Puzzle Licenses

what a funny coincidence- this week i received 2 orders from my lovely licensing agent for more designs from 2 different wooden puzzle companies, both of which already carry my art as puzzles.  these hand-crafted wooden jigsaw puzzles are truly works of art in themselves.  it was interesting to see which of my designs they selected. stave puzzles, called the rolls royce of puzzles by smithsonian magazine, is adding 3 of my rabbit pantings to the 2 florals they now carry. 

these bunnies are all from the early to mid 90's when i lived in an old farmhouse on a small homestead outside of eugene, OR where my life centered around my young children, the garden, the animals and of course painting.  looking back on these paintings which are nearly 20 years old, i realize how narrative my work actually is.  although i raised these angora rabbits for the wool, which i plucked from them (which they love) and spun into yarn, knitting garments for the kids and me,  i find it telling that i spent 5 solid years painting my bunnies. i felt such a deep connection with these sweet creatures. they are such a symbol for that period in my life which was full of fertility, tenderness, intense shyness and lots of fears.  yet, it was a wonderfully simple time  in which i was quite removed from the modern world- just me and my family and nature in a small close-knit community of creatives and farmers. i will always treaure those gentle memories which these bunnies keep alive for me. i am happy to see them rebirthed here at stave's puzzles.

elm's puzzles are really incredible.  each one is also hand-cut and no two are alike.  they sent me a sample of one of my florals which i gave to my daughter hillary for high school graduation and she enjoys piecing it together with friends.  elm's does fun things like cut out shapes of hummingbirds and other flowers that might go with that  particular design, really customizing them, and you can even request shapes for them to cut.  they already carry 12 of my designs and have decided to add 2 more-

 this one is called dance of love and was painted 5 1/2 years ago just before my move from eugene to santa barbara.  i had spent 5 years healing my broken heart ang getting my bearings after my divorce and had finally entered back into the dance of love, this time with myself, with life.  i think on some level i also was anticipating the wondrous love and life awaiting for me in santa barbara, though the idea to move here hadn't yet been seeded. 
as a side note, this design was also chosen by a fabric company for me to develop into a collection of 8 patterns- more on this later.

this basket of fruit, painted about 3 years ago reflects the abundant harvest of all the sweetness i have gathered in my new life here in santa barbara.  on every level, my life is rich with colorful tasty fruits to be savored and nourished by. and i am enjoying every bite!
wishing you tasty goodness in all area of your life~