Years ago in high school I remember
a teacher saying "don't die with your music still inside you." Of course we all were like "what is he talking about?" Well years later the phrase stuck with me and often chased away doubts of pursuing art as my day job. Funny but to this day I always associate it with song birds, birds in general.
Like one of those fortune cookie tapes that say something like "sing badly if you must, but SING."
Song birds will feature in some of my new pieces and this is the first. Cabinet door frames and tempered glass put them in my 'recycled green' series.
Working in series helps keep focus on a particular subject matter and is the way my brain seems to flow. I have one more in the Abstract series in progress, with two more designed for a total of five for the five seasons in Tucson - spring, summer, winter, fall, monsoon. Finished spring and fall, summer in progress here. It is called Heart Fire - Summer Passion. Mixed media of reds, oranges, yellows on a recycled cabinet door. It will be rich and passionate with color and movement. Plus it will be more 3-D , a bit sculptural. Can't wait to start!!
The November show will have a lot of new work that I am eager to show because it has been such a fun learning process to do them. Art is the heart that beats inside me.
** On Another Note: This summer has been very challenging for my mom health wise and now she is having surgery for cancer so I will go immediately to be with my family. Did not realize how stressed I have been until today when the veneer cracked as I told someone "my mom has cancer and she is in surgery right now." Suddenly I was trying so hard to keep from having a small meltdown and had a teeny one anyway. I hate it when that happens - how embarrassing!! And I imagined myself to be one of those cool, calm, self composed individuals - Ha! Meanwhile my mom is the one suffering through everything and she is the cool one, so strong - what a champ!
Aaanyway, enough boo - hooing - enjoy my works in progress (WIP's for short).
Well I just have to say it. When a favorite piece sells I wonder if I should have sold it and then tell myself to stop being so ridiculous. After all, that is my business and I should not get so attached to my work. I think as artists, we all have certain pieces that we fall in love with and hang onto for a while.
Forgive me readers - it's been weeks since my last post with all of the recent activity. St. Francis is popular with pet lovers and in this commission he is accompanied by: two Jack Russell Terriers, one lab, one beagle, one bunny, two meadow larks, one roadrunner, and one quail - whew! Plus his usual bird friends. 
