A World View -- Releasing Grace
Stylized world map with select locations highlighted with images. A hot air balloon floats above the world in which a woman releases grace symbolized by a bird.
Media: Mixed media/Intaglio etching/colored pencil/watercolor
Dimensions: image 21 x 30.75; framed 27 x 37
Location: This artwork is online only but can be viewed by appointment at the Plantation Artists Guild and Gallery.
SHIPPING NOTE: This is a heavy painting! Please contact the Gallery at galleryguild@yahoo.com for shipping costs if you are not local. (Free local delivery within 32034. Select “Pickup in Gallery“ as your shipping option.)
More about Marcia DeFalco
Background story: As a child, and even as a young adult, I had a parochial but optimistic world
view. As I grew older, I sometimes found myself fretting about the state of the world. One day I
decided to take a contemplative step backwards and I created this piece. It recaptures hopes and
dreams for the world and its future—as the power of grace takes flight over the whole world and
the balloon takes us to a higher place.
I highlighted places that were joyful and memorable for me. To do that, I used small pieces of
different handmade paper— in a technique is called chine-colle’—to make the airplane the
hummingbird, and the peacock feather. In some other areas I added highlights with watercolors
and colored pencils. I hope others will see this and think of places where they made joyous
memories.
Amelia Island: Our island is part of a far, far larger world. But it also a wonderland of our
natural world and filled with a special grace that can make it a place of respite and repose.
Sometimes we only find those places when we take a higher view of our world.
Nature Facts: There are hummingbirds, wild turkeys (native to the Americas), peacocks (native
to Africa and Asia and India’s national bird), dozens of migratory birds, and even armadillos (of
South American origin) on our island. The ocean’s whales, dolphins, and fish follow seasonal
currents that bring them to our waters. Ours is a world of memorable wonders here when we are
given the grace to see them.