el perdón y la memoria

self-portrait, 2009 mixed media
el perdón y la memoria
amantes que se traiciónan

forgiveness and memory
lovers who betray each other

- excerpt from a series of writings in progress

ephemeral existence

study for sculpture
how to respond

when we do not speak the same language

the goddess guided me to the book and I read:

Crystallize my existence

in a drop of dew

Sparkling, ephemeral

with strivings of every hue.

- Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave

oh, our ephemeral existence

all is illusion

one strange day

detail from an old sketch
The Once-Great-King would travel for hours on horseback to consult an unassuming crone who had studied with renowned healers in India.

The wizened old woman lived on a cave-like secluded farmhouse amidst herbaceous vegetation known for its medicinal and supernatural properties. She concocted magic perfumes and potions from her enchanted herbs.

The petite soothsayer was in direct communication with the spirit world and the Once-Great-King trusted her predictions and visions with his life and his kingdom.

One strange day, when the moon and sun were both presiding over the skies, a swarm of butterflies appeared, attaching themselves to every living tree in the land. The flutter of countless wings created a humming chant that reached the Once-Great-King’s ears in waves...he understood the time of great change had finally arrived...

- excerpt from a story in progress

thirsty for more

2007 Untitled mixed media

What do you thirst for?
What quenches your thirst?

I thirst for knowledge.
I thirst for peace.
I thirst for reverence.
I thirst for balance.

Art quenches my thirst yet makes me thirsty for more...

originally published in April 2007

this morning I woke up thirsty, ready to create
I finished a necklace
and hope to complete a short story by the end of the day
the baby is teething and wanting to play

el rey azteca

mixed media study for sculpture, 2009
el rey azteca se vistió de mis sueños

cantó de cristales y piedras con sedas y palabras

el arte es aire


the aztec king dressed in my dreams

sang of crystals and stones with silks and words

art is air

musa de mis sueños

my Great Grand Aunt: Margarita Debayle Sacasa de Pallais
Margarita, musa de mis sueños

inspirando, recordando...siempre amando


Margarita, muse of my dreams

inspiring, remembering....loving forever

life is relationship

2009 mixed media
All of life is relationship, and it is how we relate to people, to things, to ideas, and to our past actions that defines who we are. - John McAfee
I opened up the book and this quote appeared...life is relationship...

beach story

my Dad and me on the beach, circa 1970s
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 journal

blue lips

my blue lips
she paints her lips in blue waters

no ordinary woman

detail from self-portrait in progress
“...in 1450 a beautiful Celtic mermaid named Asenora swam ashore on the coast of Cornwall where a Benedictine monastery had recently been established. After removing her fish tail and hiding it among the rocks, she explored the area on foot and discovered the community of men. She made many clandestine visits – -

....Suspicious that Asenora was no ordinary woman but a mermaid, and greatly alarmed by her presence, the abbot of the monastery hid himself by the water and waited. He witnessed Asenora swim ashore, remove her fish tail and hide it in a niche in the cliff.

When she wandered off in the direction of the abbey, the shrewd abbot retrieved the fish tail, bundling it into his robe. He tucked it inside a secret compartment hidden under the seat of his chair, in the church. Without her tail, the poor mermaid could never go back to the sea, and soon the wildness of it drained out of her. Asenora was converted, and eventually became Saint Senara...”

excerpt from “The Mermaid Chair” a novel by Sue Monk Kidd @ 2005

you are no ordinary woman
go back to the sea
swim in the wildness
just be
no ordinary woman

mermaid life

my eyes in mermaid hues

conceived and birthed

in salt waters

mermaid life

respect

detail from self-portrait, 2009
If you wish to be respected, you must respect yourself.
- Spanish Proverb

Aretha sings about it, but it was Grand Mother who taught me (by example) how to respect myself...

writing on wings of dragons

detail from mixed media, 2009

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...

access the goddess within

detail from self-portrait study, 2009
she telephoned
feeling abandoned, forgotten and alone

I wanted to tell her to be strong
to access the goddess within

instead I listened
and sent strength silently

just begin

self-portrait, mixed media 2009
there is so much to say...
so much to do...
where shall we begin?
...let us just begin...NOW...

thoughts before meditating this morning

freedom

Lady Liberty
I have a magnet on my fridge which captures the essence of freedom for me. It reads:

DANCE as though no one is watching you,
LOVE as though you have never been hurt before,
SING as though no one can hear you,
LIVE as though heaven is on earth.

- Souza

do you dance, love, sing and live with freedom?

completely nude

my ideal bathing suit
I am quite comfortable in my skin and actually prefer to see my body completely nude instead of in one of today's bathing suits...

...shall I propose we go to a clothing-optional beach?

stop & remember

unaltered photographic detail of a leaf
we are so busy

on telephones that are computers and cameras and more

we are so busy

running and planning and thinking ahead

we are so busy

we forget who we are

we forget why we are here

let us stop and remember

my story HERstory

detail from mixed media design for tshirt, 2009
In retelling our stories, we uncover the positive, empowering legacy that we've been given...we can only rewrite our stories at the mythic level.

- Alberto Villoldo

I opened up his book and received a direct message...for I have been rewriting, retelling my story, which is also HERstory...

heart & soul

detail from an idea in progress
A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

what resides in your heart?
...in your soul?
how do you express yourself?

moving to nature's rhythms

2007 Untitled mixed media detail

As the music started, the sun began to blush while the wind continued to breathe. One by one, they slowly emerged from the depths of the earth. Moving with rhythms of nature, the goddesses created a sacred circle and danced in beauty and dreams.

originally published in June 2007


when was the last time you danced in sacred circle to nature's rhythms?

hope for hope

2007 Untitled 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.

originally published in June 2007

excavating wisdom

2007 Untitled jade, leather & emerald on clay water jug


three daughters of mother
excavating wisdom
through memory and honor



originally published in January 2007

sequins & crystal

circa 1984, polyester, sequins and crystal beads
elementary school

recesses spent sitting in the shade of a tree

sewing sequins and crystals

on a glove

If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.

- Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)

service

nature's colors - study for necklacelast night I was on a beach
with friends and family

she tried to tell me what to wear
it was not my style and a few sizes too big

when I woke up
there was a message about service - about being of service

how do we serve the planet?
how do we serve our community?
how do we serve?

Camilo Zapata

remembering...
Yo las quiero a todas, pero la que más aprecio es El Solar de Monimbó, fue una de mis primeras composiciones, y le gustó mucho al pueblo nicaragüense. Es algo que llena el espíritu.

- Camilo Zapata, Creador del Son Nica (1917 - 2009)

Yesterday, in the midst of celebrating Father’s Day, Nicaragua lost one of her greatest sons. His music fills me with memories and dreams to come...

zapateando, zapateando zapateya y nada más...

What music fills your spirit?

open window

2007 mixed media study for sculpture

Don't worry about saving these songs!

And if one of our instruments breaks,it doesn't matter.

We have fallen into the place where everything is music.

The strumming and the flute notes rise into the atmosphere, and even if the whole world's harp should burn up, there will still be hidden instruments playing.

So the candle flickers and goes out.
We have a piece of flint, and a spark.

This singing art is sea foam.
The graceful movements come from a pearl
somewhere on the ocean floor.

Poems reach up like spindrift and the edge
of driftwood along the beach, wanting!

They derive from a slow and powerful root
that we can't see.

Stop the words now.

Open the window in the centre of your chest,

and let the spirits fly in and out.

-RUMI

I dreamed my chest was an open window...and I woke up thinking of this poem, wondering what spirits wish to fly in and out of me...

message

2005 Untitled hand-dyed silk detail




















It was 2003 or perhaps 2004. We were living in the Pacific Northwest. Grand Mother had recently passed away. The Healer handed me a message from The Elders...which I just found folded within the pages of a journal...

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.

Here are the things that must be considered:

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know our garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel like they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off toward the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

See who is there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves! For the moment we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lonely wolf is over. Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

The Elders,
Oraibi, Arizona
Hopi Nation

solstice sun-day

my father & my son
father sun at solstice

a time of celebration and blessings

happy father's day

dreams last night

detail from a photograph
what do Al Pacino, Anderson Cooper and Larry King have in common?
they all made cameo appearances in my dreams last night.

Larry was shopping at the supermarket.
Anderson was teaching a class.
Al was sitting at a desk next to me.

who visited your dreams last night?

rain & sun

one from a series, 2009
rain mother

bathing

with her tears

she called

and father sun appeared

connection

detail from mixed media, 2009
as I was stretching in morning ritual, I heard an inner voice whisper

CONNECTION is the KEY

Like the MOON,
Come out from behind the clouds. SHINE.
- BUDDHA

CONNECTION is the KEY...

vestida de agua

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 sus sonrisa



dressed in waters

goddess walks

shadows dance on soul’s walls

ocean waves at her hips

moonlight in her smile

space of peace

2007 mixed media color studyYoga and writing keep me balanced and rooted in patience, compassion, silence and strength. From this blessed space of peace I am able to carve out my sculptures, my dreams and passions.

excerpt from one of my journals
originally published in September 2007

approval

items on my desk
You are being processed.
You have been approved.
- check-out clerk at grocery store

do you approve of him?
do you approve of her?
do they approve of you?
whose approval do we seek?
why must we be approved?
why must we approve?

mermaid dreams

a work in progress
I dreamed I was a flying mermaid with a giant fish tail and butterfly wings...

limes of love

detail from a photograph

What is a kiss?
Why this, as some approve:
The sure, sweet cement, glue, and lime of love.

- Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

who kisses you?

who do you kiss?

oh limes of love...

food as family

a carrot from my fridge
Vegetables, as well as all foods, should be handled and treated with the greatest respect. They are the synthesis of the forces of Heaven and Earth giving themselves to us so that we can live. They are closer to us than our family and friends, actually transforming themselves into our very body and healing us of our sickness. This process is a miracle of miracles and borders on the sacred.

- Cecile Tovah Levin

I dreamt he wanted me to cook for him...

the key is our relationship with food...my relationship with food

awaking all the senses

2009 detail from a photograph
the goddess brought my kitchen to life

awakening all the senses

she has a secret

2007 Untitled mixed media
she has a secret
her POWER

she has a secret
her IMAGINATION

she has a secret
her CREATION

she has a secret
her CONNECTION

she has a secret
her WRITING

she has a secret
her PATIENCE

she has a secret
her COMPASSION

she has a secret
and I am displaying it for all to see...

originally published in February 2007

young creative spirit

2009 photograph taken at Glen Echo Park
Why do we sometimes incarcerate parts of ourselves?

How can we liberate the young creative spirit within each of us?

embrace the entire world

2009 mixed media
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

how do we limit ourselves?

let us embrace the entire world...

la canción

detail from mixed media, 2009
I woke up with this song in mind...

La canción es urgente,
es un río creciendo,
una flecha en el aire,
es amor combatiendo

Quiero dártela ahora
que es la hora del fuego,
que es la hora del grito
que es la hora del pueblo

Que nos una amorosa,
que nos pegue en el pecho,
que si vamos cantando
no podrán detenernos

Que tu voz la levante,
que la suelte en el viento
y que suene a victoria
cuando rompa el silencio

La canción es simiente,
es de barro y de cielo,
es semilla y espiga,
es futuro y recuerdo

La canción es urgente,
va y viene compartiendo
con dolor y alegría
el mismísimo sueño

Quiero dártela ahora
con las ganas que tengo
con el nombre de todos
los que no se rindieron
- Teresa Parodi

What song did you sing in your dreams last night?

island priestess

2009 mixed media from a series
volcanic eruptions formed an inexplicable land mass

brown sugar sands

teardrop rain forests

the priestess had become the island...

...a temple for all who dared to enter

excerpt from a dream

she believes

detail from mixed media in progress, 2009
she wears memories around her neck

she kisses dreams by moonlight

she believes, do you?

box of dreams

detail from a mixed media in progress
she discovered a box of memories

unleashing a cascade of emotions

revealing her deepest desires

writing

creating

mothering

...a box of dreams which have become realities

pintando su alma

2007 mixed media study, untitled
detrás de una hoja azul

se encuentra la mujer

vestida de blanco

pintando su alma

detrás de una hoja azul


originally published in September 2007


behind a blue leaf

one finds a woman

dressed in white

painting her soul

behind a blue leaf

adventure

2009 mixed media
...life is a wildly wonderful adventure made up of journeys. Throughout each journey we encounter individuals who influence us, impact us in such a way that we are never quite the same thereafter...I have vivid memories...

excerpt from a series of writings, 2006

who has impacted your life?

woman

mixed media study
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

phenomenal woman, that's me...that's you...that's her too...