too much?

mixed media study
We make a living by what we get,
we make a life by what we give.

- Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Is it possible to give too much?

Is it possible to love too much?

How do we know when it is all too much?

sushi by moonlight

mixed media card
raw

friendship

spicy

family

fresh

laughter

delicious

moonlight

Mother Moon smiled upon her favorite children and blessed them with her light so bright...

grateful

a quick pencil sketch of something I'm playing with
He sits on my lap as I type, his chubby, dimpled hands on top of mine...my baby boy is almost 8 months old! Our window is slightly open, letting in the sweetest Spring breeze. The sun and clouds dance, sharing the skies. Placido serenades us on this ideal Sunday...I am grateful...

my dreams in space

detail from mixed media, 2009
Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

- Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)

I throw my dreams into space...every single day....

watering our dreams

2009 mixed mediaBe careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.

- Lao Tzu (circa 531 BC)

what do we water our dreams with?

do we wait for our roots to grow strong before showing ego's blossoms?

chaos

detail from an idea in progress



One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

In gratitude for the chaos...

choose happiness

detail from 2007 collage

















life is made up of many little choices

each moment
every breath
offers a choice

i practice happiness
at least once a day – usually more

little by little
i recognize nature’s melody
the song of my soul

today, i choose happiness...again and again

originally published in January 2007

pulling hope

2007 "LA-MUJER-JALA" mixed media
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"

originally published in October 2007

fearless warrior goddess

little sketch from my journal
At seven feet, four inches, I towered over everyone. My wild hair with fuchsia pink streaks blew in the wind. I had become a fearless Amazon warrior goddess...

excerpt from last night’s dreams

just be

2009 mixed media from a series
The flower doesn’t even know it is giving fragrance. Does it say, ‘Here is a nice person; I want to be extra nice and give her some fragrance?’ A candle doesn’t even know that it is giving light. It is just light. Does the candle say, ‘Hey, look. I’m here wasting my time; I’m melting away. Come, read or write something?’ No. The candle is just there. That is what a Karma Yogi is. Just by that yogi’s very presence, people enjoy the light, people enjoy the smell, people get the benefit. But, if you feel, ‘I wanted to give, but nobody wanted to receive; I’m wasting my time,’ then you are unhappy. Do you think that people are waiting around for you to give them something? Nobody is waiting for your gift. But, when they are hungry, they will take it. So, just be. Don’t try to become.

God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

- H. H. Swami Satchidananda (1914—2002)
my wise Gurudev...exactly what I needed to hear today...

most noble

for the most noble of them all
eagle

shaman

warrior

king

healer

most noble of them all...

spring fever

detail from a series of Spring photos, 2009
It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
got it...

enough

study for sculpture
when will it be enough?

when will it be good enough?

candle or mirror

detail from an idea


There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

- Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

How do you spread light?

never give up

detail from a series of Spring photos, 2009
When you get in a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn't hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that's just the place and time that the tide'll turn.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

never give up

life is a poem

sketch from one of my journals
Any time is the time to make a poem.

- Gertrude Stein (1874-1926)

my life is a poem
with him and him

the waves in the ocean dance your name, he says

you are my ocean, she answers

laughter

no, that's cursi

rain dance

detail from 2009 mixed media


rain purifies and cleanses


let's go dance in the rain, he said

won't we get wet, she asked

that's the point, he answered


rain purifies and cleanses

fairy vacation

2009 mixed media from a dream
She gathered her rose petals and decided Spring was an ideal time to take a vacation from the world. She would go to the sea and stroll pink sands at sunrise and sunset...

excerpt from my dream journals

nicaragua: orlando sovalbarro

"...una luz que nos va dando pautas en el conocimiento, en este caso, el mío que es pictórico...yo creo que el experimento es importante, es como cuando se lee y se lee y al final te sentís fortalecido en espíritu, conciencia y concepto, como persona y trabajador, en este caso de la pintura..."

- Orlando Sovalbarro (1943-2009)

His sculpture speaks to me of dreams and fantasy and history. I have slept with his angels watching over me. I have meditated upon his haunting owls which remind me of Melba. Although we never met in person, our souls communicated on other levels...

full moon last night

detail from mixed media circa 2007He leaned over and whispered,
"...if you have a chance, go to your window and look at the moon..."
His breath was sweet and he smelled of lilacs.
It was a full moon last night.

dreams

2009 mixed media
Last night I dreamt so much...and this morning I told him a story partly from dreams, mostly from imagination.

Once upon a time there was a butterfly who fell in love with a little bird so blue...

with time

2009 mixed media from a series
with time, we become more authentic
with time, we reveal our essence
with time, our colors intensify

excerpt from one of my journals

spring

detail from one of my roses
Last night I slept with open windows.
This morning I woke up with singing birds.
Spring has arrived in all her glory!

una rosa de mujer

2009 mixed media from a series I began a few years ago
celebrando cada pétalo en mi vida

celebrandote mujer, hoy día

unexamined life

in the clouds


The unexamined life is not worth living.

- Socrates (469 - 399 BC)



How does one examine life while still remaining in the moment?

3 fortunes

from last night's take-out
Is life like a cookie, where we randomly choose our fortunes?

I believe life is a DANCE between our spirits and the Divine One...a wild and wonderful dance, which can leave one feeling out of breath at times...

life of the immortals

Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals; but enjoy to the full the resources that are within thy reach.

- Pindar (518-438 B.C.)

I dreamt with many of them again last night...does that not make them immortal?

pintado o desnudo

detail from self-portrait in progress
ojo de mujer
que ves ?
a quien lloras ?

ojo de mujer
durmiendo
soñando

ojo de mujer
deja la luz entrar
-- es hora de despertar

ojo de mujer
pintado o desnudo
mirate en el espejo – y dime, de que color eres ?

originally published on 1/23/2007

mother-of-pearl

detail from a lovely piece I am incorporating in a sculpture
I am the mother-of-pearl.
The world is a vein of silver,
An illusion!

This is the truth.

Nothing to grasp,
Nothing to spurn,
Nothing to dissolve.

I am in all beings.
All beings are in me.

This is the whole truth.

Nothing to embrace,
Nothing to relinquish,
Nothing to dissolve.

- Ashtavakra Gita

something to meditate on

be who you are & say what you feel

2009 mixed media
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

- Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)

...and may I add, pooo-pooo to you who judge and eat too much fudge while holding a grudge and refusing to budge...

who irritates you?

2009 mixed media
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

- Carl Jung (1875-1961)

Years ago, when I first read this, it changed my life. I became more compassionate, not only with others, but also with myself.