"The Rise Above"

Well, 2020 has not gotten any better for me... and for MANY of us. I hope that everyone is practicing physical distancing during these trying times. I get angry at the folks who are not practicing safe/healthy behaviors, as they are putting many people at risk. Please, let's ALL help one another by being safe.
During my efforts at self-quarantine, I have gotten into a comfortable routine. I get up early and spend some time (too much time?) on social media including Facebook (and the Scrabble app), e-mail, and text messaging. Then I typically go for a long walk in the neighborhood, being careful to practice physical distancing. Then it's shower lunch and work, as I try to teach 5 college classes on-line. If you are interested in seeing some of my efforts, I have videos of my statistics class on YouTube (search under SPECHT PSY211). In the evening, I have a beer or two, and then head down to my "studio" (the creative cave in my basement). I was not going down too much earlier this year, because I was depressed and uninspired. Once I "forced" myself to do it, I realized how much of a sanctuary the space is for me (external space, as well as inner space). As most of you know, experiencing "flow" is very much a form of "escapism". It's comforting to be able to find that space.
So this past week, I worked on a piece that "came together" in a bit of an unexpected way... but at another level, this is how my creative process works.

I was intrigued by this element because of its symmetry and hint of Art Deco style. This became a, in a way, a potential "seed" for a new piece. I would spend some time placing this element with other elements to try to see what might "work". Here is another "seed" element that grabbed my attention...

It is a very colorful succulent-type plant photo that was part of a calendar. Once I placed the other piece on this succulent element, it struck me as something to pursue. With the addition of an element that I had had floating around my studio for months, things really started to "gel":

The element on the bottom right was from a book entitled "Steam" from 1891. Beautiful piece with which to create perspective! I knew that element was from this book... but I didn't know where the book was located in my crazy disorganized mess of a studio. I was curious about whether, in that same book, there would be an element that I could use for the bottom, left portion of the composition.

One evening this week, I "happened" across the book again, as soon as I started to look for it. I actually took that as a good "sign" that this composition was "meant to be". AND, as luck would have it, there was another etching in the book that featured a row of furnaced receding from left to right!

Now I was getting really excited. BTW, the chalice/vase in the center was taken from The Art Journal from the late 1870s. It needed lots of micro-cutting. And micro-cutting is something that I find nerve-wracking and soothing, at the same time... if that makes ANY sense.

Once my micro-cutting was done, I painted the edges of all the elements and worked on precise placements before I finalized the piece. What you should notice in. this finished piece is the reversal of the background succulent element. I think this element could have worked either way; but I decided to do it the way you see in the finished composition, partly because I made the succulent element work in a very integral way with the chalice. Notice that it looks like it is overflowing from the chalice. This effect required no cutting. Rather, it was accomplished by careful placement of the background element. So, here is the finished piece; entitled "The Rise Above".