Hello! And welcome back! This morning I have some time while the sun rises and the birds chirp their messages across the meadows to catch up and mellow out. It's always nice for me to start the day watching the sun rise and the mountains around me come to life. It sets me up for a good day, and I'm always up for a good day.
Since Adrift Again has been slowly making its way out in public, I have been asked many times about my inspirations and meanings behind my art. I happen to love art, of any kind, that has a bit of symbolism in it, maybe something from the creator's heart that makes that particular piece have a life of its own. When I started drawing it was natural for me to incorporate bits and pieces of my inspiration and life into my canvas and most of my Skelly's & Skella's have a tiny back story that is part of their foundation.
One of my favorite ways to get inspired, is of course, listening to my playlist. I have all sorts of genre's mixed up and mashed together, but listening to it never gets old. Sometimes, not all of the times, I hear my favorite songs in colors . . . . isn't that weird? Explosive colors go through my mind in teals, reds, oranges . . . beautiful colors that when I started drawing I just had to try to re-create what I saw in my minds eye.
The Creation of "The S. S. Mimosa"
Well, one of my most favorite songs is Southern Cross, by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and I hum it pretty regularly. And, since I love looking at the stars (really, who doesn't??), it was pretty natural for me take the colors I see when I hear "Southern Cross" and let my imagination fly through the night.
The neat thing about the song is that there really is a constellation known as "The Southern Cross". Well, I'm not sure about the "The" but for the sake of this entry I'm referring to it by "The Southern Cross". I've known about this constellation since I've been a young girl sailing around Catalina and the Channel Islands in Southern California and I had always wanted to see it for myself. In 2013, I flew down to Brazil, took a crazy boat trip down the Amazon, and was able to see The Southern Cross. The trip was crazy, lots of adventures, however; seeing The Southern Cross nightly during that week is something I re-visit in my memories constantly. I honestly don't think seeing it only once in my life time will suffice . . . . only time will tell if I get a chance to drift down that way again.
So I know a tiny, little bit about this constellation and the one thing I know is that one of the stars, the one which would be around 11:00 within the constellation, is called "Mimosa"!!!! How perfect is that? So while sketching out the colors I see when I hear the song, while Skelly is drifting under The Southern Cross, it was so natural and logical to me to have Skelly's crabby crew celebrating the evening with mimosa's! For those of you who don't know, a mimosa is typically a morning drink of champagne and orange juice. Now, I don't drink myself, I'm more of a hot chocolate type of girl, but mimosa's certainly look festive with Sunday morning brunches!
That is why Skelly's crabby crew is filling up their champagne flutes with mimosa's from their cask and why Skelly's boat drifting about under "The Southern Cross" is named "The S. S. Mimosa"!
But wait, there's more!! You may ask me, "Hey Doreen, why is Skelly holding his heart which is tied to an anchor with a silver chain?" Well, I'll tell you! Buried in the song is a verse which fills me with such love for my husband and family, it really sums up, for me, how grounded I am because of the overwhelming love I have and receive from them. My love is tied to my family, like it's tied to an anchor with a silver chain.
Now you have the story behind "The S. S. Mimosa". I can only hope for you that you have such a love in your life that grounds you, that is your anchor, because life has a funny way of cutting you loose when you least expect it and you can become adrift without a moments notice. I also hope for you, that today, you search for the song "Southern Cross" and be-bop and hum your way through your day and that you get as much joy as I do from this classic song.
Well, I need to leave my comfy chair and get my day started. I hear the chickens & ducks down at the coop complaining because they are not out in the sunshine yet. So, remember, until next time, please be kinder than necessary to all of those around you and especially be kind to yourself.
Take care,
dz