Soar - Illustration Friday

Winter Bird

The week between Christmas and New Years was always a magical week. As a kid, it meant no school and a chance to play with the new toys and eat the Christmas candy.
As an adult it carried the same type of magic, it seems most people take off from work.
Traffic is lighter, trains less filled. The days are short, and dark. I tend to reflect more on my past and my future. One thing I’ve been doing for the past few years is I write a note to myself only to be opened next year when I put up the Christmas decorations. It really gives me insight into what was happening in my life last year at that time, it also allows me to communicate with the future Heidi. I ask questions of myself. This week, between the holidays, I am thinking of what I want to write for next years me, and what I want to communicate to her.
Winter bird is a new piece I just finished, I’ve been evolving my illustration style to incorporate my love of printmaking, but also drawings that are taken directly from my sketchbook. There is a sort of quietness in this piece, yet a conquering of sorts. It is life with all the good and the bad. I wrote the poem last summer.

Word Shadows

The leaves on the trees, bouncing from the breeze
made a shadow on the ground
it seemed to whisper a light sound
with words, it looked like Greek, then it became clear
it read
“The end is near “
Said without fear
I stopped for a moment to comprehend
Everyday is a gift, this moment suspended under the trees
Tomorrow could be gone
Shadow written on the path, walking slowly,
so clear, so near
There is nothing to fear.


© Heidi Younger illustration and poem