N.E.V.E.R. Forgotten…

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animal, animal lover, animals, bridge, cat, cat paw, cats, death, dog, dog paw, dogs, eternal love, fur, fur babies, fur baby, gift, great danes, grief, grieving, hand, hand print, heaven, honor, honoring, honoring our pets, love, Memorial, mourning, paw print, pet lovers, pet memorial, pet sitter, pets, print, rainbow, rainbow bridge, remember, remembering, remembrance, reunion, reuniting, sharon cummings, the, the rainbow bridge, true love, veterinarian, veterinary, veterinary clinic

“Never Forgotten”

Rainbow Bridge Pet Art

Mixed Media

Sharon Cummings

2014

As Summer comes to an end I find myself reflecting on all of the beautiful animals that have touched my life over the years.  I’ve lost birds, pigs, goats, cats, fish and dogs. For me the greatest losses have come with the beautiful Great Danes we have adopted in the last 12 years.  We bring in rescues.  They are an amazing breed with so much love and devotion. Unfortunately, their lifespans are very short averaging 7-8 years. Two left us due to bone cancer, which is common in this large breed, especially the males.  Our time with them was way too short, but the love they gave made it worth it.  Others made it to ripe old ages of up to 11 years.  I still think of all of them every day.  They are never forgotten…

“Mogo” the black one (3+ years) and “Sampson” (7+ years) the fawn, both crossed the rainbow bridge just a year apart.  They were best buddies…

“Bacchus” (6+ years) the larger patched harlequin, “Maile” (9+ years) the smaller patched and “Sophie” another black (11+ years).  I miss them so much…

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Back To The F.U.T.U.R.E…

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death, deep fried, deep south, Family, ga, georgia, grocery stores, hazelhurst, hazelhurst ga, hazelhurst georgia, life, loss, love, piggly wiggly, piggy, pigs, sharon cummings, south, southern, stores

 

I just returned from a trip to the town where I was born.  I had not been this deep into South Georgia in over 30 years.  It was startling to me just how little had changed.  The Piggly Wiggly where I spent many gleeful moments with my Granny was still standing and looked exactly the same.  The hospital still had it’s yellow brick exterior and had not grown.  We drove around for hours just looking.  A few things were gone, like some trees and the old Tastee-Freez. But Dairy Queen was still serving it’s frozen soft serve.  Some places were closed, but no one was taking over.  It was like a time warp.  Even my grandmother’s home looked just like I remembered.  I felt like I could just go in and she would be there sitting in her recliner ready to offer me some sweet tea.  But alas, she is no longer there. In the span of 3 years right before I hit puberty, my family lost my Dad, my Uncle and my Granny. One family member per year.  It was a tragedy that left my family devastated and since they all lived in and around each other, I had never gone back. The pain was just too great.  Everything seems so backwards there, including the hushed whispers like “He married a black girl.” and “She’s gay you know.”  Segregation is still alive and well and those parts of my visit were uncomfortable.  I have Celiac disease and eating gluten free was a real challenge as there were very few restaurants and the ones available had “deep fried” in front of everything on the menu. When I got home to Tampa I did truly feel that I was “Back To The Future”…

But there was comfort in my visit with my cousin and his family.  Their lives may seem simple compared to the cluttered city life I enjoy, but one basic thing remains:  love.

DEAD ON

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creepy, crossfit, day of the dead, dead, death, dia de los muertos, funny, goth, grateful dead, grateful dead band, halloween, human skull, love, lovers, mexican, mexican culture, mexico, motorcycle, Music, pirate, punk, rock and roll, rock band, salt life, scary, sharon cummings, skull, skulls, spooky, strange, unique, whimsical, whimsical skull

Whether you are a Day of the Dead aficionado, a Harley Davidson Motorcycle rider, Grateful Dead fan or just someone who finds all of life interesting, you can see the fascination with skulls.  Whenever I see them, I like to picture what the person who used to inhabit that cranium must have looked like.  So many possibilities.  Death doesn’t have to be taboo.  It is natural and like all of life should be celebrated.  I love playing with skulls and giving them their own personality.  I have my goth side.  Living is expensive, but the price of death is cheap here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/skull-art-day-of-the-dead-3-stone-rockd-sharon-cummings.html

A Sacred Place

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abstract art, art, art collectors, Artist, celebration of life, cherokee, Children, contemporary art, death, faabest, Family, grief, healed, healer, healing, indians, life, love, Memorial, memories, modern art, mother, mothers, native american, native americans, sharon cummings, spirit, spirituality, tribute

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries

I don’t just sell art.  I form relationships with my collectors.  I bring people together, make a house a home or an office a welcoming place.  I create and inspire.

A few years ago one of my collectors contacted me with a very special request.  She said it took her many months to get up the nerve to ask because she thought I would say no.  Her Mom had passed away and she wanted to do something special with her ashes.  She wanted to know if I would be willing to incorporate some of her mother into one of my pieces.  A commission based on “Fire Over Copper Lake”.  I did not hesitate and said yes.

I was soon touched to learn that we shared a Native American ancestry.  Her Mom was a healer in this life and touched many souls.  In my lifetime I have had a spiritual guide named Ama which means water in Cherokee.  The piece I would be creating had to do with a “lake”…or water.  Her mother’s Indian name was “clear water”.  Creating this memorial painting felt more than right for me….it felt like a homage to my own spiritual mother as well.  She arrived in a beautiful pouch surrounded by the sweet smell of sage.  I handled her with care and blessed her ashes before I mixed them with the paint.  The piece turned out beautifully….my collector was moved beyond words…and I like to think that a few ashes are here in my studio still and that Ama is with me always…..

A Note From God

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animals, art, Artist, artwork, bird, birds, cat, cats, death, dog, dogs, dying, eternal love, god, heaven, love, paintings, pets, prints, rainbow bridge, rottie, rotties, rottweiler, rottweiler puppies, rottweiler puppy, rottweilers, rotty, sharon cummings

The above piece is our new puppy named “Coffee”.  I love animals.  You can see it in my artwork and you can see it in my home.  I’ve always had furry or feathered companions my entire life.  Cats, dogs, birds, goats and pigs….all were my friends at some point.  Which means I’ve had to say goodbye to a lot of buddies.  Recently I lost my Great Dane Sampson.  I don’t know how the Universe works…but this message below made me cry.  Inside I’ve been struggling with Sampson’s death….I’ve felt bad wondering if I made the right decisions for him…..and it made me think of other animals that I’ve had in the past….wondering if I could have done better for them too….I loved them all very much and always did what I felt was right….I feel like they all sent this today to give me peace….

Six months ago I signed up for a service that supposedly sends email messages from the Universe.  TUT.  When I signed up, I filled in the blanks so I could get encouragement on my art business.  Accordingly all of my messages are about my work, success, perseverance in my job, people I encounter in my career. etc.  Never anything personal about pets or family.  But today I got this below.

“I just want you to know, Sharon, that those animals you’ve known, who’ve moved beyond the veils of time and space, were forever changed by your love, they’re alive and well, and they’ve banded together to ask me a favor… that I make sure you get this message.”

Bark, meow, chirp, ergle,

The Universe

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/rottie-puppy-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

When All Else Fails….

Tags

animals, companion animals, death, dog, dogs, dying, great dane, great danes, grief, heaven, love, pet, pets, saying goodbye, sharon cummings, sorrow

 

You say goodbye….Today is a sad day as I sit here missing my sweet companion Sampson.  Mere words cannot express my sorrow….He was a magnificent animal with nothing but love to give.  A 190 pound sweetheart.  Due to his size and deep bark he was also my protector.  I always felt safe with Sampson in my home.  When we left our daughter home by herself, we always knew she was protected.  Brinks had nothing on Sampsonite.  In this post, I do not want to focus on the trauma that ended his life.  I want to celebrate him!  If you’ve never laid your body across such a massive dog and felt his love envelope you, then you cannot understand how deep the “missing” goes.  He had such a “presence” and I am not just talking about the house clearing farts….no he gave life to our home.  From the gentle way he played with Toby our little lab to the sweet grunting for attention.  Yeah, he was a grunter and provided us with a lot of laughter. Dogs like Sampson can never be replaced….he leaves a big hole, but I can smile in the knowing that he is not suffering anymore and that if there is a doggie heaven that he is there now grunting and playing with our Mojo (black dog pictured below).  Rest in peace my love….