Blue Grass

This is a piece I sold at "Christmas on the River" but it is the beginning of a new series I will be doing called Blue Grass. I'll probably be having a show in the Spring, so be on the lookout. All pieces will be on board, most, if not all will be landscape pieces and available at under $150. This piece sold for under $100. (Thanks Debbie & Joe!) I'm thrilled about doing them. They will include media such as plaster and dye with a hint of oil for final touches. If you would like specific orders with specific colors please feel free to let me know about a commission piece.
205-790-1507
csmayfield@hotmail.com
www.csheamayfield.webs.com


Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord,
you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Relent, LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Hearts for Hearing

Love can be hard to find, but when we do it just happens... the world begins to turn in a whole new direction!
It's nice to know we can rest assured on the love of Christ at all times!

John 3: ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I have three adorable nieces. My prayer and hope for their lives is that they know this love above all else!

My name sake niece, Anna Correll, my sister's daughter... and I paint together quite often. We have since she was a small thing... she is still a small thing - who am I kidding! We have brilliant conversation about life, love and the pursuit of her happiness!!!! She does a fantastic job, always! Explaining to her how deep, wide and grand is the love of Jesus has been exciting. Recently, her mother shared the story that while she was picking up her toys she begged Jesus to come out of her heart and help her pick up all her toys... I can't fathom the conversation she must have been having with Jesus, what she was feeling, or what she is thinking at the age of 3 about who Jesus really is... but I know her little heart is tender and her desire to serve the Lord will one day be grand, as he has already started to pierce her heart!

Ella Baxter who is my other niece of about the same age, is just as adorable... I don't get to see Ella B as often and really have only met her a few times. Knowing her through pictures and stories from her parents... has kind of given me an ache to know her all the more! She is partially hearing impaired but this does not stop this tall beautiful thing though... She has this wild creative side with much determination!

My third niece is Evy, and I can't wait to meet her... time seems to be flying but I will get to see her within the next 30 days!

Anna Correll and I have been painting 2x2 boards for a few years now, she usually does this amazing background full of colors and nothingness... I kept wondering what we were going to do with all these boards! I was up late one night a couple of weeks ago and plastered love on this piece... AC added a few finishing touches, and of course the background which is built up, is all her!

So, this is the first of the Hearts for Hearing series... (it is sold)

Due to all the crazy stories my brother Baxter and Jerri have shared - hospitals, hearing aids; videos; books and tutoring... etc...
I consulted with my sister and we would like to start a non-profit for parents who have babies that are born with hearing problems... such as Ella had when she was born.
It took many doctors pulling together to diagnose what was going on with little Ella B, and many families don't have the resources Baxter & Jerri were provided! For this we are thankful... but they still plug along ... I think the funniest yet most devastating story I heard was recently, they could not find Ella B's hearing aid (one of them) and they kept asking her what she had done with it... They had been to Lowe's and searched everywhere between there, the car, the house, etc... Ella B finally told them that she gave it to Cinderella.
A day later she told them she put it in a cup.
The next day, Jerri found it in the dish disposal after it had been washed down the sink from her Cinderella sippy cup. It was a $6k hearing aid.
My heart prays for my brother and his wife on this journey... and for Ella Baxter... but at the same token... so does my sister Worth and her sweet daughter Anna Correll...
Anna Correll will tell you she prays for Ella B & Uncle Bax & Aunt Jer... and she would love for this to happen for Ella B.... but ultimately for Jesus!















All of AC Sash pieces for Hearts for Hearing
rage from $15 to $45 dollars
If you are interested in any of the pieces -

please feel free to call or email
csmayfield@hotmail.com
205-790-1507
www.csheamayfield.webs.com


Our goal is $500 by July 2011
we are at $35

Love Light

Many people ask me why I paint or create as I have been calling it, on board rather than canvas. This piece sold at my last show "Christmas on the River" and I am so thankful, but for the specific reason of this piece and it's bending, I don't create on canvas too often.
Most of my pieces have, through time, been soaked with products that need a lot of water.
Plaster for instance is one of my primary bases - rather than gesso - because of it's unique texture. It also holds dyes with a beautiful bleeding aspect & allows me to build. Paper is another, for instance, which has to also be soaked gently with dyed water and then sealed with a form of glue...
and then a little paint on top...
So you see... in the end...
Any kind of stretch canvas will continue to stretch and canvas on board with bend... which can be hard to sell at times, so I enjoy sticking to board which was my original base to begin with.
This is not to say that board will not bend! I have learned that kiltzing or sealing my board before hand predetermines the durability of the piece and how it will hold up for long periods of time - however... it does not provide an authentic look that I am often crave in my pieces.
This piece is one I really like, though. The base of the flower is barely seen, sometimes what our life portrays... and what is most focused on are the colors and form of the flower... what blooms... Matthew 5:16 is a great verse that would go with this piece... Let your light shine so that others may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. There are great hints of gold in this flower which I often enjoy using but not so much to over power. That way with friendships & letting our love light shine! It's not our past... but what we have bloomin'!
I would like to thank Mrs. Campisi for her purchase! I truly hope you enjoy it in your office!

friends & family

this is a slideshow of my dear friends
i hope you enjoy as much
as i did photographing them!
not only are they a
beautiful family outside
but inside too!
for more information
on photography sessions
www.csheamayfield.webs.com

This was probably the last time our "bunco" group got together... with all of us. Stupid, crazy, silly, with notions of nothingness... we never played bunco but rather gathered for fun. Usually created our own event of madness with a whim of girly sillyness but all the same, it was fun. I love this picture. For a number of reasons but mostly because of the lighting, the setting, the faces, the whole capture. It's hard to get one of these even at an actual wedding! Take a look and enjoy!

The Bootlegger's War

Late November random opportunity #52.
Teaching a couple how to use a computer and always a new friendship... I called making an appointment.
I must say, somewhere, translation of the task was misinterpreted because the husband had written a number of books-typed-rather and was interested in having them published but couldn't do it because he was not familiar with a computer- hence Microsoft Word.
Upon our first meeting, I learned about the books. Quite intriguing actually. Fantastic story lines for middle school students, high school students, history buffs, and even those who lived during the 1940 era. I saw great potential in the books and agreed to help him with his project.
Before I knew it we had two books in the works, were working with a publishing company and shooting for early spring of publication.
As the project progressed, my thoughts wondered about the time we actually spend blogging about nothingness and what my author put down as history fiction.
If you are not familiar, the 1940's was a sensitive time for our Nation as we were attacked by the Japanese sending our nation into a frenzy. The books are more about children, the adventures & trials they faced during those times. Both have excellent plots with endings that will leave you full of wonder.
History seems to be fascinating to me, especially those real life stories of what individuals saw, felt, faced, endured, hoped for, and evidently lived through. I have also found a new hobby of preparing books for publication!
www.michaelspringer.webs.com
www.outskirtspress.com

L'Abri

Finding new ventures is sometimes better than Christmas morning or finding a piece of chocolate. I have had the fabulous pleasure of going on many ventures of which I am thankful for... Keflavik, Iceland... St.Augustine, Florida.... New Orleans, Louisiana... London, England.... Scottsdale, Arizona... ALL of my journeys with the Nantahala Outdoor Center... living at the Gulf Coast could be considered a journey for many! Of course, there are always road trips to small cities, but it's the community of people I've met along the way and the pictures painted on my heart after I leave that I find so endearing. Sometimes a place will linger on my heart for years and years because the people there are just fabulous and what I gathered from them was truly amazing... God created us each so beautifully in our own individual ways... every once in a while I'll stop and think - what was He dreaming about.... when he created that random person.

A very good friend of mine shared an untold chapter of her life this evening... and it was when she spent time at a sweet little place called L'Abri. What a treasure to discover. Sometimes I wonder about this friend, and maybe she's just an angel... Who would ever know about a place or places called L'Abri.... At any rate... I hope you enjoy this link as much as I have. And perhaps look at new ventures of community in your life in a whole new way.... one where pictures are left on your heart...

A Shelter....L'Abri

Moving

Who likes moving? More than that, why would someone want to stay in one location thier whole life?

I was born in Birmingham. We moved to the coast when I was 5. Since then I can tell you everywhere I have lived, from Tuscaloosa to North Carolina back to Birmingham and Back to Gulf Shores. In the round about way, I've returned home only to have an aching to leave, again.

One thing I have grown to love is the idea of the water, not a river or lake, but the Coast.... if you ever live here you'll know what I'm speaking of.

So, I decided to rent my condo for a while and move.

Everything happened so fast... I truly have no idea where I want to go.... This is going to be fun!

The Farm House

I've been going to Western North Carolina, for, well as long as I can remember but my parents tell me that my mother rafted the Nantahala River when she was pregnant with me... I don't doubt it. She seems like super woman, especially these days. The hills roll there, the mountains range to a point where you wonder if you are truly this... high, the colors are so blue... that your eyes will deceive you beyond all imagination because of the fog and the pines... But in the midst of it all, there are these valleys with beautiful farms... and old homes that seem invincable which reside on them for years and years. Just as you come over this one particular hill near Bryson City, headed towards the gorge where the Nantahala River is, there is this old farm house... with an amazing porch, a beautiful layout and a magnificent view of the mountains. I attempted to paint it at some point in time, while I lived in Birmingham. I had taken some photographs of it in black and white and used those as my point of focus. I used only white house paint, black dye and a muted green dye. Before I knew it, I loved what had come to be. It was a bit distorted but it was mine and no matter if that house went away, I will always remember it, and I will always have it because I painted it!

Having Faith, Believing

These two pieces would not be complete if they did not reside together. They are happy! I did them quite a while ago, and I remember the first go around they were each one large flower... and I wiped it off and loved the background it left me... so I created this spring like picture with sprouting flowers... they are a beautiful bright green... which can be dangerous... and a sweet ruby red grapefruit as the color for the flower! There is much texture to these and nothing about them says classic painting... it's done of glues and house paint with small bits of oils. It was one of the first times I really used oils... I fould they are bright and a little goes a long way! I thought for sure my Aunt Pam would want these but she has never said a word about them really, she always has a ridiculous amount of flowers growing in her yard and it kind of remind me her her and her silly joyful self... but it's also a fresh painting... reminds me anyone who needs a fresh start with a little encouragement... it can happen! Having faith... believing... as dad says. ;)

Pressing On

This piece resides in Mobile, AL with my friend Susan right now. I was happy to leave it with her. We were in college, working together waiting tables, and had no clue it would be about ten years before we would catch up again... but we did and this past year I was able to see she and her family a few times. They have a house in Gulf Shores, and she truly is a delightful friend I hope to hang on to till were old and silly!

This particular piece, went through many phases before it became what it is. The background is primarily shades of dye and the picture itself is dyed glues and textures with hints of gold all through the painting. There is one flower in the painting and it stands out. This painting is seen best in morning or evening light or perhaps under a black light. There is fabulous depth unseen to the natural eye. It reminds me of pressing on... in the fall, it's amazing how flowers still manage to bloom... and colors burst... just like in life... when we're down, Jesus gives us hope to press on for what is better... because he has great plans for us to prosper... not to harm us! ;) It's high grass, dead with a bloomin' flower in the midst! ;)

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 3:12-14

Gold Water.

This is a favorite of mine, and I can't remember who I gave it to... for what. I suppose I painted over this piece 1000 times and it was on my blue kick but I wanted to use some red in it as well... I have this great view of some yellow flowers sitting in water from about 5 years ago... and I thought it would be perfect to make them blue... and the water gold. It's a smaller piece but I loved looking at it in the morning when I woke up... just as the sun was hitting it.

Love.

I got on a blue kick for a while. Perhaps I was blue, who knows. It paid off though. This piece went in the Starbucks show... which was fun and more hype than anything. I only wish we had a Starbucks to do it in again! Guess we'll have to take it over to the new Coffee Merchant. While I was mingling like chatty cathy at this show... Brock and Debbie Hattox decided they wanted this piece, I thought Debbie was pulling me to the back of the room to talk because it was quiet back there. But she wanted that piece. I could not have been more thrilled. Debbie has created a soft house that is extreamly comfortable, classic and includes all of todays modern technology. She asked me to even come over and hang it for them... I was floored! In her main hallway. I'm glad they enjoy it and I love that they have a piece of my work. Great friends. In the process of creating this piece there was a ton of gold paint, red, and green, but of course ... blue. Paper and dyes with a bit of oil. It reminds me of a wedding bouquet... love... perhaps.

Peace

Up close, this has tiny layers, and if you look in the photo you can kind of see the swirls on the right side in the background. It was my floor cover... while I was working on some other pieces. One night I needed something else to work on so I picked it up. I wanted a blue flower... the color in this flower is fantastic. It's almost the color of a sea or gulf near an untouched island. It reminds me of a blue flower floating in water... so. There. Glues, dyes and paper are the main source on this piece. It's on a thin board and square. It reminds me too, of peace, there is only one place, I find complete peace and that is in Jesus Christ... digging daily in His Word helps remind me...

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14: 27).

Singing Flowers

I can't remember a day that I've been to my parents house when there was not some sort of flower in bloom. They say... you know... they whoever they are... that plant life, flowers in particular are extreamly good for the heart... the soul... when we are sad or troubled they can make us happy. When we are good... they can make us even more happy! Wow. Flowers are a good thing. I suppose that is why I love trying to capture them. ;) This one sits in my parents bedroom. It's a fun piece, especially in person. There is quite a bit of texture to it and it's on canvas rather than on board. Dye and paper were the main sourse of color. It reminds me of just after a rainfall, when a flower has been covered up with water... and the sun busts through the trees... only to allow the petals to jump up again! Almost like they are singing! Mom loves this one and it reminds me of her... she jumps for her family and sings for us daily!