The Weaver, 16×20 Soft Pastel

Again, the poetry of William Blake has inspired my artwork…this time the theme of sewing and fabric weaves together several poems, a passage previously noted from “Auguries of Innocence,” where “Joy and Woe are woven fine; a clothing for the soul divine,” and also a passage from “The Gates of Paradise,” which speaks of “Weaving to Dreams” and “weeping over the web of life.”

The weaver is tucked away in a room lit only by the bright sun streaming in through a high window. She weaves a tapestry filled with figures, weaving the web of life, complete with joy and woe, experiences good and bad, journeys and the people met along the way. As I created this piece, I thought of the people and experiences in my own life, how we are all woven together, interconnected and tied to one another in complexities. Our lives are woven intricately and are full of depth, of various threads from our past, our present and future, which cannot be separated. Each small piece creates the whole, and must be present to hold it tightly together. This way of thinking helps me accept the hard or painful experiences in life, knowing they help to create my web of life. The patient and careful process of weaving echoes the long journey of our life; having a long view of our life process brings hope and patience as we discover and learn more about ourselves as each day passes, as the light fades and returns again each morning.

Daydreams, 18×24 Soft Pastel

This picture was drawn from a photo of my son taken last Spring in our neighbor’s clover-covered front yard. The kids and I spent several evenings playing in the clover, making crowns, necklaces, bouquets…
I love the dreamy quality, the stillness, the peace of that moment…the way you can get lost in dreams and discover such beauty in the world. It inspires me toward a greater love, reminds me of a simple innocence, and urges me to enjoy life no matter what it holds.

Haitian Driftwood, 16×20 Soft Pastel

Carousel, 11×14 Soft Pastel

The idea for this piece was sparked by Norah Jones’ “Carnival Town”:

“Carnival Town”

Round ‘n round
Carousel
Has got you under it’s spell
Moving so fast…but
Going nowhere

I feel like that so often…all worked up, so much to do, the days begin and end and start again so quickly. My children grow, the routine repeats day in, day out. I feel so busy, but feel like I’m not going anywhere. Its easy to get transfixed, frozen by the patterns of color, lights, and music of my life’s carousel. I have to remind myself to not get caught up in the spinning; to remember that we are moving forward; to live each day with enjoyment and awareness, and not to get caught in the blur.

Several years ago, my husband and I were in Paris for two days. We tried to cram in as much as we could in our short time, visiting the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, drinking cafe la creme. During our last few hours, we rushed at top speed to Montmartre…we came, we saw, we bought a painting, we left. On our sprint to the airport, we whizzed past a beautiful carousel. The constant, measured turning was imprinted in my mind and came back to me as I listened to the song. We took no pictures, we did not pause; we were unable to take in the scene as we hurried by.

This painting expresses my need to constantly remind myself to enjoy life, to experience and see and taste and hear and feel life. With the demands of work, family, and the necessities, we can still enjoy the ride and go somewhere. We can notice the carousel, with its slow pace, the beauty and goodness of life, without being caught in the cycle of days that disappear into insignificance.

Sewing Lesson, 24×36 Soft Pastel

I began imagining this piece several months ago…I wanted to try an Impressionist piece, stretching my techniques and experimenting with color combinations and textures outside of my comfort zone. I originally made sketches of a grown woman, elbows on a pillow, sewing torn fabric, her profile in view. When I decided to turn the face toward the light of the window, I asked my daughter to pose for me so I could get an idea of what the cheek would look like. When I saw her looking at the window, with her little arms and feet posed, the piece took a whole new direction. I loved her little hands and her long hair brushing the floor. The painting reminds me of daydreams in the midst of activity, of learning new things when you might rather be doing something else, of innocence and simplicity held in place, of the inevitable movement of growing up.

Before the change of subject, several poems led the way to the formation of this piece:

An excerpt from William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence”

“It is right, it should be so
Man was made for Joy and Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro’ the world we safely go.

Joy and Woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine
Runs a Joy with silken twine.”

An excerpt from Ecclesiastes 3

“A time to tear and a time to sew”

I incorporate these words into the painting with the white fabric and the silken twine with which she sews. I think of her innocence as a young child, and how as she grows she will discover Joy and Woe, and their link in this life. It makes me a little sad, as I try to shield my children from any Woe, but I recognize that where there is Joy, somewhere there is Woe; when the unavoidable Woe comes into innocent lives, we can show the Joy that runs somewhere through it, like a silken twine. Within myself, I recognize this muddled relationship of Joy and Woe, how they are indeed woven together…that you can feel sadness and joy at the same time, and that sometimes you feel like life as you know it is being torn apart, but then it is finally time for the gentle work of repair.

“The Jason Tree” 16×20 soft pastel

This commissioned portrait pulls together several significant aspects into one piece. The tree was planted when my friend Jason was young, and his mother always looked forward to swinging her grandchildren under its branches. Sadly, she and her husband passed away in a car accident, and the dream was never fulfilled. Jason’s wife and kids took a secret trip to the tree, and photographed their 4 children near the mature tree. I had the privilege to bring the image together for these very dear friends.

“Duchess” 11×14 Soft Pastel

For the past month, I have been consumed with commissions…a nice summer surprise. You use a different kind of creativity when you try to mirror a likeness, transforming a simple photo into a work of art. After all the portraits I have done, I still get nervous each time I begin a new one.