Pink Coyote

Psst! The Password is BOGO...

In celebration of my 200th sale, there is a Buy One Get One offer for prints through Sunday, September 4th, in my etsy shop. Enjoy... and have a lovely, COOL weekend!

Unexpected Angels at Bunker Hill, 2010. Mixed-media on 8" x 8" maple panel.

Sing Up

Sing Up the Stars, mixed-media on maple panel, 2010.

Readying for another ETA and will have a postcard up very soon. If you will be in New England September 3rd, I'd love to see you at the reception at Nahcotta in Portsmouth, NH. Ahhh, NE in the fall....my fave. I'm slowly moving out of crazy work mode and into back to school and recovery mode. There will plenty to tell when the sun comes up...

Juice

I have to report that I am LOVING working in a neighborhood where there is food this good and this good and this good. The Argentinian jewel is literally 2 skips down from our beautiful blue building and oh. my. goddess. Heaven in an empanada! How I love your flaky outer and spicy oniony innards.

I've also become smitten with another blogger and am so inspired by a post called resistance -by Monica of Holistic Mama. Her outlook on the shadow sides of the astrological elements did something for me. My chart is very earthy and there's no water anywhere in it, I now have another way of looking at this issue with vulnerability that I have. Shedding, flowing...moving around the obstacles without strife, yes. All part of this leg of life for me. With each great wide opening comes inevitable vulnerability against which I tend to brace first and surrender second.

The work is materializing. It is coming forth with it's very own voice and messages. I notice that about 60% of the way through a creation, I no longer have much say in what the meaning or messages are. I am asked to step out of the way and so I do, though not without concerns about consistency as an artist, color palette issues, my connection to the work, very superficial ego stuff.

B and I watched Sherlock Holmes last week and I was surprised, no, shocked, that I (media hermit) had no clue that it was a Guy Ritchie film. When I saw the credit, the style of his films came rushing back one at a time and I had an even greater appreciation for his storytelling consistency and flair. I wondered about my own expressions. And then had to let those questions go. Because no matter how I see my work, I know that no one else sees it as myopically as I do. And, does it really matter, in the end? No. Of course it doesn't.

I spoke with a blogging mama bud this morning and we discussed how with our first child, there was a fear (at least there was for me), and an anxiety about getting everything just right for him. I poured myself into motherhood like a healthy smoothie into a tall, clear glass with the confidence that only an overzealous (nut) new mother has. When Ivy came to me, I felt an ease and a surrender. Surrender to the madness of having two, surrender to the fact that I would likely not be birthing any more children. Welcoming the completion with a sniffle, but jumping right into my creative pool, as well. The evolution of family, art and self truly fascinates me.

I enjoy being on this path so much. With each day that I get to wake up safe and healthy, mother my children the way I choose to, make art that means something to me, and swim in the juice of my cherished relationships, ...well...this is a very, very good day to live.

Dusty Smelly Perfect

 

No one is here to guide me.

To engage full intuition.

Bounce against the fencelines.

Answer the unkind phonecall of the mystery.

Breathe the soot of my own limitations.

Cough forth the bitter-tasting old way.

Untangle invisible webs placed by my own hands.

Discover alone.

Hold possibilities (to my sternum) for which there are no language.

Anxious, mute and lacking glory.

Hands extended out front.

Instincts erect.

I listen.

"We are called upon to do something new, to confront a no man's land, to push into a forest where there are no well-worn paths and from which no one has returned to guide us. This is what the existentialists call the anxiety of nothingness. To live into the future means to leap into the unknown, and this requires a degree of courage for which there is no immediate precedent and which few people realize." 

-Rollo May, The Courage to Create.

Swamp Hag Days + New Work

Trooper, 2010. Mixed-media on 6x6 birch board.

OH, people. These are strange times indeed. I am in a funkity funk like no other funk, and the voices would have me believe that it is going to be this way forever. I am marching as forward as I can, dragging my paws as little as possible, but this is a tough one. It's got me hanging upside down for certain.

The show was really fun-I got to see art and also friends I haven't seen in nearly a year. I love the idea of actually going to the shows where my art appears because it's such a ceremony and celebration for the energy that goes into preparing the work. It's really one of my favorite things about this job.

I've been painting my way through, because this is one of them that there are no words for. I needed strong partners and look who showed up? My old friends, and constant companions, Owl and Coyote.

I wish I had some poetry for this one, but it hasn't come yet...the dark side of the moon always comes around again, and I feel safe here, but I need serious grounding. My feet have been up in the air for far too long. 

Tell me your stories about what you do when the swamp hag comes knocking. It's our shared stories that save us, isn't it?

Warrior, 2010. Mixed-media acrylic on 6x6 birch board.

L.A. Weekly?

Holy Dinger! , as Leonie would say. Check this out!

Two Foxes

It's so nice to paint for me every once in a while. I've just completed two more little creations, giving me a proper fix. I used more collage elements this time, as I've been yearning to do for some time, but had to shift gears a bit from my usual process. I really loved cutting up random papers and recycling colorful bits to make my buildings. I made an enormous mess, but it was worth it, and fun.

Fox has come again, and is bringing so much magic with her...again. She's so mysterious and lovely. Each time I work with her, I am swept up by her femininity and mystique. I know I'll never have her totally figured out, which is part of her charm.

In the shop, now...

 

Satellite Intuition, 2010. Mixed-media on 5x7 maple artboard.

(I have to thank my beautiful models, Scarlett and her boyfriend, Rhett, for modeling for me at the local nature center!) Observing them was such bliss.

Light Feet, Deep Heart, 2010. Mixed-media on 5x7 maple artboard.

Clever Fox has it all figured out, even when I don't. I trust she will continue to impart her wisdoms on me and hope that others will benefit from her, too. Sweet little thing.

L. A., Baby!

Nahcotta is opening ETA 3 at The Living Room on Sunset in Silverlake on June 12th... and work is officially up on the site. Yay!

Will I see you at the opening? So many of my favey fave West Coast artists will be hanging together. It's truly unbelievable. And sure to be a magically fun night!

Hope to see you there!

Celebrate + Original Painting Listed

Once in a while I have to hang on to a painting or two before I let them all fly off to their new homes. This is the case with White Moose, who has been continuing to teach me since I created her...here she is. Ready to go to the murky depths with someone and bring back the gold.

I was thinking earlier today about some of the many reasons I love being an artist. One that really comes to mind a lot is the sense of celebration and joy when I complete a project. I once worked in fashion production and we always referred to it as a thankless job, not because there weren't supervisors around to give back pats, but because the milisecond my team shipped a challenging order (which was all of them) we would have ten more on deck. There was never just even a moment to stop, pour a glass of *anything* and absorb that delicious feeling of a job well done.

Working for myself rules.

Mr. Crow has visited me again, many times, actually. He has a few new things to say this time around. Caw!

The Sentinel, 2010. Mixed-media on 6x6 birch board.

Crow is a watcher and protector. He strengthens his voice and uses it to bring light forth from the darkness. Crow's feathers are the darkness of the black womb from which all life has come, the metaphorical mud that one returns to again and again to heal and be reborn. His medicine flies over with regularity, a reminder that we are not alone on our search to discover the light within. With his strong, loud call he encourages using one's voice as a tool for knowing and sharing Truth. He signals that it is time to pay attention to what message you are choosing to bring forth.

When I was creating this, I thought a lot about using our voices as a tool. Often our inner voices send our souls messages that are unkind. I've heard friends call this "the gremlins". Animal medicine is a tool that can be used like a balm on the hurting bits, it can help transform the old into new, creating a ritual effect in order to transcend something that needs a boost in order to shift. I love the idea of Crow, whom I see everywhere during my day, cawing and reminding me to make a conscious choice about what I *say*.

Such a large part of joy and pain comes from words. Wouldn't it be lovely to apply the medicine and feel it shift into kindness?

Coyotes & New Work

I've been creating away here in my studio for the past month, preparing for my next adventure with Nahcotta and the Enormous Tiny Art Show. I really feel so grateful to continue to be in this show-so many great artists all in one room-heaven to stand among. ETA 3 will be held in Los Angeles, at the Living Room in Silverlake- and I'll put the flyer up here very soon for more details.

Some common threads run through this work. I'm always amazed to see the themes emerge up from my own subconscious. In the end, my head wraps around the messages, seeking ways to understand the applications in my own life, while preparing to let the medicine go out into the world to work its magic.

There are some new aspects about my work that is leaving me feeling a bit more raw, open and vulnerable and so these pieces are special to me. I feel as if I'm connecting more with the medicine of the creatures and their energies. This is a departure from some of the smaller drawings I've created for my paintings in the past. Now the subjects are right up front and center.  (And I actually feel more centered, too)

I've made two of the new pieces available as prints so far in the shop.

This animals in this series are all intriguing to me, friends I've been working with for years, however, I've never seen the connections they share. All are considered to be pests, all are extremely prolific (ie. not soon to be on any endangered species lists), and all are a call to look at my shadow aspects, and turn my perspective upside down to get a better view. I've so enjoyed working with these creatures.

Today, as I journeyed for the messages that accompany each of them, I felt seriously weepy about how much they have helped me on my path. Such strong medicine, from all of them.

I will leave you with an image, my favorite of the group. My inspiration is a Coyote called Clyde, who lives at our local native creature rehab center. He is very special, yet very old. He comes to the fenceline and stretches each time I visit him and we connect and I thank him for his messages. He has a lovely partner, Poppy, who nervously trots about in the pen and occasionally stops to kiss and harrass him (that's her in yesterday's post). But Clyde is at ease in his surroundings. He is the king of his makeshift den and he seems to know that he is getting up in years. 

 

Makes You Stronger, 2010. Mixed-media on 6x6 board.

Coyote travels the rough terrain, establishing territories everywhere. He learns his lessons the hard way, keeping a sense of humor about him as he goes. He turns rigid thinking upside down, preferring to keep it light, while adapting in order to survive. He is a humble teacher, a blissed out fool, an accidental genius. His song carries over mountaintops to find his kind. He is persistent, enduring and prolific. There is nothing he can't do, nowhere he won't go. He is fearless. Coyote outlasts bad weather, yipping contentedly through his long days and many journeys.

And here is a photo I snapped of handsome Clyde earlier this year:

I'm so grateful for this space to share my work, and my thoughts. I'm grateful for this life-in which we are all so blessed to be awake and connected to each other.

Aho, sisters.

On the Table

Paint now, write later.

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture is among the work that will be shown at Enormous Tiny Art in Los Angeles (which opens June 12th, so save the date, Angelenos!)

Turkey Vulture is rebirth after death. She is purification and second chances. She is a symbol of the Great Mother, of healing and grounding oneself. She uses her energy wisely and conservatively, soaring on thermals and following her own energy, taking direction from her innermost needs. Her enormous wings take flight almost effortlessly, allowing the wind to lift her, never opposing the forces around her. Turkey Vulture is patience and flow. She "walks the walk" without arrogance, honoring her purpose without ego. A magnificent teacher of grace is usually the most humble.

For me today, more surrender. Thank you all so much for your comments and thoughful suggestions on my last post. I'm feeling a little more emotionally balanced and much more patient about the process of this journey than I was yesterday. It goes that way sometimes, up day, down day. Today is an up day. I think there may be an end in sight, and today I'm not fighting myself about when that might be.

With so much gratitude******

Print Sale: Buy One Get One

Fine Art Prints are Buy One, Get One Free in the shop today! Grab a duo and welcome in the medicine that gently nurtures your growth...

 

Fling (Because adventure is a mighty fine thing), 2010.

So much to write...but the sun is shining and I am an opportunist.

*wink*

Return of the Goddess

If you are anywhere near the state of New Hampshire, please stop in and celebrate the return of Spring and the work of eleven goddesses and one Pan (for good measure)!

This beautiful collection has been curated by Elizabeth MacCrellish (of Squam Art Workshops) in honor of the love and light that inspires her own journey. I'm so grateful for this show and for Elizabeth :)

Happy Mother's Day! To all that you nurture and create...

Regularly Scheduled Program

Studio companion, carved of malachite (a gift from my teacher).

Painting is officially underway for the June show and I'm feeling good about the direction I'm going so far. Each time I begin a new series it's like having a baby on the fast track! Work with a vision, mix up some color, glue down some paper, and let go...

Here're some of tonite's layers (note Corn Maiden over on the right! Tee hee, didn't realize she wanted to make it into the photo so badly):

 

This is an especially fun series for several reasons. One of them is that it opens just a hundred miles from here so I'll be able to attend! I won't be in the third trimester phase of my brain-in-a-cave for another week or two, as I face the home stretch. I so enjoy this stage. I would liken it to being about 5-6 months pregnant, before the back aches and sleeplessness set in! The sparkly, glowing, everyone-thinks-you're-so-cute part.

I also wanted to clue you in about a prayer flag giveaway that Lauren of Visionwise is having at her blog. And share a pic of the necklace I received in the mail from her today! It is energized with many healing stones which my slowly recovering bones are in desperate need of. I love the originality of her work. It's unconventional in palette and form in some ways and that reflects a lot of who Lauren is. Please BEG her to make her music available to you while you are commenting to win the flags. Her beautiful, honest voice, soothing, uplifting poetry and organic ramble of her acoustic guitar will knock off your stockings.

 

Please Stand By

For your viewing pleasure, another one of M's drawings, entitled "Volcano Desert". I love his creations deeply. He observes and studies and then steals away for a bit and returns with his tribute.

I'm beginning another set of paintings tonite, this time for a show that opens in Los Angeles (Silverlake) on June 4th and runs for the month of June.

I'm excited about brainstorming this one and tonite I'm prepping surfaces, which is the stage which often feels the most *free*. I have no idea how they'll all turn out at this point, so I'm giddy to find out.

I love this job.

The Beltane Wolves

A Good Mother, mixed-media acrylic on 12" x 12" cradled birch board.

She is finished. As is her cohort. They are sailing off to the east coast for a sweet show that I will tell you much more about extremely soon.

For now, she and her pack mate are available as greeting cards in the shop, and I can ship today and tomorrow. Which means you may be able to get one by Mother's Day. If you are desperate, please contact me.

Happy Mama's week...

Loping Along

The May goddesses are coming along quite nicely and shouldn't have any issues being packed up on Friday and shipped to their glorious eastern destination. This makes me so *happy*.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that though we're being treated for acute bronchitis with asthma pharms because of the symptoms, which are really much like allergy symptoms...this may be a viral cough that will run it's nasty course for several months. When I heard this news during my second visit at the medical office today, I had to ease myself into planning for the worst. The news is that my lungs are clear of rib cracks, pleurisy, pneumonia, and anything else the good doctor could think of to check for. I'm on a steroidal inhaler for the inflammation, which is causing my chest and back to really hurt and I see an allergist next week. On one hand, this is madness! And on the other (paw) I can deal. I may be limping along but there is very good medicine for me in being down.

I received an email today about the Hounds of More More More, and it made me think of all of my adventuresome canine references here. It spoke of keeping the dogs at bay, those who demand we sniff out every shrub and inspiring trail, running ourselves into the ground as we try to pick up each scent that calls seductively to follow it.

I prefer to think of this as the direct line to the Muse, but that I get to say NO to 50% of her crazy suggestions. Or even more than 50...maybe even 80.

I had big plans this year. I was going to really make tracks and establish myself a bit deeper as an artist. Some of those plans have fallen through on their own and others I just haven't sat down to. I know that they'll be there when I'm ready. What this year has been teaching me so far is to get my priorities straight. Without health in place, very little matters.

Seems all over my corner of the blogosphere, there are messages to slow down and to reevaluate popping up. A collective message might be to carve out our own paths, on our own schedules...to nevermind the competition, and to trust that when our expressions are realized, that it will be in the perfect time.

I'm taking to referring to what I'm doing in this studio as simply *making art* again. Calling it work, as I have been doing, somehow raises the urgency/obligation factor and lessens the fulfillment element. As long as I'm making art and taking care of my basic needs as they come up, I think I'll be okay. The soul knows nothing of commerce and e-course, of branding and agents, representation and liquid assets.

Back to square one I go, or maybe, it's a new square I've never even been on before.

What's cookin' in your soul kitchen?

Healing the Pack

Works in progress for upcoming secret group show!

As I sit to write this, I feel giant sighs coming up and moans wanting to emerge. I don't know where to begin my entry. Shall I tell you all about the misery/hopefulness of last week's four doctor visits? I think I shall spare you and just say that the kids and I are taking a course of antibiotics, Ivy is also on an oral steroid for the wheezing, I have severely sore ribs and chest from the strange, urgent coughing that is still persisting and I'm generally just waiting out the meds to see where to go next.

My challenge is that I always feel like I should be doing something. And if I don't take some kind of major action, my self-judgement comes on strong because...I should be able to control this and make everything better, right? Aren't I superwoman?

While I practice surrendering deeper still and trying to improve my outlook, I managed to come into my studio inspired to complete a project I began a couple of weeks ago. The terrible reality of being ill more often than not, is that I've had to brace myself to have to back out of commitments I made when I was well for those five minutes back in March. Disappointing someone is one of my least favorite things to do. But with some luck, it looks like I just may be able to pull off the next show.

Healing takes time and while I have really felt like curling up in a ball and giving the finger to everything that could possibly be responsible for us being in this state (including my own neglectful habits), I'm attempting to be still and allow myself to heal without too much emotional whipcracking.

I turned back to the stories that sustain me last night, and realized that sometimes I am dancing in Red Shoes, exhausting myself on all levels. The question of the year seems to be "For what am I exhausting myself?"

Tonite as I worked, I felt the warm, familiar sensation of my soul filling up. My hope is that I can ship these pieces at the end of the week. But if it turns out that I simply cannot, I will remember the sensation, and allow it to be enough.

******************************************************

"[But] the wild nature teaches that we meet challenges as they occur. When wolves are badgered, they don't say, 'Oh no! Not again!' They bound, pounce, run, dive, scramble, play dead, go for the throat, whatever needs to be done. So we cannot be shocked that there is entropy, deterioration, hard times. Let us understand that the issues that entrap women's joy will always shift and shape-change, but in our own essential natures we find the absolute stamina, the necessary libido for all necessary acts of heart." p. 261 Identifying Leg Traps, WWRwtW.

Galleria Hacienda: Entryway

I've been meaning to share some of my favorite art pieces with you for so long. I've finally gotten around to taking photos of them! This is just a little peek into our small, but growing collection:

 

These are a few pieces that hang in our entryway. I wish I'd snapped my favorite blue table, thrifted for ten bucks and painted bright turquoise + new drawer pull. Shoot! The wolf and the moose are pieces by me, and you've likely already seen them here so I won't torture you.

 

Mistaken Identity #2, Beth Billups.

I discovered Beth during ETA 7 and I fell in love with her gritty encaustics the moment I saw them. Her shop always has lovely original work in it for a STEAL. And there is something about figures with alternate heads that I can't resist...

Explorer, Julianna Swaney.

I've been stalking Julianna at Rare Red Bird for years, pining for the perfect original piece to come up. Badger and I are kindred companions, he being of the root, herb and storykeeping medicines, so this purchase was a no brainer. I love how Julianna blends the wild creatures with delicate, girlish, innocent figures. She's killing me with her spyglass brilliance. But her gifts are not limited to girlish spyglassishness. Oh, no. Check out her blog and see for yourself.

October Clouds, by Sarah Ahearn.

This print of a mixed media piece was created by Sarah Ahearn and it is special to our family because she used a really cool old stamp with dates as a part of her composition and Miles birthday, Oct 1, appears here. Being a libra lover of the sky that he is, I gave him this print for his birthday last year, just as we returned from Squam Art Workshops.

 

No Need to Worry, by mummysam.

Samantha Cotterill is the genius stitchmistress behind mummysam and I covet her hoop wall hangings and softie dolls. They have so much personality. She has a book, all her own, full of scrumptious patterns to share (October 2010) and TAPE printed with her drawings. How cool is that?

This is so fun to do. I'll show you around a bit more, soon, because the laundry room, bathrooms and kids rooms have little collections of their own...

In the Den

I am working on two pieces for an upcoming group show and tonite was really my first official night back in the studio to work on..."work" since January. It is unbelievable how much time can pass between creations when destiny has many other ideas for what life is really about around here.

I must say, though, that I am really excited about these two pieces. They involve a topic that I am very intimate with and so wrapped up in my heartstrings. This is unusual for me-painting a statement. The messages that come from my subjects when I paint are fun to receive, and tonite more than ever, I am feeling the hairs bristle up on my neck and my wild bits sniffing the wind while I work on bringing them to life. These dogs have been a long time comin'.

I have been dreaming more than usual about these creatures since we lost Blue, (who is so generous to visit me in the dreamtime) and I was gifted an extra serving of inspiration from Anna Marie last week, which is helping me knit up my vision with even more gusto. It also helped that I reached into a random bag of collage papers, not even knowing if collage was what I wanted to do... and pulled out a very old map that fit perfectly into the scenes. I love it when the Muse is guiding my hand!

In minutes, I'll be piled up with my pack: a gangly, long-legged loner and a feisty, yet snuggly yearling pup. In my dreams, I hope to hear the yippings of these paintings telling me where we're headed next on this adventure...

Creative Spirit

Sweet, spirited, Lauren of VisionWise is giving away this necklace this week, called Creative Spirit. I have two of Lauren's necklaces and also commissioned her to make a very special hemp and stone bracelet for a new Daddy in the clan recently, and I have been so happily thrilled with her work. She is a very special fire mama who puts amazing energy into her *works*. Stop in and enter!

I spent the entire evening clearing out my art studio and adding more to the donation pile-this time many, many skeins of unloved yarn. I've freed up my bins and organized them, which makes my little, obsessive-compulsive brain do a very happy dance.

My desktop could still use a bit of help, but it didn't stop me from working on a postcard for a student pen pal project I volunteered for. So nice to create for kids.

And when creativity is flowing, it seems to be flowing everywhere in this house. I love Miles obsession with globes. He has long loved drawing the planets, but lately he's been putting them all on stands! Dig the volcanic explosion happening down south.

Additionally, I'm intrigued this week by The Artistic Mother, by Shona Cole and Found City, by Keri Smith. Must make a found city with Miles!

Shona's recent article at Wishstudio, titled Art Makes Us Better Moms deserves a read.

Psst! Shop Update

Original paintings were added to the shop last night and today there is one left...free shipping on everything lasts until Sunday.

Meanwhile, I've been playing at many playgrounds with sacred babies and mommies and I'm loving the time outdoors this week. Tonite I sit down to begin sewing the awesome kids play tent tipi pyramid shelter-the practice run.

I'll be documenting the steps so that you can make one, too, should you feel so inclined.

Tables have been cleared. Music is queued. I've zenned the room for minimal cursing. Hopefully I'll be able to report tomorrow that it was simple and quick to whip up!

Interview at Artists Who Blog

 

Carribean Kitchen, by Stephanie Levy

Stephanie Levy is one of my favorite artists today. Her use of bold color and her linework blows my socks clean off. 

She has been kind enough to feature an interview with me at her website today-go here to read it!

Some of you have asked about original work (much gratitude!)-what is available now can be found here.

Have a wonderful weekend, all...

Giveaway + Free Shipping on Prints

I'm giving away two sets of cards this week- (2) 5x5 + (2) postcards in each set.  I'm loving how these are turning out, the colors are true and bright and the cardstock is nice and toothy. Do you know what a task it is to find square inkjet notecards?!

And I'm now offering the 5x5s as single card listings, and as a 4-pack, as well. They are a great mini-alternative to the larger prints and one could totally frame them. If one were so inclined.

Also, through Valentines Day, shipping is FREE on all fine art prints.

Just leave a comment about what it feels like to receive snail mail love and I'll announce the winner on Friday!

Emerging

Bear. Acrylic and mixed media on board. $5 from the sale of each print will be donated to relief funds for Haiti through Partners In Health.

Every creature on earth returns to home. It is ironic that we have made wildlife refuges for ibis, pelican, egret, wolf, crane, deer, mouse, and bear, but not for ourselves in the places where we live day after day. We understand that the loss of habitat is the most disastrous event that can occur to a free creature. We fervently point out how other creatures' natural territories have become surrounded by cities, ranches, highways, noise, and other dissonance, as though we are not surrounded by the same, as though we are not affected also. We know that for creatures to live on, they must at least from time to time have a home place, a place where they feel both protected and free.

 (p.287)  -Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves.

Hawk

I'm so glad you like the Hawk, here are prints for those who were usurped by the early bird who snagged this painting. Seems the Messenger has been paying her quite the personal visits...love on Monday to you all.

Down to a Nub

What a weekend of nonstop being in this room. It is an unholy mess and I am whipped beyond belief. Never since having babies have I worked in the after hours this much on one thing that means so much to me! It has been both exhilarating and exhausting. I'm about 90% finished getting all of the pieces together for ETA, and I have some that I'm holding back for Etsy. One of which is this handsome fellow, whom I've really come to love:

 

Hawk is known as the messenger. His sharp, shrill, call awakens the sleepy consciousness and commands that attention be paid. What message he brings is for the intuition to discover; by using his clear and broad vision and higher perspective, details will be illuminated. Hawk is heart medicine, carrying strong, sensitive energy. Shining the light of the sun through the darkness, he guides us to our purpose again and again when we lose our way. Hawk medicine requires that we keep negative emotions from clouding our vision and aspire to the goals in life that call us back to our truth. Circle over your life with a keen eye and a bold heart, and Hawk will partner with you to seek out clarity.

A bit wordy, even for me, but Hawk is big stuff. It's taken me a long time to work up to this one. It had to be just right. The drawing is of a Cooper's hawk, which are as common as Red Tails in these parts, but fancy-bottom RT gets all the glory. I love the Cooper's, and they are very generous to leave their feathers behind for collectors such as me. I stamp an indignant foot at this medicine often enough to know it's very important that humanity grasp it.

And there you have it. I'm nearly ready to join the rest of the world and TRY to process what has been going on since I checked out.

Blessings to all of you and your loved ones. This is truly a time to open our hearts and let more light and healing come in so that it may travel out. Many need our prayers and faraway support and empathy...

Slow and Steady + New Work

Painting this series is bringing up a few things for me. I'm trying to go about the New Year being much more attentive to my need for self-care (if ever there were only one word for my entire year). And I think what is happening is that I'm pacing myself much better. But something else is also shifting. Something I probably put into words in a journal or threw into a fire last year. The same tasks are all here to do, yet there is a missing element that I do not miss. That is freaking out. It may be back, especially near the 20th of this month when I have to have these colorful little things packed up for their long journey east. Until then, I'm munching fritos, pilfering through tins for forgotten chocolate, printing new cards, listening to Pandora, nursing a babe through the tooth, eating free food from generous neighbor-women, sending Miles on many *scavenger* hunts, standing on the hot pad in bare feet and having a rather mighty fine time of all of it. Slow and steady wins the race, right? The race against myself!

Here is a newb for your turquoise loving pleasure:

White Stag wears the antlers that connect him to Spirit and offer the gift of enhanced perceptions, tuning into the old teachings like marvelous antennae. He is able to detect the most subtle shifts in energy and this provides him with the intuitive guidance he needs to navigate the enchanted forests of life. Gently, softly and sometimes even quietly, White Stag communes with the Earth and the Sky. This is a reminder to take excellent care of oneself, to gently love ourselves and those around us, and to honor the deep connections that welcome us home from our adventures in the wild.

Squam Squam Squam

Photo by Thea Coughlin.

You've heard it a million times, right? From all of us Squam bombs out here in blogland? It's becoming like a religious pilgrimage, isn't it?

One of the many aspects I love about SAW is how a good retreat booked far in advance can really set the tone for my year and help me to keep my pace steady as I grow creatively. I feel like it gives me something to reach my branches toward, and to take the steps I need to get to where I'm going before I arrive on the rocky steps of the Temple of the Creative Forest.

Rockywold Deephaven Camps, where SAW is held, was founded by two women, who I believe must have intuitively sensed the feminine, creative quality of the camps. Men who come to SAW at RDC seem very in touch with the creative vitality within them. Women who attend seem to be answering the natural, inner call to connect to that creative life-force inside. Children (okay, Miles is the only example I really have!) go positively into an artistic trance once they pick up on what is going on.

The camp is even shaped quite like a womb, the perfect place to plant the seeds of your creative intention and watch them take off into the sky on unfurled wings.

When I attended two years ago, I only knew that I was called to go, I had no idea what I'd be doing in the next couple of years. Ivy was cocooning in my belly and I was intent on not making any big plans or designing expectations I wouldn't be able to meet. What I did do was connect. I communed with new and old friends in my pregnant state and allowed myself to be without a purpose other than being present there. I trusted that the meaning of it would come to me when it was supposed to.

It was January a year ago when it hit me. I picked up the paintbrush, dusty with art school years behind me, and in a burst of fertile flames I began painting with no idea about what I would do next.

What came through felt like, and still does, a culmination of everything I love the most. The concepts of symbols I'd been studying, the circles I'd been sitting in, the animals running across my paths and through my dreams, color chips that had been taped into journals...it suddenly all made sense and all I could do was MAKE. I was freed from thinking about it!

A little aperture was giving way to a great opening, I'd become willing to embrace the unknown and allow my creative stirrings and the muse meet each other.

I realized during that winter transition how Squam Art Workshops had impacted me. It's creative energy gently held me that first Fall, never forcing the birth, just cradling the energy. I hadn't planned on attending this past Fall, but when Ivy was just two months old, I felt the urgent need to be there, and so the pioneering efforts to make the trek with the whole family were laid.

After the new sessions were announced last week, a unique opportunity arose for me to teach at The Pixie Session in August. Like so many times since I took myself to that maple and white pine wood, I have been summoned to show up and share something of myself.

I'll be teaching a mixed-media painting class which incorporates the use of animal totems, as well as a kids-and-parents class where we'll make forest floor finds/fiber arts folk full of symbols to carry back home with you and draw upon when you need it. I'm so excited to do this with families that my heart is about to burst!

My hope is that you will be able to experience what Squam has provided me with:  a well of creative energy and connected communal peeps to feed your soul with all year long, building the foundation and support for your artistic life.

In whatever glorious form it may take.