no, you can't disguise your lies

"...tell me lies,

tell me lies,

tell me sweet little lies...

oh no, no you can't disguise...

I'm not making plans,

I hope that you understand there's a reason why...

no more broken hearts,

we're better off apart let's give it a try..."

- Fleetwood Mac

so many intricate little lies...

what happened to truth?

what happened to transparency?

the energy around them is a knotted spider web of lies...

I have neither the time nor the energy for such nonsense...

life is too precious to stay in the dark depths of karmic muck and fake smiles...

in its deepest essence

"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."

- Rainier Maria Rilke

mixed media on paper, 2011

the art of motherhood

"...As daughters, we are brought up to believe we can achieve anything if we work for it, and this assumption, for many, leads to long, high-powered careers in which people do what we suggest...Then comes motherhood. Suddenly, we're not in charge. A tiny thing that can't walk or talk decides when (or if) we get dressed, when we eat or chat, whether we go out (probably not), and where (somewhere with child-friendly feeding rooms). Above all, it stops us sleeping. Resistance isn't the answer. By the birth of my third child, I finally got it: I should imagine I was a reckless student again for a few months, and everything would be fine - no set bedtime, no responsibilities, no deadlines that couldn't be extended, and no career plan. Long lie-ins and little afternoon snoozes; reading novels and watching daytime TV. Dashing from recently discovered coffee shop or gallery to tea at a new friend's apartment. I felt lost and out of my depth, but exhilarated by the sense of a new life unfolding, every relationship being reevaluated, and endless possibilities opening up..."

- Susannah Marriott © 2004


letting go of control

going with the flow

perfect imperfection

reevaluating relationships...for I am no longer the same person

I am a mother now...


originally posted in 2009

where magic and stillness collide

"She left her heart little. She left her heart childish. And for her, every little moment felt like butterflies. She did not want to believe there was an end to love. So she drowned in the seconds beneath the moment where magic and stillness collide. And every time she looked into his eyes, she was reminded of how if felt to be alive." - R.M. Drake

the rare beauty of new life

"Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life."

- S.D. Gordon

2007 "Hija de la Luna" linoleum print on hand-made tree-free paper created in Nicaragua as part of an art course taught by Robert Barberena De La Rocha

celebrating rebirth

"After even the longest, most bitter winter, spring comes with the promise of regeneration. Ice cracks, snow melts, buds swell, and new shoots poke up through the damp earth. All are animated by the primal force of life renewing itself. In the spring, at the equinox when day and night are equal and the sun rises and sets due east and west, we celebrate the earth's regeneration with the festival we call Eostar. Eostar, or Ostara, was the Germanic Goddess of spring, and she has given her name not only to our holiday but also to the Christian Easter, which also celebrates rebirth. The symbols and rituals that mark this season allow us to both aid the powers of renewal and draw strength from them.

The egg, of course, is the prime symbol of birth and beginnings. Decorating eggs at this season of rebirth is an old, widespread custom...

And that bunny - what is she doing laying those colored eggs? She is, of course, the living symbol of fertility, rabbits being what they are. As well, the hare is an ancient symbol of magic. If you look up at the full moon and squint your eyes, you'll see why Aztec and Mayan mythology place a rabbit in the moon. Hares dash through the fields at night on mysterious errands, and have long been associated with magic. They are sacred to Maeve, Queen of the Faeries, as well as to Ostara...

Birds actually do lay eggs, and they are especially active at this season, moving across the lands in their great migrations, returning to their nesting grounds, claiming their territories with dawn songs. If you can squeeze even a few moments out of your life to walk outside in the early morning, sit or stand quietly and listen, you can hear the chorus and notice how it develops and changes over the next few weeks, as new species arrive, as cock robin successfully attracts a mate and begins to breed, as the show-off mating cries eventually give way to the feeding calls of the young..."

- BeliefNet.com

snapshot - our playful Spring-Easter altar at home

through me

"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

el sabor de mis puntos cardinales

"Yo tuve un amor atlántico
y me converti en sirena
y en mi carne morena
sentí el calor
silbando fuerte a mi alrededor
y tuve un amor lunatico
y me converti en planeta
y estuvimos dando vueltas
en un baile silencioso
las estrellas calladas
como nosotros
y ahora tengo un amor
que es un calor
que navega su aire en el viento
que conoce mis buenos momentos, mis males
y el sabor de mis puntos cardinales
yo tuve un amor antártico
y la nieve me esperaba
noche y dia fría, helada
pero a mi no me importaba
porque el hielo conservaba nuestro ardor
y ahora tengo un amor
que es un calor
que navega su aire en el viento
que conoce mis buenos momentos, mis males
y el sabor de mis puntos cardinales..." - Ana Torroja

mother courage

"I've been through it all, baby, I'm Mother Courage."

- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

mixed media on paper

the joy of everything else

"If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough."

- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)

mixed media on paper

el hijo de pachamama

through wisdom of ancients

with eagle’s majestic flight

PACHAMAMA

bore a messenger of winds

SHAMAN

peaceful spirit of nature

warrior of light

mixed media on paper, 2007

wishing my SHAMAN, my HEALER, my LATIN LOVER a blessed year as he begins another adventurous journey around the sun...

Spring Equinox

“By seeking to walk in balance with the earth, we acknowledge her rhythms and cycles as sacred and our relationship with her must be sacred too. Try to honour the earth and tread lightly, considering your environmental impact as an integral part of your spiritual practice. Let the beauty of the spring fill you with inspiration and vitality, reflect upon the joy you see in every opening flower, every green leaf glittering with rain, share in Her endless love of creation and remember that we each are a part of that great beauty.”

– Danu Forest

“The Spring Equinox is a time for people to reflect on personal growth and purpose. This is a time to remove something from your life, or call something to you. Everything is growing, everything is blooming, so it’s a time to see what we can grow in our own lives.”

– Melissa Foster

everything is indeed growing and blessedly blooming...

self-discovery

"I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now...After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life..."

- Sophia Loren

detail from mixed media on paper

modern flamenco

"It's important for me to feel alive. If I am static, keeping the same artistic state without a unique vision or thought, I feel like, somehow, something is dying. The only way the water doesn’t dry up is by making sure it keeps moving, and allowing it to flow anyway it can. That’s the way I feel."

- Rocío Molina (b.1984)

grateful to have witnessed an inspiring flamenco performance that goes deep into the dance and mystery of the soul...

don't worry I'm quite tough

"Don't worry. I'm quite Irish and quite tough."

- Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986)

mixed media on paper

tambien te amo

"Oscar, me sorprendiste,
Pidiéndome un poema de amor.

Haré un canto de amor a mi patria,
Pequeño país, lucero gigante,
Esperanza de los pobres, jaqueca de los ricos.
Más pobres que ricos en el mundo,
Más pueblos quieren mi patria.

Mi patria se llama Nicaragua,
A mi pueblo entero lo amo:
Negros, Miskitus, Sumus, Ramas y Mestizos.

Ya ves, mi poema de amor es completo:
Como puedes ver, también te amo."

- June Beer (1935-1986)

---------------------------

"Oscar, yuh surprise me,
Assin far a love poem.

Ah sing a song a love fa me contry
Small contry, big lite
Hope fad a po’, big headache fa de rich.
Mo’ po’ dan rich in de worl
Mo’ people love fa meh contry.

Fa meh contry name Nicaragua
Fa meh people ah love dem all
Black, Miskito, Sumu, Rama, Mestizo.

So yuh see fa me, 

love poem complete ‘cause ah love you too."

- June Beer (1935-1986)

mixed media on paper

soy mujer

soy guerrera de otros siglos,

soy reina desde antes,

soy gitana bailando,

soy esa que grita su verdad en silencio,

soy mujer

from my journals

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

mis ojos se mueren sin mirar tus ojos

"Ya me canso de llorar y no amanece -
Ya no sé si maldecirte o por ti rezar -
Tengo miedo de buscarte y de encontrarte -
Donde me aseguran mis amigos que te vas -

Hay momentos en que quisiera mejor rajarme -
Y arrancarme ya los clavos de mi penar -
Pero mis ojos se mueren sin mirar tus ojos -
Y mi cariño con la aurora te vuelve a esperar -

Y agarraste por tu cuenta la parranda -
Paloma negra, paloma negra ¿dónde, dónde andarás?

Ya no jueges con mi honra parrandera -
Si tus caricias han de ser mías, de nadie más -
Y aunque te amo con locura ya no vuelva -
Paloma negra eres la reja de un penar -
Quiero ser libre vivir mi vida con quien yo quiera -
Díos dame fuerza que me estoy muriendo,
por irla a buscar..."

- as sung by Chavela Vargas

mixed media on paper 

life

"Every moment one lives is different from the other. The good, the bad, hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love, and happiness are all interwoven into one single, indescribable whole that is called life."
- Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994)

mixed media on paper

if it's love there is no in between

"All or nothing at all.

Half a love never appealed to me.

If your heart never could yield to me,
Then I'd rather have nothing at all.

All or nothing at all,
If it's love there is no in between.

Why begin, then cry
For something that might have been?

No, I rather have nothing at all.

But please, don't bring your lips so close to my cheek.

Don't smile or I'll be lost beyond recall the kiss in your eyes.

The touch of your hand makes me weak.

And my heart may grow dizzy and fall.

And if I fell under the spell of your call,
I would be caught in the undertow.

So you see, I've got to say no, no
All or nothing at all..."

-Billie Holiday 

mixed media on paper

the real lover

“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

mixed media on paper in a private collection 

phenomenal woman

"Pretty women wonder

where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

the swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

what they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

the need for my care.

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me."

"Phenomenal Woman" ©1978 Maya Angelou

International Women's Day

"Don't tell me women are not the stuff of heroes, I alone rode over the East Sea's winds for ten thousand leagues.

My poetic thoughts ever expand, like a sail between ocean and heaven.

I dreamed of your three islands, all gems, all dazzling with moonlight.

I grieve to think of the bronze camels, guardians of China, lost in thorns.

Ashamed, I have done nothing; not one victory to my name.

I simply make my war horse sweat. Grieving over my native land hurts my heart. 

So tell me; how can I spend these days here? A guest enjoying your spring winds?"

- Qiū Jǐn (1875-1907) translated by Zachary Jean Chartkoff

mixed media on paper, 2008

the way you carry it

“It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.”
- Lena Horne (1917 - 2010)

mixed media on paper

whatever pieces

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

mixed media on paper

create the world you want

"How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself."

- Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)

mixed media on paper

guilty of an indiscretion

"It may be difficult when someone you are especially fond of, someone beautiful and charming, has been guilty of an indiscretion, but magnanimity produces wonders."

- Lady Murasaki Shikibu

mixed media on paper

dare to be powerful

"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)

mixed media on paper

dance the freedom of women

"The dancer of the future will be one whose body and soul have grown so harmoniously together that the natural language of that soul will have become the movement of the body. The dancer will not belong to a nation but to all humanity. She will dance not in the form of a nymph, nor fairy, nor coquette but in the form of a woman in its greatest and purest expression. She will realize the mission of woman's body and the holiness of all its parts. She will dance the changing life of nature, showing how each part is transformed into the other. From all parts of her body shall shine radiant intelligence, bringing to the world the message of the thoughts and aspirations of thousands of women. She shall dance the freedom of women ..."

- Isadora Duncan (1877 – 1927)

mixed media on paper

goals of her own

"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)

mixed media on paper