Entries Tagged as: fire

Fire Underneath

August 26th, 2010, Comments (6)

I've been feeling a little fire-less this summer, but lately, I'm starting to feel an inner-fire kindling away beneath the surface. Sort of like in this painting that is all reds and oranges underneath, even though the top is all in blues. At the joining of sky and land, you can see a bit of the red poking through.

This weekend I'm heading north into the mountains for a wedding. Since it's a drive, we'll be staying at a B&B and I plan to soak up the sights and soak myself in the big bathtub in our room, the perfect place to start pondering next month's theme, which I'll be announcing soon!

Playing with Fire

August 20th, 2010, Comments (14)

With the fire theme in mind, I had the inspiration to play with some red yarn on paper. I really didn't have a plan in mind, just wanted to play. I used some matte medium to hold the swirls and curls in place. After it dried, I thought I saw a few different images in it, which I brought out in paint until this tree emerged. Fun!

I enjoyed doing it although, I did not like the way the yarn felt on my fingers when coated in matte medium. Ick!

Hope you all have a magnificent weekend!

Fire and Water

August 12th, 2010, Comments (14)

I'm a total water person. I'm soothed by the sounds of water, blue is my favorite color, and my sign is Cancer (a water sign), so it's an interesting challenge to focus on fire this month. As I was working on the piece above, a play between reds and blues, I received my weekly horoscope email from Rob Brezsny, which reads:

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Here's a thought from the Cancerian
philosopher Gaston Bachelard: "He who listens to the singing of the
stream cannot be expected to understand the one who hears the singing
of the flame: They do not speak the same language." While I mostly agree
with that poetic formulation, I think you're about to be a temporary
exception to the rule. Normally you are acutely attuned to the singing of
the stream; your skill at reading its nuances are supreme among the
zodiac. But I expect that in the coming days, you will not only have the
power to appreciate the song of the fire; you'll even be able to empathize
with and understand people who are entranced by the song of the fire.

How perfect is that?

When I read the horoscope, there was just blue below and red above. After reading it, I drew in the tree which intertwines the two. Are you resistant to firey natures? How do you bridge the gap?

Fire Red Kayak

August 8th, 2010, Comments (6)

So much fun with the hubster yesterday out on the Charles River in a fire red double kayak (how perfect for the fire theme!) Man, what a workout! It was wild being out on the river, it felt like we were in another world, far from the hustle bustle. Everything but the tips of a tower were hidden by the greenery hugging the shore and our only company were birds and other kayakers.

I was inspired by the reflections and ripples in the water, the bits of flowers and trees that grew up in the middle of the river, and the birds sleeping peacefully while balanced on one foot. At the end of it all, I was quite cooked by the sun and paddling, but we had a great time. And the afternoon nap helped. :-)

My attempt to snap a picture of he and I in the kayak with my iphone didn't go so well, but you can see a bit of his hairy leg in there. Hehe. I hope you've all had a beautiful summer weekend!

Can’t start a fire without a Spark…

August 3rd, 2010, Comments (17)

I woke up with that line in my head, part of a Bruce Springsteen song. How true! And what a fitting way to start the month of Fire, talking about what sparks our imagination, what fires us up creatively, the ways small and large that we move from idea to creation.

Just the way that I woke up with this song in my head is a good example of where my ideas come from. The hypnagogic state, that fuzzy land between sleep and being awake, where the mind is more open and ideas often come fast and furious. I love to keep some paper and pens on my nightstand so that I can jot them down while half asleep, because sometimes I will remember the ideas and other times, they slip away as I'm waking up.

Bits of song, dream images, short phrases, little bits of shadow, and memory will often be the spark behind an idea that leads to a creation. A spark is just the starting point. It won't always develop the way it first began, just like a fire won't always spread the way you expect. I like that bit of surprise that happens as an idea transitions from spark to form. But it's also just interesting to see where ideas come from. Sometimes the most unexpected places, like the shape of a leaf or the color combination on a billboard. And sometimes ideas seem to come out of nowhere.

Where do your sparks of inspiration come from?

Pay special attention this month, catch them as they come like the girl in "Catching Stars" above, and see which sparks become full fires!