One of the greatest difficulties of parenting is to watch our children struggle against loss and hurt.
Yet change, and the pain and joy that come with it, is an inevitable part of the human experience. Each storm that is weathered must become a part of the story of our resiliency, and each struggle must become a lesson that teaches us to trust in a God that is infinitely more powerful than we are. One of the most effective ways we can integrate our experiences, good or bad, is to create art, make music, or find a way to tell our story. God is the ultimate Creator: In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth. Genesis 1:1 And He created man in his image: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27 And we, who are created in the image of God, unique among all living things, are in turn given the ability to create. This painting is about finding that gift. When we put pencil to paper, we commune with the God who created us and who is the source of all things, including our own healing. This is my youngest son, Jackson. I found him drawing this maze and was compelled to paint his process. As I worked, fledgling blackbirds found their way into and out of his maze. Blackbirds have a rich and ancient symbolism that relates to creation and the discovery of one’s artistic voice. The peoples of the Pacific Northwest tell how at the beginning of the world, Raven was the one who brought light to the darkness. The Celtic Sun God, Lugh, who is creator of the arts and sciences, was closely associated with ravens, his name derived from a Celtic word for “crow.” In the Druidic legend, the blackbirds of Rhiannon are three blackbirds that sit and sing in a World Tree. Their song was said to impart mystic secrets and put the listener into a deep sleep which enabled her to travel to the Otherworlds. Likewise, the artist learns to travel between the world of the here and now and a world that is unseen, a world in which his very conscience can be reordered and he can be made whole through his communion with the Creator. Blackbirds are symbolic of one's ability to sway with the winds of change and to direct that change to shape one’s future. The blackbird’s gift is to discover one’s creativity and one’s own wisdom and joy, and to remain grounded while walking a spiritual path. Too often this gift is misunderstood or squelched. With the recent focus on standardized tests, Jackson and his classmates have been discouraged from drawing at school. Our teachers believe drawing is a waste of time. It is vital that our children develop the gift of the blackbird so that they have the means to integrate the changes that befall us and become whole, resilient people who are able to weather life’s storms. Cristy "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. JOB 12: 7-10
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If there's one lesson life has brought to my doorstep, it's that we have to make the most of every minute, because we will never have this day to live again. Some days are full of sunshine, but just as many have storms that we have to weather.
The Storm has a Beauty all its own Storm Clouds roll full with Power, thick, heavy with Energy Face the Storm Full On Feel its Weight Let it Wash you Clean but don't let it Steal you when it goes away. Light will push its way through the Clouds When the rays of sun fracture, you'll see the fleeting brilliant spectrum. Grab the color that is Truest to your Soul Let it melt into your arms and make you smile and thank God. Every day is a gift from God. I hope you don't find me wasting a single minute or being ungrateful. Cristy I've often marvel at the colors and textures that are left over my palette after I use it awhile. Today, I decided to incorporate those leftovers into a painting. It became a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. I hope you enjoy him! "The Universe is change...Our life is what our thoughts make it." -Marcus Aurelius Do you have a favorite hummingbird quote to share?
I know lots and lots of folks who want to do creative work, but they say "I'm not artistic," or "I've always been afraid to draw," or "I can't." Well, if you are one of those folks, then this is the post for you! The video below will get you started, and it provides a short explanation of the origin of zentangles. As the name suggests, the process is meditative. My students love to tangle, and you will, too! You can do it anywhere! All you need is some paper, preferably cardstock or watercolor paper and a sharpie or pen. Show me what you can do!
“We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values DECALCOMANIA... You can't help but have fun when you press beautiful paint colors between papers or on a canvas surface and uncover the result to discover that the colors have mixed unexpectedly and left little surface ridges. You can let the results stand on their own or incorporate them as elements of a collage or larger painting. Another fantastic idea is to emphasize the textures and borders between colors by adding lines with a pen and ink or sharpie marker. The following example is an oil painting, but you can use tempera, acrylic, or ink just as easily. PEG FOWLER has posted some nice examples on her blog. Click the picture for a link. Get out the paint and have some fun. Let me know what you come up with.
The day of Shane's funeral, I had a profound experience. I opened the van door and a sparrow flew out of the back seat. He flew up, hovered, and then flew out the front window. Sparrows were, for us, a symbol for trust. My most recent painting ...and Still We Rise, featured two sparrows. one grounded on a Gothic windowsill, the other ascending, and so when that bird looked me in the eye that day, it was more than coincidence. So sparrows, it is, and a new medium: wool. The texture, the smell, is comfort. I had always dreamed of having sheep, and when it became evident that we couldn't maintain our whole yard and creek bank like we used to, Shane made sure I got my sheep. He lined up our neighbors, Scott and Melissa, who volunteered to get our fence ready, and Carla and Van brought two beautiful Suffolk spring lambs. We found a year old Great Pyrenees at the animal shelter, and my son and nephew built a sturdy shed. So, in spite of all the other difficulties, this came together, and it was only natural to make birds with the wool, I'll share more soon, I'm having all kinds of fun learning a new medium. I have always loved birds and been intrigued by their symbolism, but it has only been recently that they have found a prominent place in my work. Somehow the process of integrating the experience of Shane's illness calls for these images. Sparrows here represent the courage to face a world full of good and evil that is so much bigger than we are. Sparrows know their place in the order of things, and they don't try to look too far ahead. These tiny birds face that big ominous world with eyes wide and full of trust. Sparrows figure into the folklore of a great many cultures. According to the ancient Egyptians, sparrows would catch the souls of the recently deceased and carry them to heaven. In Europe, there is a superstition that if a sparrow flies into your house, then it means someone will die. In some places, the person who catches the sparrow has to kill it or he will be the one who dies. In the Bible, sparrows were offered up by the very poor, and represent the concern of God for even the smallest and most insignificant beings. Matthew 6:25-34: 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? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. The sky in this drawing is from a day when we learned that Shane had a rare mutation (ALK) for which cutting edge research has found a treatment. This news turned a very dire prognosis into a disease that could be managed for some time. This is the sky that we saw as we drove home that day, and the rays of light somehow carried hope with them. Life is brutal, but we cannot be beaten down by it. The world lost one of its finest poets this week, one who spoke eloquently of courage in the face of hardship. Perhaps the sparrows carried the soul of Maya Angelou to heaven. I have shared a video here in which she recited "And Still I Rise." What keeps you grounded and helps you find the courage to face life's hardships? This painting saved me. My husband, Shane, a healthy, young, non-smoker, was recently diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. Of course, it was devastating to our family. How could we cope with the uncertainty that now plagued our future? None of us is ever guaranteed another minute, but now we were forced to face our mortality. How could we move forward with our lives and integrate this experience, forever changed, but not broken? There was a brief hospitalization a few weeks ago, and during that stay it was discovered that there was quite a bit of progression to the brain... devastation anew. Making Art is my way of coping when I am faced with difficulty. Somehow, I learned at a very young age that through the act of creation, one can feel the presence of a God so infinitely wise and powerful that our human concerns seem inconsequential. I remember the first time this happened for me, and coincidentally, I was drawing a bird then, too, a tufted tit-mouse, still my favorite. This, however, is a hummingbird. The tradition in the Andes of South America teaches that the hummingbird is a symbol for resurrection. On cold nights, the tiny birds become lifeless and seem to die, but when the sun rises they miraculously come back to life! In our culture, hummingbirds symbolize living life to the fullest and making the most of every minute. Unless we are very fortunate, life will send us our share of troubles. These are the ink stains. We have to find a way to turn them into something more. The poem that follows is part of the painting: From Ink Stains to Hummingbirds Blue Black Stains have fallen on us We will be forever changed No more the pale, pristine, uncolored surface In time, the Darkness will dissipate broken by Rays of Light magnified and brought into focus through our Tears brought to order by our Prayers Colors will find their way to the surface They will transform the Blue Black Stain and we will become the Vision of the Hummingbird We will learn to fly forward and backward -to stop time to kiss every flower and love life with every breath We will no longer fear when our movement ceases at midnight Quietly, peacefully, we will wait for the Resurrection of the Dawn -Cristy Birds are symbolic of a great many things. Does a bird mean something special to you? |
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