Gift Horse

“Looking a gift horse in the mouth” is one of those expressions that always made me laugh, so I googled it. Turns out, horses used to be evaluated by their age and their age was determined by their teeth, specifically, how ‘long in the tooth’ they were. I find it ironic that this has evolved to become an expression for “being grateful for what you get.” Is it essential or prudent for us to determine a value on the things given to us? Is it necessary to determine a worth on the things that are ‘gifts’? Is this level of evaluation actually being ungrateful? Maybe we should stop looking our gift horses in the mouth and instead start looking them in the eye and just saying “thank you”.


Gift Horse

Piecing It Together

“Piecing It Together” originated from a photo of my grandmother Helen and her sister, Julie, working on a puzzle. On the back of the photo, in my grandmother’s handwriting, she wrote “1943 and still at it”. The image and the quote got me thinking about how we spend are lives doing just that; piecing it together and figuring it out. The silhouetted bird represents the things we do and think that hold us back and prevent us from seeing the complete picture. The irony of it all is that the key to piecing together the big picture is usually hiding right in front of us in plain sight. This 4' x 6' painting is charcoal, acrylics, fabric and paper collage on 6 wood panels.

Piecing It Together

I Am Willing

If being what you already are is step one, then the next move in my mind was to get rid of what was not me. Willing came about after painting over 2 unsuccessful past paintings and letting the flow take me in a new direction. My last piece, Be What You Already Are, was so tight and controlled, so the pendulum swung in the direction of messy. It was a joyous experience. I didn't think. Just painted. The letters for 'I Am Willing' can be found in small scrabble letters (giving me a 16 point sentence) and the face grew out of the work that now lives beneath the paint. We are both surrendering and smiling.


Willing

First Day of School

Well sort of... Nate started school today. Nick started 2 weeks ago, so I had a jump start on my first new work of the school year. The collage and drawing were done this weekend, and I painted today. It came flying out of me like a cork from a champagne bottle. I'm back.

The painting is called 'Be What You Already Are' which is a quote from Eckhart Tolle. The piece is about shedding the ego, youthful expectations and the roles we play, and uncovering the true spirit that resides underneath. Finding yourself. Again. And Again. And Again. I took the mask of Mom off for a whole 3 hours today. And the spirit of Mom underneath is still smiling.


Be What You Already Are

More Tea

After Nick woke up and saw what was going on, he wanted to be in on the action...........

My Cup of Tea

I've always said that any day in the studio is a good day. Today was one of those days. Nate and I spent the afternoon painting, while Nick slept peacefully. Both of us painted our version of "My Cup of Tea". It most certainly was.

On The Issues

Check out my work on the online magazine;
http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/2010winter/2010winter_poetry.php