Balloon Series: She Flies Alone

I continue to work on this series of paintings which will be featured in an upcoming exhibit. They are still in process and progress and I am loving creating them. As always, I have an abundance of other ideas but cherish these small works....all 12" x 12" because they are so near and dear to my heart. Although seemingly "dark", they are wonderfully uplifting to me on a personal level and mark a great transition in my work and my thought. I tend to be misunderstood but trust that they are works that celebrate growth, confidence and self discovery. I must put these aside to finish a more traditional and much larger portrait commission but there are certainly more balloons that will take flight. Stylized,sentimental,autobiographical? Yes, yes and yes!
View my balloon series album on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1011224&l=f59614c391&id=1483745280

The Fine Art of Not Knowing

Richard Feynman, Carl Sagan, S. James Gates, Jr., and Freeman Dyson discusses science, human knowledge and the unknown...

Camille Claudel : Sheer Beauty, Vision and Talent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NEZ2Q6ScSE

Balloon Series: She Flies Alone

I am a little obsessed with the notion of "flying." It is an amazing concept and symbolic of varying states of mind and being. What child doesn't imagine being able to fly at will, effortlessly soaring high in the sky?To "fly" simultaneously implied freedom, breaking away and escaping.I developed an uncanny ability as a kid, in a very noisy and often violent environment, to emotionally remove myself from the existing situation by flying. Well not actually flying of course, but I could disconnect emotionally and physically it seemed, at will. It was through my art and through music that I found my greatest solace. The problem is, that it took me a long while to realize that as I was fleeting and fleeing, protecting and avoiding, I was also escaping the "good stuff"...the love, the care, the beauty and the joy.

It is still through my art that I experience the feeling of flight but it is no longer solely as a means of escape:) It is a much more positive and meditative exercise.To fly, is to succeed, explore and dare to live. For me it has become synonymous with awakening to my true self. When we discover and foster our life's purpose, our abilities and passions,we are destined to "fly." I paint. It is my purpose to create. Often it is because of our own fears that we stay grounded and still. I can't seem to stay very still these days:)

The balloon series was inspired by an email  that I received while staying in NYC this summer. The story is lengthy but truly symbolic and inspiring. I'll save it for another time and share it as these paintings progress. I love the idea that balloons float, hover, and soar. They possess a simple but fleeting beauty. If you liken them to people, and this is key to my work, you have to hold on tightly and protect them, in order to enjoy these ethereal, fragile and momentary treasures. I deemed one of my friends, my big fat green balloon who I try to handle not too tightly but with great care:) There's more to come. Wildflowers, balloons and shhhhh! slides and swings! Awesome!

She Flies Alone

Jude Harzer Fine Art 2010

Jude Harzer Fine Art 2010

Jude Harzer Fine Art 2010

And just because I love this song and listened to it as I painted these images:

Matchbox 20: You're So Real

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/You+re+So+Real/zQcsm

Keep it real:)

Fly Away

Jude Harzer Fine Art 2-23-10

Fly Away

Wildflowers

I have an upcoming exhibit that I am curating. It is about "love." Actually it is about passion and dreams which seems inextricably connected to my definition of love. A core body of work that will be featured are my "Wildflower" paintings....all very much in progress and process. Reflecting upon the essence of these works, I want to convey on some level the awesome beauty of that which grows freely and how it relates to the human spirit. True love and "wild" passion for others, for ideas, for work,for a purpose,for freedom... have a great deal to do with persistence, an indomitable spirit,and a strength of mind in the face of resistance. It also involves forgiveness, patience and adaptability.At heart, we are all wildflowers but often our growth is limited by both internal and external forces.As we mature, we hopefully identify these boundaries and realize that they are superficial and that we are mostly bound by our own thoughts and fears.

Two weeks ago when my daughter departed for Australia for 6 months, there were people who, prompted by "love" and concern ,shared with her a host of reasons why she SHOULD reconsider her choice of destination: distance, money,inaccessibility,insects and snakes(okay that may have been me but this kid has life threatening allergies):) I asked her to think about and believe in why she SHOULD go rather than the should not's and to think about whether or not she would regret not going based on the fears and misconceptions of others. She packed her bags and arrived in Brisbaine alone with no housing, no group program, no friends or contacts:) She loves it.She has met people from all over the world. She secured a youth hostel room until she signs a lease for a home that she found on her own.She begins her studies at the university today. Imagine if we all lived expecting to succeed and blossom. Christina is my "Wildflower" and I have a whole lotta people in my life that share that some wonderful spirit as well. We all have the potential to grow and become our own unique, abundant and beautiful selves! Yikes! I get excited!

So here is an idea for a painting that I know I will create. I drew it early this morning using charcoal on primed cardboard. It was an unexpected image but it represents all those lovely, free thinking, unique spirits that cannot and will not be subdued:) Grow, Tia, grow!

Listen to :The Woman In The Moon

in·dom·i·ta·ble/ɪnˈdɒmɪtəbəl/[in-dom-i-tuh-buhl] –adjective

that which cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will, or courage; unconquerable

Fly

"I'm ready now to fly from the highest tree...." P. Ahn