In Progress

After an awesome yoga practice this morning with some of my best girls, I was really feeling the lotus love today. Surrounded by love, clarity and beauty, inspiration can strike at the strangest of times. Often for me it's after my 6 a.m. yoga practice at Exhale.

So grateful for the opportunity to paint today, since yesterday was one of those days where all I wanted to do was get into the studio but life, or should I say, Christmas Break and kiddos who needed their mama, took precedent. This morning was possible thanks to my rock star husband who worked from home this a.m. and kept and eye on our three munchkins so I could get out and play in the paint.

Once finished, the one toward the back is set to go to Rising Gallery Dallas, for Incrementum, an annual Art Auction and Fundraiser benefitting Alley's House , a non-profit organization whose mission is “Empowering teen mothers and their children to achieve independence through support services, education and mentoring.” 

The other one on the floor? Who knows...

I am honored to be a part of Incrementum for the second year in a row. “Incrementum” is Latin for growth. Alley’s House teaches young mothers the importance of growth and expanding beyond their reach. The piece of art I am creating is certainly inspired by my own interpretation of “growth.” 

Here's to nourishing your own growth today!

New Painting, "Look at Your Feet; You are Standing in the Sky"

Look at Your Feet; You are Standing in the Sky

24" x 36" x 1.5"

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

Available

Some works come easily and flow through me almost as if I have nothing to do with them but act as the vessel. Not so with this one. I fought and fought with this painting.  


It started off as the one in the middle with all the reds at the top. Initially, it was my favorite in that whole bunch I was working on at the time. I loved it that day when I took the pic below sooo much and thought it was nearly finished...but then things took a downward turn. I kept messing it up. I was trying too hard with it; my expectations were so high from the very beginning that every time I touched it I was disappointed. 

Each time I would go out to the studio I would try and try to make it something better,  more significant. Then for the past week I moved it to a dark area in the studio and have literally been hiding from it.


In a parallel universe, the same sort of thing was going on in my yoga practice. One of my favorite things in the world to do besides love on my babies and paint is to practice yoga. Thanks to this journey into getting to know myself better, as well as wonderful community of friends and teachers at Exhale, my daily practice has become a well that I draw endless amounts of strength, energy and inspiration from. 


The elusive handstand is something I attempt nearly every class. When the kids and I are horsing around in the playroom, we often do our handstand hops. (My five-year-old is pretty fantastic, BTW.) I am far from getting it, but every day I try.   As my teacher Brooke says, "You will never improve at a posture if you don't at least attempt it. it is in the trying that you grow."  Sometimes I can't even get my hips over my shoulders, sometimes I get it and hang on for a second, sometimes I fall.


This morning in class I tried. And lo and behold I caught some air. I could tell I did something differently because this attempt felt effortless. For what felt like an eternity (but was probably more like 8 seconds), I hung out in my handstand.  I could feel the love and support of my teacher from across the room. For some crazy reason, my mind wandered to my art sketchbook from Senior Year in high school, and this particular sketch I had done that had always seemed sort of random but all of a sudden made perfect sense: 

(That is the picture from my actual sketchbook, done in 1997.)  

The words, "Look at Your Feet; You are Standing in the Sky" clicked into realization. And then just as my mind wandered, I fell--very ungracefully, but luckily didn't get hurt--out of my handstand. The moment passed and class moved on, but for me a fundamental shift had occurred.

(detail)

I raced home, filled with energy and adrenaline. Luckily I had time in the studio today, and instead of running away from the painting I had grown to detest, I embraced it full-on, and added the layers of white and cream. Then I scraped away.  Then I added more layers of blues and turquoise, then I scraped away.  Vertical lines appeared, a virtual linear portrait of me in class this morning. 

Triumphant, the painting emerged.

So I will try again tomorrow, and again the day after that to do handstand. And I may get it but I probably won't. And my body will continue to be a vessel, a conduit, of energy and life and creativity. And I will remember that every day is a journey. And the journey itself is home.

New Painting, "All Around Them, the Universe Began to Unfold"

24" x 28" x 1.5"

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

Original is available 

Giclee prints available for online purchase here.

I am so fascinated with the symbolism of the lotus flower. The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface.

According to the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it."

The secret is in the allowing and the understanding and with that, the letting go.

Perhaps today, right now, is finally the time just to let it all go, and let it all be.

New Painting, "Each Day I Return Anew"

16" x 20"

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

Available

To me, yoga has become a way of life over the past few years, and in many ways quite different than the life that I was accustomed to. This painting is a dedication to my daily practice. Yoga has empowered me to embrace life, which helps me be a more enriched wife and mother. Each day I arise before my household, sneak away to practice and I return to my family anew, refreshed, inspired, full of love and post-Savasana bliss that I try to carry throughout the day and impart on my children. 


 The reasons why we embark on the yogic path are different for everyone. Simply put, we could say that yoga guides us from a life of ignorance, selfishness and ultimate dissatisfaction into a ‘higher life’ – into a life that is lived with proper understanding of Universal laws and of the true nature of ourselves and the world around us – with the aim to bring greater meaning into an often otherwise aimless and frustrating existence, and to guide us along a path of evolution during our time here on this earth.

Yoga teaches us to know what the behavior is that will support a fruitful, spiritually advancing life, and helps us to perform the right actions, in the right manner, at the right time.  For these tools and knowledge I am grateful and inspired.

The kids and I were at the Dallas Museum of Art yesterday and I saw this quote on the wall in the Egyptian Artifact room. I snapped this picture while trying to explain to kiddos that the mummy and sarcophagus is not "yucky"...it's amazing. 

Love those wall quotes...it resounded with me on so many levels, and I feel struck a special chord with me as I had just finshed this painting and was searching for the meaning behind it.

Yoga and Creativity

My daily practice has transformed me physically and spiritually, but also creatively as well, which has been an unexpected but much welcomed bonus given my profession.

 Who would have guessed that yoga and creativity are inextricably linked?  

I am so grateful to my fantastic teachers at Exhale for helping me see this.  The two paintings below are just a few that would not have come to fruition if not for their loving guidance.

And You Will Rise Up Like the Sea
will be on display at my upcoming 4/16 show at Elle Realty in Lakewood.

So how are yoga and creativity connected? After all, one is a physical and mental discipline, and the latter a manifestation of innovative thoughts and ideas. But what seems like the ultimate mismatch, is in fact deeply entangled. 

Both have lead me to a newfound way of thinking and seeing the world.

The Secret is the Love,
currently on display at the Lovers Lane Antique Market

Yoga has deepened my mental awareness. The meditative aspect of yoga helps eliminate unnecessary thoughts cluttering the mind, freeing up valuable imagination real estate. When my mind is clear, ideas flow easily and freely. The best inspiration comes from a calm mind that is free of constant distraction. My practice has helped me "grow up" mentally and gain the confidence to express my ideas.

The breathing techniques I practice in yoga also help me keep unnecessary distraction and negativity at bay. A mind free of dark thoughts breeds clever ideas without playing devil’s advocate and dismissing what may be constructive or worthwhile ideas.

Yoga also makes me mindful and subject to a higher plane of  thinking (thinking about thinking) when in the process of creating. The importance of this is that I am constantly made aware of the background, possibilities and limitations of my work.  Everywhere I look I see the art in it...it's almost as if a veil has been lifted and the universe is revealing its beautiful secrets to me.  It's like I am tapping into an unused part of my brain for the first time.

Yoga has helped me surrender my ego and give into the creative process. One thing that severely hinders the creative process is the need to control it. Drop the ego and immediately one is less defensive, more open minded and more creative.  This is something I work on every day.

This enhanced focus my practice gives me is one of the reasons I have chosen to practice yoga early in the morning. I feel more centered and productive during the day. Yoga calms me and aids me in concentrating on what matters and shifts the focus to my art.

It's important to realize that creativity needn’t necessarily be painting, sculpting or writing a novel, one can be an artist in the smallest of his or her endeavors from doing chores to planning out an afternoon. People are creative when the things they do are executed with passion, imagination, a sense of humor or a new approach.  Namaste!