benchmark

Most of my pieces are benchmarked.  It’s my signature of sorts.

The image is of a single rosebud, formed out of the letter S which begins my last name.  The first flower I gave the woman who became my wife was a single yellow rose.  Yellow roses were the primary flowers in our wedding, and still is the predominant color of roses that mark our anniversaries.  The rose has been a symbol of us for us.  The central stem of the rose in the benchmark is a cross.  I am Christian, and who I am as a person is inseparable from my ongoing quest of understanding the person Christ.  The leaves of the rose stem may be seen as a stylized infinity loop, representing mystery and promise.  The rose stands on a base of three steps which I see as signifying my family.  The name I’ve attached to my work, Rosebud Arts, grows out of this benchmark (additionally, I’m amused that the name also includes an homage to my parent’s names: my mother’s family name, Rosenthal; my father’s first name, Arthur; and my mother’s nickname for him, Bud).

The drawing here was transformed into a stamp.  During the process of making a piece I’ll strike a mark.