Circle Games

The universe seems to be spiraling in when circles begin to appear everywhere in my everyday. It started sometime this week with a fortune from a Chinese fortune cookie that said, "Prepare for the Unexpected." In cryptic fashion, it left me wondering: "If you imagine the unexpected, can it truly be unexpected, and what exactly is the content of an unknown thought?"  Circular forms then began to emerge everywhere. I saw the circling galaxies, trains, and poetics in my work. I saw circles on the necks, lapel, head, and ears of several women, all wearing circular forms of accessories. At times, I drove in circles.

As I drove home tonight, I hear Ai Weiwei speaking on the power of the collective in expression for human rights. I then imagine a mass of individuals, relinquishing their individuality for the greater good of freedom, as he does now, in a battle of life and death. The humility in his actions creates a profound realization that if we all voluntarily gave up our individual desires for a collective good, we would necessarily effect global peace in cooperation.

In a coming together into one, I think of the energy involved to create that unity, and see a galaxy compressing to birth anew. It motivates me to create the collective project Peace of Prose that I have been envisioning for over a year. I have the text entitled Peace of One, and see the "peace" circulating; hand to hand among individuals. I see Peace of One expanding in the collective with the addition of artful words and images by those motivated to create more "peace." The profound awareness of Ai Weiwei brightens my soul. It helps me complete the challenge of the fortune. From a Chinese fortune cookie all the way back to China and into the world, we need peace, a lot more peace to expand our possibilities. We need to expand into the awareness of One.

Circling in on Creative Wisdom

As January comes to an end, the year sees its first thirty-one days left as etchings in our minds. The memories hint at a body of experience yet to come, serving as a skeletal platform of what we now know. In this manner, this month's offering is a skeleton of words, proposing a life experience between birth and death. A mere 20 words including the title, it had to circle in both directions, becoming an organic flow of circular poetic verse. It was inspired by leaves, which began as cells underground then grew to tilt towards the sky, neither buried nor carried on the wind, but living somewhere in between two planes, mimicking our own existence. Read it forward then backward or see if there are other combinations. As in life, let curiosity be your guide.
  branching out-                                 out branching-                      
   strung between poles,                    in the creative
   my childhood infirmity                    wisdom
   that holds                                          now
   the truth                                            reflecting
   in beauty,                                          in beauty,
   reflecting                                          the truth
   now                                                    that holds
   wisdom                                             my childhood infirmity
   in the creative-                               strung between poles-
A circle with a simple twist becomes infinity-the shape of eternity.

This Train is Bound for Glory

Closing out 2011, Ticket Book, a singular verse project, was sent to the local Alzheimer's Association to fulfill a fundraising request for art palettes to auction. Check it out in the viewing pane on the right. It's a two part work that integrates a model train layout collage on an artist's palette with a singular verse bound in a ticket jacket. The layout is called "A Life Laid Out" and honors my father who lived with Alzheimer's Disease for over a decade. The verse entitled "An Impression of Alzheimer's" describes his disease process of hoarding gone wild, a neurological exaggeration of his thrifty saving. Even in his disease, he was a singular man, who I miss very much. When I was contemplating what to do with the palette, I thought of collaging a brain since the palette shape was similar. So, I started in the realm of pink paint as part of the 10 layer collage process. While the piece was developing, I took a trip to Sedona and hoped the pink landscape would provide additional inspiration. Looking at the terrain, I found my pink. Then, a train went by, a very, very long train, and I thanked my dad for his gift of divine encouragement. He was an avid train enthusiast, so the deconstructed map reveals locations important to him in his life journey. From Key West to Cambridge, Cincinnati to San Diego, and points in between, my dad worked as a chief engineer in the aerospace program, earning a commendation from NASA while working at a small engineering firm. As the train runs around the track with the ghost of my dad in the engineer's seat, my mother sits in a boxcar with Denver a mile high above her as a hurricane touches down in the Southeast. My brother, my dog, and I all wait on a distant shore, as we did as children listening for the whistle of the train that would carry us West. Alzheimer's is a disease of memory loss. Perhaps in the process of recalling the very best times of our lives, we finally transcend our losses.
https://sanalz.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/MIMArtAuction2012/tabid/299638/Default.aspx

Whirlpool Galaxy and a Peaceful Intersection

I have been so fascinated by the Whirlpool Galaxy some 31 million light years away from us in the Hunting Dogs constellation. It may be because I love dogs, and hunt for my dogs in my dreams. It may be because I love the spiral, a symbol of breath, the pulsing swirl of the spirit, and life force. It may be because this galaxy is birthing stars, and who does not love the sense of that creation. We see its individual offspring as distant lights of a starry night in our Milky Way. Whatever the reason, it is the interaction of two galaxies intersecting that creates a force strong enough to compress the spiral and birth a star. For me, the potential in the intersection is magic. There has been so much opposition in the world today, whether for conflict and supremacy or for fairness and justice. Conflict is conflict, whether it is armed engagement or violent protest. If grandma's rules are correct, then you catch more bees with honey, so how do we lessen conflict and opposition? It seems to me the answer is in the heavens. We propose instead of oppose, and bring into a peaceful intersection the new with the old to regenerate. In short, we birth...new ideas, new projects, new creations, new individuals, new communities, and renewed selves. We birth to instill the perpetuity of life in our galaxy and perhaps beyond. Welcoming the end of the year and the birth of the next one, as 2011 draws to a close.

Tour the galaxy at: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/tours/tour-m51/

Dancing by the Light of the Moon

As the moon swells, it seems like the best time to dance by its light, and sing the song of the Buffalo gals from 1844.....revived in 1944 as the tune Dance with the Dolly.

Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight?

Come out tonight, Come out tonight?

Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight,

And dance by the light of the moon.

adapted by John Hodges, 1844, minstrel/blackface, known as 'Cool White'

It's been hard to blog this summer as the creative voice silenced and the hands moved instead, clearing out the old to make room for the new. Revisiting the 1980s in a pile of unopened boxes revealed photos of bad haircuts, worse clothes, and some really sad color combinations. Recently, a young friend asked me, "What was with you people in the 80's?" and I had little I could say to that exclamation. Big hair, bad bow ties and Pee Wee Herman....oh, well.  So it's time now to dance into fall, and be a Buffalo gal.

I think of the sacred bison and feel my second fetish start dancing in my soul. It is carved in turquoise by Zuni artist Stewart Quandelacy of the talented Quandelacy family. I love the strength and wisdom of this animal, known as Ta Tanka in Lakota. The bison always is with me when I go to sacred spaces and sits in my left hand balancing his cousin Bear in my right. Lakota and Zuni, together, these spirits bring prayer and introspection, strength and healing, abundant journeys and protection.

So I find myself going outside now to be a buffalo gal and dance in the light of the moon, ushering in the season of fall.
For beautiful fetishes check out this gallery: http://www.keshi.com/categories/fetishes

Divine Inspiration: Just Show Up and things and things will happen

The blogging spirit has been silent for awhile. So today, while I was looking for something else, I stumbled across the inspirational quote below, which had been sent to me awhile ago by a friend. In trying to find out who said it, I found another quote which is listed in the title of this post: "Just Show Up and things and things will happen."
Those words reminded me to return to the blog for June, although it may be a little while before I have another creative offering to share.

So, I am showing up today, and sharing both quotes from their author, Mother Theresa.  Read them and share them with others. Show Up and see what happens next.

"May today be peace within. May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be... May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you... May you be content knowing you are a child of God... Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of you."  Mother Theresa

Supporting Inspiration: Our Animal Companions

A new month means a new singular offering, so here are two more icons, honoring two animals who across their lives inspired their owners. Emanuel was born with a twisted neck and the decision had been made to let him go. Enter an extraordinary veterinarian, who felt his spirit move her to adopt him. She undid the muscle deformity with her healing hands over time, and Emanuel lived strong and proud across the 12 years of his life, always by her side, inspiring compassion in all who heard his story. He was a singular dog, who helped his human companion bring the miracle of healing to animals and owners everywhere.

Popokeh started his life as a first kitten for a little girl. When the girl had a baby brother, he was put outside to be raised by the dog, as the family, who had little cat experience, feared he might scratch the new baby.  His intelligent, curious nature took him places the brave would not travel, so he ended up ill and fierce on my back fence. Believing him to be old and dying, we sheltered him as best we could, using holistic treatments until he stopped coughing, hissing, and biting. Eventually, his curiosity brought him inside our house, where we all fell profoundly in love with him. He was called Scarlett for his fiery temperament, and later just came to be known as Boo.  He inspired poetry and song, while he did things like admire art for hours which made us laugh. He died twice while we had him and ended up in his final passing, teaching me the power of grace. I miss him beyond the beyond. He has become my eternal source of inspiration.

The animals who are our companions give us their hearts and souls and do so without expectation of love. To return the favor and gift an animal sanctuary is the least we can do. The link below lists sanctuaries across the United States from California with 106 to Wyoming with 3, the sanctuaries struggle to help all the animals.
Find your state and make a donation if you care:
http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Organizations/Animal_Welfare/Rescues_and_Shelters/Regional/North_America/United_States