OPEN HEARTS: The Series Continues

In the wake of the tragedy of 9/11, I found myself desperate to find something meaningful to work on... When I first envisioned the Open Hearts as a numbered series, I intended to make them as a tribute to all those who died that day. One thing I remember so vividly is the repetition of numbers of people who died... Thousands of people... and the numbers kept changing as more information came in. Each one was a unique individual. So I decided that each of the Hearts that I made would be different. And my original intention was to make a series that numbered the same as the number who died... I think it was almost 3,000 people.

I made Hearts throughout the next couple of years... I found that they were very meaningful for people. I think making all those Open Hearts changed me in some ways. It also helped me to remember to keep an open heart.

In the past year, I have picked up where I left off with the series. I may never make it to the actual number of people who were lost to us that day... I think the important thing is they are part of who I am and they mean a lot to people.

Seasons of the Soul T-Shirts!

I took the figures from the linear format of the print and rearranged them to fit on a t-shirt. My first printing of the shirts is done on black with white ink. The t-shirts are $20 plus shipping would make a great gift idea for the holidays! They are available in S, M, L, and XL. Larger sizes up to 5X are available for a few dollars more.

The hand signed lithograph is still available. Many people have contacted me over the years to let me know how personally meaningful this artwork has been for them.

EarthSpirit

This is the first of a new series of drawings I am working on. The inspiration comes from my deep love and concern for Nature and our Mother Earth. I plan to have t-shirts and pull-overs available in the next few weeks. I am also working on a new design for a "Seasons of the Soul" t-shirt based on my popular art print!

The Fetch

The Fetch is an independent form, a soul aspect that accompanies one through life, though, more often never seen or noticed until death, at which time it will guide them to the afterlife. Its purpose is to assist the person it is attached when journeying to other realms. It can and often is passed along ancestral lines.

It appears to the mind's eye in a variety of forms...as an animal, bird, or other living being, or the opposite sex, or even as a purely geometric shape. The Rune, Ehwaz, symbolizes twin war horses and is closely connected to the fetch, being the "horse" that carries an individual on the journey between worlds.

Butterfly

I have found a website that I can publish some of my art on t-shirts and other items. This is one of the images I plan to offer.

Streams of Life; North Carolina's 40,000 miles of creeks and rivers

As a native of North Carolina and one who feels we have an obligations as human beings to protect the environment for future generations, I am extremely concerned about the irreversible damage that can occur to the underground aquifers that will be polluted with toxic chemicals if our elected officials sell us out to the interest of corporate greed by allowing "fracking" to take place in our state.

I worked for over a year on a painting that I hoped would help people see our beautiful state as part of a living organism. It is now available as a signed print.

I grew up playing in a creek beside my childhood home in Jackson county and that same stream has been played in by generations of children stretching back before written history. Don't future generations deserve an environment that is safe?

OPEN HEARTS

Open Hearts is a series of numbered original works that I began as a response to the tragedy of 9/11. As the tenth anniversary approaches, I am busy creating more Open Hearts for the series. Here are some recent additions.

Soul Map to Freedom

This is the fourth in a series of works that I started about 2000. The original inspiration stemmed from a photo of an ancient map that had rotted along the the edges of the folds.

One of the initial challenges was how to create the deteriorated look along the edges of the squares. I was able to come up with an acceptable solution using heavy watercolor paper with hand torn edges and acrylic molding paste.

Over the years, my technique has evolved yet the unique process that I go through to complete one of these is like no other type of art I have ever created. The first stage involves the preparation which can take weeks or months. I am making the blank squares and I am thinking about how many I might need. When making the 28 square version, I generally have 50 or more finished squares that I arrange and rearrange over a period of time until I come up with the one that clicks.

What is really interesting about this process is that instead of me having a preconceived vision of what it will look like prior to creating it, this type of work has to reveal itself to me over a period of time as I am going through the process of making the art and living my life. I don't know what it is going to look like but I have to open my heart and mind so it will come to me.

Soul Map to Freedom came together for me with a question. I was at a friend's home and he had his XM radio tuned to a Jamaican radio station. There was an advice program on hosted by a woman with a rich melodic voice. At the end of her program she signs off with a "thought for the day" and it was, "If you are not fully free then you must ask yourself, Why?"

THE SOURCE

This is a watercolor painting that I published as a giclee print. The image size is 18"x24".

Eye of the Cave

This is a mixed media wall sculpture inspired by a photo I made while standing inside a little cave looking out at the ocean while I was on a trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Running Free

It feels good to be back painting again. I had to change my perspective in order to realize how important making art is to me. I used to think that in order to be successful that my art had to support me financially. The problem I have with that kind of thinking is, it causes me to focus more on the money than the love of painting... every day!

This is a watercolor. Wild horses are one of my favorite subjects.

Sunrise on the Serengeti

Here is a shot of a recent commissioned work I did for a friend, Guillermo Maldonado who grew up beside an exotic game refuge in Mexico. It is watercolor and mixed media. I hope that some day I can make a trek to Africa and see an actual sunrise on the savannah. There are ecotours that take you up in a hot air balloon at sunrise. Can you imagine?!