Open Heart

At the base, an anatomical heart — grounding the piece in the deepest, most essential energy we carry. From it, black linear currents rise like life itself, curling and reaching upward in an intricate dance of growth and becoming. A butterfly crowns the ascent, symbol of transformation and metamorphosis, before the whole piece opens into a blazing circle of warm, radiant light.

And then the light cascades back down.

This is the cycle — heart to growth to transformation to light, and light back to heart again. Open to all of it. Open to the process. Open to what rises, what changes, what illuminates, and what returns.

Open Heart is among the works selected for publication in Encaustic Art in the Twenty-First Century (Schiffer Publishing) — an international hardcover featuring 79 artists across North America. Kim McCarthy was one of only three Canadian artists included.

This work is deeply symbolic and intentionally open — every viewer brings their own interpretation, their own life experience, their own meaning to what they see. That is part of the gift.

12″ × 12″ — Limited edition of 125, archival pigment print on 300gsm cotton rag paper (made in the USA, printed in Canada). Signed, numbered, and titled in pencil. Includes certificate of authenticity. Shipped in a protective cardboard mailing tube. Shipping costs to be determined based on location and courier.