Celebration of Life - A Crested Saguaro

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Is currently adorning the walls at the invitation of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, 5049 E Broadway Blvd Suite 201, Tucson, AZ 85711.

 

The Crested Saguaro is likely a  mutation at the growth point caused during damage such as a lightning strike.  And while many make only a single crest at the top, this tree seems to have survived possibly a series of struggles.

 

While creating this painting, I was also involved in the planning of a Celebration of Life for a family member I had recently lost.  In my mind, the title, Celebration of Life gained my attention, as I began to see the long struggle of this particular saguaro resulted not in the usual severely rugged damage, but in a beautiful creation of fan like growths that not only defied the elements but seemed to be actually celebrating life.

 

Furthermore, as I processed through one grief, another even greater grief happened to me, and as New Year's Day approached, the "Celebration of Life" theme came to be my New Year's resolution as well - I wish for myself, and others who are suffering a great loss, that you may find yourself learning evermore to celebrate your life and the lives of those around you.