Spreading My W.I.N.G.S…

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abstract butterfly, bug, bugs, butterflies, butterfly, butterfly paintings, butterfly wings, colorful, colorful butterfly, insect, insects, primary colors, purple, wings

“Colorful Butterfly”

Mixed Media Painting/Collage Art

Sharon Cummings

2014

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The Wonder Years….

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aging, anxiety, art, bathroom, bedroom, botanical, botanical prints, bug, bugs, butterflies, butterfly, butterfly garden, butterfly wings, buy, career, change, ecology, face lifts, Family, feminine, for her, for sale, fun, garden, gardens, gift, gifts, growth, happy, healing, insect, insects, joy, joyful, letting go, living room, marriage, mixed media, mom, mother, mother's day, online, paintings, pentas, personal growth, powder room, prints, season, seasons, sharon cummings, skin, spring, summer, uncertainty, wing, wings

 

Are you trying to hold on to your youth?  Your children?  A dysfunctional family?  A job that isn’t right for you?  A marriage that doesn’t work?  That D you got in trigonometry in high school?

So many of us cling tightly to what is familiar or comfortable.  Others bind themselves to the past and allow it to punish them for their entire lives. Change is scary.  Some just cannot picture a life different than the one they currently have.  I have learned that the harder you grasp something, the more it hurts when it slips away from you.  The secret to life is “letting go”.  Also known as acceptance.  This has nothing to do with giving up and everything to do with knowing when it is time to move on.

I had a few years of uncertainty and fear as I moved into middle age.  I was panicked at the thought of my little girl out in the big mean World all by herself. My marriage had a major hiccup one Summer and I was not sure we would make it.  I noticed that I was starting to lose the interest of men when I walked into a room.  My body and face were aging and I did not know how to handle it. I was also very confused about what I wanted to do with my business.  I considered shutting it down and taking a different path by getting back into Holistic Medicine.  I call those years “the worry years”.

Slowly I started to realize that I could not hold onto all of those things that I wanted to remain the same.  More importantly, I did not want to. I discovered it was safe to let go and just celebrate where I was headed.  I was not only physically different, I was also mentally and emotionally transformed.  At 45 I am now excited to watch my daughter leave for college and blossom into her own life.  I will not be keeping her bedroom as a shrine where I can focus on the past.  Instead it will be converted into a sanctuary for yoga and thinking. She will be welcome to visit anytime, but I will use that space for mediation.  I have learned to work “with” my partner instead of “against” him as we weather life’s bumps.  I am less selfish.  I have also decided that I will not be artificially preserving my youthful face.  It’s gone and no amount of face lifting, injecting or sand blasting is going to bring it back.  It’s o.k. to have wrinkles and fine lines.  In fact, if you allow yourself to let go of what society dictates is beautiful, you can actually admire them for what they really are: signs of a life that has endured numerous storms and celebrated many triumphs.

As for my career that is still being pondered.  I have a few new ideas about what direction I would like to move in. But whatever I decide, the process leading up to it will not be fraught with anxiety.  No, these are truly “the wonder years” for me.  The dictionary tells us that “wonder” means:  a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.  And that is exactly where I am.  Bring it on life!

Achieving Zen…

Tags

abundance, abundant, abundant life, art, asian, bug, bugs, buy, chinese, cream, dragon, dragon flies, dragon fly, dragonflies, dragonfly, earthy, flies, flight, fly, for sale, happiness, happy, insect, insects, japanese, joy, joyful, life, online, oriental, paintings, prints, rejoice, sharon cummings, soulful, southeast asian, spirit, spiritual, spring, spring cleaning, summer, textured, yoga, zen

Spring is in full swing here in Florida and I have been one busy bee!  I have been painting lots of commission work and my print sales are at an all time high.  I just spent a few days with my daughter in Sarasota for her Spring break which was fun and relaxing.  But today it is back to work for me. We’ve been cleaning and doing some upgrades in our home.  I do not comprehend the concept of “light” cleaning. It’s always “deep” cleaning because once I see funk or dirt, I MUST clean it!  I cannot turn a blind eye.

How does this tie into “zen”?  The urban dictionary says:

One way to think of zen is this: a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind. Zen is a way of being. It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts. “Sun is warm, grass is green.”

I have been experiencing the “zen” of cleaning.  My focus is intense and both my mind and body are fully together in my tasks.  There are no illusions here. Dirt and dog hair have infiltrated every pore of my home. “The house was dirty, the house is cleanish.” 🙂

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Spreading My Wings….

Tags

abundance, abundant, abundant life, art, asian, bug, bugs, buy, chinese, cream, dragon, dragon flies, dragon fly, dragonflies, dragonfly, earthy, flies, flight, fly, for sale, happiness, happy, insect, insects, japanese, joy, joyful, life, online, oriental, paintings, prints, rejoice, sharon cummings, soulful, southeast asian, spirit, spiritual, spring, summer, textured, yoga, zen

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/blue-dragonfly-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I have really been branching out lately into new techniques and media.  I do not know if it is peri-menopause, the rotation of the sun or just a new mindset, but I am feeling so much happier about myself and my work.  I am finding myself a lot less critical and more open to the process of creativity.  “Making a sale” is taking a back seat to “making a moment”.  Yes….I am spreading my wings and it feels so good!

ANTS In My PANTS!!

Tags

abundance, ant, ants, bug, bugs, canvas, cartoon, cartoon character, chant, cheerfull, comedic, comedy, comic, comic book, comics, enlightenment, funny, green, happiness, happy, humor, humorous, image, kaleidoscope, laugh, laughing, looking glass series, mantra, mirror, modern, mythical creature, nirvana, odd, painting, pink, prints, reiki, science fiction, sharon cummings, smile, smiling, strange, super hero, superhero, symbol, symbolism, symmetrical, symmetry, unique, unusual, wall art

 

I’ve always thought that was a funny saying….but it’s true!  I’ve got ants in my pants over my new Looking Glass Series.  The response has been phenomenal and I made my first sale only days after it’s launch.  And I sold a HUGE 84 inch print!  So excited!  But I’ve also really had ants in my pants and I can tell you it is no fun.  Chi Ant isn’t that kind of bug. He’s a lover not a biter.  When I first fused the painting together and saw Mr. Happy bug I thought, that’s weird.  Then I realized the piece made me feel happy.  There is something about his soft pink complexion and content eyes.  There is also a beautiful aqua butterfly looking up at him….and if you look closely a walrus is in there too.

See more here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/chi-ant-aka-mr-happy-bug-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Lady Venus’ Abundant Life

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abstract, air, alternative medicine, aqua, arts, aura, brown, bug, burnt orange, canvas, celestial, coral, divine, divinity, earth tone, earthy, eco, energy, fractal, gray, heal, healing, healing arts, health, holistic, indian, kaleidoscope, ladybug lady, meditation, mirror, mirror image, modern, mystic, mystical, native, new age, painting, pattern, patterns, prints, rising, sacred, shakti, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, symbol, symbolism, symmetrical, symmetry, tribal, unique, venus, vibration, vibrational, wall art, wall decor, wicca, yoga, zen

Today’s “Looking Glass” offering is “Lady Venus” and “Abundant Life”…..so much to see here.  When I look through this mirror I see a beautiful lady rising above the ocean into the earth….I also see a CAT looking upwards.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/lady-venus-abstract-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Life’s patterns are so perfectly depicted in the above piece.  I see growth and renewal.  I also see some very WISE eyes.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/abundant-life-pattern-art-by-sharon-cummigns-sharon-cummings.html

What do you see in these?  Please share!