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http://www.erinwilliamswatercolors.com/blog/

Love is Shining Down on Me

May Gray is Away and June Gloom is gone and I'm in Love-

The only thing to do with this kind of exuberance and energetic joy is to paint my bright flowers-

I admit it - I've been in a funk the last couple of months.  the weather, the coming down from the high of India, the healthy move toward independence Casey and I needed in our relationship after that intense bonding during our trip,  the confusion over the change in my yoga practice that felt dry here,  plus health issues for both Casey and me.  It's been a struggle but we made it through the dark, back in to the light, and Love is Shining down on Me now-

Today i started this painting which is huge- 40 x 60.  It will have peonies, tulips, godetia and a pair of nightingales.  I also enjoyed a long summer walk on the beach with the dogs who frolicked in the ocean-  they feel it too.  The change in to summer,  ahhhhhh.

Yesterday I wore one of my new dresses to the beach show.  You can see some of my patterns and even order some yardage at spoonflower which is an on-line shop and they print all kinds of beautiful fabrics.

I  had 3 dresses made from the same pattern- each a little different.  This one has a double skirt and is made with the Helibore design.

I am so happy to have sundress weather and vibes in the air.  This feeling I have is of falling in love and it's strong coming out of that flat period I just went through.  I feel like I'm on the edge of something big and exciting and it's a magical feeling to know I am still peaking at this stage in the game. I don't know what's coming but it is something magnificent.  I think it is pure joy of creativity~

Apron, Pillows and Empty Walls

I had some pretty dresses and an apron made from ny own fabric designs by a sweet seamstress in Goleta named Eileen Ray and got them this week.  F U N  i took a few pics of the apron and will show The dresses as i wear them and get Casey to take pictures.  I love to cook and I really needed an apron-

It has a V neck, pockets and a cute ruffle on the bottom- very femie

It's from my Poppies ans Sweet Peas collection- actually a painting I did about 15 years ago in Oregon where I grew those flowers in my garden.  I dreamed about that garden last night>

                                            Georgie loves it of course

You know him.  He likes to be included in my blog as much as possible.  Hi Georgie~

Here are some pillows in the same fabric.  My lovely licensing agent Laurie sent me these this week.  I had sent her some fabric and she made them into pillow coverings for her booth at the Surtex trade show in NY last month and she was kind enough to gift them back to me.  What goes around comes around.- she is a true gem, always advising me when I'm at a loss in the business of art.

 These pillows are from my Fertile Rising collection with daffodils and pansies, also done from that same garden in oregon during that fertile period in my life, raising my adored young children and angora rabbits-  BLISS

Love the look of all my designs mixed together- the tv covering is from my Heavenly Divine collection

You will see all my pattern collections on my upcoming new web site with info on ordering fabric, hopefully pretty soon-
In the meantime I was left with some bare walls this week-

 

Three of my large paintings found a new home at a lovely beachy place in Hope Ranch

 They are happy here and bring the family much cheer~

 I changed out the glass to non- glare so it's not so reflective.  they also replaced the plant on the table with blocks that read  L O V E.  It looks so warm and good.

This is the daughters bedroom- notice the 3 figures on the dresser she placed to look at the birds-

So now it's time to paint more big ones- Yay.  i got these peonies today at Trader Joes to start with and will shop for more flowers at our weekly trip to the farmers market in the morning.  I am hungry to paint again as I've spent all week on more mundane chores such as mounting, coating and framing pieces.

Like this one in the garage I poured resin on yesterday and is curing before I frame it. I have pieces of art in all stages of completion in various rooms in my house. I'm a little elf in the workshop doing what I love.  makes me so happy~

Apron, Pillows and Empty Walls

file:///Users/erintheartist/Downloads/post-preview.html

Fun Stuff

 

I got 3 dresses made with fabric from my art and wore this one to the beach show yesterday.  more about this later.  Georgie loves me in roses, my lover boy~

 

This was my set up yesterday.  It's different every week.

This was a painting I cut up into 4, added words, mounted on a cradled wooden panel and coated in thick, glossy resin.  A whole new look~

Lots of oohs and ahhs over these~

here are some close ups of my others, adding words-

This is what I wrote while sitting in my booth at the beach show yesterday-

I learned my bodily contentment from the nurturing energy surrounding me.  Nature fills me with loving goodness in every moment.  From this pleasurable serenity I radiate joy and emanate golden light which protects me from negative energy and magnetizes more joy to me.

my new mantra~

Taming the Inner Beast

I have a pretty fierce inner beast that can only be described as a restlessness of spirit.  It is the legacy a sexual predator left behind in me when he abused me as a 5 year old girl, still in my formative years.  The 3 incidents of molestation were so traumatic that I disassociated from my body, creating a split and vivid memories from the heightened experience of fear that have left an indelible impression on my very being. A lifetime of healing has helped me learn how to cope and thankfully I have learned tools to help me manage this beast (after some unhealthy responses like addiction) but I recognize he will always be a part of me.  Basically when he takes over I lose my connection to my own divinity and grace.  The quickest, most reliable way for me to reconnect to my goodness is to paint the beauty of nature-

In this regard drawing and painting has been a survival technique and one that I established early on in life, as a child~

 Art has been my true, loving partner through a lifetime of changing relationships

Nothing calms my spirit quite like painting Mother Nature's beautiful blossoms.  I become one with them and I once again feel beautiful and whole~

It is a magical transportation to another realm and I lose all sense of self~

It's as if divinity has flooded my being and I become a channel for Her Love.

It brings me great Peace and is the blessing from the beast who never leaves entirely but is tamed for the time being.

New Bed for Indian Elephant Quilt

Casey and i bought this patchwork quilt at a shop in India and it goes in our bedroom perfectly with the colors and elephant theme.  We have a collection of elephants on the dresser.  The quilt is pieced together from old antique jeweled dresses and is absolutely exquisite.

only thing is we didn't realize til we brought it home that it was absolutely filthy and those antique dresses had never been washed

i think it was being held together by loose stitching and mostly dirt

these pictures were taken before i washed it in the tub.  it took 6 rinsing to get it clean.  the water was black and full of sand.  So Indian~

of course  about half the stitching came apart so that is my evening meditation for awhile to stitch it back together.

i'm actually enjoying the handwork, it's so visually delightful and easy to sew.  We decided it's too fragile to keep on the bed so we'll hang it on the wall above the bed and will be a fabulous headboard.

In the meantime our old bed was giving me a back ache so sweet Casey splurged on a new beauty rest which is really super firm underneath a soft memory foam- it is heavenly.  I look forward to bedtime even more than I used to and anyone who knows me well knows how much I value my sleep.
I think this elephant quilt on my beauty rest bed has been giving me unusually vivid dreams.  I've been recording my dreams in a journal for 30 years and they have never been this fantastic- am loving it!
Sweet dreams everyone~

Adding Words

I've started to add words and phrases to my work.  it's been helping me internalize my own personal growth on a deeper level and connect me, and hopefully the viewer, more to my art.  so far, i've had a good response.  i only have 2 to share here but have created more which i will share later.  Love......

Art Festival Fun

Yesterday was a fun memorial day.  the idamorri (street chalk painting) festival was happening up in front of the Santa Barbara Mission and it's a big deal around here.  it's the thing to do on Memorial Day in Santa Barbara- lots of people come out to enjoy the art, music, food and beautiful surroundings.  in conjunction with this is the 3 day SCAPE show (Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment) just a few steps away in a beautful wooded creekside area and it's a fundraiser for Phoenix House (mentally disabled people).  I had 3 pieces in this juried show and got 1st place for floral/still-life for this painting-

and i sold this piece-

but the best part of the day was hanging out with my good friend lynn sharing our deepest selves while taking in all the festivities and also connecting with the many Santa Barbara artists that i have come to know.  it made me realize that in my 5 years here in Santa Barbara i have really become part of the community which i love so well and feel this is truly my home.  what a fun day~

A Portrait of India- Elephant Island- part 11

this i after my experience in the temple which transformed me.  somehow these first 2 pics got placed at the beginning rather than the end of the post where they should be.  nonetheless, if you'd seen me the day before you would agree this experience literally lifted my spirits.

this is actually the very last photo taken in India- we both left on a very high note!

boat ride out to island

greeted by monkeys

shiva and parvati

triple god of shiva- creator, sustainer, destroyer of life

inner sanctum/shrine of shiva's lingam penetrating parvati's yoni- symbol that they pray too.  i was frotunate enough to go into the shrine and chant aum's with several of the local people.  what a vibration in my mind.

 

 

mother and baby monkeys saying good bye.

boatride back to mumbai

piano in our hotel lobby

our excursion to Elephant Island culminated my understanding of the hindu culture/religion/lifestyle because it was here that i had the most first hand experience of spiritual transformation that this path of enlightenment is all about.  like i said in the previous post Mumbai (Bombay) is, to me, the worst situation of pain and suffering and horrid conditions of humanity i have ever witnessed.  i was not in a position to photograph what i saw but you'll have to take my word for it.  even Senegal, Africa which i visited 11 years ago didn't compare to the tragic conditions here.  so when we set out to the island i was in a sorry state psychically.  upon entering the temple at the top of the mountain on the island i was embraced by ancient gods and goddesses of love, goodness and protection.  the temple is a series of rooms carved out of the rock and it's sheer size is incredible- the statues themselves are over 20 feet high, hundreds of years old and very detailed.  being in this sacred space did something to my nervous system and i went from feeling all the horrors in life to all the joys in a matter of 20 minutes. i think what really did it for me was that i was brave enough (i'm sure i am one of the few white people to have the guts) to remove my shoes and climb the stone steps into 2 of the inner sanctums where they pray to shiva's lingam.  for me it was about praying to the yoni of mother earth that shiva penetrates.  i was in this space once by myself and the other with a group of indians.  they were auming and i aumed right along with them and i GOT IT.  i felt the vibration of the sound of the earth- the root chakra travel up my kundilini path to my mind and it did something big to my brain which immediately calmed my nervous system and bathed me with peace and light!  in the shrine there was aromatic incense burning mixed with the sweet smell of jasmine that had been gifted as an offering.  the combination of all the sense stimulation added to the experience.
let me just end this portrait of India by telling you that when i went to Dakar, Senegal 11 years ago during the new millenium,after having studied african dance for 5 years, i had a spontaneous kundalini opening the very first night!  i thought i was dying and that experience took my entire being and my whole life and shook the contents of everything in my world upside down.  it ultimately led to my divorce among other major changes.  after Africa and the deep spiritual experience of dancing with the people within the sacred context of the dance, i could no longer danc african back in Eugene- it had become empty, rote and meaningless out of context.  it was then i changed my practice from african dance to a serios practice of yoga, though i'd been doing it lightly for 20 years.  it was during this time i read about kundalini and realized what that incredibl/awful/beautiful/mind blowing 3rd eye opening of death had been.  so, now after 11 years of purification and reinventing myself and my life i have culminated my kundalini experience with a completion through the immersion of the hindus- just as i did with the africans- it was the drumming and dancing and energy in the air that pulsated my being into that opening.  in India, my living experience of yoga in the conext of the people has somehow completed my study of yoga.  yes, i still practice and meditate on my own, just as i still dance african style on my own.  but i'm done with american yoga classes.
so now?  guess what i have discovered- Tai Chi!!!!!! I LOVE TAI CHI!  it is my new passion and obsession and addiction and i feel like it's building on what i've achieved in my body/mind/spirit wuth african dance and yoga.  thinking that with tai chi and my growing interest in all things chinese will perhaps lead to a future trip to China.
Thank you Mother India for all your lessons and beautiful gifts that i willa lways remember and cherish in the innermost chambers of my heart.  NAMASTE~