Mouse Offering Flowers to the Sun

11-11-2023, Zig Tahir
​Media: pencil drawing

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"Mouse Offering Flowers to the Sun" holds a lot of personal significance. I created this work as a birthday give for my younger daughter, Sarah. It captures her warm and peaceful spirit which I envision as gently looking up to the sun and allowing its rays to warm her soul. It also symbolizes and marks my awakening to nature-based spirituality.

My journey to nature-based spirituality has been an unexpected one, starting after major life changes in 2017. As I found solace in nature, especially trees and water, and spent countless hours hiking along rivers and in forests, I realized a deep connection to everything. Eventually as I decided to follow my spirit where it was taking me, I began to see Spirit in everything including, the trees, water, Earth, sky, rocks, all the animals, all the living, and all the inanimate. 

The artwork captures the serene moment of a contemplative mouse offering flowers in gratitude to the Sun. Illuminated by its gentle rays, she expresses appreciation for the warmth and life the Sun bestows. In her eyes, everything—the flowers, the stone, the Earth, and even the fallen leaves—is alive with Spirit, connected and sacred.

Creation Process
​My daughter loved pet mice when she was young. One day as we were having a casual conversation, she seemed very nervous and excited for some reason. And as we talked, I suddenly caught a glimpse, in between locks of her hair, of a mouse sitting on her shoulder! To my surprise, she went on a secret trip with some of her friends to the pet store and was able to buy a pet mouse despite not having any parent with her.

I wanted to draw a mouse for her, and sketched numerous versions of mice, from realistic looking mice to comical and whimsical themes. A mouse playing baseball, one of dancing holding an umbrella, one in cityscape. None seemed right, and none reflected her personality. After a week of contemplating and sketching, I had a sudden inspiration of mouse offering flowers to the sun, a reflection also of my inner world of nature-based spirituality. 

I then created many sketches, testing out variations of layouts, shading, and the relative look and position of the mouse and the sun. I version spoke to me. It was just right for her and for me. I felt I would have difficulty drawing the fur as this would be the first time for me to draw a furry creature. I felt very satisfied with the impression of the fur as well as the shading of the ears, body, under the tail and in between her toes. Balancing the size and the shape of the stone to match her mass and posture was challenging. It to be in harmony with her body and the environment. 

I created different versions of the leaves on the ground, erasing and recreating ones that did not look right. I had initially placed two mushroom on the ground, which ultimately did not look and feel good. I removed them carefully, adding other items to the ground to make a better composition.  The rays of the sun represent not only light but a flow of spirit and energy which connects everything. Creating the curving rays and the peaceful expression were my favorite aspects of this drawing
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Thank you!
​Thank you for being part of my journey with this piece!
- Zig Tahir