Why “The Opal Door”?

Painting hasn’t always been my main gig, but I’ve always practiced art in many forms. I’m a published writer, I’ve worked in textiles, interior design and floral design. Jewellery, murals, costuming, hair and makeup. I’ve also worked in hospitality and insurance. I started painting about 5 years ago after my grandfather insisted I not wait, and began selling my work a few years later as The Opal Door.

Visualization is a big part of my practice. I use it all the time for planning, manifestation and to make things happen. To connect with myself and with my feelings. The Opal Door is about being able to see something new; something that other people might not see.

The name for The Opal Door came from a writing exercise I did about 25 years ago that really stuck with me. The prompt was to visualize a door. 

An Intuitive Image

As I sat there, eyes closed, I initially thought about the dishes and laundry that needed to be done and I could hear my kids’ voices as they played. Reminding myself that those things didn’t need my immediate attention, I looked inwards and searched for a doorway.

It was made of opal and set in a plain, wooden frame. The surface was smooth and soft, milky glass. I didn’t find a knob or other hardware to open the door, just a pearly, white slab of opalescence. When I walked around to the other side, there was nothing but the door, and no real hint of how to get to the other side. 

I touched the opal with my fingertips, and tiny lightning bolts extended from my fingers across the door. As I placed my whole hand on the door, more bolts of different colours danced across the surface, and the flecks of colour within the stone shifted underneath. When I pressed both hands into the door and leaned in, I was transported over to the other side. Sensing the change immediately, I noticed that the air was more electric - I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, but I wasn’t afraid. It was warm and comfortable, and even though I could hear other sounds around me, I knew nothing here would hurt me.

A Passage to Opportunity

I turned around and found a dimly-lit hallway with doors lining each side. Some scary, some old, some still being built. I could see there was an end to this hallway with a junction that extended to the left and the right. Beginning to take stock of the doors around me, I decided to explore.

The first door I came to was made of brilliant jade, set in a silver frame. There was a decorative knob that turned easily. On the other side of this door were happy summer memories. Laying in the grass, feeling the sun on my skin while watching the clouds roll by.

The next door was dull, jet black and was sucking the light into it. The frame was made of corroded steel that was starting to turn green and the doorknob was a heavy metal that was challenging to turn. There was a lock underneath with a key sticking out. As I tried to turn the knob, it creaked from the rust. I could hear scratching on the other side of the door, and decided I wasn’t prepared to open it, after all.

Moving on down the hall I came to a door that was bright red, like fresh blood. It was set in a normal frame with a normal knob, but it was locked from the inside. I continued my journey down the hallway. There were doors made of various materials set in frames that varied just as much. Some were open and some were locked. I made conscious choices regarding which doors I wanted to look inside. 

Knowing that I had a limited time in this place, I headed to the junction at the end of the hallway. More doors lied in both directions. I turned right, and just started running. I ran for minutes before realizing that this hallway would never end. When I spun around to go back, it turned out that I hadn’t traveled that far at all, and I was only a few doors away from the junction. Magical!

Staring down the hallway to the left, I chose not to go. Hearing my children’s voices in the distance, I used that sound as an anchor to pull me back to the opal door. 

I looked at it once more. Still no knob, still no hinges. Still a slab of pearly white stone with flecks of red and green swirling throughout. I closed my eyes and pressed both hands into the door. 

The Nexus Between Myself and My Art

Every opal is unique, with beautiful qualities that draw you in and cause you to look a little bit closer for a little bit longer. The door itself is accessible. You only need to press against it to see what lies on the other side. I want my art to be the same: beautiful, accessible, thought-provoking. A window to a world where your imagination can play. An invitation to your mind to rest from daily tolls and explore. Relax your brain and allow your eyes to feast on rich colours and intriguing compositions.

The hallways represent the journey and the doors, an opportunity. I go on a journey every time I paint. Sometimes I scream, cry, laugh hysterically, or all three. Depending on which door I choose to open, there’s a chapter of my life there, ready to be given space, processed, and then closed. There are things that are dark and dangerous that I’ll look at and work through when I’m ready.

The Opal door is a portal that allows me to access all of my memories and ideas. The past, present and future all reside there. It represents opportunity, choice, change, and serving my inner child. I can access my imagination, my heart, my fears and my dreams. 

I have control, power and autonomy in this space. I get to choose the direction my art goes just as I choose the direction when I go through The Opal Door.