inspired by our upcoming trip to mexico i was cutting and gluing late last night. rusting and melting probably when i really should be packing. now i am posting when i definitely should be packing! here is my most recent collage of a very special girl named zoe. the wax is still settling but i am quite pleased.

20×24 beeswax collage panel
paper, paint, lace, dollhouse pieces and lots of little milagros that i collected on my last trip to mexico. am excited to find new treasures and inspiration this week. to see more photos from my session with zoe go here. and i love this square of the two of us. to see more on my collages please visit my website.

last night i read a few paragraphs that really resonated with me and i thought i would share. i was enjoying my new book titled " a certain alchemy" photographs by keith Carter. his wife patricia wrote the afterword and since i always look at art books backwards this is where i began.

"i don't know what constitutes a creative life for other people. one night in mexico we were at dinner with a diverse group of friends-there was a chef, a writer, a musician, a scientist and a couple photographers. the talk, fueled by good food and ample wine, was about the creative process-how to catch that spark that ignites the imagination. each person had a different take, but the musician capped the conversation when she said "i think you just get run over by a sugar truck".

"earlier i had had a conversation with our scientist friend, who spends his days doing research which has the potential to benefit us all. he is married to a photographer, and was talking about the difference between his work and hers. he said his own work would get done, with or without him.. "what I am looking for is there to be discovered, and if i don't find it, one of my colleagues will." "but an artist," he said, "if an artist doesn't do their work, then that work never gets done."

-patricia carter

i  must have read that five times last night before turning the bedside table light off with my waxy fingertips. feeling content knowing i had done my work. so the rest of you, please go make your art because no one can do it for you. we are off tomorrow with lots of work to do in mexico.

adios!