Marylou Falstreau’s series, Women in the Hourglass, has struck a cord with women of all ages. Her series includes messages on the mixed media pieces such as “One day she opened her mind to new possibilities,” “One day she woke up and understood we’re all in this together,” “One day she worke up and decided to color outside of the lines,” and many more.
Falstreau, who lived in Morro Bay for nine years and now resides in La Quinta, had been creating mixed media pieces for years and showing them in many outdoor/indoor art shows.
“Over the years my work slowly shifted to women and spirituality,” Falstreau said. “It was based on my own experiences as I was growing and changing.”
The Women and the Hourglass series was born from a dream the artist had one night.
“I had been struggling with one of my kids big time … it had been pretty intense for about 10 years, just exhausting as a woman,, as a mom trying to encourage, help, guide, fix,” Falstreau said. “I had this dream, I remember sitting around a table with women and we were talking quietly, it seemed, intently. When I woke up I remembered the words ‘woman’ and ‘hourglass,’ but didn’t know what they meant at the time.”
Within a week of the dream, she had created three pieces with the “when she woke up” theme. The first one she created was “One day she woke up and realized she grew wings.” The second was “One day she woke up and loved herself more than she thought possible.” The third was “One day she opened her hands to receive.”
Falstreau said she realized that hourglass had to do with the passing of time, though when she googled “hourglass,” she found most of the results had to do with a woman’s figure.
“Now, I thought, is the time to start shifting, understanding that life is a fulltime job,” she said. “There’s a circle of life that needs to be fulfilled in a balanced life. In giving there needs to be receiving. As women we need to practice that too.”
Falstreau uses glue, acrylic paint and paper in her mixed media pieces as well as beads, coins and other embellishments on occasion.
“Anything that would create dimension,” Falstreau said. “It was such a great time when I started doing mixed media…I could take all of these new stuff that was being created and incorporate it into my paintings.”
She didn’t expect the pieces to take off the way they did.
“They sold right away. And people started to contact me,” Falstreau said. “The image that I created resonated with them in a way that they needed to hear at the time.”
Falstreau and her husband, Alan, does all the packaging and shipping of the series. She now has 43 images in the series and sells them in many shops around the country and on her website.
To learn more about Falstreau, go to www.mfalstreau.com.
