Reaching

This is a more recent piece I completed last year on a solitude retreat at Christ in the Wilderness. It's titled Reaching. This seems to be a recurring theme in my life; I often feel that I'm reaching for something. Sometimes I am fully aware of my goal; other times it's more like an emotion, an ambiguity. But the goal is not the important part anyway. The important thing is the process of reaching, of extending my hand. Joys and blessings come our way every day, but unless we are open to receiving them, we will miss them.

This painting utilizes mostly Golden Fluid Acrylics, and some opaque acrylics were used for the hand. The gold splattery "figure" near my hand was actually the result of a happy accident of some spilled paint. But I love the ethereal nature of it.

Reflections

As I was sitting among my pieces of art, which I've been gathering in one place so that they may speak to me, I was drawn to the mirror in this piece, titled I Am a Queen. I decided it would be a good image for my first post.

This is a time in my life for reflecting. Where have I been--in my previous career, in my roles as mother/wife/friend, in my art? It's all intermingled, difficult to separate out. Yet I feel this need to do just that. I am now retired from a 33-year career in special education. My children are all adults. I finally have all the time in the world for my art (instead of stealing minutes here and there). So what do I want to do with this new found freedom? Where will it all take me?

Creating this blog is a first step. It's a step of faith, of hope, and of risk. But where would I be if it were not for risk? Risk is what makes us grow. And I'm ready to be planted in a new garden.