Surreal Artwork by Beth Hoeckel

Surreal Artwork by Beth Hoeckel

I grew up in a pretty scientific family…my mom and dad both in the medical field, my dad and sister both being huge astronomy buffs, and several of my childhood friends introducing me to geology, microbiology, marine biology, entomology, botany…jeez, you name it. I thought I’d definitely be a scientist when I grew up. My dad introduced me to computers at a young age (with the internet and AOL supervised when it was a new thing of course) so that threw me into the tech field, to where I am now as a web developer. But my fascination with discovery and the natural world hasn’t died…not in the least bit! With life tending to get more and more complicated and challenging as we grow older, the childhood innocence and time we had to pursue those fascinations we had becomes more and more nostalgic…I long for it a lot sometimes. So, when I read my regularly scheduled email from Fab.com, I was immediately drawn to these beautiful art prints on sale by Beth Hoeckel!

Beth Hoeckel‘s artwork seems to pull at my heartstrings in regards to my most nostalgic memories as a child…but in an adult sense. Art is totally subjective, which is the most beautiful thing about it…the artist creates what lies on his or her heart the heaviest, hoping to speak to others, whether it is on the same wavelength or interpreted in a totally different sense whatsoever that might benefit the observer. Either way, art has a way of inspiring, teaching or comforting others who might feel they are alone in their whirlwind of thoughts and feelings. Beth’s work kind of revives that love I had as a child of discovery, which to me is a basic human need and desire, often lost in today’s more inward-facing world of back-and-forth political arguments and societal pressures we experience just to keep our heads above water.

These works of art remind me that it is important to keep our minds open, to keep realizing there is more out there…NASA does a great job of that but even they are struggling, and most of us are too busy to notice. To me, Beth’s paintings portray both children and adults admiring planet Earth, the moon, an eclipse, or even gemstones and natural landscapes with a childlike gaze and fascination. That fascination is what got us humans the technology we take for granted today, and yet many feel that’s as far as we need to go…that we’ve discovered enough. That, I believe, is a recipe for disaster.

I still always read articles from NASA, watch Cosmos while wishing I had a chance to shake Carl Sagan’s hand, and smile when I see Bill Nye, but art speaks in a different, special way than news and informational TV programs do. Art speaks more to the heart, to our own experiences and memories, and I just absolutely love the way Beth Hoeckel‘s art speaks to me. It hits a big soft spot for me, and I wish I could own every one of her pieces in my house to remind me to relax, be mindful, and always take the time to learn or discover something new, every day, no matter what. We should always remain a child at heart.