Joy

The photograph over the right page was taken in the wee hours of the morning when my mind had to question if I was seeing the moon or the sun... It was beautiful, shining through the fog dramatically. I love too how this image lines up with swallowing the sun. When the photo is flipped to the other side it frames the words “be strong”. This spread won’t be in the upcoming book so I thought I would share it here. The words below are where they appear on the page, nothing edited, added, or moved.

joy swallowed sunshine and illuminates life. Even when there seems to be nothing

no matter what happens,

the energy

cannot help but shine

Understanding gave courage during difficult time.

be strong

joy follow s

Let not your heart be troubled

I love Earth

Isn’t it kind of strange that only one day a year is Earth Day?

Page 40 of Finding Joy. Analog collage on pages 154-155 of edition #2.

This is page 40 of my upcoming book with Meerkat Press, Finding Joy! This page is pulled from the second edition of the book I have been redacting and playing with and was made a few months ago when some of the Earth’s protections were being cancelled and some of her stewards being fired. For my part, I still feel helpless, but I also feel hopeful. Honestly, it’s probably a 70/30 split these days…

When I was making this, I was wondering, “What if the Earth was a human being?” How would that change the way we look at climate change? Would we want to care for the Earth differently than we do now? How would we alter our habits and behaviors if we all believed in our connection to the planet we all call home, to our connection to all living things on the planet, to each other!? On this Earth Day, let’s give a little extra love to the amazing place we are fortunate to call home and maybe make everyday Earth Day!

Portrait of Medea Victor

Why did I stop making these page re-imaginings?? Sometimes they end up becoming bookmarks and other times they become two sided collages. Either way, this practice of paper folding is fun and makes me happy!

Below, Cezanne’s Portrait of Victor Chocquet and Medea come together to sit pondering in new ways.

Cezanne spoke a lot about how Delacroix was an inspiration for him in how he painted and also in his choice of subject matter (Medea). It was a time when, with deep admiration, it was acceptable to use and reinterpret the works of those who came prior; to revere what was done and to use those ideas in new ways. I love thinking about art in new ways too - Cezanne mentioned that when painting in the impressionist style he liked to see how the planes overlapped, how the lines fell and experimenting with Cezanne’s lines and seeing how they meet up with each other allowed me to appreciate his style more. I was able to enjoy folding his working even more because of those lines he chose - there was an interesting type of alignment and symmetry. Fun!