OMI Wall Of Wings 2023

By Becky Bones

Description - This beautiful monochromatic mixed media piece serves as a poignant homage to the beloved Odd Man Inn Sanctuary Babes who departed for the Rainbow Bridge in 2023.

Medium - Mixed media Papers, watercolors, pastels, paint pens, inks, matte gel medium

Dimensions - 9" x 12" piece in a 12.5" x 17" wood frame 

Process - just a bit of paper ripping, finger smudging and winging it! *no pun intended!😁

Price - $50

About the Artist

Inspiration - I’m always in a creative mindset…ideas are always pouring in!! I don’t usually plan them, they just show up! I like to reuse products and you can always find me in a thrift store digging for treasures. Nature is a big inspiration for me too…anything trees, flowers, animals, gardening or just connecting to Mother Earth. The medium I love the most is mixed media and nothing with a plan. I like to get my fingers dirty, rip paper and let it guide me.

Motivation - I found OMI when Tater Tot was rescued and I’ve felt a deep connection to the rescue ever since, especially to the ones that have passed. I LOVE flying pigs (I see them in the clouds😉) and I imagine the ones that have passed are always with us, flying high in their specially designed wings with all of their friends and creating a concert on Solsbury Hill. (My dream is to visit there someday!)

In 2021 the idea to draw wings for them surfaced so I created a chalk collage on my giant chalkboard of each OMI babe that passed and made them each different wings. It was so fun so I shared it on my SM page. 2022 was a personal & creatively challenging year but I did keep a record of each individual passing and did collages for most of them. This year my husband and I are in the process of moving and I have a limited collection of art supplies with me during our trailer living transition so I came up with the mixed media piece that included all of the sweet babes together that passed in 2023 (I hope I didn’t forget any!! I did a lot of scrolling back to make sure. 😋 If I did, know that in my heart they were honored.💚)

I started the idea before art week was announced so I decided, let’s get this done to donate! In my dreams I imagine a future honorary large barn wood wall art installation at OMI with each sanctuary babe & their wings…that was the inspiration for the frame. (also, I may have a few sketches of this! 😁) So long story short, my motivation is the feeling I get looking up & wondering if they are all still with us up there in the clouds somewhere!