así como cambio yo...pero no cambia mi amor

- detail from my studio -

Cambia lo superficial
Cambia también lo profundo
Cambia el modo de pensar
Cambia todo en este mundo

Cambia el clima con los años
Cambia el pastor su rebaño
Y así como todo cambia
Que yo cambie no es extraño

Cambia el más fino brillante
De mano en mano su brillo 
Cambia el nido el pajarillo 
Cambia el sentir un amante 

Cambia el rumbo el caminante 
Aunque esto le cause daño 
Y así como todo cambia 
Que yo cambie no es extraño 

Cambia, todo cambia 
Cambia, todo cambia 

Cambia el sol en su carrera 
Cuando la noche subsiste 
Cambia la planta y se viste 
De verde en la primavera 

Cambia el pelaje la fiera 
Cambia el cabello el anciano 
Y así como todo cambia 
Que yo cambie no es extraño 

Pero no cambia mi amor 
Por mas lejos que me encuentre 
Ni el recuerdo ni el dolor 
De mi tierra y de mi gente 

Y lo que cambió ayer 
Tendrá que cambiar mañana 
Así como cambio yo 
En esta tierra lejana. 

- Julio Numhauser 

new moon blessings

"Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news."

- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

the only constant is change...are we able to surrender to uncertainty?

embracing chaos on this new moon that is ushering in new ideas, new insights and new beginnings...

raining romance

- signed bronze bangles - wearable sculpture - those are my fingerprints -

I adore rainy days.  The skies are mysterious and gray.  Everything is wet.  I love the sound, scent and taste of Mother Nature's blessed waters.

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life."

- John Updike

pintando alma

- 2013 mixed media on canvas from a series
exploring painting as poetry and meditation -

detrás de una hoja azul

se encuentra la mujer 

vestida de blanco 

pintando su alma 

detrás de una hoja azul

evolution

- mixed media on paper in sepia -

"Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution.”
- Deepak Chopra

la mama loba

- mixed media created after a dream -

"Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength.  They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mate and their pack.  Yet both have been hounded, harassed and falsely imputed to be devouring and devious, overly aggressive, of less value than those who are their detractors." - C. Pinkola Estes

disassembled by her

- memento from my days living in Italia -

"He sweeps his arm across plates and glasses on a restaurant table so she might look up somewhere else in the city hearing this cause of noise.  When he is without her.  He, who has never felt alone in the miles of longitude between desert towns...He lies in his room surrounded by the pale maps.  He is without Katherine.  His hunger wishes to burn down all social rules, all courtesy.  Her life with others no longer interests him.  He wants only her stalking beauty, her theatre of expressions.  He wants the minute and secret reflection between them, the depth of field minimal, their foreignness intimate like two pages of a closed book.  He has been disassembled by her..." - Michael Ondaatje

heal my heart

- mixed media from a series -

"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

breath by breath

"I can tell you that what you're looking for is already inside you." - Anne Lamott

what is your soul whispering?

become silent, breath by breath and listen...

waves of labor, sorrow and bliss

waves,

my body moves in waves

when I dance...even when I walk sometimes...

waves of laughter...waves of grief...waves of waves

"I love waves; I wish I had some in my hair. My daddy did, but I guess I didn't dive into that end of the gene pool. Virginia Woolf wrote my favorite book, The Waves, and I have a son who surfs them. I danced a thousand dances to Patti Smith's song "Wave" and I've waved a thousand good-byes. I've seen waves come and take my house, flood the same bedroom where they accompanied countless nights of lovemaking. I have ridden the waves of labor, of sorrow, and of bliss."
- GABRIELLE ROTH

originally published in November 2007

riding waves of waves...I am learning to surf...

earth and stars

Be humble for you are made of earth.
Be noble for you are made of stars.
- SERBIAN PROVERB



mother nature giving us spring

- 2013 mixed media from series -

She stirs. 
She moans lightly with delight.
Her lips curve up into a smile.
Her eyes begin to open.
She is waking up.
Mother Nature is waking up and giving us Spring.

from my 2007 journals

tigers and strawberries

- mixed media on paper from my journals -

“There is a story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking down, she sees that there are tigers below her as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she just takes a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly. Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.” 
― Pema Chödrön

woman, hold me close to your heart

- mixed media on paper -

"Woman, I know you understand,
The little child inside the man,
Please remember my life is in your hands,
And Woman, hold me close to your heart,
However distant, don’t keep us apart,
After all, it is written in the stars…"
... - John Lennon (1940-1980)

a bit of Irish luck

- 2013 mixed media on paper -

May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.
- Irish Blessing

mother courage

- mixed media on paper -

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

do you believe in prayer?

- mixed media on paper -

"I believe in prayer..."
- Josephine Baker (1906-1975)

nostalgia de mi Nicaragua

- mixed media on paper -

"Si bien fue muy provechosa mi estancia en NY, sentía la nostalgia de mi Nicaragua. Me hacían falta desde las brisas del lago hasta el sonido de sus campanas."- Edith Grön (1917-1990)

mi Nicaragua...

the man who can thrill you

- mixed media on paper in a private collection -

“The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space.” 
- Marilyn Monroe

to be a free spirit

- mixed media on paper -

"I like to be a free spirit. Some don't like that, but that's the way I am."
-Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales (1961-1997)

to improve

- mixed media on paper -

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
- Anne Frank (1929-1945)

the whole world

- mixed media on paper -

"As a woman, I have no country.

As a woman, I want no country.

As a woman my country is the whole world."

- Virginia Woolf

open up to belonging to the whole world...

so many doors

- mixed media on paper -

"I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them."
- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

so many doors...

International Women's Day

- mixed medias on paper -

"I believe that within me lies an extraordinary radiance, and I commit to letting my light loose in the world.

I believe that the source of my power and wisdom is in the center of my being, and I commit to acting from this place of strength.

I believe that I possess an abundance of passion and creative potential, and I commit to the expression of these gifts.

I believe that the time has come to let go of old notions and unhealthy attitudes, and I commit to re-examine what I have been told about beauty and dismiss what insults my soul.

I believe that negative thoughts and words compromise my well-being, and I commit to thinking and speaking positively about myself and others.

I believe that young women are in need of positive role models, and I commit to being an example of authenticity and self-love.

I believe in the relationship between my well-being and the well-being of the planet, and I commit to a life of mindfulness that regards all living things as holy and worthy of my love.

I believe it is my spiritual responsibility to care for my body with respect, kindness and compassion.  I commit to balancing my life in such a way that my physical being is fully expressed and nurtured.

I believe that joy is an essential part of wellness, and I commit to removing obstacles to joy and creating a life that is full of exuberance.

I believe that a woman who loves herself is a powerful, passionate, attractive force, and I commit, from this day forward, to loving myself deeply and extravagantly."

- Jan Phillips, Copyright 2007

for all of the women

- 2008 mixed medias -

"Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.

A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.

Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.

A woman who listens to her needs and desires.

Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past's influence on the present.

A woman who has walked through her past.

Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.

A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.

Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods.

A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.

Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body.

A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.

Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.

A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.

Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.

A woman who sits in circles of women.

Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman."

“Imagine a Woman” © Patricia Lynn Reilly, 1995

face the truth

- mixed media on paper -

"Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth." - Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)

what is the hardest thing on earth for you?

what is your truth?

what is your relationship to risk?

how do the opinions of others affect you?

40 days in silence

What are you willing to give up for 40 days? Are you able to do so in silence, without needing to tell the world about it? Without complaining?

 

the paintings are 2014 mixed media on canvas, still in progress...

dare to be powerful

- mixed media on paper -

"When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
- Audré Lorde (1934-1992)

how do we block our expression?

- mixed media on paper -

"There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost."
- Martha Graham (1894-1991)

how do we block ourselves?

how do we block our expression?

why would we do this to our souls?

we are on this planet to DANCE our DREAMS into realities...we are ALIVE so that we can stretch and grow and learn and laugh and cry and express the beauty that is within us...

mothers to a new world

"Women must remember the sacred nature of our Goddess self, the call to glory inherent in human incarnation.  We are daughters of history and mothers to a new world.  This is not the time to throw away our power.  It is time to claim it, in the name of love."
- Marianne Williamson

dare to discover

- mixed media on paper -

"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?

Stop feeling guilty.
You have done the best you can.
No regrets.

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