olas del mar en sus caderas

- from my journals -

vestida de agua,

camina la diosa

- sombras bailando en las paredes del alma

- ella lleva olas del mar en sus caderas

- ella lleva luz de luna en su sonrisa

~~~~~~~

dressed in waters,

the goddess walks

- shadows dance upon soul’s walls

- ocean waves at her hips

- moonlight in her smile

be a beach goddess

- 2013 mixed media from "Words Make Love" collection -

At some point in my life I shall live on the beach...

I shall become the queen of the mermaids dressed in shipwrecked silks and endless pearl strands.

I shall dance barefoot under moonlight, to the rhythm of heartbeats and waves...

I shall taste salty kisses and write love letters to the sun.

I shall paint the stars with watercolor words.

...and you my dear are invited to join me...

from my journals

hope for hope

- 2013 mixed media -

hope for today.

hope for tomorrow.

hope for peace.

hope for love.

hope for light.

hope for children.

hope for mothers.

hope for fathers.

hope for families.

hope for hope.

- from my journals, originally published in 2007

bring your heart near me

"I know the way you can get when you have not had a drink of Love;  your face hardens, your sweet muscles cramp.

Children become concerned about a strange look that appears in your eyes which even begins to worry your own mirror and nose.

Cats sense your sadness and call in an important conference in a tall tree.  They decide which secret code to chant to help your mind and soul.

Even angels fear that brand of madness that arrays itself against the world and throws sharp stones and spears into the innocent and into one's self.

Oh I know that way you can get if you have not been drinking Love:

 - You might rip apart every sentence your friends and teachers say, looking for hidden clauses.

 - You might weigh every word on a scale like a dead fish.

 - You might pull out a ruler to measure from every angle in your darkness the beautiful dimensions of a heart you once trusted.

I know the way you can get if you have not had a drink from Love's hands.

That is why all the Great Ones speak of the vital need to keep remembering God, so you will come to know and see Him as being so giving and wanting, just wanting to help.

That is why Hafiz says,

"Bring your cup near me, for a I am a Sweet Old Vagabond with an infinite leaking barrel of Light and Laughter and Truth that the Beloved has tied to my back.  Dear One, indeed, please bring your heart near me.  For all I care about is quenching your thirst for freedom!  All a sane man can ever care about is giving LOVE!"

- my beloved beloved HAFIZ

urge me not to yearn

- mixed media from a series -

"Bind the fragments of my heart
    with hope and peace
As the butterfly soothes the petal
    of a flower soon to cease.

Draw forth the strength
   beneath woe's dark shade
As moonlight breaks through the trees
   of a verdant, secret glade.

Urge me not to yearn
   for that which I cannot have
And instead trust Your wisdom
   to provide a gentle salve.

Show me Your love
   in a young deer's sable eyes
As I enter the grassy lair
   where tranquility lies."

- Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, from her beautiful book "Healing Light: Thirty Messages of Love, Hope, and Courage"

gods who would trade their lives

- detail from one of my old journals -

"There are moments in moist love when heaven is jealous of what we on earth can do. And there are gods who would trade their lives to have a heart that can know human pain, because our sufferings will allow us to become greater than any world or deity." - HAFIZ (c.1320-1389)

could it be the moon?

- mixed media from a limited edition -

First say to yourself what you would be,
and then do what you have to do.
- Epictetus (AD 55–AD 135)

Good morning my darlings.  I woke up with a lot of energy and a lot of juicy ideas - and I still haven't even had my morning tea.  Could it be the moon?  I danced and laughed under last night's majestic moon...

a reminder on this full moon

- 2012 mixed media -

"It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me 
is true.
I want to know if you can 
disappoint another 
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life 
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone 
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments."

© Oriah Mountain Dreamer from the book "The Invitation"

a reminder to be true to myself, to my dreams, to my art...

summer in love

- 2013 mixed media from "Words Make Love" collection -

I've decided to spend the summer in love...
...with life
...with myself
...with love itself...

summer solstice

sun king and mother earth

FIRE

wedding of heaven and earth

dance around the fire

be cleansed and purified

sing with joy

remove unwanted things…unwanted obstacles

cleanse and purify with the rays of fire

manifest heart’s desire

sun and earth

male and female

fertility

primal creative forces

god and goddess

abundance

powers of union of god and goddess

celebrate

renew

sun-light

-- from my journals, originally posted last year, 2012

open hearts

- mixed media circa 2005 -

"If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher." 
— Pema Chödrön

words make love

- 2013 mixed media collage from a new series -

I love words.  I love reading and writing.  My new series of mixed media is titled, "Words Make Love."  Each is created in an intuitive, meditative process.  These are messages from the Divine, whispering reminders to stay true to ourselves.

longing

- signed limited edition posters of original mixed media -

"What do I long for?
Something that is felt in the night
but not seen in the day." - Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

surya namaskara

- mixed media from my journals -

With praying hands I face the sun, feeling love and joy in my heart.

I stretch up my hands and let the sun fill me with warmth.

I bow before the sun's radiance and place my face to the ground with humble respect.

I lift my face to the sun and then remember, to achieve such heights, I must be as the dust of the earth.

I stretch up towards its light trying to reach the greatest heights and again surrender.

I stand tall as I remember the true sun is within me.

-- Ancient Verse, author unknown

father sun - mother moon

- circa 1970's, with my beloved Dad -

The beach holds memories of sand castles and salty smiles. It is where I need to begin telling my story, telling her story...with Father Sun and Mother Moon...

excerpt from my journals

CELEBRATING all of the AMAZING MEN who are FATHERS and FATHER FIGURES on this Father's Day...

dreaming in Italian

- mixed media -

“It would be impossible to love anyone else.”
– Sophia Loren (b. 1934)

last night I dreamed in Italian...it was a wonderful adventure of a dream

viento del olvido

- mixed media -

Como a todas las muchachas del mundo,
también a Ella,
tejiéronla 
con sus sueños,
los hombres que la amaban.

Y yo la amaba.

Pudo ser para otros un rostro 
que el Viento del Olvido 
borra a cada instante.
Pudo ser,
pero yo la amaba.

Yo veía las cosas más sencillas
volverse misteriosas
cuando Ella las tocaba.
Porque las estrellas de la noche
¡Ella con su mano las sembraba!

Los días de esmeralda,
los pájaros tranquilos,
los rocíos azules,
¡Ella los creaba!

Yo me emocionaba
con sólo verla pisar la hierba.

¡Ah si tus ojos me miraran todavía!

Esta noche no tendría tanta noche.
Esta noche la lluvia caería sin mojarme.

Porque la lluvia no empapa
a los que se pierden 
en el bosque de sus sueños relucientes,
y sus días no terminan
y son sus noches transparentes.

¿Dónde estás ahora?
¿En qué ciudad,
en qué penumbra,
en cuál bosque
te desconocen las luciérnagas?

Tal vez mientras escribo,
estás en un suburbio,
sola, inerme, abandonada...

¡Abandonada, no!

En tu ausencia
mi corazón todas las tardes muere.
- Manuel Scorza (1928-1983)

para escribir todas las playas del mundo con tu nombre amor mío

- my eye -

- my beach -

Si me quitaran totalmente todo
si, por ejemplo, me quitaran el saludo
de los pájaros, o los buenos días
del sol sobre la tierra,
me quedaría
aún una palabra.
Aún me quedaría una palabra
donde apoyar la voz.
Si me quitaran las palabras,
o la lengua,
hablaría con el corazón
en la mano,
o con las manos en el corazón.
Si me quitaran una pierna-
bailaría en un pie.
Si me quitaran un ojo
lloraría en un ojo.
Si me quitaran un brazo
me quedaría el otro,
para saludar a mis hermanos,
para sembrar los surcos de la tierra,
para escribir todas las playas del mundo, con tu nombre, amor mío.

- Alejandro Romualdo (1926-2008)

looking forward to tonight...

all the essences

"It's Gala who discovers and brings me all the essences, which I then turn into honey in the busy hive of my mind.  Without Gala, the world would have no genie: Dali would not exist."

- Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

interested in purchasing one of these limited edition mixed media prints? visit:  CASIMIRA Art Gallery 

ROMANCE is part of an ongoing series of mixed media featuring couples whose love and passion have ignited the world. The collection is currently being prepared for exhibitions.

wisdom

- my bronze venus wearing CASIMIRA -

Wisdom is
sweeter than honey,
brings more joy
than wine,
illumines
more than the sun,
is more precious
than jewels.

She causes
the ears to hear
and the heart to comprehend.

I love her
like a mother,
and she embraces me
as her own child.

I will follow
her footprints
and she will not cast me away.

- Makeda, Queen of Sheba (ca. 960/1000 B.C.)

This is one of my favorite quotes – it is more of a prayer. I often travel with it as a book marker and always keep a copy on my altar.

motherhood

- 2013 mixed media -

He wants to be close to me, touching me, breathing on me.
He loves to play with my hair, smell my skin.
He showers me with sweet passionate kisses.
He hugs and holds on the longest.

I am his goddess.  I am his mother.  I am his...

the one I love

- 2007 mixed media from my journals -

A strange passion is moving in my head.

My heart has become a bird

which searches the sky.

Every part of me goes in different directions.

Is it really so

that the one I love is everywhere?

- RUMI

the soul like the moon is new again

- mixed media -

what do you thirst for?

what do you dream of?

Take a few minutes to CONNECT with tonight's NEW MOON...

"The soul, like the moon,

is new, and always new again."

- Lalla (14th century)

las lluvias de mi tierra me enseñaron lecciones

- 2009 mixed media -

Desde que era muy niño, saltaba de alegría,
cuando la fresca lluvia de los cielos caía.

Chorros de los tejados, vuestro rumor tenía
el divino silencio de la melancolía.

Los niños con las manos tapaban sus oídos,
y oyendo con asombro los profundos sonidos

del corazón que suena como si fuera el mar,
sentían un deseo supremo de llorar.

Y como por la lluvia, todo era interrumpido,
se bañaban las cosas en un color de olvido.

Y vagaban las mentes en un ocio divino,
muy propicio a los cuentos de Simbad el Marino.

Las lluvias de mi tierra me enseñaron lecciones... ...
con Alí Baba, pasan los cuarenta ladrones.

Y cantaban mis sueños en la noche lluviosa:
¡Lámpara de Aladino, lámpara milagrosa!

Y al caer de la lluvia, la criada más antigua
desgranaba sus cuentos en una forma ambigua.

Otro de los milagros que en la lluvia, yo canto,
es, que al caer sus linfas, se pone un nuevo manto

mi ciudad que al lavarse... ...yo pienso en una de esas
austeras e impecables ciudades holandesas:

Una ciudad lavada, sin polvo, nuevecita,
donde reza el aseo su plegaria bendita.

Como, “pulvère procul” se lee en los pergaminos
de un noble de otros tiempos, por todos los caminos,

Cuando pasan las lluvias, se alegra y se extasía,
lejos, lejos del polvo, la profunda alegría:

La de andar sin pecado, por silencios de amor,
como un dulce ojo de agua de inocente rumor.

Si se libra el camino, del polvo –su pecado-
se vuelve como el santo de Asís, enamorado

de todas las criaturas, de todas las criaturas,
y a todas les ofrece sus blancas aventuras.

Son todos los caminos como flor de aventura
para el dulce Quijote de la Triste Figura.

- Azarías H. Pallais (1884-1954)

a perfect meditation for a rainy day like today

passionate intensity

- 2008 mixed media -

The sculptor must search with passionate intensity for the underlying principle of the organization of mass and tension – the meaning of gesture and the structure of rhythm.

- Barbara Hepworth (1903-1795)

Passionate intensity – what do you search for with passionate intensity?

What are you passionate about?

How do you express your passion?

I sculpt.

I write.

I dance and then I sculpt and write some more.

I am passionate about living in the moment and believing in my dreams...


originally published in 2008

miercoles

- self-portrait, my shadow -

"Love everybody.

Don't hate.

Don't gossip.

Take care of your own business.

And take care of your body."

- Eddye Williams, who lived to be 112 years young

dare to discover who you are

- mixed media -

"A woman has got to be able to say, and not feel guilty, 'Who am I, and what do I want out of life?' She mustn't feel selfish and neurotic if she wants goals of her own, outside of husband and children."
- Betty Friedan (1921-2006)

Who are you?

What do you want out of life?

Woman, stop feeling guilty.
You have done the best you can.
No regrets.

Live your life today, this moment...dare to discover who you are...

beauty comes from within

- mixed media -

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair."
- Audrey Hepburn

visit CASIMIRA to shop for limited edition prints

a declaration of love

- what is on your desk? -

From the beginning of my life

I have been looking for your face

but today I have seen it

Today I have seen

the charm, the beauty,

the unfathomable grace

of the face

that I was looking for

Today I have found you

and those who laughed

and scorned me yesterday

are sorry that they were not looking

as I did

I am bewildered by the magnificence

of your beauty

and wish to see you

with a hundred eyes

My heart has burned with passion

and has searched forever

for this wondrous beauty

that I now behold

I am ashamed

to call this love human

and afraid of God

to call it divine

Your fragrant breath

like the morning breeze

has come to the stillness of the garden

You have breathed new life into me

I have become your sunshine

and also your shadow

My soul is screaming in ecstasy

Every fiber of my being

is in love with you

Your effulgence

has lit a fire in my heart

and you have made radiant

for me

the earth and sky

My arrow of love

has arrived at the target

I am in the house of mercy

and my heart

is a place of prayer

- RUMI

I begin my days with poetry and prayer, meditation and yoga...

in cyclic dance

- 2007 detail from journals -

Her world had become green...alive with mother’s bounty. As she reached for the earth, she discovered emeralds all around; she found hope. Her energies went from serpent to butterfly in cyclic dance and harmony, she was neither one nor the other, but both. She had merged with Mother Nature.

originally published in June 2007