American S.P.I.R.I.T…

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american spirit, americans, art, cherokee, chief, feathers, headdress, immigrants, immigration, indian, indians, native american, native americans, tribe

“Chief”

Mixed Media Painting/Collage

Sharon Cummings

2014

Sometimes we forget about the original Americans.  There is much talk today about immigrants in the United States.  As if, we are somehow “pure” to this continent.  Most of us came here as a result of families that immigrated from other countries.  I have Italian and Irish mixed into my genes.  But my great grandmother was one of the originals.  Full-blooded Cherokee.  So I am a mix of here and there.  A true American spirit…

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F.I.G.H.T.I.N.G. Changes Art?

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art, art maps, asia, canvas, china, countries, country, culture, fighting, geography, india, indian, indian conflict, indian culture, indian people, indian territories, kashmir, kashmir dispute, kashmir region, kashmir region of india, map, map of india, maps, paintings, pakistan, prints, sharon cummings, southeast asia, travel, travel maps, war, world map, world maps

 

As many of you know, I love to create maps using my original paintings.  My World maps are extremely popular with my country maps running behind in second.  Sometime last year, I got a special request to produce a map of India. I was delighted to work on this piece because India is a very uniquely shaped country which for an artist keeps it interesting.  I finished the work and listed it on Fine Art America.  It wasn’t long before another artist who was Indian pointed out that I had left off the upper most region.  This region is called Kashmir.

The region is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and ‘Azad’ Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People’s Republic of China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area, including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whilst Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls 101,338 km² (39,127 sq mi) of the disputed territory, Pakistan controls 85,846 km²(33,145 sq mi), and the People’s Republic of China controls the remaining 37,555 km² (14,500 sq mi).

A lot of the maps I looked at before putting mine together left this area off or had it shaded out.  So I left it off too.  However, after consulting with a few Indian friends and my Southeast Asian studies professor husband, I decided to include it in my map.  As you can see, my map clearly shows this highly contentious region.

Two countries would like to see this map changed and it is possible with enough fighting that it will.  As an artist, it is not for me to take sides.  I am not making a statement here.  It is simply for me to create and if change is required in the future, I will do so.

Until then…..enjoy India!

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My Saving G.R.A.C.E…

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abstract, abundance, air, alternative medicine, aqua, arts, aura, blue, brown, canvas, celestial, cerulean blue, coral, divine, divinity, eco, energy, fractal, grace, green, heal, healing, healing arts, health, holistic, indian, kaleidoscope, meditation, mirror, mirror image, modern, Music, mystic, mystical, native american, new age, om, organic, painting, pattern, patterns, positive, prints, sacred, saving grace, shakti, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, symbol, symbolic, symbolism, symmetrical, symmetry, tribal, unique, vibration, vibrational, wall art, wicca, yoga, zen

 

It may come as a surprise to some of my readers and followers, but I have a rebellious streak in me that made me a less than ideal student, a problem daughter and ex-wife to 3 men.  I’ve never liked being told what I should do or how I should act.  I am a rule breaker and an outspoken independent woman. My mother would often scold calling me a little brat.  Her favorite line was, “That mouth of yours is going to get you into real trouble someday.” I suppose she was right in that I have found myself in many uncomfortable situations over the years by words I’ve said.  After my first meeting with my now Mother-In-Law she told my husband, “Wow, she will say anything.” But that openness is also my “saving grace”.  It enabled me to stand up to an abuser declaring enough was enough.  I exposed everything without leaving off details and was able to heal.  It is also what has allowed me to be a “real” mom to my own child.  She was never confused about where babies came from or whether or not Santa was real.  This same freedom of thought and voice is also what gives me the ability to create artwork without following set guidelines. Because I do not limit myself in any way, I am able to paint with acrylics, take photographs or use my computer to produce artwork.

What is your “saving grace”?  It just might be something that you were told was “bad” about you, but in reality turns out to be something so very “good”.

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Are You Honest?

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abstract, abundance, air, alternative medicine, aura, brown, burgundy, burnt orange, canvas, celestial, coral, divine, eco, energy, fractal, garnet, heal, healing, healing arts, health, holistic, honesty, indian, kaleidoscope, meditation, mirror, mirror image, modern, Music, mustard, mystic, mystical, native american, new age, om, organic, painting, pattern, patterns, positive, prints, rusty, sacred, shakti, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, symbol, symbolic, symbolism, symmetrical, symmetry, tribal, truth, unique, vibration, vibrational, wall art, wicca, yoga, zen

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/honesty-visionary-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Ask most people if they are honest and they will say “yes” with absolute conviction.  We as a people like to think that we have integrity and morals.  In the larger picture, that may be true. After all the majority of the population obey the rules and stay out of jail.  We work hard and raise our children to be upstanding citizens.  We pay our taxes.  We live an honorable life.

But the truth is (pun intended) that we tell “little” lies all of the time.  We convince our little ones that there is this person called Santa Claus.  We tell our friends we have other plans when we just do not feel like going out to dinner with them.  We call in sick to work when what we really want is a day off.  And we tell our mate we had a salad for lunch when we really had a cheeseburger in order to avoid conflict.  And one of the biggest lies we all tell is that we are “fine” when someone asks how we are doing when we really feel horrible.  In fact, we are a lying culture because it is much more acceptable to be polite than sincere.  

Where am I going with all of this?  I honestly do not know, except to explore just how complex our ethics really are.  We are taught that lying is wrong, but we are also taught that you shouldn’t hurt people.  The truth hurts sometimes….so we avoid it.  Because the lesser of two evils is to spare someone’s feelings.  Or is it to spare our own?  Conflict avoidance seems to be one of the biggest triggers for dishonesty.

In my own life, I try to avoid doing things that I would need to lie about to the people I love.  My child was also never subjected to the “stork” and Santa Claus was “The Christmas Spirit”.  But am I 100% honest?

My newest piece above titled “Honesty” is. 🙂

 

What Do You See??

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abstract, air, alternative medicine, arts, aura, canvas, celestial, coral, divine, divinity, dream, dreamscape, eco, energy, fairy, fantasy, feminine, figurative, goddess, goddesses, gold, green, guardian, heal, healing, healing arts, health, holistic, indian, live, meditation, modern, muse, mystic, mystical, mythical creatures, native american, new age, painting, princess, prints, queen, red, sacred, shakti, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, sylph, symbol, symbolism, tribal, vibration, vibrational, wall art, wall decor, wicca, woman, yellow, yoga, zen

What do you see when you peer through the looking glass? Original paintings fused together to create unique one of a kind pieces. Let me mirror your imagination. You might see an angel or a warrior. Owls, dogs, frogs and kings. All are hidden (or not so hidden) within these colors. The more you look, the more you see! Enjoy this new colorful menagerie.

MY N.E.W. SERIES!!  “The Looking Glass”……so much to see….more here (2 more coming today and many more coming soon, so check back often!):

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=344305

Charmed…Are You Sure?

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abstract, air, alternative medicine, aqua, arts, aura, blue, celestial, charm, charming, coral, crow, divine, divinity, dream, dreamscape, eco, energy, enlightened, enlightenment, fantasy, figurative, gold, guardian, healing, healing arts, health, holistic, hot pink, indian, kaleidoscope, live, meditation, mirror image, modern, mystic, mystical, mythical creatures, new age, orange, pink, pink and aqua, sacred, shakti, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, symbol, symbolism, tribal, vibration, vibrational, wicca, yellow, yoga, zen

 

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

When was the last time you met someone who was really charming?  You know the type. Someone who has an open, friendly and contagious smile.  A person who has a real way with words and could convince you that just about anything was absolutely wonderful simply because they believe it is!  I am talking about the genuine type and not the sleazy car salesperson who is trying to be charming just to sell you a car.  Do you even know someone like this?  Are you sure?  You may not be able to know the motives of people, but look deep into my new painting and be “charmed”……be sure…..  

Mirror Mirror….

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abstract, air, alternative medicine, arts, aura, blue, celestial, chakra, chakras, coral, crow, divine, divinity, dream, dreamscape, eco, energy, enlightened, enlightenment, fantasy, figurative, gold, guardian, healing, healing arts, health, holistic, indian, kaleidoscope, live, meditation, mirror image, modern, mystic, mystical, mythical creatures, new age, orange, sacred, science fiction, shakti, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, symbol, symbolism, symmetrical, symmetry, tampa, tampa artist, third eye, tribal, vibration, vibrational, wicca, yellow, yoga, zen

 

I’ve been looking through The Looking Glass again…..actually I’ve been playing around in it for quite some time now.  I had 22 images to share with the World and got them all up yesterday.  Whew!  I am getting ready for the Holiday season and promotion and custom work will be the names of the game for the next 6 weeks.  I will not have much time to create new paintings let alone list them!  So enjoy these NEW pieces until the crazy time ends!

THE LOOKING GLASS SERIES:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=344305

 

My Fetish

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art, aura, blue mandala, blue violet, canvas, chakra, chakras, chant, circle, circle fetish, circles, crown, crown chakra, divine, divinity, energy, fetish, fractal, fractals, healing, hindi, hindu, hot pink, india, indian, iris, kaleidoscope, lavender, mandala, mandalas, mantra, meditation, namaste, new age, om, paintings, pattern, patterns, prints, purple, purple chakra, purple mandala, reiki, sacred, sacred mandala, sacred mandalas, sanskrit, shakti, sharon cummings, soul, spiritual, symmetrical, symmetry, third eye, vibration, vibrational, violet, wisdom, wise

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sacred-crown-mandala-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I’ve always had a thing for circles.  Every since I can remember, I would collect round pretty things.  I would constantly draw them.  I would intersect, separate or make a mosaic.  And as a career artists much of my work features circles and spirals.  To me they symbolize the continuity of all that the Universe entails.  Everything is connected and returns to the starting point.  For some reason lately, I have been seeing these beautiful mandalas everywhere.  It’s as if they were calling to me to create some.  I found some youtube videos showing how to make them with Photoshop but my brain just tuned out, but I did grab a few things from them….enough to figure it out myself by experimenting.  Here are my first mandalas…..I was surprised by their striking beauty.  I hope you like them too!

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/heart-aura-mandala-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sacred-voice-mandala-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

You can learn more about these sacred symbols here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala

Happy Sunday

Tags

abundance, affirmations, american indian, chakra, chief, conscious, energy, enigma, enigmas, fractal, healing, healing arts, indian, kaleidoscope, mind, mind's eye, mirror, mirror image, native american, organic, pattern, patterns, sharon cummings, subconscious, symmetrical, symmetry, third eye, tribal, tribes, unique, vibration, vibrational

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/enigma-conscious-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I am off for the rest of the day….enjoy my NEWEST….”Enigma”!

Namaste Means Letting Go

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abstract, air, alternative medicine, arts, aura, buddha, chakra, divine, divinity, dream, eco, energy, enlightened, enlightenment, fantasy, friendship, gold, green buddha, guardian, heal, healing, healing arts, health, hindu, holistic, india, indian, lotus pose, mantra, meditation, mirror image, modern, mystic, mystical, mythical creatures, namaste, new age, om, orange, organic, reiki, sacred, sanskrit, sharon cummings, solar plexus, spirit, spiritual, splendic, symbol, symbolism, symmetrical, symmetry, tribal, vibration, vibrational, yellow, yoga, zen

 

The word Namaste is an ancient Sanskrit greeting meaning, “The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you” – a knowing that we are all made from the same One Divine Consciousness.  For me it means “Letting Go”.  Recently I have been struggling with the betrayal of a friend.  Years of trust were lost when they allowed their jealousy and inner bitterness to dominate their thinking.  I have had to overcome a lot of suffering in my lifetime from sexual abuse to the suicide of a parent, so I am no stranger to forgiveness and letting go.  But for some reason this one person and the actions they chose really got to me. In the scheme of things he and our falling out are seemingly insignificant.  But in this morning’s meditation, I have discovered the importance of this life event.  I have been having negative feelings toward him which is not my usual state.  I have wanted him to fail.  I have wanted him to be ashamed of his actions.  These thoughts and feelings do not serve me. So today I have decided that I will start practicing Namaste.  I know this person looks at my blog daily and from now on when I see they have I will be sending them a blessing. A blessing for happiness, health and success in their art career.  I will visualize them doing well and having a beautiful life.  I will affirm that every painting they create will sell and sell well.  I will affirm that they will find within themselves what I have found already.  I will love them in spirit.  Namaste “Craig”…..Namaste…… 

One of today’s new pieces titled “Namaste” can be found here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/namaste-divine-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

 

Also NEW today is “The Great Spirit”….

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-great-spirit-abstract-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html