Talking About “Resilient Soul”
"Resilient Souls" is a digital artwork I made for my Summer 2023 art collection (The Strong-Willed Heart Collection, which centered around the idea of Phoenixes). This particular artwork in the collection is the only one that doesn't feature a Phoenix. However, it still contains the symbolism of what the Phoenix represents: rising up when falling down. In this artwork, the idea of rising and becoming stronger is shown by a woman's ancestors giving her what they've learned/rinsed from in the form of spiritual support so that she can face her life with a strength passed down through skills, talents, and life lessons.
I developed the idea and concept of this artwork by listening to the song "Labour" by Paris Paloma. While listening, specific scenes were created in my head, and "Resilient Souls" is one of the scenes that formed in my imagination. I felt a strong sense of ancestral bond while listening to the song; I had to draw out the scene to preserve the emotional images in a physical form. Overall, this strong-willed spiritual and emotional support took shape in two ways: through ancestors surrounding the woman in the middle and through the use of orbs.
The orbs represent three things: The first is to show strength in a physical aspect. Showing the orbs allows the ancestors to give the woman a physical form of strength, as she is in the human realm, a place that relies heavily on material items. The second thing that orbs represent is the colors of the Phoenix. The colors were how I tied in this artwork with my summer collection overall. I noticed that I was using lots of reds, oranges, and yellows in other pieces in my art collection that I thought would be a nice tie-in. Plus, since a Phoenix is often seen as gold, yellow, red, and orange, these colors also remind the viewer of the symbolism behind a phoenix, such as the passion to rise back up, seeking light in the dark, or finding a reason to continue with it appears you have nothing left (such as a fire that can restart by just a tiny ember.) The third thing the orbs represent is an ancestral being. It would have been too much to include a plethora of ancestors, so I opted for three in a physical form, then chose to show the rest surrounding the woman with love through a swarm of orbs. So, it looks like she has extensive support without being overwhelmed physically.
Overall, I love this artwork because I felt less alone when making it. I felt that even though I couldn't see my spiritual support, they were still there with me, and that made me happy.
The "Resilient Souls" artwork is available as an 8 x 8, a 5 x 5 art print, and a button pin. Once again, the artwork is a part of the "Strong-Willed Heart" Summer Collection.
