

"Go toward the Light", "The Light at the end of the tunnel", "I saw the Light"... we've heard the phrases. For a moment I thought "I think gratitude is the light". But then I really started thinking about it. The Light can represent hope, faith, peace, rest, inspiration... but gratitude? On further reflection I concluded that gratitude is actually when we act whether the Light will be there or not.

Gratitude

I often feel grateful for what I have and the circumstances in my life. I strive to act in gratitude, and use gratitude as my motivator instead of anxiety. I would like to become a truly grateful person.

I believe this happens when we experience gratitude in both the light and shadow of our lives. There must needs be opposition in all things. I work at finding gratitude in the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the easy and the hard, the up and the down, the yin and the yang.

Batting Practice

I had a day out and found myself at a park. Three siblings were playing baseball and after watching and keeping score for my own boys' Little League games for 20 years I recognized that the older two where helping the younger one with his batting. I anticipated quite a bit of time to get some good sketches so I settled in with my sketchbook and pencil and began to observe.

The young batter had a routine of motions he went through that were oh so familiar. The tapping of the bat on the ground in front of himself, swinging it a few times for good measure, then choking up on the bat and preparing for the swing. 

The sister was pitching and the older brother was catching. I got a quick sketch of the catcher and then began to really focus on the batter. I was excited to have these repeated motions because I felt I could get a more in-depth sketch done. I did a quick sketch to warm up and just settled in to a more serious one when suddenly they called it quits and when home. Whaaaaat?!?!??! I wanted to tell them they needed a much longer practice session. But I was already worried they thought I was a stranger watching them so intently. Perhaps that's why they called it quits after only a few minutes. Alas, there was not to be done. They were gone. 

I did enjoy the nostalgia of the moment though... I was so ready for baseball days to come to an end after 20 years. But now that they are gone, I do miss them so. Just like the anticipated long practice, we never have the time we think we will. Carpe Diem!

Beach Babe - Quick Sketch

This is the gorgeous babe I saw on the beach. I'm always nervous about photographing and drawing children because I don't want parents to think I'm a Creepy McCreeper... These parents were great, though, and let me take a ton of photos. This is quick sketch I did. She was so cute as she toddled in the sand, fell over, picked herself back up, and then plopped down and just played in the sand.