Be Still my Heart

Dimensions: 11 x 14
Inspiration: There are a number of contemporary and historic poems containing the phrase 'whispers sweet nothings'; however the original line is from a 1776 poem by Mary Elizabeth Braddon that reads "As low he bend o'er her he loves so dear, to whisper some sweet nothing in her ear". In my lino print, the jackrabbits' ears are a notable feature, and the male attempts to convey his interest in the female, by whispering flattery, but not at close range. Nonetheless, with superior hearing, the female listens to his words, but finds them puzzling.

Dimensions: 24 x 24
Inspiration: The poem that produced this piece is about love and longing of a subtle kind - but if we can't love ourselves where are we? The intent of the poem is to appeal to "self" to come forward and create. The longing is in the hesitancy as is the love. Both are an offering of love.

Dimensions: 10 x 12 x 1
Inspiration: Inspiration

Dimensions: 22 x 16 x 23
Inspiration: The tune "Rockstar" is one of my favourites by the group Nickleback.

Dimensions: 3.5 x 7 x 7.5
Inspiration: I love the process of creating something unique from wood that otherwise would feed a fire, exposing the beauty hidden beneath the bark, knowing that the less perfect wood makes the most exquisite vessels. Hesse describes this well. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death wound to the sun one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk, in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. By Herman Hesse

Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 1
Inspiration: I love abstract & mixed media art. When we live near the Okanagan Lake, boating was a favorite past time for our family. Even the storms created wonderful memories. This mixed media evolved from beautiful memories.

Dimensions: 16 x 12 x 1.5
Inspiration: The Hummingbird has held the fascination of mankind since the beginning of time. The lyrics to the Hummingbird song describe our experience of seeing the hummingbird as spiritual, as if they are holy creatures sent from heaven. We would love to fly as they fly and are spellbound for a moment in their presence. ''Oh hummingbird Mankind was waiting for you to come flying along, Heavenly songbird. We were so wrong, we've harmed you. Oh hummingbird. Lend us your wings, Let us soar In the atmosphere of Abha, Lift us up To the heaven of holiness, Oh source of our being Oh humming ... bird. Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away. Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away. In you I've found a fragrance, I'll love 'til I die. I just love you love you love you. I don't even know the reason why.''

Dimensions: 36 x 46 x 1.5
Inspiration: This painting inspired by the poem “If I Could Tell You” by W. H. Auden. A lament to the passage of time to a loved one. A poem about time and the inability to change or explain its effects even though we desire understanding.

Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 1
Inspiration: ...my favourite line is the coast: long stutter of islands and islets and on a particular beach, a shifting line moving to some equation: where the tide advances and returns across the level slip of sand.

Dimensions: 32 x 24 x 2
Inspiration: Whenever the heart and soul needs replenishing a walk in nature will restore you.

Dimensions: 14 x 10 x 5.5
Inspiration: I interpreted a poem by the late Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) titled “Dream of Foxes”. In her poem she envisions a world where women are safe from harm and are surrounded by love. My piece depicts a wee fox girl riding her horse in a land of tame foxes with a cherished childhood stuffed fox. She is relaxed in her world filled with safety, free of violence, and experiencing love in nature.

Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 1.5
Inspiration: This painting is my love for the forest and a direct attempt to interpret the poem "This is the Place", when as I read it, visual images arose in my mind, one after another all through the poem. The opening verse took me immediately to the rain forest on Vancouver Island. The 'constant sound of moving water', 'the ground soft and spongy', 'a calligraphy of shapes' all painted a picture in my mind. The focus of the painting came with the line 'the whole tree leans in the wind... But the last line held me 'captive as you are grown over and absorbed by the slow and ancient riot of growth.' "Between the Pacific Ocean and the land, sloping towards the east, Stand the highest freestanding creatures on earth... This is the place the path begins... A calligraphy of shapes, amputated tree limbs splintering in the wind. The whole tree leans in the wind of centuries, Twisted around itself in time to the wind. The cold pine scent and the raven call, circling upward into the spiraling wind tunnels... If you stop too long you will be held captive as you are grown over and absorbed by the slow and ancient riot of growth." by Tanya Darling

Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 1
Inspiration: Having a daughter who is an organ donor is always on my mind, and defines who I am as a mother. When I heard Jamie Lawson's song, "Still Yours", my heart became still -- utterly still, almost as if it had stopped beating. Similarly, when I received two random colour swatches from an art group to which I belong for a challenge exhibit, my heart was quiet. The world seemed to be non-existent. I stood in disbelief: my swatches were red-orange and blue! The image that instantly came to mind was my daughter and the recipient’s hearts at the moment of transplant. The song that guided my hands was "Still Yours". Hearts in Abeyance is a mother’s reflection on the gift that her daughter, Dani, passed on to another family. The pieces are counterparts, just as the lives of donor and recipient are entwined. The two works, being near mirror images, form a whole heart. The red-orange heart has seventeen pieces: Dani’s age at passing. The blue heart has thirteen pieces which is the family’s lucky number, being Dani’s date of birth. Because of medical science, her life carries on, and through art and stories, she continues to inspire others. Hearts in Abeyance is a diptych, with each canvas being 12"x12".

Dimensions: 1 x 11 x 16
Inspiration: The blue epoxy reminds me of the song "Singing the Blues"

Dimensions: 14 x 14 x 1
Inspiration: My organic driftwood hearts are connected to a song I wrote for our son’s wedding. The lyrics for “I Love You” tells about how my son met his husband and his eternal love for him.

Dimensions: 20 x 24 x 0.5
Inspiration: I want to pay homage to the people living and using this stretch of road that passes through magnificent scenery, as I am moved by their tragic stories of loss. The beauty of the seascape for me is a symbol of hope, as well as longing for a peaceful future. The poem expresses loss, longing and hope that arises with the contemplation of death.

Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 1.5
Inspiration: I chose a verse from the Joni Mitchell song Blue principally because Mitchell is 20th Century female icon who wrote her unvarnished truth about love, being in love, no longer being in love and about the vagaries of the notion of love. Blue is said to be her farewell song to James Taylor. The verse I chose is: Here is a shell for you/ Inside you’ll hear a sigh/ A foggy lullaby. The words are so evocative of a love that is no longer. They are gentle and tough simultaneously. Just as love and breakups are gentle and tough. This love for her is now a foggy lullaby. I worked with a predominantly blue palette to reflect the moodiness of the words.

Dimensions: 11 x 15 x 6
Inspiration: The author writes himself as a calm voyeur who has blended into the natural environment to watch the march hares frolic in love. My piece depicts a hare that is so peacefully watching in his meadow that he is blending in amongst the small creatures and plants. The hare, like the author, is watching from a place of experience and knowing as both have enjoyed many seasons in the meadow.

Dimensions: 16 x 22 x 1.5
Inspiration: There is an incredible depth of feeling which I have on observing the relationship of my friend to her severely developmentally challenged child. The day is never static and peaceful. She has to constantly watch over him for seizures, shift him around, manage his tube feeding, and more. All of which she does with a constant good nature. In one moment she taught me more about love and joy than any other human alive... This was one of the moments when we talked about abortion. None of her prenatal tests had come up positive for any birth defects. She has her own poetry which she will one day share..but for now Sylvia Plath's poem 'You're' inspired me to capture both the madness and the joy of motherhood. 'Clownlike, Happiest on your hands, Feet to the stars, and moon-skulled, Gilled like a fish. A common-sense Thumbs-down on the dodo's mode..

Dimensions: 30 x 40 x 1.5
Inspiration: In Strathcona Park we learned to thoroughly enjoy camping after many years of not camping. It remains one of our favourite places for its wild naturalness. But the natural landscape colours here are muted out. In 2023, my beloved husband of 45 years died suddenly. I was devastated to say the least. My visual language became the pink healing energy of love and longing as I infused it into this favourite landscape.