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1/2/2019

Twelve for Twelve 2019: Day 2

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Last year's hummingbird Twelve for Twelve was a lesson in listening. I didn't set out to paint twelve hummingbirds, but one day led to the next, and the series came together as an acceptance and a  celebration of the whole of life with its joys and challenges. 
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Beginning. 
Building. 
Guarding.
Fledging. 
Flying.
Watching. 
Resting.
Falling.
Supporting.
Praising.
Savoring. 
Ending.

​"We are more than the clouds. We are the whole sky." 


This year, I don't have much of a plan yet, either. But the Wren has been the subject of Day 1 and Day 2. This little "King of Birds" has a rich history in symbol and myth. Celtic mythology considered the Wren a symbol of the past year. This little bird is known to sing, even in the dead of winter. The wren's symbolic Celtic meanings include activity, vibrancy, alertness and efficiency. St. Stephens Day is Ireland was for centuries celebrated by killing a wren. Read more here. ​

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1/1/2019

Twelve for Twelve 2019

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My good friend, Temple, gave me a wren's nest from her front porch as a birthday gift last year. It was almost unrecognizable as a nest, but its roots and twigs have been near my painting area all year and have served as inspiration. I had a different idea for a starting place for this Twelve for Twelve series, but yesterday as I was sketching and preparing, my son Kyman called my attention to a wren that was industriously working and singing outside our kitchen window. I took it as a sign, since these magical little birds rarely show themselves. And so, a wren is what I am beginning with today. More later about the fascinating symbolism of these tiny "Kings of birds". 

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12/10/2018

Forever...

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I have to share this Haiku, written in response to this painting by my very talented friend, Russell Mays. 

Delicate sparrows
Tiny joy-filled reminders
God Loves every one
New Prints Available
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In the coming year, I hope to spend more time in Nature. There is so much inspiration around every corner, and life and work have been keeping me inside way too much. The inspiration for this painting came from a walk on Gentry Creek Trail.
​Sparrows have struggled through thorns in recent paintings, stared knowingly from Gothic window ledges, but here they rest playfully and at home on soft moss. Winter is coming, but as always, they are at peace.

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 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?      Matthew 6:25-34
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11/18/2018

Saying Goodbye to the Fiddlemaker...

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PictureThe Fiddlemaker. 24x36. Oil on Panel.

This post is overdue. Mr. Alfred Michels, the Fiddlemaker, passed away in late September. Everyone who was fortunate enough to know Alfred instantly fell in love with his lilting old world accent and the sparkle in his eye. He was a person who lived deliberately and simply, and he left a rare and beautiful legacy for us all. 
Here's a link to his obituary. 
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Alfred Michels with his portrait. 2016
Alfred and his wife Amy grew most all their food. He worked his land with horses, just like my Grandpa used to. A filmmaker recently made a movie called "Mountain Minor" that features a fine young local musician, Asa Nelson. Alfred's horses are also in the movie, and he worked with Asa and the film crew. The movie is in film festivals now, and I just can't wait to see it! 
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Alfred works with the film crew of "Mountain Minor" gettting ready for the scenes with his horses.
...and did I mention that Alfred didn't just make fiddles... he played the heck out of them! He played for years with the LazyBirds, an awesome little band that is based in the North Carolina Mountains. Here he is playing "Draggin' the Bow".
​I have a few reference pictures left, so Alfred will appear in at least two future paintings. Like all who knew him, I could myself blessed to have met and been inspired by Alfred Michels. 
[object Object]

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10/16/2018

Special Exhibit: Sacred Space at Warren Cultural Center

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Thank you to my friends at Warren Cultural Center in Greenfield, Iowa for sharing my work in your corner of the world. This is a beautiful venue!
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9/11/2018

Old World Sparrows and Timeless Tales.

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This imagery comes back again and again. Sparrows, thorns. the love that is all that remains when we leave this world.
​These old Gothic Windows have haunted my dreams, but I find them excruciatingly beautiful. This is another Barb'ry Allen. One of the oldest written songs in the English language. 

Barbara Allen was buried in the old churchyard 
Sweet William was buried beside her, 
Out of sweet William's heart, there grew a rose 
Out of Barbara Allen's a briar.
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They grew and grew in the old churchyard 
Till they could grow no higher 
At the end they formed, a true lover's knot 
And the rose grew round the briar.
I've heard a lot of versions of this old song, but my favorite is my Uncle Kenny's. 
​

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7/30/2018

Sacred Space

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My Sacred Space show is finally almost ready for opening day on Friday, August 3rd! 
This collection has grown out of the Maker Series, and it explores that otherworldly realm we enter into when we give in to our creative spirit. Creative Flow is the name given to it, now that MRIs can show the myriad connections in the brain of a person in this state. Time stands still and the world is left to turn without us....

"It is six A.M., and I am working. I am absentminded, reckless, heedless of social obligations, etc. The tire goes flat, the tooth falls out, there will be a hundred meals without mustard. The poem gets written. I have wrestled with the angel and I am stained with light and I have no shame. Neither do I have guilt. My responsibility is not to the ordinary, or the timely, It does not include mustard or teeth. It does not extend to the lost button or the beans in the pot. My loyalty is to the inner vision, whenever and howsoever it may arrive...."
Mary Oliver on Time, Concentration, the Artist's Task, and the Central Commitment of the Creative Life" 
I travel in and out of this state more easily these days. But those times when I get brave and let it take me deep enough to listen, a painting happens that leaves me changed, like when you read a really good novel, and the world is never quite the same after that. It can be down right painful, a blessing that sometimes feels like a curse, but I always thank God, and he always takes care of us.
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1/3/2018

So far, so good....

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The Twelve for Twelve New Years Challenge has been a great experience so far. I can't say I haven't lost any sleep, but I can say it's been worth it! 
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Day 1: Beginning. 6x6 Oil and Silver Leaf on Panel. SOLD
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Day 2: Building. 6x6 Oil and Silver Leaf on Canvas. Available $125
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Day 3: Protecting. 6x6. Oil and Silver Leaf on Panel. SOLD.

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12/31/2017

Happy New Year!

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Free. 5x7 Oil on panel. SOLD
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What better way to begin the New Year than with a painting challenge? I've set a goal of completing a painting a day for twelve days from New Year's Day until my birthday on January 12th. I have a dozen more 6"x6" panels on the way. Those who have seen me at work know that I put many hours into each piece, so there may be a lack on sleep on the horizon. 

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8/13/2017

The Sparrow is back

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This little sparrow keeps showing up. He comes unexpectedly, and he always brings a message. The first time he came was in Barbry Allen, in 2012. Then, he showed up again in the spring of 2013 when we were in the hospital struggling with Shane's diagnosis. Drawing and sketching are my way of working things out, Sometimes, when I let go and let the drawing or painting be what it wants to be, it brings a revelation. This sparrow always does, and it always brings peace. ​
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Barbry Allen. Oil on Canvas. 36x48. 2012.
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And Still We Rise. Walnut ink and Watercolor sketch created in 2013 as we struggled to process Shane's worsening condition.
The Sparrow came back the day of Shane's funeral. And this is where it gets powerful. I was taking the sketch and a portrait of Shane to Dan, the funeral director, so that he could set up for the service. As I opened the back door to load the artwork, a sparrow flew up out of the back seat, hovered in the air, looked me in the eye, and flew out the open window on the other side. From that moment, I was lifted up and filled with a peace that is beyond understanding. I didn't shed another tear that day. Over the next few days, I created a felted wool sculpture of the sparrow. 
PictureThe Messenger. Felted Wool. 2014.

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Shelter. 9x12. Oil on Panel. This painting resides in the collection of a great mentor, Ms. Evelyn Cook. Not long after she hung this painting, her dear husband, Ed, left this world. She says that the painting brings her peace.
After about a year of feeling numb, I was really struggling with the pain of losing both grandmothers and consumed by grief. I didn't know how I'd pick up and go on. I found myself at my Grandma's grave, deep in prayer. It was January and patches of snow were on the ground. It started to get dark. I knew my kids needed dinner. I picked some moss and dried oak leaves off the ground and some orange birch leaves still hanging from a tree and headed home. Later that evening as I sat at the easel, I had an idea what I wanted to paint. But the birch leaves wanted to be in my painting, so I gave in and started with them. By the time they were done, thorns had decided they would be there too, and they would weave into a mass of celtic knotwork.. When that was done, the sparrow made his appearance, and again, there was peace. I started with an idea of what I wanted to paint, but the painting took on a life of its own and told me what it needed to be. This is the way that life works. We can let go of trying to understand, trying to work it out or control anything. We can trust that God will provide for our needs, and in His infinite wisdom, He has a plan that is greater than we could ever begin to understand.
Now, the Sparrow has appeared again. This time, I recognize him, and his message is familiar. It is a reminder as I grieve the third anniversary of Shane's death and leave the security of a teaching job to pursue the work that God intended for me. I will research and plan and I will work a grueling schedule to provide for my family, But in the end, I will simply trust that despite all my inadequacy and my shortcomings, that when I ask, God will provide for me and allow me to provide for my family as I do the work that I am called to do. 
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Trust. 24x36. Oil and Silver Leaf on Panel. SOLD (It isn't yet finished as I write this...it sold when the sparrow appeared. That was part of the message.
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    Cristy Dunn

    Painting Makers, the Tools of Making, and the Magic of Creation. 

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