Life is more than food and the body more than clothes

This piece is more mixed media fun as I'm exploring all the possiblities of images, old papers and paint.

I started the layers with tissue paper, an old recipe, one of my photo's and one my mom took of me as a girl. There are words also written all along the edges of the piece that you can't see from the picture. One side says "consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn. Yet God feeds them."

The premise is that the bird represents the raven. That God clothes and protects him beautifully and simply while I sometimes worry how my needs will be met. The cupcake and the lollipop represent the abundance of God and the crown is my identity as a daughter of the king.

The issue of food and fashion is also a topic that women struggle with in our culture. I know I do. Worrying about what I eat (not if) or what I'm wearing is so wasteful. These are the things God provides even to the birds, how much more He does for me.

The Beginning of the New

Here is the beginning of the new. This piece started with the red sketch I posted last week. Through layers of paper, gel medium, paint and oil pastels I began to take what was old and make it my new. This piece (still unfinished) is about the conflicting ideas women are given regarding self worth, beauty and acceptance. the words through the middle of the piece include statements like "Put on some lipstick" to "It's what on the inside that counts". The figure is resting with the weight of these statements on her but, her foundation is firm. She is her fathers daughter, unconditionally loved and pleasing to him.

A New Direction

A new year, a new point of view calls us to make changes we hope to incorporate into our lives. Whether it's weight loss, positive thinking, going green or praying daily it is a goal. I have many goals for 2009, and a new direction in my art is one. Art vs. Commerce has long been an artists dilema. Can you balance the work you want to create with work that is profitable? I hope so, because in 2009 I'm going to try to follow my creative instincts more than my marketing instincts. My work will not be drastically different but it will come more from me and who I am rather than what I think others are or want.

Here are some sketches of what I'm working on. I'm looking at the simpler side. I'm starting at the beginning again by drawing and sketching more and looking at receipts and expenditures less. On that note I'm off to my studio (the basement!) to get to work and to gain some peace while letting my creative juices flow.