Artist: Danielle Phelps
Title: Love is a Journey
Location: Washington and High
Statement: What is love to you? Is it a noun, a verb, or an adjective? When you think of love, is it emphatic, friendly, romantic, or an unconditional bond. No matter how love is described or felt, it is easy to see that love is a journey. Love can grow, change, and leads us through life.
Love can make us feel so many emotions. Love can make you feel grief, happiness, overwhelmed, excited, nervous, hatred, shame, elation, jealousy, and many other emotions.Love is not just a perfect feeling, but an action, a choice, and sometimes complicated and messy. Think about how love has guided you and your choices. What journey has love taken you on?
Personally and professionally, love is my guiding force and helps me grow. My journey has never been perfect or easy. The love of my students ushs me to become a better teacher. It inspires me to build connections and show kindness. The unconditional love I have for my children keeps me going when life feels overwhelming. It teaches me how to love patiently. The love present in my marriage continues to grow and is not the same as it was 20 years ago. It has taught me to forgive and to find joy in our everyday. Love helps me to slow down and enjoy the fleeting moments of our busy family life.
For my Box! Box! Painting, I wanted to show the many journeys that love can take. I used colorful tubes and pipes to show that there are detours, ups and downs, sudden obstacles, and easy paths. There is damage, repairs, rough spots. The pipes and tubes can also represent the emotions one may feel in their journey. The central heart, of course, is the recognizable symbol of love. It is our guiding force and leads us on our journey. It can change who we are, for the good and the bad.
I hope you enjoy the piece and are able to reflect on the journey that love has taken you on and what role it plays in your life.
Bio: Danielle Phelps is a long time resident of Muncie and Yorktown. She attended Indiana University and received her BFA in Visual Arts Education. She taught K-5 Art Education at Longfellow Elementary for 13 years and has taught 5 years as the K-8 Visual Arts Educator at Burris Laboratory, where she currently educates. As a busy mother of 3 boys, she invites an opportunity for creating art into her life. Currently, she is working on the weekend on a series of 22 murals at Abacus Baycare in Indianapolis. She is passionate about teaching and enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, and painting.
