Jamie Ewald and Jamie Mitchell have created Art for Alabama, an online Facebook auction which runs from today until next Saturday, May 28th. If you do not have a Facebook account, but would like to bid, I would be happy to bid on your behalf.
The mission statement for AfA reads, Art for Alabama is a non profit auction page set up to benefit those Alabamians affected by the tornadoes on Arpil 27, 2011. All proceeds will be donated to the Alabama Red Cross Disaster Relief for Countless Crises.
I first met Jamie Ewald at Squam Art Workshops in 2009, when she was in the very beginning stages of growing her beautiful family. We talked a bit about babes and art, combining the two, as I carried my six-month-old Ivy around for most of the retreat. I hoped our paths would cross again.
The tornadoes that blew mercilessly through the South last month destroyed hundreds of lives and homes.The spirit of hope and rebuilding from the ground up is nothing less than awe-inspiring. Like many natural disasters that have occured in the last two years, I felt called to help somehow, but hadn't yet discovered how.
When I read Jamie's request for art I knew in that exact instant what piece I would donate to Art for Alabama. It seemed to tie directly to a tremendous letting go (shedding of the chrysalis), and creating this painting was part of the early phases of a release I have experienced in the past year. Giving the painting to her cause seemed like the most natural fit for the process to me, and the final giveaway in this Phoenix-like process. I'd also begun the year with an intention to find ways to be more altruistic with my work, and it would seem as though the perfect opportunities have found me.
My hope is that someone who is welcoming their own period of life-altering Transformation will embrace this painting and welcome in a beautiful metamorphosis of their own...
Transformation, 2011. Mixed-media acrylic on board.
Butterfly is shown perched, wings fully open, on a building known for it's batlike qualities. This piece is about life altering transformation and the integrating the light that emerges after exploring the darkness within. Butterfly medicine is about finding oneself practically liquefied as changes that often defy logic are occurring within. While the outer skin seems the same as it always was to onlookers, inside of the caterpillar, a new skin is growing. There is very little movement while the transformation is taking place. One might feel as though everything around her is moving in slow-motion, while sensitivities are sharpening. When metamorphosis is complete and the golden chrysalis falls away, the adult Butterfly emerges and sits still to allow her delicate wings to harden and the magic to assimilate. Once she feels her strength return, nothing will stop her from experiencing the beautiful flowers and sweet nectar that inspire her precious life.
**************************************
Human beings are really wired to bond around shared adversity. So use that remarkable power to connect and imagine and work together for the greater good, for the community. That’s what we’re all living for. -Daniel Wallach
