Birthing the Joyful Self (study for larger work on wood)

This fellow was floundering in the entanglements of an emotional bog. He accepted the inspiration of his higher consciousness, and through self-reflection, found the strength of his own creative spirit. Here, he has opened himself up without fear of drowning in his emotional turmoil. He's rewarded with the blossoming of his creative self. The dahlias that emerge from him reflect a wild creative spirit that absorbs nutrients from the emotional waters in which he was previously entrapped. The blooms buoy him toward the surface of the murky water, where his creative self will grow as an integration of his emotional and spiritual self.