serving the goddess

2007 detail from "MUSA MELBA" study for neck sculptures

"...Inside the temple are lovely priestesses, chosen for their elegance and grace, who spend their lives serving the goddess, singing and dancing to her glory..." - Mary Olsen Kelly

dream BIG

2007 study for sculpture
My Mom is always telling my brothers and me to "DREAM BIG !"

"I firmly believe that the universe dreams a much bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourself." - Oprah Winfrey

I suppose the Universe is a Mother to all of her children...DREAM BIG she whispers...

called to rise

2007 Untitled mixed media detail

"We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise."
- Emily Dickinson

as Christ loved, as Buddha loved

2007 Untitled mixed media study for sculpture
How do you love?

"All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live is to love -- to love as Christ loved, as Buddha loved."

- Isadora Duncan

How do you love?

you must do...

2007 mixed media study
excerpt from Julia Cameron's beautiful book, "Transitions":

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Optimism in the face of uncertainty is a difficult art. The terrain of life is varied and mysterious. I cannot always see the path ahead. At times my view is shadowed by doubt, constricted by fear. The open vistas of optimism are closed to me. In such shortsighted times, I must practice the discipline of positive attitudes. I must consciously choose to expect a benevolent future despite my shaken faith..."

My mother has always taught me to do the thing I think I cannot do....

butterflies, teapots & birds

2007 stamps from a recent ebay purchase
a stranger sent me some mail
gift with purchase perhaps
sealed with two butterflies, three teapots and one little bird

I saved the stamps, they seemed too pretty to recycle just yet...

coconut suprise

2007 Untitled mixed media study
I asked him to bring my favorite carbonated soda in the famous red can. He brought me a tall glass filled with ice and a cloudy liquid with mysterious floating alien-like shapes...which I enjoyed once I understood what I was drinking.

Aguit'e coco
- para calmar la ced
Aguit'e coco
- yo tengo que beber

I enjoyed it so much, I even began to sing in the restaurant...

envy me ?

2006 Untitled watercolor, pen & ink detail
I absolutely adore this quote:

"If I were anyone else,
I'd envy me."

- Doris-Marie Welcher the "Queen of the Hudson" septuagenarian

beautiful to do nothing

2007 Untitled mixed media study for sculpture

I read this recently and may actually stencil it upon my bedroom walls...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards." - Spanish proverb

It is so important that we give our souls the time necessary to dream...

best cosmetic

2006 Untitled mixed media detail


Although my husband believes I look best upon waking, without an ounce of make-up on my face...I tend to disagree. I feel I look my best after practicing my morning yoga and meditation...still without an ounce of make-up, but filled with an inner peace and joy that seems to shine through every pore...

excerpt from one of my journals

"Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic." - Rosalind Russel

don't postpone joy

2007 Untitled color study

It was written on a bumper sticker...then on a stranger's t-shirt...the Universe is sending me the message loud and clear: DON'T POSTPONE JOY !

nieta de Antioco Sacasa Sarria

2007 Untitled self-portrait, mixed media
nací siendo la primera nieta de
Antioco Sacasa Sarria
mi bello Papa-Coco de ojos azules

Papa-Coco quien me contaba cuentos
historias reales
leyendas maravillosas
con guitarra y voz dulce

Papa-Coco siento su mirada en cielos celestes
Papa-Coco escucho sus consejos con amor,
ya que siempre nos encontramos en mis sueños

simple way to find peace

2007 just a little study-sketch I really love
excerpt from "The Golden Present"
Daily Inspirational Readings by Sri Swami Satchidananda

"Any time anyone complains of worry, anxiety, depression, fear, hatred, jealousy - whatever it is - let him sit back and analyze the cause. If he is really sincere, he will find out that what he wanted something for himself. Selfish desire causes all the problems. Do things for the sake of others, not for yourself. That is the simple and practical way to find peace."

Beloved Gurudev's wise words...Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi...

on another journey

2007 Untitled self-portrait, mixed media
I am rooted in peace and forgiveness.

I am able to sit in silence and stillness.

I am guided by moonlight.

I am one with nature as I embark on yet another journey...

lightning last night

the trees danced with the wind
the skies turned steel blue
lightning...piercing through my window...waking me up

flexibility

2006 "GODDESS" mixed media journal
Through breath, I stretch.

With patience, I elongate.

Flexibility is strength.

she who heals

2007 "Number 4" from a series of mixed media goddesses
what needs to be healed in your life?

who do you need to forgive?

who needs to forgive you?

She Who Heals:

Mother, sing me a song
That will ease my pain,
Mend broken bones,
Bring wholeness again.

Catch my babies
When they are born,
Sing my death song,
Teach me how to mourn.

Show me the Medicine
Of the healing herbs,
The value of spirit,
The way I can serve.

Mother, heal my heart
So that I can see
The gifts of yours
That can live through me.

- Jamie Sams

a beloved poem-prayer I received this morning after meditation

just look

a little leaf wishing to be immortalized

As I was walking, I noticed a delicate little leaf just waiting for someone to notice it...just waiting for someone to look for the miracle contained within each crevice. Just look for the beauty in everything...just look for the miracle in everyone...

laughter

2007 Untitled mixed media detail
I have been laughing all day...

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." ~Yiddish Proverb

...laughter is truly refreshing...

englightened buddha

2007 Untitled mixed media study

Oh Enlightened Buddha
Fill me with your light today
Steer me away from the darkness of anger
Oh Enlightened Buddha
Help me be a beacon of peace today
With only love and light coming my way
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi...

a prayer that came to me after my yoga practice this morning

native commandments

2007 Untitled mixed media
Yesterday I met a Native American Medicine Man who handed me these commandments:

Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.

Remain close to the Great Spirit.

Show great respect for your fellow beings.

Work together for the benefit of all mankind.

Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.

Do what you know to be right.

Look after the wellbeing of mind and body.

Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.

Be truthful and honest at all times.

Take full responsibility for your actions.

complete abandon

2007 Untitled mixed media study

"Sexual pleasure in woman is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken."

-Simone de Beauvoir 1908-1986



what else "demands complete abandon" in life?

sculpting, painting, dancing, writing...these demand complete abandon in my life as well...creative energy is directly linked with sexual energy...

who is a thief ?

2007 Untitled mixed media study for sculpture
Who is a thief?

A person who "borrows" ideas, words, concepts from another and passes it off as her or his own without giving any credit or acknowledgement to the source?

A person who casually "takes" a fruit from an open air market, just because...?

What about that person who "finds" a lost treasure and neglects to look for the owner?

Who is a thief?

According to my beloved Sri Swami Satchidananda, a person may be categorized as a thief, a debtor, a fair business person, a good person or a saint.

"Who is a thief? The one who always gets things from everyone, but never gives anything.

The debtor gets ten dollars worth but gives only five dollars worth to others.

The fair businessman is the one who gets ten dollars worth of benefit from others and returns ten dollars worth.

A good person gets ten dollars and gives at least twenty or thirty dollars - more than what he gets.

And a saint doesn't get anything;he just gives everything he can.

So you can analyze your own life and see in which category you belong. The only way to wash out our bad karma is to be a really good person or a saint. That means through our service to the earth, to the people, to divine beings, to God. That way we can be pardoned for the karmas that we incur unconsciously."

- exceprt from "The Golden Present" by Sri Swami Satchidananda, today's daily inspirational reading

saints

2007 "SAINTS" mixed media In rummaging through a file box of mementos, documents and clutter, I unearthed feathers, Venetian beads, old letters, fabulous photographs and an old tea bag that read: Saints are those who flow in the spirit of God.

Estrella Maruca

2007 "MARUCA" my beautiful Grand Mother, mixed media

...Hoy sentí el sol mas fuerte que nunca y la luna brilla con luz especial...las olas del mar bailan de alegría y mis lágrimas me las seca con su manto nuestra Madre María...Estrella Maruca regreso a su hogar, al cielo...ya no hay porque llorar...

This is an excerpt from "Estrella Maruca" a story I wrote on the 7th of August 2005 in honour of my Grand Mother's re-birth.

awakening goddess

2007 Untitled installation detail
whispers of wind
song of petals
fluid movement
goddess within awakens

initiation

2007 Untitled mixed media color study

the fire of the volcanoes burned me

the heat of the sun baptized me

the tears of the rain bathed me

the light of the moon protected me

I have been initiated into the next chapter of my blessed life.

poor

2007 Untitled mixed media

"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."
– Mother Teresa of Calcutta

if there is peace in our hearts, poverty does not exist

dying

2007 Untitled mixed media

"Dying is a wild night and a new road.” - Emily Dickinson

I die each day and am reborn each day.
Dying is part of living.

my power

2007 Untitled detail from mixed media

what does power mean to you?

when do you feel powerful?

my power is my surrender to the creative forces of earth

i feel powerful when i am being true to myself

success

2007 Untitled mixed media

"I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome."
—Golda Meir