Sincerely Danielle Shunk, a Colorado Springs shop at 2105 Templeton Gap Rd, is a portal into the magical realm of texture, color, and imagination. Specializing in hand-painted furniture, but chock-full of hand-made items of every kind, SDS overflows with inspiration for the creative soul. If you live in the area, stop in and find yourself transported. I was thrilled when…Read more Originals Available in Colorado Springs
Art
Elijah’s Ravens
Elijah's Ravens is one of those paintings that flows from a place of deep sorrow and unyielding hope, one of those creative processes expressing inaccessible-by-words movements of the spirit. The closest I can come to verbalization of what this painting means is to borrow words from a powerful little book I've been reading lately, Reversed Thunder, by one…Read more Elijah’s Ravens
Dreaming of Gardens
Amani ya Juu (Swahili for "peace from above"): an enchanted garden engulfing my senses in tangible peace, healing my soul. Birds sing as vibrant green dance with breezes; and hope sprouts as surely as beautiful textiles leap from skillful hands. Amana Ya Juu, neslted in a Nairobi side street, waited for me like the tender presence…Read more Dreaming of Gardens
Studio Update
I recently entered the Colorado Springs Art Guild Spring Show, Impressions, and I'm thrilled that one of my pieces won 2nd place. It's an older piece that increases exponentially in meaning for me as I near the "launching" of my oldest child, who graduates from high school next month. My heart pleads and trusts daily for his…Read more Studio Update
Battered Little Tree
when harsh winds blow and I stand exposed with no hope of my own, battered and bruised: wrestling an angry sky, clinging to barren rock, bound by sedimentary days then - probe deep let questions fuel furious chiseling through, let desperate seeking leech Presence from silence oh, little tree swallowed by rock too grand, sky…Read more Battered Little Tree
An Open Letter to al Shabab, and a Painting in Honor of the Kenyans Who Died
You cannot put out the light. It is like an unruly spark. When you try to suppress it, it divides into a thousand flying embers. You thought you extinguished the light when they lay dead at your feet, no longer praying to the God you despise; but look around, it ignites in my heart! It…Read more An Open Letter to al Shabab, and a Painting in Honor of the Kenyans Who Died
Art Process – mixing media
I learned to paint in my teenage years using watercolor. I invested income from summer jobs into private lessons with a local artist, renowned watercolorist Claudette Beddingfield. I fell in love with watercolor’s fluidity, spontaneity, and transparency. In college I discovered the power of line as it whispers and shouts, hints and exclaims. Combining watercolor with graphite and…Read more Art Process – mixing media
Painting Courage
The trouble with courage is that we don’t know if we have it until the moment we need it – until we’re teetering on the edge of a cliff, ready to plunge to depths below, or to spread our wings and fly. And really, it’s not until the desperation passes that, looking back, we see…Read more Painting Courage
Sifted Into Gold, again
I return to an old, rutted road marked with a faded sign, almost hidden in untamed overgrowth: "Welcome poor in spirit." But with just one step, my eyes open in wonder. The promise isn't posted on a sign, for it is evident to all who dare stumble down its mysterious twists and turns, "for theirs…Read more Sifted Into Gold, again
Elijah’s Birds
In the wilderness, I build a fire for you. I call you softly by name: come, creep near, warm your hands, shelter in my arms. Like a fearful animal, afraid to trust but desperately cold with nowhere else to turn, you come. We huddle together against howling gusts. But without warning, a wind-whisper triggers memories just…Read more Elijah’s Birds
Colleen Briggs Images & Writing 