Triptych 11112: Fragile Worlds & Guardian Flames

Above these three panels, a delicate universe hangs in suspended animation—held aloft by a watchful dragon whose wings cradle a glass sphere. Each element in this triptych is a piece of my own story: a silent reflection, a swirl of memories, and the promise of transformation.

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Inspiration & Emotional Landscape

Element by element, this work grew from a landscape of dreams and tears.

• A glass globe houses a fragile world—every crack, a reminder of vulnerability.
• A dragon coils protectively, embodying inner strength and the instinct to guard what matters most.
• Butterflies drift toward a future painted in vivid hues, while tethered bubbles carry memories between realms.

This piece is my unspoken narrative of pain and confusion giving way to resilience and hope.Inspiration and Context

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Materials and Techniques

• Panel substrate: hand-cut reclaimed birch plywood for its warm grain and natural patina
• Media: layered washes of watercolor pencils, colored graphite, and earth-pigment infusions
• Texture: areas of gesso resist and encaustic beeswax to evoke soil’s rough contours
• Accents: goldleaf veins running through each panel, symbolizing ancestral guidance threading through our lives

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Weaving the Visual Story

1. Foundation of Reflection I began by sketching closed eyes in charcoal, centering personal introspection. Underpainting in soft grays echoed the hush of inner thought.
2. Building Symbolic Motifs Inks and pencils defined wandering bubbles and gentle butterflies, suggesting movement from grief toward color. Each bubble carries an echo of the past.
3. Crafting the Dragon & Globe Layered glazes shaped the dragon’s protective form, while clear beeswax layers produced the illusion of spun glass around the sphere.

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Symbolism & Meaning

• Glass Sphere: Fragility of our inner world, the risk of shattering under unseen pressures
• Dragon: Guardian of the heart, fierceness born from past wounds
• Bubbles & Butterflies: Memories in transit, metamorphosis from sorrow into vibrant possibility
• Tears: Permanent tracings on porcelain cheeks, a testament to tears that have fallen and shaped my path
• Sun & Moon: Daily cycles reminding us that light follows darkness—and vice versa
• Rope Boundary: The thin line between protection and imprisonment, between home’s comfort and its fragility

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Reflection & Invitation

This triptych is my visual confession—a story too weighty for words alone. It marks a history of tears tethered to pain and the bright horizon of transformation that follows. Now, I offer it to you:

What hidden stories do your tears carry? Which spirits guard your fragile worlds? Share your reflections below, and join the Seed Circle for guided prompts that help us tend our inner landscapes together.

May this threefold journey remind you: even the most delicate worlds can find strength in their keepers—and hope can emerge from the faintest glimmers of color.

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Join the Conversation

Ready to explore further? Join the Seed Circle for guided reflections, creative prompts, and a community tending inner landscapes together today carry you through every season.

• Which symbol—dragon, glass sphere, tethered bubble, or butterfly—resonates most with your personal journey?
• When has your own world felt delicate, and who or what became your guardian in that season?
• What spirit guide or native plant anchors you when life’s currents shift?
• Share a memory of transformation: how did grief or challenge bloom into hope?

Find the Portfolio Here.

Glass sphere trembling in dragon’s embrace, A world held aloft on fragile breath— My eyes stay closed to dreams behind lace Of tethered tears that mark my depth.

Bubbles drift from memory’s well, Each echo rising, then slipping away, Mind currents swirl in an inner shell, Where butterflies yearn for dawn’s bright array.

Sunlight kisses goldleaf veins, While moonlight whispers on waxen skin— Rope loops round mountain’s glass domains, Time both liquefies and stands within.

A ghostly watermark, barely seen, Claims this heart’s imprint, quietly bold— Through shards of sorrow I’ve walked between, Now bloom in colors I’ve waited to hold.