Sharing the Spark

I've been a well of emotion lately.

The world spins - children are born and grow up as you blink ... people you love pass on.  As Emily says in Our Town, "it all goes by so fast, we don't have time to look at one another."  She asks, "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? - every, every minute?"  Most often, the answer is "no."  (The links are for the amazing Lincoln Center production of this play.)

Do you ever feel as though your inner light dims and the world seems grey?  IT SUCKS!  But inevitably, something happens; someone re-kindles the spark, and the world is alive again. 

This post is about the gratitude I have for those angels who come to me in human form and teach me to see the world with love and not despair.  You never know when you are that angel who lights another's spark.    Here's a fast forward of my process as I created this canvas in gratitude for the angels in my life.

After I finished her, I felt like she was missing something.  I wanted spiritual motifs in the background and on her dress.  I pulled out my Priestly Blessing stencil, with its beautiful Hebrew letters, and my Medieval Leaves stencil, which is designed from ancient motifs.

The canvas was too small to accurately stencil directly on top of the design.  So I pulled out some white tissue paper, and stenciled on top of it with gold paint.

The great thing about stenciling on the tissue paper is that I was able to tear out portions, and then place them exactly where I wanted them.  With a thin watery brush, I traced around the areas where the designs should be, and adhered the tissue paper with matte medium. 

Once I adhered it, the white portions of the tissue paper melted into the canvas, leaving the gold design exactly where I wanted it.

"at times our light goes out, and is rekindled by a spark from another.  

Be grateful for those who have lit the flames within you."

This image is available as a print at Society 6 (which has free shipping through Sunday) and the original is for sale in my Etsy shop.   

Linking to my favorite Monday blog hops:  Make It Monday, Mandarin Orange Monday, Creative Every Day, Inspire Me Monday, and Be Inspired. 

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