Alpha Omega - Part II

"From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie."

Katsushika Hokusai, painter and print maker from the 1760-1849.

Outer side of the canvas envelope (roughly 40 in x 16 in)

Inside Pocket

Inside pocket with Alpha Omega cards inserted

Spread of Alpha Omega

Life is what happens between the Alpha and the Omega.

Robin's Return

A beautiful robin perched on a mountain ash just outside my kitchen window was busily gorging himself on the ripe berries. The mountain ash are barren now as winter is fast approaching. Flocks of robins, the likes of which we've never seen, are fueling up for their journey to warmer climates. I snapped this picture through the window and thought nothing more of it as I headed to my studio.

Once there, I looked at a print that was waiting for me. It was a large print with a barren landscape and barren trees. It reminded me of the mountain ash which held the perfect robin. Sweet Inspiration!

But wait, it doesn't end there! As I painted in my little robin, a memory was triggered. Robin's Return, the only song my mother ever asked my father to play on our piano.

When I look at the sheet music, I just can't imagine how he managed to play this for he did not possess the long, elegant fingers of a pianist. His hands were small, his fingers short and stubby...I would watch in amazement as he played effortlessly and my mother smiled. This was in the early 1960s. I inherited the piano and all the sheet music, but sadly none of their musical abilities.

It only stands to reason that the three page music piece inspired me to create Robin's Return - a Tryptich.

Although we are presently enjoying a little warm weather, I know it won't be long 'til the robins take flight and leave me waiting for their springtime return.

Alpha Omega

I thought it would take me a lot longer than it did to get through the second phase of my project especially as I had no preconceived notion to begin with, only a monotype which I had stored away for the last five years. I always felt it was incomplete, however my professor at the time was very much the purist...you never enhance a print! In fact, because of his words I was extremely hesitant to touch , let alone recycle, my old print. Now that I've done it, consider me hooked.

As a total control freak, just letting things happen is not so easy but I think I'm getting the hang of it. My project, which eventually evolved into Alpha Omega, began with thoughts of the how small a connected world is. I thought of the continents, the people, the common threads and the different languages. And that is where the project took on a life of it's own. Using signs and symbols, each of the eight pages looks to promote a sense of well being.

The writings and symbols include Greek, Hebrew, Sikh, Hindu, Chinese, Alchemy, and Runes. The mediums I used include pen and ink, conte crayons and acrylic paint.

The next phase is an envelope for which I have already tea-stained a piece of canvas. Not quite sure of how it will end up...Stay tuned!