Phoenix: A Background

By Allison of Fraske Designs
A while ago, I was challenged to illustrate the word phoenix. I based my piece on the following definition:

phoe•nix [fee-niks] noun, genitive: a person or thing of peerless beauty or excellence; paragon.

I scanned in the above old picture of my mom, combined it with some textured, patterned elements, and some work in photoshop, and finished with this:

I think I definitely met the challenge... and it is also mother approved!