I have been very touched by the e-mails and blog shares since my posts about creative inspiration and the direction my artwork was taking since learning of the death of a friend's husband. Shannan Teubner's loss and grief sent me to another place when creating this piece and she has been in my thoughts constantly for the last several days. 

I met her in person in December, in San Antonio and just a week ago; laughed along as I read her status on Facebook, of her 'bringing the kitchen sink' to a scrapbook crop last weekend.  Who knew that things would be so different a week later…

So when she quoted the lyrics from "The Rose" – I knew what I wanted to make.

Just remember, in the winter
far beneath the bitter snow
lies the seed that with the sun's love,
in the spring, becomes the rose…

While I intended to start with a white base, I have had this paper, from Rouge de Garance's Cupidon collection (which I found today on the Frantic Stamper website – linked) for several years.  Two pieces in fact.  And it has sat there in the 'want to use it but don't know for what' tote bag for a while.  Take a look:

This picture pretty much shows what I've seen when I looked at it for the past ??? years.  Squint.  You cannot see the rose.  But upon looking closer – you will see the outlines create a scene of a rose and a small fairy perched on a bud.  I couldn't believe the serendipity of that find.  How perfect. And so I made this:

I colored the Rose with my Copic Markers.  I had my traveling case with me, so while limited in choices – I still like the end result.  I used YG11/YG13/YG17 and a little bit of BG93 for shading on the leaves.  I used RV02/RV23/RV14 with RV32 for shading for the rose.  And I used BV000/BV23/BV04 for the fairy's dress.  Not all scrapbook papers will blend this nicely.  I was very happy with this one. 

When I got home, I embossed the Tattered Romance heart with Queen's Gold EP from Ranger.  It frames the delicate fairy on the branch.  My sheltering heart.

I then sprayed a few colors of Glimmer Mist from the edges with the lightest color feathered in and the darker color sprayed at an angle at the edge.  Vintage Pink/Viva Pink, Fall Breeze/Caribbbean Blue, Sweet Clover/Olive Vine.

I journaled in these lyrics from The Rose, using a Black Spica Pen, starting with:

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winterfar beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the rose

I hope that Shannan will begin to feel like less like the seed and more like the rose in the weeks and months to come.  I know I will have a sheltering heart over her and her two boys from now on.

Btw, if you didn't see her comment, Lynne Phelps also shared a piece about mourning the loss of her mother.  It's beautiful in so many ways.

And now for a bit of a more upbeat tone, before I go join the kidoodles sledding out on the driveway:

I was honored to be invited as a Guest Artist on the Hero Arts blog today by another friend I met in San Antonio, Lisa Spangler.

http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/2010/02/12/a-special-guest-sally-lynn-macdonald/

And now I'm going to go outside, enjoy the sunshine and laughter of kidoodles.

Have a great day.