Sunday, September 12, 2010

Amy Swagman

SEA LIFE
Thinking about my little fish swimming in the sea. With the vast, calming, rolling presence of the sea there are so many analogies to birth.

BUDDHIST "PRECIOUS HUMAN BIRTH" STORY

In Buddhism they have a story for their perception of “precious human birth.” Because being born a human being gives you the ability to do so much for your karma (both good and bad) it is seen as a precious opportunity to help your fellow man and possibly even attain enlightenment.

The story goes, imagine there is a turtle adrift at sea that only surfaces every 100 years. Now imagine there is a small ring in this vast sea. It is more likely for the turtle to accidentally poke its head through that ring than to be born a human being. I also incorporated vajras along the outside to signify wisdom and compassion (all important things to learn in this life) and lotus’. The lotus represents your Buddha nature. It rises from the mucky water and blooms pristine, reminding you that no matter what you inner nature, inner good, is always untarnished and that even people you have difficulty with have this good at their core.

Treasure the good work you can do with your life!


TREE OF LIFE

Many midwives think that the placenta looks like a tree of life. It’s interesting to think that every person on the face of the earth has been inside a mother, shared a placenta. I’ve been worried about my anemia lately and there’s something about how strong and vigorous the placenta is that appeals to me. The fact that a woman’s body is capable of growing an entire organ from scratch that nourishes another life and consists of so many nutrients, especially iron, is amazing to me!


You can find Amy's bio here: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12b04424da76bc1b&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D118ea3b94a%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12b04424da76bc1b%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_gdzf0j3z0%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQvViBJeFSkpNbjp8zwC846Xfd_jA&pli=1

As well as more of her art here: http://themandalajourney.com/

You can also find her on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/mandalajourney

Monday, December 14, 2009

Michael and Paola Dias

Water Dripping












Pregnant Earth












Fire












Embers



























Michael and Paula Dias have started their own company centered around being able to creatively capture your own pregnancy.

"This all started once my wife and I found out we were pregnant. Her belly started to show a bit so we started drawing – trying to capture the moment and wanting to track how her belly grew and and changed over time. After we saw what beautiful forms were emerging, we wanted to share our discovery with every pregnant couple."

You can find their company at www.artbellies.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Toni Rakestraw

SLEEPING BOY



A pencil portrait of that precious moment when baby drifts off to dreamland after filling up on milk. The look of contentment always touched my heart.










LOVE


This came into being when I knew I wanted to create something special, but I wasn't sure just what it would be. I have seen many photos of this type, with the mother's hands forming a heart over the growing baby and that morning it seemed just perfect. I know that in all of my pregnancies, the feeling of baby moving and growing was treasured. I miss it now. This image seemed to reflect all that I felt when carrying my babies safely within. This is painted in acrylic on watercolor paper and was finished in about two hours.







Toni Rakestraw has been drawing most of her life, but didn't start taking it seriously until 2005. She prefers working with graphite or acrylic at this time, but loves to dabble with other mediums and styles when she has time. Her inspiration are her eight wonderful children, who remind her every day of how they changed her life for the better. Toni is a homebirth advocate and she and her husband run Organic Birth (http://organic-birth.com), both the website and the magazine. She writes for a living, but is trying to devote more time to her art. Commissions are accepted occasionally.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Emily Weaver Brown





















Emily Weaver Brown is a professional photographer serving Seattle and the greater Eastside.
Emily specializes in newborn, baby, child and maternity portraiture. Her fresh and contemporary
style captures the distinct personalities of her subjects. Emily works on location and at her
Bothell WA studio.
You can find her online at http://www.emilyweaverbrownphoto.com/.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Tara Whitney












You can find more of Tara's photos at http://www.tarawhitney.com/

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Lori Nawyn

Moment in Time
When my children were babies I was very young, life itself seemed to caress eternity. Tomorrows were more than a breath away and each day blossomed with promise too often taken for granted. I never imagined how quickly little hands could grow, first playing pat-a-cake, then painting first-grade masterpieces, molding clay for high school sculptures, then, all too, soon waving goodbye to depart for lives of their own.

When my granddaughter, Abbie, was born I eagerly signed on for an opportunity to care for her. Knowing well how time transformed children , I wanted to freeze one moment of her babyness to hold in my heart forever.




Lori Nawyn is an author/artist who blogs about life at www.heartsandhands.blogspot.com.

Kelly Klem


This photo was literally taken as she was born with umbilical cord still intact (placenta not yet delivered).
I love this photo because: what mother does not just totally cherish this special moment when you see your child for the very first time.







My adornable (no typo) children
inspire nearly all of my creations. I enjoy making things that are as practical as they are beautiful. At 47 I'm done having babies but I'm not done making beautiful children! My k
ids are 16, 12 and 3 (oops!). I have designed numerous knit/crochet patterns for Lion Brand Yarn Company, Caron International, been featured in Crafts and Crochet World magazines. I have sewn professionally for bridal and home decor. You can find some of Kelly's creations athttp://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=95259. She's got some cute stuff for babies and infants also.