"A Cicle of Butterflies' is all about metamorphosis! Mine, my art and this particular furniture project. Mine, from a child artist, to a business woman and back to a full time artist during the last 16 years. My art, from a landscape artist to a visionary artist collaborating with family and friend artists. And finally, a beat up and discarded wicker furniture's metamorphose into "A Circle of Butterflies". The vision of butterflies circling the table top came to me the moment I saw the old table. I have hundreds of butterflies in my gardens and frequently marvel over their transformation process while living my own. So the 16 butterflies joining wings represents my last 16 years of rejoining the art world! I also wanted to be craddled by the butterflies to remind me and anyone sitting at the table that they can change into something more beautiful any time they choose. My dad, Elton E. Warren, a wood worker made my interactive butterfly furniture design functional. He did this by applying his life long knowledge of creating sturdy long lived furniture. Lastly, my artist friend, Debbie Hawkins, created a beautiful butterfly mosaic bowl for the bottom center of the table to complete the metamorphosis in "The Circle of Butterflies".

Impressionist art was the inspiration for the Love Lounge Art Furniture and the desire to bring the outdoors inside!
The Painting: The side panel (lounge back) is a Monet like painting of his water lily garden created using translucent acrylic glazes over oak wood allowing the grains of the oak to read as water ripples.
Wood Carvings: The wooden headboard of the lounge and drawer knobs are hand carved oak abstract water lily pads. The Oak is cut in such a manner that the oak grains simulate the veins in the water lily pads.
The Cushions: The hand built cushions are covered in a cheetah like print which also reflects an abstract shape resembling water lily pads.
The Functional Furniture: The idea was to create furniture that could sit two people (Love) or one person (Lounge) and to create more space in the room it was brighten. To meet that goal, one drawer holds DVDs, while the other drawer opens on the side to a doggie/kitty hideaway bed.

This was a collaborative piece created by Bonnie J. Warren and Elton E. Warren

After a beautiful dragonfly preserved itself in my car...Dad and I were inspired to create a more lifelike dragon fly bistro set...the chairs legs also reflect this realistic feel of the dragonfly body...we then floated back to abstraction when we created the undefined shape of the shelf underneath the water lily table top...which represents lily pads merging together in the water...the wings are made of fabric that reminded me of the texture of dragonfly wings with abstract colors.

All the garden bistro sets I created prior to this one were basically frames to hold my painting which was the table top. As an artist I need to constantly continue the ascent from the bottom of the muddy pond; and so "Dragonflies Ascend Water Lily" was born. It represents the next level in my interactive functional furniture metamorphosis, creating a bistro table that is truly a sculptural piece too!

As for the subject matter; dragonflies and water lilies both symbolise a rebirth or awakening from the "muddy waters" of life to basically their truth. By sitting at this table enjoying the food and drink that continue our lives, my hope is that we will also find our truth.