Back to the Inward/Journey

24"x36" canvas, acrylic, cloth and paper collage. This is the second in a proposed four of Inward/Self Portraits. I relied in the beginning on the meditation and journal suggestion: Crowned child of the wind which has resulted in the title "Crown of the Wind". For this piece I was looking for essence, the spirit of my child within...this essence that I have been dragging around for years and years, finding ways to create joyfully. I studied Tamayo's work and began with a large piece of charcoal and paper towels. Eyes closed, left handed I was hoping to fill the entire space. Thirty drawings, no, no, no wiping with my towel over and over until this head seemed okay and then the body, legs and arms followed. I used an old tea towel for this doll like dress, the crown is lace used as a stencil and her heart a clock reading midnight. I related to the story of Cinderella as a small child having a bossy sister and also loved the stories of Raggedy Ann. The color began in reds and then to a turquoise with the addition of a favorite of mine, soft yellow. I like her, she speaks of my childhood dolls and digging back over 50 years into my childhood and who I was early on and how I became me now was a messy job involving mending and gluing and remembering.

I'm deciding to finish this series with three pieces instead of four, combining the suggested titles into one. I have a slice of a moon with hand sewing that I had made close to 15years ago and I think that will be my beginning point. I have some large abstracts in my head calling me so for right now I will do only three. This has been a rich experience this inward journey...a taking stock with so many memory connections. There was a wonderful topic on Kick It Up a Notch...Advice to a Younger Self. My take on the subject is that I am the exact result I need to be from all my life experiences and choices...granted they were not all great and many misguided but all in all the threads (good and bad) have nicely weaved themselves into me and my life. Anyone taking stock lately? Greeting the person you never imagined? Or in the place you could have never known? These three pieces, I hope will be my statement of "Here I Am".

Collagraph Plates Found

Old collagraph plates I found while digging in a storage basket of printmaking "stuff". I'm just about ready to start my next large canvas and I found myself thinking about some old work and how I might incorporate it into these larger pieces representing self portrait/inward series. I didn't find some of the plates I was looking for but I was surprised by what turned up from long ago. I still continue to meditate and journal before beginning work so I'm depending on that as my lead.

Directly across in the sidebar is a photo of my first large piece and it is getting close to being done. The last bit of journaling turned into questions about what imagery could stay and what in the piece do I love. So my answer was the columns, hands, paint rag moon and compass plate must stay. The background color has been a puzzle...Is this morning or evening? Is this altar in a grey mist or delicate fog? Is it dusk calling for hands reaching for the heavens and dim darkening light? Are there words needed? So many questions but as I filter through, I will create this altar story, this first one of self portrait/Inward.The background has been many colors but this blue seems to feel right, reminds me of a line from a Bob Dylan song, "It's not dark yet but it's getting there"!