Kitchen set... Done!

What I thought was to be a "summer job" turned out to be a year long project... chair by chair and finally the table. Fruits - vegetables and Fun.

I'm usually tempted to over do these things and I did hold back. What would I have done if it was mine......

studio tree

I did a few mandalas - quick ones just to get all this "stuff" bottled up within me out. The most interesting thing I find about doing this art is how the subconscious mind/feelings come up and out on paper. It's similar to "morning pages".. those familar with The Artist's Way know what I mean... it's an emptying out.. brainstorming.. no editing.. no thinking. Just releasing.
It is afterwards, when I look at these mandalas that I notice things.
I have started the process of looking for a new place to live. I have lived in the same place for 33 years and it's time to move on.
I went to look at one apartment and I noticed that the rooms faced north west, the opposite of where I live now. I have one window facing West for the sunset, but my bedroom and art room face the east- south east. Kitchen is north and on the dark side.
There were pros and cons about the place, but what my mind kept returning to was the direction. No morning sun to wake me up.
After doing the mandala, I notice the window and frame around it. Like a compass, it is facing northwest... not to mention the colors.
Northern light is supposed to be good for doing art.
The cons outweighed the pros on this place and I'm still looking.....
I need studio space for my art... period.

windows of the soul

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

My eyes change.

They will appear greener if I wear green, sometimes more gray.. grayish blue.

They change... I change.

I constantly find myself looking for direction.. sometimes I seek direction by going within through meditation and sometimes out side my self through reflections in the world.

Synchronicity, Astrology, and feedback from other people.

Looking.. seeking.. Seeing

Sometimes we just cannot see things clearly within ourselves, because of messages we have heard. Those messages have been "contaminated" by inadequate hearing.

For instance, I thought I had a terrible voice. I attribute it to my inability to sing solo in music class in childhood. It wasn't until I taught yoga that people told me how soothing my voice was.

Sheesh. All those times I hesitated to sing, speak up..

Sometimes we think we cannot do something - lack the confidence or courage,

but we CAN!

Sometimes we think we are going in the right direction, but something else comes along and we discover something new and wonderful about ourselves.

We learn a new skill.

We learn a new technique, choose a new art medium and CHANGE!

we are on a new path....

We discover new ways of doing things because we took the risk of going down a new road.

We learn there is more than one way to get where we are going.

We learn it's ok to change direction.

If you looked into my eyes would you see what I see?

Would I see myself in you.

You in me.

Would I see the similarities or the differences?

Do we see our souls deep within and see we are the spark of the Divine....

each making up the Eternal Light.

My path may not be as direct as yours.. it may have less adventure, less heart ache,

more groundedness,

less exciting.

There are times when my path seemed long and challenging,

but I took in the sights, found the beauty where I thought there was none,

and came to a new understanding.

It is through my eyes seeking direction that I've come upon so much love.

That is what matters.

What I do see with my eyes is that it's all good.

I don't have to take the same path as you in order to feel good about myself.

Today I saw many smiling faces, and I took that as affirmation that this path I am on right now is the right path for me. When the path holds joyfulness and warmth, I will continue on it.

In the end, all these paths lead home... so enjoy the one your are on.

Needing color

I have a bunch of mandalas and doodles to upload, but for now here's one I did close to Valentine's day... maybe it was around the last snow storm.
Needing some color on these days... so much snow, gray, white. Luckier than a lot of people here on the east coast, thoguh. Some lost power and have more snow than we do.... but it keeps coming. So many businesses just closed down.. banks, doctors... so much for those SUV's which everyone bought for the snow.
The upside is that I stayed in and did some art.
I do have to go out and will take the camera.
Do I sound cranky.. because I am. This winter seems to be full of resistence for me. Everything takes so much effort. Dressing. Driving. Digging.
I am sure I will appreciate Spring oh so much this year.. Dear Spring, I need your color!

Reawakening

This has been a strange winter for me.. feeling reclusive and limiting my time "out there".. going out when I need to. I guess it goes with the season to some degree.. following nature's cycle of hibernation.
This seems deeper though. Looking for answers within myself, but finding the distractions of life more annoying.... until I see them as messages.
I sit in my chair, reading, meditating, journal my thoughts. I am surrounded by many inspiring objects - things that make me aware of my spirituality, remind me of a higher purpose.
But the questions come back to that.. what IS my higher purpose???
Answers come in strange ways.
I get glimmers of them in unconventional ways... after reading a book which had to do with divine guidance, a card fell from my deck of flowers (angel cards)... just fell over. Not the first card, but somewhere within the deck, and it's message was: Divine Guidance. It made me stop.
I envisioned a hawk and turned to the window. No, hawk wasn't there, but I felt his "presence" and just at that moment my plant moved. It's long stem fell into a new place.
I come to the computer and read something that is pertinent to what I am feeling. It's astrological message is clearing something up for me.. another answer.
It all brings me to accept that if I listen, take notice of my surroundings, I am being constantly being guided.
Even if it is my internal higher self guiding me, it is still guidance.. intuition perhaps.
There is a strong pull to stop and remove myself from the distractions of the world, so I can listen, so I can get closer to the answers of my "being" here. I remind myself that sometimes that is where the answers lie... out there in the world.
Winter brings me in so I can find myself.. so I can then go out into the world reawakened to the best I can be.. to serve and do that which I am being called to do.
I reawaken to the dream I had, renewing my intention to bring it to fruition.
I am tenderly watering that seed, nourishing it with my love.
Waiting patiently for spring, I tend to the internal garden, and hope the blossoms will be a source of inspiration.

Expressions of Love

all paths lead to love

I reach out to you

you come home to me

my heart is here for you

open

and ready to travel far and wide

to be with you

always

Y

Crossing the Chasm

"When we feel stuck, going nowhere -- even starting to slip backward -- we may actually be backing up to get a running start."-- Dan Millman
How funny I should read this today as I had just had this thought recently and think I even made a comment to someone about it....
Sometimes we need the faith to fly.. but at other times, what appears to be a step backwards.. is us taking that running start for the big jump.
You have to eliminate fear if you are going to do that.. no stopping mid-way, or changing your mind.. you just have to do it. YOU HAVE TO -because you know deep inside it is time.
I doodled this the other day making fun of myself. I have a T-shirt that says Stretch Your Boundaries. I usually wear it in yoga class and at other times I need reminding.
My boundaries were stretched when I asked for what I needed, something I find hard to do for some reason. But it was time. The results were better than I expected too :-)
Where can you stretch your boundaries today?
Today mine are going to an Apple class to learn how to use this new computer. I'm expecting this new computer to open up some new possibilities with my art.
The sun is shining.. the snow stayed south of us..
Life is good!

River runs through

What if everything you did, you did it through love? Instead of choosing chaos, we chose tranquility.. There is so much out "there" that can create fear, worry, indecisiveness, confusion... but what if we chose to change our perspective and looked to see what was hidden beneath all of it.. what if we could bring awareness to the possibility that within all that chaos, was some blessing.. ..ready for us to bring it to the surface.

What if this river of love came from our hearts out through our finger tips, so that everything we touched, we did through love. How open can we be when we are bombarded with uncertainty and fearful energy pouring out from our TV sets? We always have a choice.. always.

It is a message that repeatedly comes up, not just for me but for all of us. We choose every minute of everyday... do we respond with anger or love, fear or love, suspicion or love, doubt or with a certainty that it will all work out... no matter how long it takes!

We need to hang tough, have faith and trust the Universe.

May your day be filled with immeasurable quantities of love that takes you on a journey that opens your heart fuller and deeper and all of that pours out into the Universe so we can all share in this glorious journey together... imagine everyone taking part in this giving and receiving of love... open hearted and fearless love.

Now wouldn't THAT be amazing :-)

Namaste'

twisted rainbow

The Christmas Gathering
Twisted rainbow, cropped

Twisted Rainbow on canvas inspired by Cheryl's conversation on Mandala Oasis on color - rainbows in particular from Suzanne Fincher's book.

In particular, I was inspired by the idea of creating a rainbow mandala, using all the colors to activate all the chakras in the body and the idea of the feeling of being reborn.

I've been doing some black and white mandalas and some that have been limited in color.

The book I've been working on is thick and my new scanner makes it difficult to scan them.. and I have been a bit lax on scanning them... I photographed these two.

My intention is to do some more painting. It definitely brings me into a different state than the coloring. The painting keeps transforming. Layering, adding on. The background of the painting changed from black to flames to flowers to an edge of black and white design to this...

and it's transformation that I seek.

For YOU...

I would like to wish you all a most merry christmas and whatever else you celebrate... I wish you all warmth, friendship and good cheer!

May your days be filled with laughter and embracing hugs.

I wish you moments of presence.

I wish you peace.

I wish you love.

I wish you joy.

I wish you spend this time in wonderment, appreciating each blessed moment we journey on this earth. I wish you more blessings than you can ever count.

I wish you creative inspiration that fills you with those blessed "ah-ha" moments and they continue to grow...........

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Thank you for sharing your creative energy, your wisdom, experiences and your comments.

Happy Solstice!

May all our lives be brighter, lighter,

healthier and happier.

Time without "you"

Just before my computer caught a nasty virus, I watched a Teesha Moore video on creating your own journal from one piece of paper. I love the format of the book and that's what I did during the free time NOT on the computer.

I LOVED it!

I had so much fun cutting and gluing and created a whole journal. I ended up putting it into the show case at the town house with my assemblages because the theme was "recycling into art".

I laid out some junk mail catalogs.. then the journal.. then some cards which were pages scanned from the journal.

I loved it so much, I brought the idea to class and my older kids are now collaging in their own hand-made journals. Thanks Teesha :-)

Now, I have decided to limit my time on the computer. I realized how much of a distraction it can be and how habitual.

With coffee in hand, every morning I checked my email... instead I journaled and sometimes even cleaned :-)

Thank you!

A MOST WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL !
I am most thankful for all the blessing I have received.
Lots of art experiences with my husband and students and friends..
It has been a very good year :-)

Computer is going to the doctor... no blogging for awhile

Shed the thoughts to reveal the heart

I've noticed when I break out of a routine to work on a project, I have a hard time getting back into that routine again. It is like a spiral. One doesn't go back to the beginning, but rather takes the new experience and moves around in an upward motion.

I've added meditation to my morning and evening rituals, so I have taken that experience along with my reading, to come back to mandalas.

I have missed doing them and it was this morning after reading a mandala oasis post on chakras, that I knew I needed to do a mandala to get centered again.

I feel as though I have been all over the place... scattering my energy like the scattered leaves all over the ground. Grounding, that's what I needed and what better place to start than at the first chakra.

Suzanne was inspiring me with her research on chakras at Mandala Oasis, and what seemed to fit here was the issue of Trust that had come up lately.

Trust is a 1st chakra issue.

The issue of mistrust had surfaced and while working on this mandala it came to the forefront of my mind.

Red is the color of the Root Chakra, called Muladhara Chakra.. and snake appeared.

Snake has appeared a few times in my mandalas.. a message of transformation.

Shedding the skin, it gave me thought to our "thoughts" and how we need to shed the old belief patterns from our past. Moving forward, leaving behind that which no longer serves us.

In order to do that, it needs to surface, come to our consciousness.. we need to be aware of it first. One cannot move on until we understand and integrate the lesson.

No sense in burying it, because it will only resurface some other time.

Trust is an issue we develop in our early childhood.

And yes, there were some aha moments with that which I won't go into here...

But the point here is, mandala is speaking to me again. I gave myself the gift of time to listen. To do some art for myself, to have the "conversation" with it, to pay attention to the message.

Thank you my mandala sisters :-)

Back to mandalas

Autumn's burst.

I love autumn, but last week was more like winter.

I love the colors and it's my favorite time to drive.

I could walk forever in the woods with leaves swirling around my head.

It's the energy of autumn, that invigorates me with creative energy.

I want to capture it.

Wrap myself up in it.

It's the the energy of fire.

Dancing.

Eating the rays of the sun.

Have you ever wanted to just find yourself on a little island, eating the rays of the sun?

Drawing in it's healing energy.. looking at the reflection of the moon in water...

embrace yourself with dazzeling light?

close your eyes.

and be there.

Most popular

This seems to be the one that most people respond to first. The chakra box. I called it Between the Earth and Sky. click on the close up for details. There are small bottles representing each of the chakras. My focus is to take the Middle Way, the Tao, in life.. the path of heart.

We called the show Random Fixtures of the Heart. It all comes back to that, the heart. Keeping it open to find it's messages, to follow it's path.

The path to peace.
Of the nine pieces, this one had the most favorable response. Which one is yours?

Art Show - part 3

When most of the people had left, Igor and my sister took pictures of us.. and of course we were goofing around...
Reflections of the Moon
Memories of the Moon - a piece the evolved about global warming. Protect our oceans before they become just a memory...

This is the Vision Box.

Strange Fruit:

Dear Monsanto,

Please leave our seeds alone.

Make Fun Stuff:

This turns around, so it was interesting photographing it... this is the back..

one side

and the other...

Art Show - part 2

A most wonderful feeling... and able to take a breath!
This piece, Reminders of Life, is in memory of Margaret, John's sister that left this planet on May 18th. These are her shoes.
There were lots of lessons for me with her death and one of them a reminder not to put off doing that which you love to do. Not only that, but to have more faith, to dance, to take more chances, to live life to it's fullest.
Dare. Dream. Create.
Don't put anything off.


Close up of the hanging shoes.

My dear brother taking a look...

Art Show - part 1

Between the Earth and Sky:

A Chakra Box

Taking the Middle Way, the path of heart

This one was probably the most popular one of the assemblages/shrines.

Me and John as things began to wind down. I'm next to The Vision Box.

I loved how this one complemented the "eye of love" next to it.

This is the inside of Excavating the Heart. The back of it reads:
"I think you are searching for a heart of gold," she said.
"Yes, and I had to dig deep to find it."
The more open the heart,
the deeper one loves.




Take the pearl, leave the shell. Inspired by Rumi. All these found at Rye beach, except the doll head which I "inherited" from Margaret.

Breathe: Follow the Path of Passion.

As I was creating this, I was influenced by a book my brother and I are reading and it evolved into a piece dedicated to him. It's about finding your path in life, following your passion, your bliss. When one does, everything falls into place... like these assemblages :-)

My brother creates beautiful ponds, loves nature... a natural gardener. We share a commonality in the love of nature... so this one is for him.

Need to go eat... and I'll post more later.

The neglected blogs....

I have been so remiss in keeping up with my blogging... Sometimes I just don't have much to say.

Most of the time, it's because I don't have anything to show or I haven't uploaded pictures.

Life seems to be back on track with teaching art, yoga, working on art for clients and a show me and John are doing together.

His work hangs on the wall, my is off the wall. Appropriate.

Initially, he wanted to do the show solo, but then "invited" me to participate, but only with my assemblages and shrines.

OK by me :-)

I am having a great time with this, creating in my free time. OH YES! During the school year, I HAVE free time... unlike the summer. Seems to be a bit backwards, and I'm hoping to have that changed for next summer.

Anyway..... Here's some stuff I've been working on.. just a peek.

I'm also reading Hick's new book, The Vortex (an Abraham book) which seems to be a wonderful companion to The Presence Process, by Michal Brown. Lot's of good insight and Aha! moments. Learning and growing........