soy madre

madre del mar
madre de madres
reina del planeta
canto tu canto
bailo tu ritmo
escucho tu voz dentro de mi
soy parte mar
soy parte mujer
soy madre

excerpt from a series of writings soon to be published in print

La Madre Nicaragüense

30 de Mayo, Día de La Madre Nicaragüense

Felicidades Nicaragua

remembering and honouring every Nicaraguan mother

mujeres de luz, women of light

we sat in circle sharing our stories, our joys, our worries...
women of light...mujeres de luz

in gratitude

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" - Maya Angelou

La Salvadora

Mama Yoya, I paint you in blue and sing you in red
celebrating your roots in Nicaragua, France and Spain.

Abuelita Yoya,
I dance with your wisdom and strength.

Salvadora
I honour you.

Salvadorita
I love you.

Yoyita
I understand and thank you....

excerpt from a series of poem-prayers

from a series of writings - teenage girls

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, originally posted in 2007

silk goddess

2005 hand-dyed silks

goddess of silk from the east,
plummeting cocoon in tea,
unraveling mystery

from my journals

There is a pile of clean clothes that needs to be sorted and folded.

There is another pile of clothes that needs to be washed.

The thank you notes are almost completed.


Why don’t you get a maid to come at least once a week, they ask.

Why don’t you start to bottle-feed the baby at least once in a while, they ask.

Why don’t you send us the most recent photos, they ask.

Why don’t you call or email anymore, they ask.


I am a mother to a 5-month old.

I am an artist working on new projects.

I am a woman who is learning to prioritize.

I am happy...I am joyful...and yes, just a bit weary of they never-ending things to do and of the never-ending questions which I try to ignore...

I am not the same person I was a year ago...I am grateful beyond words...

from my 2008-2009 journals

art of motherhood

"Every mother should endeavor to be a true artist."

- Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)

What do you endeavor to be?

writing on wings of dragons

"To attract good fortune, spend a new penny on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing her/his name on the wings of a dragon." - Proverb

...writing on wings of dragons...it is what I am called to do...

wild

my wild child and his artwork

"You were WILD once. Don't let them TAME you."
- Isadora Duncan

solar eclipse - ring of fire

“I'm falling in love with somebody I have no right to fall in love with...I can't fall in love with this man, but it's just like a ring of fire.”- June Carter Cash (1929-2003)

Love is a burning thing,
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire.

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher,
And it burns, burn, burns,
The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet.
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire ran wild.

fearlessness

"For a gallant spirit there can never be defeat."
- Wallis Simpson, The Duchess of Windsor (1896-1986)


A gallant spirit...I love the sound of that...

Every woman I know has a superior level of fearlessness.

from my 2008 journals

earth and stars

los santos de La Mama Yoya en mi altar...
Be humble for you are made of earth.

Be noble for you are made of stars.

- SERBIAN PROVERB

my mantra

"Arrange whatever pieces come your way."
- Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

mother courage

"I've been through it all, baby, I'm Mother Courage."
- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

breathing in courage

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
- ANAÏS NIN

remembering Mimi

dressed in deep oceans and skies, swimming between memory and dream

me visto de mares y cielos profundos

nado entre recuerdos y sueños

me pierdo y me encuentro en tu mirada


remembering Mimi

ephemeral eternal beauty

ephemeral beauty of childhood, eternal beauty of motherhood
Happy Mother's Day

ancient oceans

My beloved grandmothers, truly Grand Mothers shared a sacred connection with the ocean as I do...

The three of us are ancient oceans...

from my motherhood journals

love and only love

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
- Mother Teresa

madre diosa

mother goddess energy surrounds us, guides and protects us
madre nuestra

madre diosa

madre majestuosa

madre tierra

madre naturaleza

mujeres

generation of women, generation of daughters, generation of mothers

PHOTOGRAPH:  from an ongoing series featuring Nicaragua

saving memories

"You never realize how much your mother loves you till you explore the attic - and find every letter you ever sent her, every finger painting, clay pot, bead necklace, Easter chicken, cardboard Santa Claus, paper-lace Mother's Day card and school report since day one."
- Pam Brown

I save letters, photos, ribbons...I suppose I save memories

living and learning

If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility,
He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame,
He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance,
He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise,
He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness,
He learns justice.

If a child lives with security,
He learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval,
He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.

- Dorothy Law Nolte (1924-2005)

What did we live with as children?

What did our parents live with as children?

What are our children living with?

mystical mother of the universe

her roses

invaded me with sacred blessings

mother mary, mother earth
 
mystical goddess
 
mystical mother of the universe

from my journals
I love to dedicate the month of May to Mothers...
to the Mother Goddess in Every Woman

madre luna

mother moon guides, in all her fullness...

madre luna, madre mia...

a mother

A mother exists in every woman.
A mother is one who is loving and compassionate towards another.
A mother is the one who loves unconditionally.
A mother forgives.
A mother survives.
A mother nourishes.
A mother heals.
A mother need not give birth in order to be a mother.
Can we be mothers to ourselves? I believe so...
from my journals

goddess divine

my grandmother, truly a grand mother
first born daughter
the essence of
father and mother

priestess of earth
blessing the planet
with your birth

goddess divine
i honour you
grand mother and muse of mine

Happy Birthday Beloved Mimi

women who nurture & give unconditionally

May belongs to Mothers.  May I celebrate you for 31 days?  I sing to you and give you praise. May of Mothers...for women who nurture and give unconditionally...

surrender

May of Mothers...

as I surrender to the dance of divine motherhood

I sing and give praise

to all of the mothers who impact my life

to Gaia, Mother Earth...

to Our Universal Mother...

...May of Mothers

from my journals