The thinning of the veil between our world and the spirit world. Paintings and performances from the past three Halloweens.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. There's so much rich symbolism to explore. The roots of Halloween lie in Samhain (pronounced Sah-win), the ancient Celtic festival that marked the division of summer and winter. I'm Celtic, so I get really excited about this stuff. During Samhain, the veil between this physical realm and the spirit world is at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. The Celts believed that night came before day, as we come from the darkness of the womb and emerge into the light of life.
This Halloween I'll be at Fire Flies Forest: Afterlife in Homestead, FL to exhibit a few pieces with the Ouroboros Collective. This festival used to be called Samhain, but they recently rebranded it to include many other beautiful traditions from cultures all around the world! Hope to meet you there!
Samhain marks the end of summer and a bountiful harvest season, and ushers in the darkness and mystery of a new year. Ancestors are honored and invited home. People disguised themselves to blend in with the spirits crossing into this world. This helped avoid any spirits that may be looking to do harm. Each household's fire was extinguished and started again from a communal bonfire.
This fire festival has evolved over time. Many Celtic and pagan traditions like this one were reframed with a Christian narrative to promote the spread of Christianity. It became All Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day on November 1, and eventually was shortened to Halloween. Keep reading for highlights of Halloweens past. It's been a magical time honoring the great mystery!
2022
Art Nunz: Ancestral Transmission
Tallahassee, FL
Art Nunz... Stopping traffic and concerning the general public since 2013 💀
I've been a member of the Art Nunz collective for almost 10 years. This prayer-formance and exhibition explored cycles of life and death, our relationship to ancestors, and our own mortality. Original artwork by the Nunz was exhibited at 621 Gallery for the month of October.
Full blog post and more photos: Art Nunz: Ancestral Transmission
Suwannee Hulaween
Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Live Oak, FL
I was secretly pregnant for this festival, which brought its own challenges and blessings. I had an amazing time and was so happy to be included. Everything feels right when I’m painting at festivals. 😌 Even the body-aching workloads and emotional breakdowns feel purposeful 😂 I’m a better artist and a better person because of these events. I’m more me, more grateful, more present. I’m more aware of how crazy fortunate we all are.
Daemon
/ˈdēm(ə)n/
noun
(in ancient Greek belief) a divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans.
archaic spelling of demon.
I learned so much painting this mural. It was the most spray painting I'd ever done, and the time crunch of 3 days before the festival started forced me to get creative with my technique. It's a bit different from my other works. I really like the illustrative quality of the white lines. So fun! I made a limited run of 5 wooden prints in the same triangle shape, measuring 10 inches each side.
2021
Suwannee Hulaween
Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Live Oak, FL
“You are the Medicine”
8 x 12 ft
Acrylic, aerosol, airbrush on wood
✨ You can go to every healer, take every trip, try every drug, apply every bit of outide advice… but what’s in your soul, what you bring to this experience, YOU are the medicine. Everything you’re searching for has always been inside you.
Metallic paper prints 11 x 17 inches
Limited edition out of 50
My first time attending and painting at Hulaween was a dream come true. My first festival was Purple Hatters Ball at Suwannee in 2014. I saw an artist live painting and thought, “I want to do that… could I do that?”
Since then I’ve been painting at every festival I can get into, waiting for the chance to do it at Suwannee. Super grateful to the Mural Maze Collective for the space to work with my partner Ocean on our first collaborative mural. The feedback and love we received from everyone felt so good. Thank you for being part of this dream. None of it would be possible without you!
Día de los Panchos
Los Panchos Taco & Tequila Bar, Lake Worth, FL
I had just moved back to Florida when I got this gig. It was my biggest mural yet! I painted this Day of the Dead themed mural with my friend Giovanna Alvarez. We had a lot of fun getting to know each other through this process, and learned so much about mural work. The restaurant this was for as since closed, but as of today the painting lives on.
Frida Floreciendo en la Inmortalidad
(Frida Blooming in Immortality)
🌸 Frida Floreciendo en la Inmortalidad (Frida Blooming in Immortality) 🔥
48 x 48 in.
Acrylic on canvas
We followed up the Panchos mural with a collaborative painting of Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo created raw, honest, passionate paintings that paved the way for other female artists to do the same. What will your legacy be? How will your work in this life inspire future generations and heal the past?
The original painting is available!
If you're interested, use the contact form to get in touch with me.
If we made prints of Frida, would you buy one?
0%Yes! Love this painting
0%Nah, not my style
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