This is just a little of what I’ve been working on over the past few weeks. It’s a rather large painting – approximately 8×8.’ It’s going to be the backdrop for a lively and fun Boise High jazz concert this Friday evening.
This is the first scribble.
Smearing and finger painting
Almost done…
Below is the poster for Christmas at the Cathedral 2012, Light Eternal. If you want to know why it is what it is, I’m telling you now.
The making of the piece – from paper to screen to paper again. There is a light that glows out from behind the stained glass, just in case you see it in person. =)
When I hear the words “Light Eternal,” I have to reflect back on the magnificent architectural characteristics that bloomed from the early Byzantine empire. The floating domes and stained glass – artists’ use of light to create a forever-kind-of-beauty – began to shape cathedrals as we know them today.
Light was (and still is, by many) considered the image of God, escaping definition and transforming space into a spiritual vision. Have you ever stood in awe at the beauty of stained glass, or simply at the vibrant colors which are reflected on the walls or floors nearby? The way the sunlight spills through, being filtered and transformed into something greater than itself? Hugh of Saint-Victor said this of stained glass: ”Stained glass windows are the holy scriptures…and since their brilliance lets the splendor of the True Light pass into the church, they enlighten those inside.”
But what I love so much about stained glass is that the light does not only flood gently in, enlightening those inside – it also shines out.
I imagine a winter evening. The sun set long ago, leaving a clear and peaceful darkness blanketing the world. Snow is gently falling outside the rose window of the local downtown church. And what is happening inside the church is spilling outward, illuminating the quietly falling snowflakes. There is music, warmth, hope, and light shining in the darkness. There is the presence of God among us. And it’s spreading from the church out into the world. My hope for us, as we go into this holiday season and new year, is that we share the light, together, for one another. Let’s be a part of the golden chain.
And please join us for Christmas at the Cathedral this weekend. Experience the magic with us.
Foreground layer – amazed it turned out, especially with my broken x-acto blade.
Here it is, built and lit.
This one is about…everything, probably.
I happened to drive past as they were installing my traffic box art – here they are putting up the big sticker!
Here I am with my box =)
As long as I’m here, I guess I’ll post pictures of our finished cake topper. My first miniature clothes sewing project completed.
Here’s a look at my lace dress…
I’m not sure why our feet are bare, since we’re getting married in December…
I don’t often use this site for writing – I like the idea of art speaking for itself (or there’s the very real possibility that I’m just lazy). However, I’ve recently been stuck in a place where I can’t actually do too much art-ing, and my creative juices are overflowing. So I had to send my mind on this trip around the block, and guess what it ran into: paper dolls.
Paper dolls have a rich history in so many cultures. Like songs have been hummed since voices were found, and drawings have been etched out since cave walls and hands met, paper dolls have been present in our lives just as long as paper has been. From origami to vytynanky, to intricate shadow puppets and masks, paper dolls (of sorts) have been used for centuries as religious ceremonial figures, celebratory symbols, decorative art, and simple nineteenth and twentieth century entertainment. Today, rumor has it, children play with virtual paper dolls…which wouldn’t really make them paper dolls, would it?
And yet, there is a fascination with these simple toys – art forms, really – that is still holding us to this day, at least those of us old enough, or young enough, to remember. They have the potential to be beautiful, to be meaningful, to be whimsical and slightly – dare I say creepy? There’s a nostalgia about them, a familiarity, that draws us in. And their richness and warmth makes me want to embrace them and explore their potential with my current love of paper cutting – paper cutting, which was inspired by paper dolls in the first place.
Paper dolls have been with us for hundreds of years, and I want to introduce them to the next hundreds of years, or at least minutes, in my own way.
A billion hours later, I’m done building the image. Now we need to turn it into a big, six foot tall sticker. :)
Hope is a Place – papercut
Do you see any buildings you recognize here?
How about here?
If you are from Boise, you will at least recognize this one (I did get permission to put it in, if you’re wondering). 
That’s Minuet, by the stage…
Sophie and Schubert, painting the town red.
And there you have it! Completed! I will post pictures of the traffic box itself, once the art is installed. :)
Hello and welcome back to a place of hope! I hoped this design for the traffic box would be approved and it was, so here are the progression shots so far.
We start out with the sketch…
And then make a mess…
Build a city in just one day…
Add a bit of rock n’ roll…
…and here we have about two panels of traffic box.
I’m not yet happy with the sky, but third time is the charm. This one looks like a pink storm is blowing in…. anyway, once the sky is just the way I want it, I can start to set things in place and give them some more depth. :) I’ll post more pictures next week!
One morning I was just thinking about life, when this particular family came to mind. I had some extra clay left over from two of my recently finished projects, nothing to do until noon, and a sudden assurance that this is what needed to be done. And I thought birds would be easy to make! At least easier than bunnies! But they weren’t.
That’s okay, because I wouldn’t give up, and now I know how to make birds. More importantly, they went to a beautiful family (of people, not birds) as they came together as one this July 4th. These little birds are my happiness for them.
