Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A flower and a prayer


I finished this painting of a past its prime magnolia earlier this week. I am working on a series of paintings of magnolias in different stages of development.

I was so inspired by Julie's, Michelle's, and Jeanet's layouts for the STM song Say Hey that I had to make one of my own. I just love that song and listened to it several times yesterday while I was working on this LO. The photo is from Carnival 2000, when we were living in Trinidad.


This is a shadowbox that I did based on a class I took last year with Wilna Furstenberg. The big heart is papermache, it is edged with part of a feather boa, and the metal heart is an earring. Wilna's project was meant to be a valentine but I see it more as a prayer and poem - I have always love the simple yet profound poetry of Emily Dickinson and this little phrase speaks volumes. (This is for Scrap the Poetry)

And now a little prayer for the people of Haiti, who have so little and now have even less. The horror of the earthquake is unimaginable to me - I feel like anything that I have experienced in my life can be nothing compared to the incredible devastation that they have endured. In times like this, I realize that my little complaints are trivial, and I pray that things are not as bad as they appear right now, and that if they are, that aid from other countries can alleviate some of their suffering.

Thanks for reading and hope you have a good day. I am ever grateful for my life, my health, my husband, my son, my cat, and all of my good friends IRL and on the web.
ttfn
Chris

18 comments:

jacque4u2c said...

Just stunning work! You have talent with a capital "T"!!!!!!!!! Yes, I agree they do did to be in our prayers and thoughts. How horrible!

mandysea said...

OMG!! S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G!!

Your work is just breathtaking!! I sooooooo love your heart!!

STM page is just perfect with the lyrics!
THanks for playing along with us!

Unknown said...

Amazing work with both of our challenges.. thanks for playing along with STM and STP! Oh my, each have wonderful details and are amazing!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww chris..... love the painting, the lo and the box....all gorgeous!!!!! thanks sooooooooooooooooooooo much for playing along with stm!!!! wow!!! loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee them!!! and what happened there was terrible...they are in my prayers! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Rhayne said...

Your bright, fun colors really fit this week's STM song :o) Lovely work :o)

Windy Robinson Life Handmade said...

Chris, great work!!! Thanks for playing at STP:)

Anonymous said...

I love all your layouts and that shadow box is amazing!! thanks for playing with us at STP! Love, Jess

Deana said...

Beautiful painting & I ♥ the bright & fun LO! That paper mache heart is stunning, though, as is your reason behind it! So beautiful, Chris!

Hugs...

Hanneke said...

that painting is so beautiful, can't wait to see the others!!! Love the LO A LOT!!! It's gorgeous!!!

I am with you one the prayers for the people in Haiti, it's another sign that we can't control everything!!! Let's hope that the help they need will be there as soon as possible!!!

sarah said...

great idea to capture the life of a simple magnolia in various stages. when you finish all of it, i wanna see it -- pretty pretty please?! :)

and yes, it's heart wrenching about the earthquake in haiti. :( i've got my fingers crossed that the bay area doesn't feel a BIG one any time soon. just small ones are ok with me.

have a fab day,
sarah.

Anonymous said...

Your "prayer layout" is awesome... I feel small and helpless and gratefull at the same time when I look at it... cannot find the right words in English (language difference is hard when it comes to "subtile feelings") but I know you understand what I mean.

Help is on the way to Haiti even from the Netherlands...

Bekka said...

So gorgeous! I'm thankful for you too!

Denise said...

Gorgeous Trinidad page for STM! Thanks for the reminder of what is truly important in life.

Amy said...

Such beautiful creating you have done. I love looking at all your wonderfully original work. Love the heart. We are keeping Haiti in our thoughts and prayers. It is a good time to reflect and be thankful and to share what we can with people who are in need. Hugs, Amy

yyam said...

Gorgeous work Chris!:)

It's always hard to see others suffer...it should make one thankful what one has.

Anonymous said...

Wow Chris..what a beautiful and happy layout for STM!Loving those lyrics and the colors and all the materials you used!
Thank so much for playing along with us!
That painting is stunning and I love that shadowbox!!Absolutely gorgeous!
So horrible what happened in Haiti,your reminder and words are so beautiful!

MissMian said...

Great LO!!! Love the colours!

Kristii said...

Absolutely amazing!!!!! I abosutely love your work!!! Thanks for joining in the fun at STM!!!