In My Aura
24 x24"
mixed media on cradled panel
© Nicki Ault, 2010
sold
Oh my, this is stressful! But here it is... the project I have been hinting at in recent posts. Please be gentle on me for I am a landscape painter!
I feel very fortunate to be one of 100 international artists participating in a collaboration celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day which is on March 8th. The show is being organized by three women in Ontario and the theme we were asked to respond to is
"International Women Celebrate". Around this date all of the work will come together in Ayr, Ontario for what I imagine to be a dramatic, emotional and uplifting exhibition. This project is also serving as a fundraiser for a Haitian charity focusing on women and children. The cherry on top of it all is that a book is being made! Very exciting!
We were asked to provide a concise narrative about our work, so here is what I submitted...
This piece is an intimate celebration of women from my family history. I have created a blue “aura” containing images of family photos floating around my own self-portrait; the oldest face is that of my great-great-great-grandmother. Blue represents loving kindness, peace and universal compassion which I consider to be feminine traits. While working on my painting, I felt a strong, emotional connection to these women. I reflected on their stories of great love, unimaginable loss, motherhood, emigration, depression, joy, suicide, alcoholism, travel, and academic accomplishment. In fact, their lives have shaped my own. I am proud to be a woman who has experienced the miracle of pregnancy and childbirth and who has the innate ability to nurture and create.
I am so thankful I didn't allow the negative self-talk to scare me away from this opportunity. This exploration of ideas, mediums and concepts has invigorated me and has my mind spinning with possibilities. This piece was created with acrylic, acrylic mediums, collage and oil paint.
I have to give a shout out to Suzanne Berry and Barbara Muir who were gracious enough to generously share information on portrait painting (I emailed them in one of my panic modes). They are both participating in this collaboration and you can see their posts regarding their submissions if you click on these links:
Barbara Miur
