This is inspired art based on the experience of Tiger Lily Art Studio’s first annual trip to Taos, New Mexico.        

The symbolism in this painting defines two specific spiritual journeys. One is the most obvious, that being a Christian metaphor of Christ’s death and resurrection. The gifts are represented by the primitive figures underground and the bird motifs above ground. Crosses on the mountain symbolize the crucifixion. The gifts were set free by Christ’s death and the sun has leaves instead of rays to symbolize the growth received by Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

The second is my interpretation of my spiritual journey with my studio mates.  The seven of us traveled for the sole purpose of producing a show based on our experience in our first travel together. We spent a week together and grew as women and artists.

The symbolism also identifies each of the seven Tiger Lily artists. I used Huichol Indian motifs and style which I first encountered in Taos. The primitive figures are our ideas and selves before the trip and the birds represent our renewed selves after a week together because of the experience. The crosses on the mountains are used in the Southwest to identify graves and represent the journey to New Mexico, our personal joy and struggle to carve out time away from our families and lives to our passion, art.

Although the studio had been in existence for 18 years; this was my first year as a partner with this group of women. I was close friends and colleagues with some of these women for 20 plus years and a few were new partners.

We left Vero Beach as a loosely connected group and over a week’s time developed bonds and experiences that set each one of us free.  Insight, nurturance, challenge, confrontation, exploration, honesty, and courage were experienced in order to become better artists and more importantly better human beings.
With seven perspectives we presented our show and shared this with our community to enjoy collective creativity from an individual basis. I went out of my box and painted.