a message from FRIDA

"What secret are you looking for? Life will soon reveal it to you."
- Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

2011 mixed media from series

nicaragua

Con lagrimas te sueño

Con lagrimas te extraño

Con lagrimas te baño

Bautizada amada NICARAGUA


Con lagrimas te siento nacer de mi vientre

Con sangre y orgullo

Con grito de guerra y fuego del mar

NICARAGUA...Con dolor hoy te pinto


for my noble Father and his Motherland
Julia Casimira Sacasa de Checa

originally published in 2004
2003 Untitled mixed media on canvas

forgiveness & memory

el perdón y la memoria,

amantes que se traiciónan

forgiveness and memory,
lovers who betray each other

- excerpt from a series of writings from 2008 and 2009

let us play

my son's hand covered in volcanic sands and salt waters

let us play with Her

let us explore

let us search

let us discover

She invites us

let us bathe in Blessed Mother Earth



juguemos con Ella

exploremos

esculquemos

descubramos

Ella nos invita

bañemonos en Madre Tierra Bendita

silver liquid kisses

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." - Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

craving a day at the beach

out of sand she crafts an enchanted castle

sanctuary of seaweed and conch shells

imagination frees her...

audaciously dreaming...

courageously creating...



detail from a 2006 drawing

happy birthday dad

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

Happy Birthday Dad

sacred manner

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

truth

"If you want the truth,

I'll tell you the truth:

Listen to the secret sound,

the real sound,

which is inside you."

- KABIR

bésame, bésame mucho

With sparkling blue eyes and an unforgettable voice Antioco plays his guitar and serenades beautiful Maruca...remembering my beloved grandparents, truly Grand Parents on their wedding anniversary...


Bésame, bésame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez.

Bésame, bésame mucho,
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después.

Quiero tenerte muy cerca,
Mirarme en tus ojos,
Y estar junto a tí.

Piensa que tal vez mañana,
Estaré muy lejos,
Muy lejos de aquí.

Bésame, bésame mucho,
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después.

- original lyrics by Consuelo Velázquez (1917- 2005)

wise women speak

"In the ancient way of being, the earth not only creates, feels, and protects life, but like a mother, whispers through natural signs and images the secret knowledge of how body, mind, emotions and spirit work upon each other in an intricate, invisible weaving."

- Johanna Lambert from "Wise Women of the Dreamtime"
 
Who are the wise women in your life? When do you seek their counsel? The wise women speak to me through dreams and symbols. There are no coincidences...I am being guided, moment by moment. 

goddess of women

"I am Isis, mistress of the whole land...I am she who separated the heaven from the earth. I have instructed mankind in the mysteries...I have ordered the course of the sun and the moon. I am queen of the rivers and winds and sea...I have made justice more powerful than silver and gold. I have caused truth to be considered beautiful. I am she who is called the Goddess of women..."


- excerpt from the Inscription on The Temple of Isis at Sais

a mantra for this trip

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

our enviornment

"A woman's environment will speak for her life, whether she likes it or not." -Elsie de Wolfe

interwoven moments

"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)

compassion

"The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.” - Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

circle of kindred spirits

step into the circle,
step into the light,
look around and celebrate with those in your inner circle

bronze venus models CASIMIRA

el cuello,

pilar del templo,

de donde salen verdades inventadas,

voz de cuento,

canción de amor

from my journals

one of my altars

"...Sacred places are being resanctified all over the earth, and people are also finding the sacred within themselves.  Every sacred place and every sacred person is indeed like a point of light in a great web whose strands grow brighter..." - Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

eternal feminine

"I belong to no race nor time.I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads."- Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960)

moon butterfly wings

2011 mixed media

hecha de luna,
con alas de mariposas bailando en mi frente...

from my journals

discovering all the parts of me...

Setting Sun Woman by Jamie Sams:

"Keeper of tomorrow's dreams,
Mother of the star-filled night,
Show me how to live my truth
And bring my dreams to light.

Teach me how to use my will,
Living the truth I find within,
Discovering all the parts of me
Where light and shadow blend.

Let me sing the song of future
With concern for what will be,
Upholding all of nature's laws
For creatures, stones, and trees.

Mother, I see you in the sunset
And I hear you in the rain.
You teach me inner knowing
Through your heart's sweet refrain."

Poem © Jamie Sams

the image is a mixed media from a series I am working on...

hope for hope

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 in honor of beautiful Tia Hope on her birthday

the real ones

The sweet simple things of life...

A child’s smile...

A firefly’s light...

A friend’s laughter...

A juicy peach...

A lover’s kiss...

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

- Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)

money

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money." - Cree Indian Proverb

just be

walk into the fire,
surrender into the sea,
just be

detail from 2009 silk pouch in private collection

de las paginas de mi ser

te pinto mi alma

en acuarelas de sueños



te cuento mis secretos

en murmullos celestes



te invento de recuerdos

en las paginas de mi ser



soy esa niña hecha mujer


from my journals...which I am being urged to publish in print one of these days...

congenial souls

"We need to feel the cheer and inspiration of meeting each other, we need to gain the courage and fresh life that comes from the mingling of congenial souls, of those working for the same ends."

- Josephine Ruffin (1842-1924)

Congenial souls refresh...while others drain and stress...

fearless

"My recipe for life is not being afraid of myself, afraid of what I think or of my opinions."

- Eartha Kitt (1927-2008)

2008 mixed media

wishing you mad, naked summer nights...

"Press close, bare-bosomed Night!
Press close, magnetic, nourishing Night!
Night of south winds! Night of the large, few stars!
Still, nodding Night! Mad, naked, Summer Night!"

- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

bliss

she danced for joy,

she danced for soul survival

she let go,

surrendered to the dance,

and found bliss

from my journals

father's day

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

Happy Father's Day

reinas

"The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them." - Queen Victoria (1819-1901)

queens

"Be it known that we, the greatest, are misthought."

- Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt (approximately 69 – 30 BC)

I love this photograph...

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."
- Saint Augustine (354-430)

singing, dancing, painting

"Ese lunar que tienes,

Cielito lindo, junto a la boca,

No se lo des a nadie,

Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca.

Ay, ay, ay, ay,

Canta y no llores,

Porque cantando se alegran,

Cielito lindo, los corazones."

- Quirino Mendoza y Cortés (c. 1859–1957)


my toddler and I have spent the day singing, dancing, painting...a day of gratitude, celebrating a special time in my life...

artwork: by Carlos Checa-Sacasa (he turns 3 in August)

love & love & love

Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.
- Buddha (563-483 B.C.)

being true to myself

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”
- Coco Chanel (1883 - 1971)

she shall 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)

I'll believe for you today...

do you believe in prayer? do you believe in miracles? do you believe in love? not just romantic love, not just physical chemistry, but unconditional love?

do you believe in forgiveness?

do you believe?

I'll believe for you today...

just be, don't try to become

words of wisdom from my beloved Gurudev H. H. Swami Satchidananda:

"The flower doesn’t even know it is giving fragrance. Does it say, ‘Here is a nice person; I want to be extra nice and give her some fragrance?’ A candle doesn’t even know that it is giving light. It is just light. Does the candle say, ‘Hey, look. I’m here wasting my time; I’m melting away. Come, read or write something?’ No. The candle is just there. That is what a Karma Yogi is. Just by that yogi’s very presence, people enjoy the light, people enjoy the smell, people get the benefit. But, if you feel, ‘I wanted to give, but nobody wanted to receive; I’m wasting my time,’ then you are unhappy. Do you think that people are waiting around for you to give them something? Nobody is waiting for your gift. But, when they are hungry, they will take it. So, just be. Don’t try to become.

God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

- H. H. Swami Satchidananda (1914—2002)

more aware

"In violence, we forget who we are."

- Mary McCarthy (1912-1989)

Violence can be found in
a word
a gesture
a thought
a joke

Let us be more aware and not forget who we are...

an empowering lesson

...to teach our young who learn from example:

"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself; the second is to help others."

- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)

calling back wasted energy

forgiveness is freedom

"The act of forgiveness is the act of returning to present time. And that's why when one has become a forgiving person, and has managed to let go of the past, what they've really done is they've shifted their relationship with time. Forgive and call back the energy wasted on past events." - Carolyn Myss

forgiveness keeps us young
forgiveness keeps us light
forgiveness keeps us in love with life

who do we need to forgive?
who needs to forgive us?

take nothing personally

a group of Nicaraguan Elders
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

a mind of her own

"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 – 1962)

our children

2009 sketch for story

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?

originally published in 2009

a closed mind is a dying mind

Are you always right?
Are you set in your ways, in your ideas, in your opinions, in your beliefs?
Or are you OPEN-MINDED?

"A closed mind is a dying mind."- Edna Ferber (1885–1968)

emotional vampires

"The weak are the most treacherous of us all. They come to the strong and drain them. They are bottomless. They are insatiable. They are always parched and always bitter. They are everyone's concern and like vampires they suck our life's blood."

- Bette Davis (1908 – 1989)

Emotional vampires...they manipulate and they suck us dry.
I shield myself through meditation, prayer and visualization...

originally published in 2008

today

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

- Anaïs Nin (1907-1977)