An Homage in Winter Hues

February of 2014, like the February before it, found me meditating on my 9th grade year. As discussed previously, that was a pivotal year in my life. My interest in art and French were piqued by two unbelievably talented teachers. In retrospect, I understand that in both February 2013 and 2014 my subconscious mind was trying to make me realize that I was straying farther from where I was supposed to be. I had an office job that was taking over every aspect of my life, namely because my manager was losing his grip and had spiraled into a depression that winter, so I became the backbone of that office. Through my meditations on the year I was 15, I realized that who I was trying to be then was who I truly was, and 22 years later in 2014, I desperately needed pick up those lost threads of my soul.

Also during February 2014, I learned that Barbara Bibighaus passed away. She was my French teacher that monumental and influential year. She was the one who set me on my path to ultimately become a translator, so her passing wasn't taken lightly. While sad about her death, I also felt a sense of peace. I realized that her light would continue to shine through me. With that, the urge to create art came rushing forth. A collage that I was working on for a friend was placed on the back burner as I began channeling the spirit of Barbara. Often she would come to me at night. I would greet her each time by thanking her for her gift of French. From that channeling, images began to emerge. I remembered helping her clear out her classroom near the end of that school year (she was leaving the school district). She was wearing a bold blue ensemble that day. That was my last memory of her. With my newly-implemented system of organizing images, it was a breeze to locate specific image and play around with them as the piece began to take shape. The blue of her outfit and her jewelry, combined with the fact that I was channeling her at night, are featured prominently in this piece. I worked on this piece for over a month until it was finished on the 16th of March 2014:

Winter Hues

"Winter Hues" is the first piece that was not created to be given away as a greeting card. It's also the first piece that I did not try to complete within a handful of days. Instead, I allowed ample time for it to be created organically. It is composed entirely of magazine clippings, except for the rubber stamp which I used for the image of the moon. The "water" along the bottom of the piece was originally hair on a character in a magazine. The final element to fall into place was the mountains, which I lifted from an original piece of artwork called "Microcosmos" by Hannah Stouffer. Once I found it and placed it into the composition, I knew I had completed my homage to Barbara. 

The album Glaciation by Patrick O'Hearn, particularly the tracks "Oblique Formations", "Our Temperable Host", and "A Safe Return", influenced the creation of this piece. The blues of Barbara from my memory, the blues painted musically by the album, the winter blues that my boss was experiencing all lead to the title of "Winter Hues". 

Shortly after finishing this piece, I managed to find Laurie Teague, my art teacher from that same year, online. We hadn't communicated since 1992, but time had not eroded anything. She promptly accepted my friend request and then "liked" this piece in my collage album on facebook. A barrier was shattered. Something was complete. Something else was set into motion. I was getting closer to discovering who I am and what it is I am supposed to do in this life. 

Featured in this post: Winter Hues 
All current artwork can be found in my profile at Fine Art America. Thank you for your time and your support.