Hera's Feather

Hera's Feather

11 x 15

tea, watercolor, colored pencil, pen on Reeves BFK

 I have had this idea floating around in my mind for a few weeks now and I finally sat down and executed it. Peacocks are amazing birds with the most beautiful feathers. 

"Peacock symbolism speaks of attributes such as:
Glory, Vision, Royalty, Spirituality, Awakening, Immortality, Refinement, Incorruptibility

It is a possessor of some of the most admired human characteristics, and is a model of integrity and the beauty we can achieve when we endeavor to show our true colors.

In history, myth, legend and lore, the Peacock symbolism carries:
Nobility
Holiness
Guidance
Protection
Watchfulness

In Greco-Roman mythology the Peacock is identified with Hera (Juno) who created the Peacock from Argus whose hundred eyes (seen on the tail feathers of the Peacock) symbolize the vault of heaven and the "eyes" of the stars.

In Hinduism the Peacock is associated with Lakshmi who is a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck.

Similar to Lakshmi, the Peacock is associated with Kwan-yin in Asian spirituality. Kwan-yin (or Quan Yin) is also an emblem of love, compassionate watchfulness, good-will, nurturing, and kind-heartedness. Legend tells us she chose to remain a mortal even though she could be immortal because she wished to stay behind and aid humanity in their spiritual evolution.

In Babylonia and Persia the Peacock is seen as a guardian to royalty, and is often seen in engravings upon the thrones of royalty.

In Christianity the Peacock symbolism represents the "all-seeing" church, along with the holiness and sanctity associated with it. Additionally, the Peacock represents resurrection, renewal and immortality within the spiritual teachings of Christianity. Themes of renewal are also linked to alchemical traditions to, as many schools of thought compare the resurrecting phoenix to the modern-day Peacock.

Contemplate the powers of the Peacock when you need more vibrancy and vitality in your experience. The Peacock can also help you on your spiritual Path, and breath new life into your walk of faith.

The Peacock can rejuvenate self-esteem levels too. If you're feeling "blah" and blue, imagine the glorious, techno-color display the Peacock provides. This puts us in a proper mood to embrace your own nobility. In no time, you'll be walking tall and proud as a Peacock too!

Peacock Feathers have been used for healing for tens of thousands of years in every culture throughout time. They are said to carry Spiritual Healing Energy that can be used to assist people seeking balance and harmony in their lives. With the proper guidelines of use, they allow the individual to connect with the Universal Healing Energy and use this energy to heal people of all of their complaints, imbalances and disease. This tradition is based on this principle."

Resources: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_spiritual_meaning_of_peacock_feathers

http://hkpasseystock.deviantart.com/art/Peacock-Feather-1-170079850

Thistle, Snap Dragon, Poppies, Rose & Last Day

Thistle, Snap Dragon, Poppies, and Rose

11 x 15

tea, watercolor, colored pencil, pen on Reeves BFK

For Mixed Media.  My final project.  Inspired by my Sketchbook Project 2012.   

I love using pen because it forces me to commit to my marks.  No erasing, no going back.  Once a mark is on the paper it is there forever.   

Thistle was suggested by my step brother.  He is studying in Scotland right now and the Thistle is the flower of Scotland.  Snapdragons were my favorite flower when I was a child.  Poppies for my grandfather whose nickname was Poppy and a Rose from my garden.  

I would like to do a series in this style of the state flowers for all 50 states.  I would also like to experiment more with making these pieces even bigger, maybe a whole sheet of Reeves.  

 

On another note 

Today is my very last, last day of school.  I will be attending my graduation from Academy of Art University next week.  I am excited and terrified all at the same time.

I began my college education journey in 2005 at Georgia Military College.  I was working toward my AA in Education.  After a year there I moved on to Valdosta State University where I majored in Art Education with the hopes of one day becoming an art teacher.  In February of 2007 my world was turned upside down when I found out I would be moving to a tiny Portuguese island in the Azores for 2 years.

At this point I had 2 choices.  Quit school and hope to pick it up again when I moved back to the states or find something that worked.  I was afraid that if quit school I would never go back so I decided to find something that worked.  I knew I needed to find a program I could do online as 1) I didnt speak Portugues and 2) there were no art schools on the island.  Many schools offer online programs, most in graphic design, interior design, or photography.  I wanted a fine art program.  After much searching I found the Academy of Art University online program.  I was the perfect fit.  I could continue my studies and pursue my passion.

When I began at AAU I thought I was talented.  I had taken some art classes at VSU and done well, so I thought the classes at AAU would be a breeze.  Boy was I wrong.  My first few semesters I struggled with the workload, finding the necessary supplies while living on a tiny island, and measuring up to my teachers expectations.  It was not easy and sometimes it wasnt very fun but I stuck with it.  I was learning a ton and I began to see a great improvement in my art.  

After our 2 years in the Azores we moved back to California.  The beauty of doing my school online is I didnt have to skip a semester when I moved or traveled nor did I have to find another school and start all over.  I could "go to school" wherever I had an internet connection.

With each 15 week semester at AAU I saw my work improve.  I was amazing.  I was growing and learning every week.  It was hard and challenging and frustrating but in the end it was all worth it.

So here I am.  I have turned in my very last final.  In a week I will don a cap and gown, walk across a stage, and have my Bachelors of Fine Art.  It has been a 7 year journey through 3 schools, across 2  countries, and in 2 states.  It feels so good to have reached the end, reached my goal that I set out to achieve back when I was in high school.

I have had a lot of support though this journey.  My friends, my family all believing in me and reminding me when I was hating my assignments that it would be worth it.  Reminding me of how far I have come.  Of how much my art has grown.  Thank you all.

A special thank to my amazing husband who has been by my side the entire time.  Loving me and supporting me through my lowest most frustrating points, and encouraging me to keep going.  He was always happy to look at my new pieces as I proudly displayed to him what I created.  He was the best critic when something wasnt working and I just couldnt figure it out.  He listened to my frustrations and my worries.  Supported my dreams and my goals.  He hugged me through rejections and reminded me that there would be many more opportunities.  Thank you Adam for being there all of these years.  I know I could not have done this without you.  I love you.  

I know my posts are usually this wordy but I am in a reflective mood.  This is the ending of a very big chapter of my life.  I have been attending school for almost 20 years and now it is all over... It is time for a new unknown chapter to begin.

BRING IT ON!

 

Fern, Quotables; Poppy, Thistle, Snap Dragon, and Sour Grass

 Fern 

12 x 9

venetian plaster, celluclay, found fern, wax, resin on wood

For Mixed Media.  Use multiple media and let the process guide you.  I began with the Venetian Plaster on wood.  I them added the celluclay to the edges creating a berm.  After the celluclay was dry I added the fern and the wax.  I wanted to see how wax and resin reacted so I decided to pour resin on top.  All of the materials are in the natural state.  I really like the play of textures and subtle colors and tones in the piece.  

Quotables: The Traveler's Gift- 7 Decisions of Success

text paper and tape

5.5 x 68

For book making.  Create a book using a leporello format.  I have been reading The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews and was inspired to create a book highlighting the 7 Decisions of Success described in the book. 

Poppy, Thistle, Snap Dragon, and Sour Grass WIP

11 x 15

tea and watercolor on Reeves BFK

For Mixed Media.  My final project.  Each of these is going to have a flower on it done in a style similar to my Sketchbook Project 2012.  

 

Hydrangea Collage

Hydrangea Collage

30 x 20

CitraSolv National Geographic on Reeves BFK

For Mixed Media.  My 3rd of 4 projects.  I used green tea to stain the paper so I didnt have a plain white surface. Then each petal, cut from the National Geographic pages, was glued to the Reeves BFK.  I only glued the centers so that I could then fold up the petals to add a 3d element.   Previous step.

A side view so you can see how the petals are folded. 

Before I folded the petals. 

Leaf Scans, Resin, CitraSolv

 

Leaf Scans

5 x 5

paper

For Book Arts.  Create a book inspired by found objects.  It has been windy here lately so when I went on my found object walk I found a lot of leaves.  Originally my idea was to create a gradated color book (green to yellow to red to brown).  When I scanned the leaves the color didnt come through the way I had hoped.  Instead I got these really cool images with a lot of depth. The leaves were very detailed where they touched the scanner and blurry as they moved away from the scanner.  I decided to make an accordion book with these images.

California Golden Poppy 

12 x 9

wood, watercolor, venetian plaster, image transfer, gold leaf, antique solution, gold metal paint, matte medium & resin

For Mixed Media.  I took my Golden Poppy piece from last week and decided to pour resin on it.  It makes the piece feel more important.  I was surprised at how easy the resin was to use.  I think I am going to have to use it more often.

CitraSolv
These pages were created by spraying a National Geographic Magazine with CitraSolv cleaning solution. I used editions from both the 70's and 2008.  The pages on the left are from the 70s and the pages on the right are from 2008.  I like the results better from the 2008 ones as I feel the inks are more vibrant and gave cooler patterns.  I plan on using these pages (and making more) to create a large scale flower piece. Stay tuned for updates :) 

California Golden Poppy, Me Book

California Golden Poppy 

12 x 9

wood, watercolor, venetian plaster, image transfer, gold leaf, antique solution, gold metal paint, matte medium

For Mixed Media.  Experiment with multiple media.  Playing off of the name of California's state flower, the golden poppy.  I thought it would be interesting to make the golden flowers gold.        

Me Book

2 x 3

card stock, screw, nut & bolt

For Book Arts.  Create a book in sequence inspired by past present and future.  Each page has a number 87-24 and in years where something important happened there is a word- 87 birth, 01 high school, 09 move to California, 12 present, etc.  This book can be read in the round, as seen above, or as a flip book, as seen in the video below.     

My book in action.  I recommend you mute the video as my camera picks up sound easily and my breathing is oddly loud.

Sketchbook Project 2012, Pacific Paradise

A sneak preview of my Sketchbook Project 2012 

I have also created 2 videos one of me just going through the pages and one with me reading the text on the pages.  Im not sure what I want to do with either of these videos but I have to send my sketchbook in today so I thought I would create something while I still had my book. 

I am going to have it digitized and will post here when that is done. 

In other news,  yesterday was my very last first day of school.  When I am done with my last three classes (Book Arts, Mixed Media 2, and Senior Portfolio) I will graduate!  I never thought that day would come.  It has been a long journey and I am almost to the finish line.  

Starting school again means you will be seeing lots me update from me.  I hope you like what you see :)

 Pacific Paradise
iPhone/ instagram
Beautiful sunset a few nights ago.

iPhone- Climb Every Mountain, Currents

I am really loving my iphone 4S and instagram so I am going to be uploading more iphone/instagram photos.

I want to embrace all aspects of my creativity, not just painting.

 

Climb Every Mountain

From a hike my husband and I went on. Beautiful expanses. 

Currents

Beautiful ocean currents. I love the colors and the play of lights, reflections, and shadows.

 Message in a Bottle
Found on Topanga Beach.  The message reads "I want to see The sun At Midnight and feel it to be magical, fulfiling and life changing."

Follow me on Instagram- heartMelinda

 Purple Moth Orchid

9 x 12

acrylic on canvas

Final for Quick Studies. Inspired by severe cropping.  I thought since I did a lot of paintings this semester using a palette knife I would do my final with a knife.  From my beautiful Home Depot orchid. Also seen here.

Ode to Spring, Longer Figure Studies

Ode to Spring

30 x 20

watercolor on illustration board

For Still Life 2.  Large format painting. Ranunculas.  I had lots of fun with this.  I let myself really explore different media.  This is watercolor, pen, and colored pencil. Costco had a big pack of fun colored pens so I was inspired to use those.  I really think I will try more pieces in this style.  

Before the splatter explosion-

Longer Figure Studies 

9 x 12

acrylic on board

For Quick Studies. 1st 2 are 30 minutes and the last 1 is 45 minutes.  More involved studies of figures in action.