‘Share our gifts with the world’

When Homer artist Brianna Lee was invited to collaborate on a friend’s book project by creating images for each of the chapters, the result was a two-year process of painting a body of work and renewing her artist’s journey.

Lee’s exhibit, “The Inner Garden,” shares the name with the book written by Megan Murphy, a scientist and farmer who crafted plant medicines and coordinated a community-wide wellness initiative in Homer before moving to Illinois, where she is, among other things, nurturing her intuitive gifts.

“This book is a channeled guidebook and vividly illustrated card deck that offers a personalized map to learn more about yourself and your gifts so that you can navigate and address your particular needs with confidence the rest of your life,” Murphy said. “The guidance within can enable you to alight your own rhythm to that of Mother Earth’s seasons, determine your own unique physical, emotional and spiritual constitution, and support you in develop and practicing heart-centered living.”

While Murphy’s book will soon be released, Lee’s paintings are now on display at Bunnell Street Arts Center through May. The women’s initial connection occurred in 2011 when Murphy purchased one of Lee’s paintings.

“I bought Bri’s ‘Cosmic Sea’ and was so taken by the ocean scene with its movement and brilliant colors,” Murphy said. “She came to mind immediately all these years later when I was being guided to create this book and knowing that art would be necessary.”

Lee began creating sketches and ideas for each chapter as she read Murphy’s drafts.

“Collaborating with Megan was very grounding and explorative,” Lee said. “She would send me drafted chapters from the book to read and then trust me to create an image that embodied that chapter or section. I was free to listen to my intuition.”

“Allow Your Highest Self to Guide You” was the first painting Lee created for this body of work and is the book’s cover image. This piece shows a single leaf painted in greens and yellows and is viewed from above. In the center of the leaf is an image of the earth as seen from space, and surrounding the leaf are swirls and circles of blue, green, yellow and purple.

“I was thinking of micro/macro, inspired by phloem in plants and textures taken from nature,” she said. “I layered drawings on top of each other and then painted, starting with washes, sometimes watercolor, building up and finishing with oils,” Lee said.

As Murphy added more chapters and additional elements to her book, including an Oracle deck of 72 cards, Lee dedicated more time to painting. For the Oracle deck, she created small sketchbook paintings of 12 different plants and chakra color swatches that she then scanned into her computer, with each becoming elements of the hand-painted cards.

Lee’s body of work includes 24 paintings that vary in size and medium but share themes of nature painted in vibrant colors and with shapes full of movement.

“I love to allow color and design to be expressed fluidly and spontaneously, and I knew this body of work needed to be colorful and bold,” she said. “Humans and our world need to experience bright colors because color has the power to light up your spirit or speak to something inside yourself.”

Lee’s painting, “Radiate Your Divine Gifts,” is a watercolor and oil that includes layered drawings of a nettle leaf on top of multi-colored butterfly wings with a radiating circle in the center and red, rooted heart.

“The circle is significant as it centers around a heart at the center of a leaf where all elements are connected and layered on top of each other — a reminder to follow your highest self, to look deep inside and that healing is possible,” she said.

This piece was directly inspired by writing from Murphy’s book, specifically this section: “Take every opportunity to celebrate the small steps that you have taken towards your goals. This will feed your gratitude for the process while also enhancing your journey along the way. It is no small feat to live in alignment with your true and higher self, and it is important to remember that accomplishing this on a daily basis is reason enough to celebrate. You are a Divine being and you have reclaimed your ability to radiate your Divine gifts. May you shine your light so that others are more able to discover and shine their own light as well.”

As she created one painting after another, Lee was reminded of the joy and importance of nurturing her creativity, something that had taken a backseat to her family and work during recent years.

“There was so much joy in reviving the artist within and collaborating with Megan on a project that will live on in this book format, as well as applying for an exhibit and receiving support from the community to share this work,” she said. “This was a healing experience to open myself up and share some of my most meaningful work.

”I have shed a lot of negativity that I did not realize I was holding onto inside my body and mind. This whole project and book reinforce the importance of sharing your gifts with the world and that will, in return, encourage others to do the same.”

The last piece Lee created for this body of work is “Regeneration,” a mixed media piece that started with a drawing and collage and was built up with oils. Utilizing a full palette of colors, this painting features abstract swirls that at once appear to radiate from a center point while at the same time cascade inward and outward from all sides.

“This piece is not included in the book, but it feeds off all the other paintings,” she said. “I like to think of this piece like the Mother Tree. It connects an older idea with all these new pieces that feed off each other and are connected.”

For Lee, this painting also best represents who she is as an artist.

“I felt many things arise when I made this painting — movement, energy, life force, growth and healing,” she said. “I often approach a blank canvas with no initial sketch, but a stroke of color becomes the “seed,” informing me how to “grow” the piece into completion. This process can feel freeing, healing, and sometimes spiritual, like I’m connecting to something deep inside or beyond myself.

“Like dreaming or meditation, painting can offer another portal to express what we don’t usually see or feel. Making art has helped me navigate and process complex and intense emotions, serving as a conduit for understanding, healing, grief and recovery.”

Holding a passion for art since she was a child, Lee received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. She first visited Homer in 2001 when local potter and family friend Marie Herdegen reached out asking if she might like to help in her pottery studio for a summer. Lee returned the following two summers and, in 2008, made the move to pursue a more sustainable and creative lifestyle. She continued working in the studio, managed Two Sister’s Bakery and at the same time painted and showed her work in local cafes and galleries. She later worked at Twitter Creek Gardens, taught youth art classes and facilitated an after-school art program.

“Mother Nature has always inspired me and, living in Homer, I live by the ocean and have had the opportunity to work many jobs that got me outdoors and in the elements,” she said. “At Twitter Creek Gardens, I worked in the dirt and learned about soil health and nutrient-dense food, all connected to my creative journey.”

Lee has also, since 2019, been on staff at Bunnell Street Arts Center.

“Working at Bunnell has opened pathways for connecting with the diverse artist community across Alaska and beyond and supporting artists is one of the most important jobs,” she said. “I get to work directly with artists, handling and installing their work, which feels like such an honor. I also interact with visitors who stop by, creating a rich and meaningful experience.”

Among her short and long-term goals are exploring mural making, continuing to paint and exhibiting outside of Homer.

“If we are not sharing our gifts with the world, we are dimming our light,” she said. “This has a ripple effect on those around you. Everything in Megan’s book reaffirms that we must share our gifts with the world.”

“The Inner Garden” is on display at Bunnell Street Arts Center through May. Community members can enjoy a book reading by Murphy and conversation with collaborators Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff and Brianna Lee on Saturday, May 24 at 6 p.m. at the gallery. Find Lee’s work online at bunnellarts.org and brileeart.com.