So, a lot has happened since I last published something on this blog a year ago (a whole year?!). Ironically, though, we’re still having a late winter.

After my miscarriage in late 2012, my husband and I conceived again, and I delivered a beautiful and healthy baby girl in January 2014. I completed enough paintings to fill the gallery shows I had committed to for this Spring. My work is currently hanging in the ALFA Gallery in the lobby of the Shell Theatre here in Fort Saskatchewan, and will hang in the Gallery at Milner in Edmonton next month (watch for details!). I have signed contracts for some new commissions to be completed by mid-June.

It seems life doesn’t slow down, even when recovering after having a second child. I seem busy all the time and I feel like I have no downtime. My patience with my children has eroded, and I find that spiritual life is suffering as well.

So I’ve taken it upon myself to take some time every day to draw. Drawing has never been a strong suit, and neither has keeping a sketchbook on a regular basis. But right now, while drinking my morning coffee after breakfast, while my daughter naps and my son colours alongside (or catches up with The Cat in the Hat) I draw a mandala. They are not large, and take only enough time for me to get centered and properly focused on God, so influencing the rest of my day.

It’s no secret that I enjoy drawing and painting circles. I spent a whole year during school exploring the shape. I also spent much time researching Spirituality and Art. It continues to interest me. Historically, circles are an important shape in many religions, Christianity included.

So in the mornings, I combine my love of sacred geometry with my meditations, and I draw. I hope to do this almost daily, for as long as it produces quality time for meditation. I also hope it will begin to inform my greater artistic practice as I literally slow down to produce these artworks.