This is the third painting in my Art Nouveau bird series and it has many layers of meaning and history for me. So, as I combine my loves, here's a more in-depth look at the meaning behind this special painting. My artistic influences for this work were both “Egypto” & Art Nouveau. In researching the phoenix, there are many cultural influences for this mythological bird rising from the ash through the ages. The oldest origin seems to be from Egypt and the image of a great heron – the Bennu (Ben Ben) bird that came from Heliopolis (which also may have roots to one of the most amazing and ancient megalithic archeological sites on earth – Baalbek, in Lebanon.) The hieroglyphics represent fire (to the right of the bird) and vertically mirrored on both sides mean “Wake Becomes Rise.”

The tail feathers represent the ribbon of consciousness that's passed on. I’ve always been fascinated by the myth of the phoenix and many times, I’ve visualized that rebirth and newness as the phoenix in my own life-chapters. The idea of rising from the ash, and reawakening in a new way has brought me peace during turbulent times and has always helped me find that “permission slip” of strength to begin again. I painted this painting because I feel that so many people can connect with shedding the old and starting again in many forms within their own lives. For me, it’s about being brave enough to change and step out of that old comfortable place, to recreate from within.