The Girl Who Never Left

Watch the animation.

She lived in a beautiful garden on a tiny planet in a galaxy full of impossibilities, where thoughts and dreams took on lives of their own and wove their way into reality. Her mother had started the garden before she was born; she wanted to show her daughter how to turn her ideas into seeds that could grow and grow. But over time, the garden became so beautiful that the girl never left, not once. The garden became her whole world. It became her cage.

The song in my soul

A tongue drum meditation.

Meteor Shower

And every time her heart broke, it seemed like all the stars in her universe fell from the sky at once. All she could do was watch, over and over and over over. And over. It was beautiful, in a way, because a person's capacity to love isn't meant to be contained in a bottle, however flexible the walls may be. She wanted to stay in that brief moment forever - the one where everything burnt as brightly as it ever had just before the lights went out and all that was left was a billion grains of earth and sand waiting to shine again. And then she learned to live there, too, alone in the darkness, but she'd never let the dust settle. No. She'd breathe deep and let it all out, and she'd dance with abandon and with every breath and step she took, dust would learn to fly again. Baby steps. 

Dream a Dream

ZINE: NATURE & TRAVEL

The Artinistic Zine:

A tribute to the mountains I have loved… And more!

ILLUSTRATION

The Mermaid’s Pain

She was the only one of her kind but friends with everyone near. She knew she’d never find love so she never went anywhere. She stayed on the beach with all those other lonely souls trapped by the tug of war between land and water, and that one spot was her whole wide world. And that’s why you’ve never even heard of her. #veryshortstories #themoralofthestoryis… #mermaids #tobecontinued

Mosaic Collage Series

I began this Mosaic Collage series while creating a series of backsplash tile designs for Waterjet Works, one of the premiere waterjet cutting companies in the country. All these designs are available as mosaic tile backsplashes for your kitchen or bathroom! (Backsplashes are made of tile and custom-colored according to the order.)

ILLUSTRATION

Mama owl in the Haunted Sacred Woods

And she decorated their home with flowers and did the best she could. And in their nests, they wanted for nothing; they didn’t even know what wants were. But they were not safe. She saw the ghosts everywhere. #veryshortstories #seabirdstales #mamaknowsbest #trauma #tobecontinued

Some Owl Love:

Note: This illustration was inspired by my trip to the Hawks Conservancy Trust near London, a wonderful organization that hosts amazing birds of prey shows and other daily events.

See photos from my visit here!

Where the wildflowers Grow

To the Fall:

(I Forgot My Notebook)

You
are all the poems
I forgot
You are the
Ache
Hole
Soul
I need you back
Just to write you down.

Woman in the Wind

The Woman in the Wind, also called the Lady in the Wind and the Angel, is one of the most infamous sandstone structures found in the beautiful Lower Antelope Canyon. The photograph has been manipulated to bring out the surreal nature of other nearby structures, including the Eagle, two tiger heads and a man. Photograph and poem by Maria Sprow / Artinistic.

Want to see more from Antelope Canyon? Check out my Antelope Canyon/Arizona road trip gallery!

I am:
Do not
love the woman.
I am not the woman
In the wind.
I am the wind
In the woman.
Love the wind

Alcohol Ink Art Series

ZINE: CREATIVITY

Resolving to Make
2019 Your Most
Creative Year Yet

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish in 2019. There are a lot of projects I’m working on and excited about, that I have big plans for — though they are all fluid. The projects can each adapt and evolve, they can breathe and become something and I might not know exactly what that is going to be. I’m okay with that. What really matters to me, I realized, is that I actually take advantage of this moment of creative freedom I’m having, this flow I’m in — and not let it go to waste. After feeling so stuck for so long in 2018 (the news cycle really gets to me), I want 2019 to be my most creative year yet. That’s my goal, and all other goals — the normal exercise goals and the organizational goals — rotate around it.

Creativity is like a muscle or an instinct — it needs to work out. It needs to stretch and flex. It needs to be nourished. It needs practice before it can be good. It needs you to survive as much as you need it. I believe setting aside time every day to nurture your creativity is as important as setting aside time each day to sleep, to eat, and to exercise (maybe even more important, if my actual sleeping and eating schedule is any indication). There are huge benefits to increasing one’s creative time — increased production at work, increased problem solving skills and resourcefulness, increased connections with others, having a sense of accomplishment, joy and escapism, improved willingness to experiment, branch out and learn new skills, a desire to have a more open mind and see the world through many lenses. Creative time and thought helps a person discover who they are, who they want to be and where they are going. Creativity is yoga for the brain.

And the thing is, making time for creativity isn’t painful — or at least, it shouldn’t be. You don’t have to be an artist to flex your creative muscles — (though you could always become an artist, with practice.) There are so many ways to add creativity into your life and into your schedule. Here are 7 ways you can resolve to exercise your creative muscles in 2019. (*They don’t have to be reserved for just one day a week.)

CREATIVITY QUOTE OF THE MONTH: DECEMBER

Want to learn more about Joseph Haydn? Listen to some of his work!

Joseph Haydn on Wikipedia

Mayfield Park Peacocks

Why Does The Lone Bird Fly?

Why does a bird fly alone? I think there’s an inherent loneliness to creativity, or that there can be. Or maybe there’s just an inherent loneliness to living today. So many of us are suffering from loneliness that the government has declared it an epidemic. But sometimes you have to travel a road a lone. Sometimes you have to branch out into the unknown. Sometimes you’ve got to hide from the world to exist in it. Don't be afraid to go it alone - just know your flock is out there, and by going, you will find it.

Thoughts and Prayers

Starry Stormy night

Out camping with a large group of friends during a small music festival that we go to every year, I was wandering the campgrounds all alone. I like to wander alone; the more I wander the more my thoughts travel. I noticed the stars shining, so bright, while a storm slowly rolled in. I watched them as they disappeared.

Art Transforms

TRA
NSFO
RMA
TION
TRANSFO
RMATION
TRANSFORM
A NATION
ART
TRANS
FORMS
ARTT
RANS
FORM
SANA
TION

A beautifully Rising Fog

Sacred stones

The Lone Tree

Quarantine.

It’s not that bad here.
I could get used to it.
It’s home now.
I like it.
The grass keeps me
company.