My painting of the Tree of Life wasn’t properly laid out, though it did teach me a number of things about proportion and design. On the other hand, I still need a painting to give to the school’s annual auction. So I finished painting the background black, and then begin working on this painting of a phoenix rising from the ashes into a night sky. It’s not what I planned to paint, but it is a suitable image for the annual school auction: a dormant power suddenly awakened in fire and explosive force. It’s how I feel about the Design Program at IDS, and my colleagues, and our students: that we are launching ourselves in a burst of flame into the world, and claiming a power which is inherent in us, though not always obvious.
