WRITE she whispered

2007 mixed media color study
She visited my dreams last night and this morning. She smelled of roses when she hugged me close and told me she loved me and was so happy for me. She warned me against a certain few who would be envious and who would not hesitate to betray. Together we visited palaces and gardens. Before waking up, she embraced me and whispered into my ear, "WRITE"....

excerpt from my dream journal, from last night's dream

lending wings

"If you want to be an angel,
I can lend you my wings..."

- Alexandra Bertran

are you willing to lend your angel wings to another in need?


are you aware of your wings?

creating veins

2007 mixed media study for 2008 sculpture
create the veins
- he said

i shall build the body around the veins
- he whispered

celeste

2007 color studies


celeste
cielo
laguna
mar

celeste
pétalos
uno por uno

celeste-mente
te quiero

celeste
es mi amor

celeste y fresco
celeste y puro

celeste-mente tu
celeste-mente yo

humble

a humble little leaf
are you humble?

why?

why not?

"Don't be so humble - you are not that great."
- Golda Meir (1898-1978) to a visiting diplomat

annie lennox's fuchsia eyes

2004 hand-dyed silk & concert ticket
a birthday sorpresa he said
i was a bit tired, but went ahead

meeting at the bookstore
in the middle of rain

our waiter was
french
spanish
colombian
quite a cocktail - that mojito
a mountain of gorgonzola cheese, please

annie lennox rocked the house
she's fifty-two not sixty-two
moving like a graceful dancer
with fuchsia eyes...

excerpt from my journal last night before falling asleep

yes & no

1999 detail from mixed media


what are you committed to?


do you trust yourself?
...not to say YES when you mean NO...


maybe?


perhaps?

so much to do

2007 untitled study for sculpture
I have so much to do that I almost don't know where to begin. The trees outside my window have begun to turn yellow - a sign that time is passing. I need to have lunch - how can I forget about eating?

excerpt from my journal

hidden within

2007 Untitled mixed media
Is it not true that hidden within every winter, there is a spring waiting?

What is hidden within you?

What is waiting to spring from within you?

petalos

2007 Untitled mixed media color study
una familia de pétalos

salieron a bailar

uno por uno

fueron cayendo

...lluvia de pétalos familiares

la perla nacio

2007 "PERLA" mixed media
la perla nació en el templo
de la diosa...

an idea for a story about the birth of the pearl

queen of the snakes

2007 "SNAKE" mixed media from a series
the snake dressed in orchid petals
with a parasol to protect from rain
she set off to find the king of pain

he would recognize her by her crown
he would baptize her and make her his queen
Queen of the Snakes...

luz azul

2007 "AZUL" mixed media
hoy estaremos entre azul
en granada
celebrando
bailando
con SACASA
con alegría
y luz
AZUL

take the plunge

2007 "PLUNGE" mixed media texture study
take the plunge, she whispered.

--but the water may be cold...

take the plunge, she urged.

--but what if i drown...

take the plunge, she pleaded.

--but i will get wet...

take the plunge, she ordered.

--but i am afraid of....of never wanting to come back for air...

take the plunge or you'll always be wondering and how sad would that be, she said.

how many excuses do YOU have for not taking the plunge?

warrior crystal

2007 "WARRIOR" mixed media
I was born from crystal waters
baptized by Thee

I genuflect
and pray

A Warrior Crystal I might be...

birthday girl

2007 mixed media of moi...circa 1970's
a dear friend once gave me a cosmetic bag that reads:

"birthday girl philosophy: be grateful to have been given one more day, let alone one more year. remember to dance in your nightgown, sing in the shower, ride a bike, fly a kite, and take an occasional "wind bath" in your bare skin. give those you love big kisses, huge hugs, and the words "i love you" often and always. nurture your body rather than starve your soul with fad dieting. spend time with the old and the weary to better appreciate your life. on your birthday, call your mother and father wherever they are to thank them for all that they have done for you. watch the movie "life is beautiful" at least once a year. remember that you are not guaranteed tomorrow and that today is as good as it gets. thank god for every thing, every day, every moment."

la cueva de lava

2007 Untitled mixed media
Fresa Fresca

aun vestida de corona de cristal

entro a la cueva de lava

encontrándose con Venus del Volcán

from a series of writings about fruit & goddess

el santo

2007 "SANTO" mixed media
el santo de rodillas
le rogaba
le pedía

el santo de rodillas
resaba noche y día
con una cruz de cristal
y una fe natural

el santo de rodillas
iluminado con la luz
de nuestra Rosa Madre María

el destino divino

2007 "DESTINO DIVINO" mixed media
la princesa y el príncipe
nacieron nobles
tenían reales
hasta salían en los billetes de verdad

los dos miraban hacia el sol
y contemplaban
porque somos nobles?
porque sera que DIOS nos mando este castigo de sociedad?

el destino divino
entendió
y les contesto

de vidas pasadas antiguas
vienen ustedes
hoy príncipes
ayer pobres
siempre almas divinas

excerpt from a short story-poem

Antioco Sacasa Sarria

2007 mixed media of my beloved Grand Father
nació un 12 de octubre
entre cielos azules
y mares morados

los pájaros cantaban
las mariposas bailaban

amado abuelo

con luna llena
y sol fuerte
hoy te pinto de celeste

remembering my Papa-Coco on his birthday

jaula

2007 "JAULA" mixed media study
jaula de oro

jaula de orgullo

jaula de sociedad

jaula de que dirán los demás

no soporto jaulas de ningún tipo

vivo por LIBERTAD



cage of gold

cage of pride

cage of society

cage of what others may say

I do not tolerate cages of any kind

I live for LIBERTY DIVINE

planta

2007 mixed media sculpture study
planta hierbas

planta arroz

planta papas

planta fruta

planta coco

planta miel

planta amor

planto DIOS
dentro de tu corazón



plant herbs

plant rice

plant potatoes

plant fruit

plant coconuts

plant honey

plant love

planting GOD
within your heart

aspasia

2007 mixed media texture studythe veiled woman


ASPASIA


reknown for her beauty and intelligence


from one of my journals...sounds like the beginning of a great story

over the rainbow to OZ

2007 "OZ" mixed media

"Some place where there isn't any trouble.
Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto?
There must be.
It's not a place you can get to by a boat or a train.
It's far, far away — behind the moon — beyond the rain —

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."

- Dorothy from the film The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Today, I am traveling far away

behind the moon

beyond the rain

land of my lullaby

a place where there is trouble

but the skies are blue

and my dreams always dare to come true...

nobody or a frog

flowers from my mother's garden

I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?

Then there’s a pair of us – don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

- Emily Dickinson

a little poem I randomly read this morning and which made me smile

altar

one of my altars at home
a stone buddha head found in a new york flea market

a river rock that spoke to me

a strand of seeds from the sacred valley of the incas

an ancient necklace my brother gave me

what is on your altar?

La-Mujer-Jala

2007 "LA-MUJER-JALA" mixed media on a recent photograph
se despertó antes del sol

se vistió con su mejor sonrisa

La-Mujer-Jala comenzó su día

jalando esperanzas

jalando paz

jalando amor

...que jalas tu?...quien te jala?



she woke up before the sun

and dressing with her best smile

La-Mujer-Jala began her day

pulling hope

pulling peace

pulling love

...what do you pull?...who pulls you?


inspired by an anonymous woman I named "La-Mujer-Jala", "The-Woman-Pulls"

empress emeralds

The estate sale had passed and I had fortunately missed it. The remains of a once majestic home were scattered about and I began to salvage books, trinkets and treasures...

"...The Empress arrived that night, flashing a million golden lights like the enchanted queen that she was. Her full-skirted Dior ballgown was made of encrusted gold paillettes woven into sheer gold fabric. Other jewel-colored paillettes gleamed as she moved in the light. Crowning her elaborately upswept dark hair was an immense diamond tiara, studded with emeralds the size of robins' eggs. The same design of diamonds and emeralds made up her necklace and bracelet..."
- Letitia Baldrige, 1968 "Of Diamonds & Diplomats" - 1st edition

for all teenage girls

a skinny little twig
They said I had a fabulous figure. Good genes. How lucky. Que dichosa la Julita. Well-proportioned, tiny waist and delicately defined arms. Twenty years ago I had an almost flawless body - tight and alabaster, smooth and free of any stretchmarks, scars or dimples. I ate whatever I wished and never bothered with scales, sizes or exercise. I was 15 years old.

I began gaining weight in my twenties. Three to five pounds here. Two to three pounds there. I was becoming a woman and my body was evolving. They said I had such a "beautiful face" but that I was getting "fat" - "gorda" - "chubby" -- and I believed them.

I believed them and gained more weight without understanding why. I believed them and judged my body as no longer being perfect, no longer being good enough. I believed them and in doing so betrayed myself, my body and my spirit.

I am still over-weight by their standards. I walk into a room and I feel I am being scanned - has she lost weight? Or has she gained more? What a shame with that beautiful face...

My body continues to evolve - with yoga and age. My body has become my temple - my healthy temple - and I am slowing becoming DEAF to their spells that have more to do with THEIR weight and body issues.

Women, men - whomever reads this - please, please - watch what you say and what you don't say to the teenage girls in your life...

excerpt from a series of writings in progress

time

one of my treasures
Time to wake-up. Time to sleep. Time to exercise. Time to lose weight. Time to graduate. Time to grow-up. Time to get married. Time to have babies. Time to build that dream house. Time to spend "more quality time" with those babies who are almost adults. Time to visit with family. Time to get to know the neighbors. Time to go to church. Time to purchase a new vehicle. Time to cook dinner again. Time to take care of aging parents. Time to think about retirement. Time to spoil grandchildren. Time to travel. Time to remember. Time to forget. Time to be honest. Time to make the donuts - oh, I've made the donuts...

I don't eat donuts, do you?

con Ruben y Margarita

2007 Untitled mixed media study for sculpture
eran las 3 de la mañana

de repente despertó

una nube la encontró

entre luna y estrellas

con Ruben y Margarita

la historia quería ser escrita