Installation and Collage!

 Conflict

Collage

25" x 18"

With this collage I wanted to show more of the harsh, clashing side of my tornado experience with the cold and hot colors together.  One could see this piece in a few different ways, maybe the hot and cold air hitting each other that creates storms.  Or maybe the emotional side, all the different emotions that it caused colliding inside each person it affected.  I know I have mixed emotions about the tornado, it was awful and tragic yes, but for me a lot of good things and personal growth came out of it.  Those kinds of things are what made me create this collage :-)

After the Storm

Installation

8' x 4' x 4'

 Detail

Detail

This was my first installation piece, and I am crazy excited about it!  I have never attempted anything like this before, and I'm so glad I did.  It took about three months of working on it every spare moment I had to create it, but it's finally done!  With this piece I wanted to show the hopeful side of the experience.  The phoenix represents rebirth, and tornado is its nest, or where it came from.  And I chose to make the phoenix a baby;  I wanted to show the part after the storm (comparing the storm to the adult phoenix bursting into flames) where we are rebuilding and starting over (the baby being reborn of the ashes).  The blue dripped paint for the walls could be seen as the tears that were shed, or as the rain after the storm had passed.  I wanted the young bird to be a symbol of hope for the rebuilding.  And I hope that anyone who has gone through anything like this can find hope in their situation too. Have faith!