The HotMess’s Speech

Tonight! Tonight! is 2011 Renewal Art Show!

You may have seen in my previous post about tonight’s show that I have been asked to give a presentation on my piece The Release.  I am sooo honored…. but I really hate public speaking!

FML

In case I really screw it up, you can read what I planned to say below.

This is my piece entitled “The Release.”  When I was originally asked for a brief synopsis of my work this is what I submitted, “With the dawn of each new Spring, Mother Nature releases the beauty from within. Awakening nature as if from a sleeping cocoon, unfurling its wings like clockwork, anew like spring chickens.”

When asked to expand on this explanation, I was drawn to a quote by writer Mary Ann Brussat, who so elegantly put it;  “Nature often holds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal, and transformation in our lives.”

I chose to paint this work on a much larger canvas than I typically work on to express the importance of its’ overall theme.  The woman in this piece is a personification of Mother Nature – she is the focal point – covering most of the canvas to represent her powerful but nurturing presence.           

The clock on her chest, along with the caterpillar and empty chrysalis express the idea of faith in cycles of creation and regeneration.  The butterfly is a Christian symbol of resurrection. It begins as a caterpillar and then disappears into a grave-like cocoon, and though it appears to be dead, it later emerges much more beautiful and much more powerful than it ever was before.

The man and the woman in the bottom corners are riding in on chickens. Chickens not only represent fertility but they also wake the sleeping – they signal the break of each new day.

I extended the checkerboard floor around the sides of the canvas to signify the lack of boundaries.  The beauty of nature shows us that rebirth and renewal are a part of all of our lives. We can start anew with a clean slate using the wisdom from our past experiences. The newness of spring gives us a “genuine hope for a new beginning”.