the collector

Make your own song
And go for a treasure hunt
You can wear your tiara
And I'll bring your opera gloves





















SOLD

bliss tucked under her wing

A challenge, a switch up, a limitation. All are good companions in the studio. I tried something new and it felt sooooo good. Miniatures. Well, miniatures for me. A lot of recent work has been large scale, and while that itself is always challenging, I wondered how it would feel to go in the opposite direction.

I made 8 panels, six by six inches each. I gave myself a time limit, but opened the fun box. Literally.

There is a box I put little bits into. Snippets of images, words, book pages, lace, interesting string, you get the idea. Mixed media collage. It was so much fun! The opposite of the biggies indeed, even in a mental sense. The large works leave me physically and emotionally spent. I often cry when I'm done. Not in a happy way, but not in a bad way. It's just a way to air out all the pent up thought and intensity that are necessary for this work, at least for me. These tiny ones were light, full of pleasure, smiling through the process, absolutely no friction. In fact, when I found myself getting serious, I walked away to make a cup of tea and forced a giggle.

I love them. My son requested one for his room and it made me grin.


I don't need a reason 
To smile from my heart
Because I have a flower
Tucked underwing 

SOLD

listening with eyes closed

I went for a walk

But couldn't see much

A crown blocked my eyes

It didn't matter

For I could still hear

I didn't need to look up

A song wrapped me up

In a charming blanket

Of sweet, precious sound

And I walked along

With that lovely song

And saw it all with closed eyes

Nikol Haskova Studio

adorned

It didn't matter

Where she stood

She always felt at home

Dressed for occasion

And with her heart warm 

She always got along

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nowhere else to be

Closed eyes

Breath in, breath out

Feeling a shimmer inside

Basking in the warmth

Of knowing deeply

There is absolutely nowhere else to be

SOLD

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provocateur

A curious soul
He stepped off a path
To poke a wee hole

He heard a loud sound
And when he looked in
He made himself all bold

He couldn't resist
For he loved to explore
Now what do you think he found?

pure happiness

It was. Pure happiness. Creating it was sooooooo exciting. I had done a similar painting to this a few years ago. You may remember the Chinese New Year chocolate wrappers I couldn't toss because they were so lovely. I was so into it. My hands shook with anticipation. "Hello beautiful. Let's find you some water to swim in. Also, you're a queen. You deserve more gold. And luxury. Oh, oh, something exotic, perhaps?"

Well. The last one was technically challenging, mostly because I wanted that little drop of 'water'. I did it, but it took very, very, very long to figure out how. That part came easily now, so I had to add a new challenge. What can I say - easy is just too - well, easy. Delicate paper with Chinese letters. Let me get the shimmery, golden letters to 'float' up to the surface of the resin. Will it work? Only one way to find out. In other words, take the red on red painting (which is almost as challenging as white on white, if you know what I mean), incorporate the paper (while keeping it intact), make it look good (design-wise), and then take a complete blind-faith bungee jump from a never-before-explored mountain.

The good news: it worked. The bad news: 'it', and it had become an 'it' by now, had to be photographed. I asked my photographer to give it her best shot, pun intended. "Don't worry about it if it looks like shiit-ake mushrooms", I said. Well, something like that. "I tried many different ways, including almost darkness, and I couldn't do it. Either you'll have glare and reflection, or you'll blur, or have to compromise on the saturation. I get it. Just take this one home for a few days and play." She did, and, considering the resin and number of parallel lines, nailed it better than I thought. In the end, I'm going with my own photo because despite the reflections, I find it to be the best representation of the painting. I can't put my finger on it. She did tell me she'd never take on another one like this. I don't blame her. At this point, I'm not sure I'll make another one like this. Until I do.

Manifesting. "Pure Happiness" is a little vulnerable right now. I want it to cast off all the 'hard work' that is reverberating and only have it feel like 'pure' happiness. You know. The place it came from. In the end, it's not about the struggle it became to complete it. It's about me bursting unabashed, crazy good love and wishes. Also, I adore it. Just so you know.

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