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Stories
The Path Through
by Arella Tomlinson
As she looked back on her path, it erupted into a land.
Making roads, making rivers around the mountains. Touching the sea.
She remembered the love that had surrounded her the whole time.
She had never been alone.
Now she saw.
Wrapped. Floating over the land,
Over the mountains,
Over the waves,
It is her Rebirth.
She is cared for and brought back to a higher place. .
DESERT STAR
By Arella Tomlinson
Honored woman of the Cahuilla
Of the Coachella Valley…
We admire you from afar, and some closer.
Your light shines over all here, as an ancestor.
Your valley,
Your mountains that you nourish, they
Blow kisses for the sea
And warm the hearts
Of the cold.
Origin Valley, Tree of Life
By Arella Tomlinson
The Owens River Valley in California, shown on the canvas map I painted on, is called by the indigenous Paiute and Shoshone peoples created there, Payahüünadü, “The Land of Flowing Water”. This piece was inspired by the concepts of the ancients, in both humans and trees. The tree featured is a 5000 year old Bristlecone Pine which lives in the area. I was also inspired by ideas of water, where the hidden figure could represent the melting glacier bringing water to the river, and bringing life and restoration to the valley. The mountain on the left represents Big Pine Mountain, who's glaciers melt and feed the Big Pine Lakes with water that appears a remarkable aqua color. And this used to be the case with the Owens Lake on the left. So this piece imagines this valley as it once was...full of flowing water.
I created this piece 8 years after my experience with cancer and it reflects my interest in themes of restoration and longevity.
PETAL
By Arella Tomlinson
A routine self-screening was slightly askew,
But when I called it in, I wasn’t expecting this.
This.
To be called and told that I have it,
To be called out to join
One in eight American women. I thought,
Can I step back in line and wake up And this never will have happened?
And this the same day that my baby crawled for the first time.)
Oh, soft petal…
Its spring
Yet I fear that You, precious new (& so close to my heart)
Will be plucked away.
I feel picked
To walk the plank
As if scaffolds of cold steel are rising up around me
Squeezing me onto a grid
Editing Me out
Filtering fleshiness to replace with fear.
It feels like
The Lump
Is in my throat.
If only I could swallow it back down.
OLD WIND
By Arella Tomlinson
Near the eye
It moves slowly
her cloak a sanctuary from the clash -
Land meets Sea.
Where verdant outposts push west
Meanwhile the Pacific and her fluid memories
Flare blue, and weave back valiantly, riding the
Ways of the ancients.
TO THE FULLNESS
By Arella Tomlinson
This sculptural painting on a map of the Middle East, evokes a story of a woman on a psychological and spiritual journey. She has reached and abundant 'place' in her life where the diverse aspects of her self form a harmonious rainbow of woven organic strands. Her hair is represented by the highly-textured mountains of Iran and Turkey, her cheeks by Irw and Saudi Arabia...Israel Palestine and Lebanon her throat, and Syria a ripe fig. In this vision, all these people groups are aspects of her that have found peace with one another and form a beautiful and fascinating whole.
IN THE STREAM
By Arella Tomlinson
You've been preparing for such a time as this.
Following the path. Now it's time.
To jump into the flow of the emerald water, letting go.
This opening feels familiar. You'll float
Until you reach your homeland.
Inspired by the antique map showing the highways and streams in the hills of LA and part of the San Gabriels, I envisioned a figure who, like a trout swimming upstream to her birthplace, abandons herself to her destiny. I painted this piece right before I became a full-time professional artist.
RISE
By Arella Tomlinson
Wrapped. Floating over the land,
Over the mountains,
Over the waves,
It is her Rebirth.
She is painted on a map of Death Valley to symbolize resurrection, renewal, rebirth.
MEASURE OF THE WATERS
By Arella Tomlinson
About the needed water of life/living water that is provided abundantly, in my belief and experience by our Creator. Needed by our dry wilderness and even our hearts which get dry. Painted atop a relief map of the Colorado front range....the dry land has turned into a sea! So its about the prayer that we would share and absorb the water.
Isaiah 40:12 "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?"
MIGHTY PEACE
By Arella Tomlinson
This image of the cuddling lions was inspired by my Father and the experience of growing up enjoying, whenever I would see him, his physical presence, care, and leadership.
