Stepping into the woods can be like removing a disguise. Shedding a skin. It is a place people retreat to find themselves — find answers and new experiences. Whether it is a hike through a valley or an encounter with a grizzly or listening to the rustling of leaves — nature has a way of calming and exciting us.
In the Darkling Summit series I have tried to capture the feeling and atmosphere of the mountains and the qualities that keep people returning to the woods. Each piece connects an animal with a theme or mood. Some are more tangible and others -- less so. But each one reaches to our sixth sense - the sense of adventure.
Crown of the Continent
For the wandering soul, it is to the stars and summits that we ask our questions. Ponder our dreams. To those constant in the sky - the reliable. And to the ever flowing - the momentum. They listen while we ask. While we question everything. Until the answer is in front, so obvious, to keep moving forward. Until we have the answers or the questions change.
Evergreen Endurance
In the streams and rivers and temporary snow melt run-off there is strength. There is courage and discipline to move forward and not fear the freefall. It is that upcoming ledge that always comes too soon - that holds so much power. The apprehension of what is below - the bottom I cannot see - that holds sway. The rush and whoosh and thunder building and building until the unearthly silence that comes with flying - with falling. Into the unknown. Into the next segment of the stream. Because it doesn’t stop. The water doesn't stand still. It cannot. The gravity - the pull to the earth - so strong that none can resist.
The Wild Dawn
Time passes differently in the mist. Distances change and I change. There is a new calm - a sense of ease in the grey landscape. A stillness with no fears only understanding and consciousness. A heightened awareness of myself of the earth of the air. Sucking it in like a fragrance you can't quite identify. Needing to know its parts and its source. So you breathe it in again. And again until it is part of your lungs and bloodstream. Beating through every vein - in every pour. And you become the sky. The cloud. The above.
Zephyr’s Embrace
In the mist that blocks the sky I sit. I wait and breathe. Each inhale like sucking on a cloud - like tasting the sky come to earth. It is at once elevating me and allowing me to fly. Wanting to know what it would be like to sleep in a cumulonimbus. But the fog wraps me up like cirrus - like wisps kissing at my nose and fingertips. The gentle touch of a lover - this romance new and fresh but a long time in the making.
I create art to return to the woods, and this collection all started with a specific adventure.
The Darkling Summit series is directly inspired by a semi-solo trip to my favorite place, Glacier National Park. I took a 30+ hour train from Chicago all the way to West Glacier, MT; it was very long and lovely. With windows on all sides, the observation car was the perfect place to spend the majority of the ride – reading West with the Sun, muse on the importance of travel, and drawing as the landscape evolved along the way.
Those who have traveled alone will understand the delight of solo travel. I was able to pack all I needed into my pack and walk right from the train station to the Apgar campground about 3 miles away. It lies at the southern tip of Lake McDonald which made for a beautiful evening.
Synthesis
I find the forest and mountains have their own gravity. A pull I cannot resist. I am drawn to them with little control and no resistance. Like we both know where I belong and all I need to do is reset my course. Some things are beyond me. Past my range of experience. I run to them. Pushing the boundaries of my being. Free falling like the stream into unknowns.
Moontryst
Like a lovers reunion — the wild wraps me up in its misty arms. I stand there, content to bathe in the moonlight and sigh a deep breath of calm that I've only found in its embrace. In this serenity I think straight. I see clearly. I feel purposeful and content. Driven and satisfied.
Whispered Relics
The mountains that watch over this valley are ancient relics we’ve whispered about in the night. These long standing guardians of the sky and forest, and a bridge between the two; simultaneously reaching to the clouds and rooting down into the earth. We walk that bridge. Hoping to one day breathe in the mist that shrouds the peaks.
My time spent in these mountains left a change within me — a shift of focus and vision. After about a week in the park hiking and camping and taking in the stunning peaks, I once again boarded the train, this time headed back east to Chicago. The whole ride back I spent making notes and sketching out ideas for this series. Many of the pieces here were inspired by stories and educational Ranger Talks about the local creatures but many were actual animal encounters on the trail that left an impact on me.
I hope that you are able to see some of that influence and perhaps I can inspire you to visit the forest too.
Unconquered Fervor
The glimmer in the sky beckons those questions. Its flickering light seems to caress the words out of me. The stars are easy to talk to. Such profound beauty - I can stare into them unblinkingly, unashamed while I spill my deepest and darkest. Because the darkness is already around me. Pulling me in. Night is a comfort. The chill and the quiet are a lullaby. Calming and soothing. In the still night air I have no walls up. I am open. The moon stares me down - seeing me for what I am. No façade. No mask. By dawn I think I have found my answers, but by noon I have new unknowns. It is in the dusk that my insides stop squirming and a peace settles on me. A knowingness that my unease will be calmed in the stars.
Leafguard
The gusting wind that stirs the soul. That feeds the heart and clears our path. Tendrils of calming cool wrap around like a soft silk cloth. It whistles in the ear. A quiet beckoning, a murmur of encouragement. Like filling you up with self-assurance and confidence. Knowing you before you know yourself.
Fireline
It is that spark. That tiny light that won’t go out. That can’t go out. It is the passion that burns. Dreams, the fuel. Wildfires blooming across the hills. The billowing smoke a signal to stay away. The heat and flame purge the land - devouring as they race through the forest and leap across streams. This flame is inspiration. It is passion. It is the drive to create. To destroy and rebuild from the char that is left behind. With the proper fuel and breathe of life it will dance across the earth. It’s magic and beauty none can harness - it is the spark that keeps us going. That passion that burns within.
Starbeam
As we navigate this wondrous existence we share so much with those around us. They bring fullness to our lives and our experiences intertwine. But, if we desire, our thoughts can be only for us. I treasure my solitude and identity while I stare into the luminous sky at night, grateful to live even for one cosmic breath.
Add an Original to Your Collection