Petroglyphs & Pictorgraphs

Boy, autumn gives me so much energy and I find it to be such a pleasure to work outdoors which means that my second adirondack chair is coming along nicely.  All the base layers of pattern and colour have been applied and now it's time for the next stage of the design process.  I haven't totally decided on the images this time, though I know it will include tipis and feathers and animals, beyond that I'm uncertain.

As I've been looking at a lot of photos taken at Writing on Stone Provincial Park and learning more about petroglyphs and pictographs, I've begun to see a greater connection between the people that were here so long ago and me.  Whenever I scratch into paint it feels like the original petroglyphs, scratching or engraving symbols and images into stone, and when I use colour to add pattern, it's reminiscent of the pictographs, drawings applied with stains made from minerals and fruit.

I remember the first time I saw pictographs when I was a girl up north.  I couldn't get those beautiful images out of my mind and felt as though I knew what they were trying to say.  I like that sense of connection to those that lived on this land for hundreds of years.  I love the story-telling in their images and want to continue that form of communication however I can, to honour it in a new way.

My family have all gathered and one of my oldest and dearest friends will be arriving this evening...it feels like Christmas!  I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.