Open Heart

I just finished another special request Open Heart... It turned out nice I thought.  And the patron seemed very pleased...  I think I will make some more Open Hearts!  

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SEASONS OF THE SOUL - the story

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When I was a small child, my mother would give me pencil and paper to keep me occupied. I began teaching myself to draw about same time I was learning to walk and talk.

One day, years ago, I was in my early twenties at the time, and I picked up a sketch book of mine and flipped through the pages.  I noticed several little stick figure doodles scattered throughout the pages.  They seemed to be connected somehow.  So I drew them again together in a line and I was amazed by what I saw.  They seemed to be telling a story.  At the time there were ten figures.  Each one appeared to represent a different emotional stage in a process.  Somehow I knew there needed to be at least one more figure.  I did not know what that figures or figures would be.  But I knew I could not force it.  I had to let it come to me just like the rest of the figure symbols in the progression.  I happened to be watching a television program one day and there was a dancer in motion.  When she struck a particular pose for an instant, that image crystallized in my mind's eye.  That led me to creating the final figure in the artwork I later titled, SEASONS OF THE SOUL.

SEASONS OF THE SOUL came to me during a time of personal crisis and transformation.  Through my pain and confusion, I was somehow allowed to connect to the wellspring of the human soul... to create something with universal meaning yet as intimately personal as one's own heartbeat.

Over the years since it was published as a hand signed lithograph, Seasons of the Soul has touched the lives of thousands of people who have experienced their own personal struggles and challenges.

The print is available for $40 with free shipping.  Please contact me by email and I will send you a paypal funds request.  Also, I can personalize it, "For _____" when I sign it.



Click HERE to view SEASONS OF THE SOUL video slideshow

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

Wild horses occupy a special place in the human psyche... They represent freedom, wildness, strength, and grace.  And they have always been one of my favorite subjects.

click on image to enlarge
watercolor
image size: 13 x 8-1/2 in. approx.
$120 (unframed)

 (framed w/mat & glass)
$195


Misty Morning Run

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

click on image to enlarge
watercolor
image size:  12 x 12 in. approx.
$190
framed w/mat & glass:  17 x 17 in. approx
$265




Treasure Beneath My Feet

One day I was out by Jordan Lake taking photos.  When I got home I downloaded some of the pics I had taken and I zoomed in on some of the ground shots and I was so amazed by all the color and detail that I was inspired to paint this watercolor.

It seems that often it is the smaller things in life that make it worth living.  It is easy for me to get so caught up in worrying about making ends meet that I get completely cut off from my reasons for being.  Art is one of my reasons for being.  There is no doubt in my mind about that.  The thing is... I am just not sure exactly what is my purpose.  Sure, one could say my purpose is making art and I would agree.  But there is something beyond that.  Something more defined and meaningful.  That is what I keep seeking.

This past winter was long and cold and harsh.  But it was a good winter in a creative/spiritual sense. It forced me to seek within... And that is perhaps the most crucial part of the creative process involved in making the art that fulfills my potential.  What comes next? I don't know but I want to find out.  So I decided to have an online art sale to raise money to buy art supplies.  And also, so I could share about this part of a deeper process that I am trying to understand.  

I am at a point in my life as an artist where I have spent years and years developing my skills as a self-taught artist.  I have explored a variety of different mixed media genres of my own invention.  And now I am ready to do my best work.  I just have to create the opportunity of time and space to do it. So I am exploring different income streams that I can create using my art and abilities. 

click on image to enlarge
pencil on paper
14 x 17 in. approx.

Recently I did a commissioned drawing for a guy who wanted a drawing of his favorite NBA player... not my normal subject matter but I was up for the challenge.  And I thought it turned out pretty good.  It looked really good matted and framed. The response I got when I showed it around to people was very positive.

It got me to thinking about what other kinds of drawings I could offer to do for people that would be more personalized... So many people know someone who had a high school and college sports career and those memories can be forgotten over time... But a special piece of art... a drawing montage commemorating their achievements would make such a nice memory piece to hang on the wall.  

I mentioned to a friend that I was considering this pursuit and she said she had an idea for a drawing she would like me to do.  She said her nephew is a quite good young bowler.  His father and grandfather both have bowled a perfect 300 game.  She said she is going to tell him that when he bowls a 300 (which she believes he will.) She will have a drawing done of the three generations of them together.  And then we will have professional prints made so the family members can have a copy.

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

Here are a couple of watercolors from my Duke Gardens visits during previous springs...

click on images to enlarge

watercolor
9 x 13 in. approx
unframed: $100 each
framed w/mat & glass:
14 x 18 in. approx.
$175 each

If you look closely, you will see the honey bee...

more art coming soon...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

In celebration of the the coming SPRING, I am posting the    SPRING EQUINOX ART        SHOW & SALE.

pencil on paper
8-1/2 x 11 in.
unframed:  $20
framing available

I love it when the tulips start to bloom at Duke Gardens.  There are hundreds of them, of all varieties and colors... and each one different and unique when you really study them like I do when I sketch... trying to capture the elegance of each line and sensual curve.  They remind me of graceful ballet dancers striking a pose.

pencil on paper
8-1/2 x 11 in.
unframed: $20
framing available

This is a sketch from one of my favorite places to go sit by the Eno River.  

pencil on paper
8-1/2 x ll in.
unframed: $20
framing available
click on images to enlarge

more art coming soon...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

In celebration of the the coming SPRING, I am posting the    SPRING EQUINOX ART        SHOW & SALE.

(click on image to enlarge)
original watercolor and mixed media on paper
unframed:  $160
framed (w/mat & glass)
11-1/2 x 19-1/2 in.
$240



Dream Within A Dream

original watercolor

image size:  12x16 in. approx.

unframed: $175

framed (w/ mat & glass)

$245

FREE SPIRIT

SOLD

The butterfly wings open revealing the free spirit within...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

Years ago an artist friend told me that I should sell my drawings and I have been slow to take her advice.  She told me that drawing is my strongest suit.  I suppose that should come as no surprise since when I was a small child my mother would give me pencil or crayons and paper to keep me occupied.  I have been drawing ever since, more than 50 years.

I have started going back through some of my sketch books to see what might be appealing.  

Here is a drawing that I came across.  I have always felt that the Seasons of the Soul figures filtered up from a deeper and ancient awareness, call it the collective unconsciousness, if you will.  So I imagined that an ancient ancestor had once drawn them on the wall of a sacred cave thousands of years ago.

pencil on paper
(click on image to enlarge)
size:  14x17 in.
unframed drawing: $85
matted and framed: $165




Inner Chamber

(click on image to enlarge)

This is a drawing I did from a photograph of my very special kitty friend, Greeter, who died several years ago. 



I have done a few pet drawings over the years.  A nicely framed pencil drawing is an affordable way to celebrate the life of a special friend.  Here is a recent request for a drawing of a very sweet dog named, Rick.

click on image to enlarge

more art coming soon...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

In celebration of the the coming SPRING, I am posting the    SPRING EQUINOX ART        SHOW & SALE.

After a long winter, everyone is so ready for Spring!  I love the Spring!  Where I live in Durham, NC, I am less than a mile from Duke Gardens.  One of my favorite things to do in the spring is to take my sketch book and camera and go to the gardens.

(click on images to enlarge)
matted size:  11x14 in.
medium: pencil and conte' pastel
unframed
price: $35 each or all 4 for $120

I just love it when the tulips bloom at the gardens!  There are all the flowering trees blooming at the same time.  Magnolias, tulip trees, flowering pear and cherry!  There is white flowering tree (I think it's a cherry) that blooms every year while the tulips are in full bloom.  It only peaks for a few days each spring and I have been lucky enough to catch it a couple of times.  It is absolutely stunning against the deep blue sky.


This year the SPRING EQUINOX falls on Thursday, March 20th.  Over the next several days I will be posting new art as well as sketches and drawings from my sketchbooks.  

"The deep roots never doubt spring will come."
                                                         ~Marty Rubin


more art coming soon...

New OPEN HEARTS

Here are some new Open Hearts that I recently completed.  The one with dogs running and the paw print is a special request by a friend who wanted a special gift for dear friends of hers.

(click on image to enlarge)

 She sent me photos of a fun time they shared at Whidbey Island and this is what I came up with for her.

Numbered series
size: 8x8"
framed: 9 -1/4 x 9-1/4"
framed price $125
unframed: $95

TESTIMONIAL

SEASONS OF THE SOUL
hand signed lithograph
image size: 7" x 29" approx
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

       Click HERE to view SEASONS OF THE SOUL video   



A couple of months ago I posted the SEASONS OF THE SOUL STORY.  I also invited anyone who might have a personal story relating to the artwork to please post in the comments section. I want to share one of the stories I received that touched me deeply...


" I found the Seasons of the Soul print in Womencrafts store (located in Provincetown, Mass.) shortly after I began treatment for stage 1 breast cancer.  I got the chills when I saw it as I could relate to the seasons as the stages I had been going through dealing with cancer.  I hung up the print in my bedroom and looked at it every day to track what I was experiencing emotionally.  I could not wait to get to the end of treatment and into the light.  Before I could finish my treatment I was diagnosed yet again with a second cancer.  This time stage 3 colon cancer.  I turned to the print as I tried to come to grips with the new diagnosis and starting all over again.  I had been almost at the end and then I was thrown back to the season of confusion.  the print inspired me to continue on through all the seasons once again with the of reaching moving out!  Yes, moving out of illness and into wellness.  My only goal.  I am happy to report I am now cancer free.  Your print continues to inspire me on so many levels.  I brought the print to my art therapy class recently to share with my group and everyone loved it. My therapist googled you and found the blog.  I am so happy to be able to thank you for your art work and what a healing effect it has on me.  Thank you, Stephanie, from the bottom of my heart!" 

                  
I was deeply touched by this heartfelt testimonial...  I will always treasure this and when I get discouraged, I will have this to remind me of my true purpose.                    

WHAT IS INSPIRATION?

In many ways, my art is my teacher.  The way my process usually works is, I will get an inkling that there is some inspiration, or vision, wanting to emerge into  my consciousness.  It may be a fragment of a vision, or a flash of an image I see.  At this point, I just try to make myself available to it.  I let it lead me.  It doesn't do any good to try to force it... I will look through literally thousands of images of various things to see if anything resonates.  And when something does, I make sketches and notes about why it stood out.  It can be kind of like putting together a puzzle or solving a riddle.  Except, with symbols and images and color instead of words.  Meditation and getting out into nature are also good ways of facilitating the emergence of an inspiration.   My best art comes from a source that is not contrived or intellectualized.  In other words, I try not to over think it.  Most of the time I don't truly understand the meaning of one of my creations until it is complete and I have had a chance to step back and reflect on it for a while.

Sometimes I will pray for an inspiration, like I did after September 11, 2001.  I remember being so wrenched with emotion.  Every time I heard the newscasters quote an estimated total of the number of people who died, I would think, that is just a number!  These were all individuals, each with families, and friends, and pets...  It was so overwhelming and unfathomable to me that I felt like I had to respond in some way just to appease my own soul.  That is how the Open Hearts series began.  And now, 12 years later, the series has become a part of who I am as well as a source of healing and affirmation for myself as I go through the process of making each individual Heart and for those who are touched by them.

WHAT IS AN OPEN HEART?

A couple of weeks ago, I lost my sweet precious kitty, Timmy.  He was only five and a half years old.  He had a seizure and died.  

I had named him after a friend of mine, a childhood friend, who had died suddenly and unexpectedly.  This ironic oddity struck me soon after my cat died in my arms.  Life can change in an instant.  Or it can be over in an instant.  

Working on "Open Hearts" is like a healing meditation for me.... Here are some new ones that I finished today.  

more OPEN HEARTS coming soon...

Art & Spirituality

Several days ago I had a conversation with an interfaith minister about art and spirituality.  For me, personally, my art and my spirituality are each feelers with which to explore the mystical and extraordinary.  And one does not exist without the other. 

"Your art is your ministry," she said to me.  Hmmmmm..... I have never thought of it that way.  Perhaps she has a point.  And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.  Maybe I need to change how I think about it. 

SEASONS OF THE SOUL ~ movin' out

detail from SEASONS OF THE SOUL
©1993 Stephanie E. Robinson

Recently a woman emailed me about purchasing a Seasons of the Soul print.  When I inquired about how she found out about the print, she shared with me that she had seen it in a therapist's office.  She told me she had lost her 21 year old son in a freak accident while he was away at college.  She wanted to have  the print so she "could just sit and stare at it for a while."  

When someone contacts me about purchasing a Seasons of the Soul print, I like to ask how they found out about it and if they are purchasing it to hang in their office, what is their profession?  The professionals who purchase it for their offices are in the helping fields, such as counselors, ministers, psychologists, massage therapists, physical therapists, energy therapists, etc.  Maybe I have an obligation to get this work out there where it can be seen by people in personal crisis.  But how?

Another thing that I found to be quite interesting is the number of people who have chosen to have selected Seasons of the Soul figures tattooed on their bodies.  A few years ago, a woman approached me and shared an interesting story.  She showed me the two Seasons of the Soul figures that she had tattooed on each calf of her legs.  She said that when she had the tattoos done she had no idea how to contact me to ask permission but when she found out that I lived in the local area, she wanted to thank me personally.  She said that she had recently been to visit a friend in Oregon and when her friend opened the door to her home, there hanging on the wall of the foyer was a Seasons of the Soul print!  She excitedly pointed out her tattoos, to which her friend responded by turning around and lifting her shirt to show a Seasons of the Soul figure on her back!

If anyone out there has a Seasons of the Soul tattoo, please send me a photo! Would love to see it!



 

SEASONS OF THE SOUL ~ harmony

     



   

      inner peace...

detail from SEASONS OF THE SOUL
©1993 Stephanie E. Robinson

As I mentioned in the beginning, there were no subtitles when the figure symbols that make up the Seasons of the Soul came to me over a period of time...They were just little individual doodles in a sketch book.  Later, after I had a chance to see people's reaction to the sequence, I realized that it would be helpful to add subtitles...  But this was a difficult thing, to try to label these symbols that represented far more than a word or two...  

So I did the best I could to come up with subtitles before it was published in 1993.  The print was published with the process known as offset lithography.  Now when I look at the "harmony" figure, I cannot help but think of the centeredness I feel as a result of regular meditation.  Back then, I didn't have a clue about meditation.  For the last ten years or so, I have meditated on a regular basis... There is scientific evidence that meditation can change your brain over time.  It has changed my life.  And when I go for a period without meditating, even just a couple of days, I begin to feel out of balance.

SEASONS OF THE SOUL ~ symmetry

     ..... balance

Detail from SEASONS OF THE SOUL
© 1993 Stephanie E. Robinson

I believe it was a year or two after Seasons of the Soul was published, I received a phone call from a woman who had purchased the lithograph soon after it had come out.  She shared with me how this artwork had been so important to her.  When she first saw Seasons of the Soul, she had just begun a 12 step program.  She purchased one and hung it up so she could see it every day during her recovery.  She told me that she had a friend who was just beginning her own process of recovery and she wanted her to have one of the prints.  Needless to say, I was very touched and honored.  But after I got off the phone with her, I just sat there stunned.  

Up until this point I had devoted a significant portion of my creative efforts toward commercial art.  At the same time, I was also spending time making art for the sake of art.  One thing that I had realized was, for me at least, there were two completely different mindsets required for commercial art versus art for art's sake.

I had recently moved from a very small town in north Georgia where I had developed a small free-lance business designing and painting signs, logos, illustrated brochures, menus, etc... I had moved to Durham, NC and at that time Ninth Street was a thriving little bohemian arts district.  I worked at a frame shop on Ninth Street and it provided me an opportunity to display and sell my art.  It also gave me an opportunity to interact with people who were interested in my art.  This is when I first began to realize the importance of the story behind the art.  People want to know the story.  It can lend authenticity to the work and it also gives the art a context it would not have without it. 

It was right around this time that I made a conscious decision to abandon my efforts as a commercial artist and devote my creative efforts to work that emanated from a deeper truth within me.  And Seasons of the Soul would be my compass.