Friday, February 22, 2008

Its a bird's life...



(Copyright is mine please ask if you want to use it!)



I've decided to be brave and share some of my 'art' with you all. This is a collage I made last summer which you might have noticed I use as my profile picture. Its probably my favourite piece of art that I've ever made (at the moment anyway!) because it has alot of personal meaning in it.


I found the girl and deer in a magazine (Vogue I think!). I was attracted to the girl because she is pretty, feminine and wistful but slightly sad. She looks vulnerable and I wondered what her story was. She reminded me of how I felt...fragile. I had been playing around with the idea of birdcages for a while before I made this. They can be really beautiful objects, so much more beautiful than any other type of cage! Yet no matter how beautiful it looks, it is still a cage and the bird inside is trapped.

All these elements came together in my head as a way to describe how I was feeling. Some of you already know I suffer with M.E. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and so my life has become very limited. In fact I often feel like the girl in this collage; trapped, vulnerable, fragile and unable to do anything about it. All I can do is sit there and wait. The red background speaks to me of pain. Overall the picture is sad but still beautiful, reminding me that there is always beauty in life if you look for it.

And of course that is the theme of this blog...the beautiful things in life help to make the grey days more bearable... or as
Mary Poppins used to sing -"A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down".

10 comments:

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

It's a lovely piece. How wonderful to get to see it full size.

lee jones said...

your artwork is absolutely beautiful.

bronwyn said...

It really is beautiful and wistfull. Thank you for sharing.

James Rowley said...

How good to see properly an example of your own art after your generous support of so many others' - it has a lovely delicate appearance & communicates this so well.
It's a shame to know it's inspired by your illness, but you illustrate your own point about being able to find beauty in almost any circumstance if you're sensitive & aesthetically-inclined enough to be able to do so.

Hope to see more of your work here, that you feel inspired to produce some.

Arsheen said...

beautiful art and a beautiful way of looking at life :)

WendyB said...

Lovely work.

dreamecho said...

thank you for finding the courage to share with us. this is a beautiful piece; i definitely see the vulnerability behind it. i'm looking forward to seeing more of your beautiful creations.

Angela Scanlon said...

I love this piece.. I have a cousin who's obsessed with bird cages (has them left around her house storing candles, even Mui Mui shoes!) I'd love to add your blog to my list ;)

jealoushe said...

I think the image of the birdcage speaks to a lot of people, including myself. And I like how you paired the startling background with the gentle-looking girl and fawn.

I hope you'll post your artwork more often. :)

Emy Augustus said...

oh my god that's so funny! I thought you found the image on weheartit like i did and decided to use it as your profile pic! lol well it's super cool to meet the person who made it!

I will try to find the original post I did using it. =D