A client recently reached out to me, and requested for me to create a custom piece for her mother, who is currently battling stage 4 lung cancer (please send prayers and love upon reading this).
The client told me that her mother’s favorite colors were green, yellow/gold, and burgundy, and requested that the “theme” of the piece be centered around courage, as well as her mother’s love of nature.
From here, I went into meditation and received images, symbols and impressions from the soul of the woman whom this painting was going to.
As I was communing with her in meditation, she showed me an image of the painting, bursting with beautiful otherworldly greens, golds and yellows, with vibrant garden and forest imagery. It had an ancient Celtic/Pagan type of energy, while feeling celestial at the same time.
Along with the vision, she communicated through feeling, and she sent me wave after wave of emotion. I felt the depth of this woman’s connection to the earth, along with an innocence, and a tenderness in my heart. I could feel that nature was this woman’s church. No matter what was happening in her life, I could feel her returning, time and time again, to her love of nature, where she felt the most connected to herself.
I felt a deep love and wisdom from her, and an intuitive knowledge of her union with all of life. I saw her in a garden, with flowers blooming all around her, with insects buzzing, and with the sun shining upon her face. And I felt a deep, unshakable peace within her.
As I was communing with her soul, she told me that her connection to nature was one of the most important and meaningful aspects of her life, and to meditate upon this as I painted.
I left my mediation, literally in tears, as I basked in the deep and sacred bond that this woman had with the earth. It was as if she gave me a transmission of her love, so I could carry it with me into the creation of her piece. This love was so deep, that it felt inexpressible in human language, and yet I was graced with the opportunity to translate this love into art.
Then the title “Flowers Bloom From Your Footsteps” came to me right after my meditation, to reflect the nurturing quality of this woman – that she may know that wherever she walks, the world is left more beautiful from her presence.
The green being in the center of the piece represents this woman’s soul. Her arms are triumphantly outstretched, depicting strength and courage, while the buds and branches stemming from her arms symbolize vitality, new life, and her connection with all of Creation.
The blue tree with golden leaves, stemming from her halo, represents her deep spiritual connection with the earth, and honors the sacedness that this connection holds in her life.
The golden beings on either side of her represent her guides and angels that walk with her – that give her inspiration, support, and love, and that speak to her in those quiet, still moments.
The smaller arcs on the right and the left, contain blue beings praising a tree. The trees have colors between their branches, representing stained glass. This symbolizes the natural world as a holy cathedral – a sacred space where she prays, gives thanks, and connects with the Creator.
In the purple panels beneath them, we see beings with golden angels connected to their heads. They represent her ability to see and understand the challenges of life from a higher perspective, that she may transmute adversity into strength and higher wisdom.
The large tree at the center bottom is depicted in gold, with blue leaves – colors of royalty. This symbolizes the deep and primordial wisdom encoded within the natural world. In other words, it symbolizes nature as a source of higher knowledge.
At the bottom of the piece, we see a row of golden beings holding hands – this symbolizes the underlying unity that sustains all of Creation.
From this hieroglyphic language bubbling up from my subconscious, blended with the language of color, I created this piece to symbolize the unique attributes of this woman’s soul. To honor her, and the sacredness of her journey. That she may see her own Divinity reflected through this art. And that she may remember the innate holiness of her being, as well as her connection to the earth, and to Great Spirit.
It is my highest honor, to create works of art to symbolize one’s sacredness.
As I spend hours painting, and focusing on the holiness of another, I come to know my own sacredness more intimately. I become a little more healed, a little more whole, through honoring the wholeness of another.
And I believe on the deepest level, that this is how reality actually works – what we focus on in another, is what we call forth from within ourselves.