Oil of Sage (watercolor on paper)

Collaborating with writers stimulates my creativity as an artist. And I’m thankful for the open door to work with author Freya Pickard on her Clippings #16. She gave me a snippet of her story titled Oil of Sage…

“The aroma of apple wood burning in the grate reminded the elderly man fleetingly of summer. He bent over, lighting the taper in his hand and straightened carefully. The day had been mild, even for this late in the year. But the nights were drawing in and evenings were cool, making his bones ache. He stepped around the small room, lighting the beeswax candles set on shelves. After the seventh candle flickered into life, he extinguished the tape and sat down in his favourite armchair. As the candles burned, the oil in the metal cups above them heated, releasing the clean, strong relaxing scent of sage…

The scent of sage penetrated mind and soul, unwound tense muscles, released the ‘must do’ list in his head. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Peace. Quiet. Room now to decide what to do next…”

 

After reading her words I felt that I wanted to convey a relaxing atmosphere with the burning beeswax candle as the main subject. At first I thought of including three candles but decided against it to make things simple. I learned about the making of the scent of sage, thanks to the explanation of Freya. I researched, brainstormed and drew drafts before deciding on the final piece.

It was a fun process especially creating that feel of the glow and scent of the candle around the room. To read the first episode of The Oil of Sage for free, email: dragonscaleclippings@gmail.com  with “Clippings Request” in the Subject line.