black cherry pie

The cherry symbolizes wealth and good luck. Yesterday, he surprised us with a home-baked black cherry pie. Summer is almost here.

healing the heel soul to sole

2007 my shoe
Fashion trends come and go...but how boring to follow and not lead. On the subject of heels...extreme flats can be rather uncomfortable and dangerous at times (read yesterday's entry). A shoe is a most personal accessory. A shoe is what protects our beautiful feet that take us everywhere. First and foremost, a woman needs to know how to be comfortable, yet stylish. She should be able to feel confident without stumbling and without cleaning out her savings account on shoes designed by men who shall never need to wear them. I admit to owning shoes I rarely wear...just once in a blue moon. What is women's obsession with shoes all about? How can we heal the heel? How may we save our souls and soles?...

"I don't know who invented the high heel, but all men owe him a lot." - Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962

motherhood in the park

2007 Untitled mixed media
It was a glorious spring day. The enormous tulips bowed in the breeze, opening up to reveal their innermost hues. The park had been taken over by children. Newborns in strollers, toddlers toddling – they were everywhere. Nannies and mothers, most of whom appeared to be pregnant – again, accompanied the blooming offspring. New life. Motherhood. Lifelong commitment. As she was contemplating these ideas, she stumbled. She fell hard and loud on concrete pavement. She sprained an ankle and bruised both knees, staining her designer trousers. The left side of her body received most of the impact. Her left thumb bled and became blue instantly. Her platinum wedding band scratched just enough for her to take notice. She was wearing flats and could not blame the fall on her shoes. The idea of Motherhood had painfully brought her to her knees – had bruised her and had caused her to bleed...

purple

2007 Untitled color study for jewels
Purple - is fashionable twice -
This season of the year,
And when a soul perceives itself
To be an Emperor. -- EMILY DICKINSON 1830-1886

or an empress...yes, a CASIMIRA empress

waterfall world

2007 Untitled mixed mediaThe jewel-encrusted cave led her to an enormous drape of flowing water. Behind the luminescent waterfall curtain she discovered another world...a world where butterflies spoke and angels painted...a dream where the ocean sang and the moon danced...

from a recent dream

princesa maya

2007 Untitled mixed media detail
La princesa Maya buscaba la respuesta en las estrellas.
Una noche de luna, ella por fin sabia lo que tenia que hacer. Comenzó a subir la pirámide hasta llegar a la luz...

excerpt from a short story

our Mother, who art in heaven

2007 "MIMI" mixed media detail
My Grand Mother Lillian left her earthly body four years ago today. I was with her the night before and the morning of this sacred re-birth...at her side, comforting her, praying with her. Her favorite prayer became the prayer that Jesus Christ taught his disciples. She taught me to pray it ever so slowly, paying attention to every word.

Our Father, Who art in heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name;

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen.

mother's day

2007 Untitled mixed media collageMother, all that you have given, all that you have sacrificed.

Mama

Mamita Linda

Mammy

Mamasita Mia

Mommy

Madre Adorada

Mom

Ma-Ma

Mama Diva

Mother, every time I utter your name, I express my love and gratitude for giving me life. You are so right, every day is Mother's Day.

the stray animal

2006 Untitled mixed media on paper detail
...she had a mane of wild black hair and dark eyes that seemed to have seen too much in one lifetime. One spring day, the stray animal just wandered into our lives, arriving on our front door wearing a lavender ribbon...Mothers have a way of welcoming stray animals into their hearts and homes...

excerpt from a short story written a long time ago

red velvet & spider webs

2007 Untitled mixed media photographic study
They sat in the red velvet seats of the old theatre. It was the only theatre that offered guests chilled bottled mineral water from France. How wonderfully odd to view a modern film in such a vintage venue, she thought.

Does Marie-Antoinette know he is Super-Man, she asked.
- He is Spider-Man, she whispered.
Is he Frodo, she asked.
- He is Sea-Biscuit, she laughed.

They all laughed...for over two hours, they laughed, sitting in the red velvet seats of the vintage theatre in the midst of Manhattan...laughing and laughing...

the ghost

2007 Untitled mixed media

The ghost descended upon the house deciding it belonged to her and nobody else – ever. She sang in the morning rain and danced under moonlight, blowing kisses to the wind, loving being visible to only a few.

an excerpt from a poem-short story I wrote in 1989

she wears a feather

2007 "FEATHER" sketch

she wears a feather

she says it reminds her of her power

of both Father and Mother

Sky and Earth

she wears a feather and soars

ancient oceans

2007 Untitled mixed media
“...My mother tells me,
you were always old,
Grandmother,
even as you bore three children,
making your way each day
to the market,
feeding mouths open and needing you.
Your home was always by the ocean,
watching waves.
Sometimes as night descended,
you could hear the water weeping endlessly...”

excerpt from “Grandmother” a poem written by Lisa Williams

My beloved Grand Mothers, Maruca and Lillian shared a sacred connection with the ocean as I do...the three of us are ancient oceans...

can you be happy?

2007 Untitled mixed media detail
Can you be happy – truly happy – for another person?

great moments

2007 Untitled sketch

"In great moments life seems neither right nor wrong but something greater, it seems inevitable."

-- Margaret Sherwood

saludos

2007 Untitled mixed media

Saludamelos - a todos Mi Muchachita....


She visited my dreams, as always, with a message...I felt her love surround and protect me all through the night.

angels in dreams

2007 Untitled mixed media

Where do angels live?

How do angels sing?

She asked me in a dream...

Lillian Ada de la Cruz

2007 "MIMI" mixed mediafirst born daughter
the essence of
father and mother

priestess of earth
blessing the planet
with your birth

goddess divine
i honour you
grand mother and muse of mine

planet earth as mother

2007 Untitled mixed media detail
"Making Family" - a poem/prayer by Jamie Sams

"Earth Mother teach me of my kin,
Of Hawk, and Dove and flower,
Of blinding sunlight, shady knoll,
Desert wind and morning showers.
Teach me every language of
The creatures that sing to me,
That I may count the cadence of
Infinite lessons in harmony.
Teach me how to honor
The Sacred Spaces of all,
Gently melding with the whole,
Answering the whippoorwill’s call.
Steamy tropics to glacial ice,
To thundering ocean tides,
In every grain of desert sands,
Your beauty forever abides.
Oh, Mother of every kingdom,
Let me claim my family’s love,
From the whales of deepest oceans,
To the Winged-ones, high above.
Expand my limited vision
Until I can truly know
The missions of my Relations
And the blessings they bestow."

© 1994 Jamie Sams

MAY of MOTHERS

2007 Untitled mixed media detail
May belongs to Mothers.
May I celebrate you for 31 days ?
I sing to you and give you praise.
May of Mothers...for women who nurture and give unconditionally.

ravaged

2007 Untitled photographic study" One day, I was already old, in the entrance of a public place a man came up to me. He introduced himself and said, “I’ve known you for years. Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you’re more beautiful now than then. Rather than your face as a young woman, I prefer your face as it is now. Ravaged.”

opening paragraph of “The Lover” ©1985 Marguerite Duras as translated from the French by Barbara Bray

tulips, mangos & HIM

2007 "MAN-GOES"
It was a lazy Sunday morning. Tumbling out of bed, I made my way to the grocery store in search of tulips and mangos. The sun was gloriously hot – summer was near.

While contemplating what color of tulips to get, red, pink, white, maybe striped...I suddenly sensed something and looked up. Clad in vintage aviator Ray-Bans, a mane of luscious locks swept back – it was him – HIM...

Ducking behind the roses, my heart and mind began a marathon. Why could I not take 5 minutes to shower...2 minutes to comb my hair...had I even brushed my teeth...PANIC. Could HE see me? Why had I not followed my parents’ cardinal rule – be ready to see anyone and be seen at all times?

He looked freshly showered, impeccable as always, but still maintaining the signature rugged manly appeal for which he was famous. I was dressed in yoga gear – black cotton lycra – UGH. Lip gloss was the extent of my beauty morning routine.

Snatching a bunch of tulips, I took advantage of the fact that he was selecting organic tomatoes. I seized my mangos and sprinted to the check-out...

excerpt from my morning and yes I had brushed my teeth

ebony goddess & moon

2007 Untitled mixed media detailshe was an amazon
an ebony goddess
a statue carved from luminous flesh dark as night

she leaned over
and in slow whispering song asked

Do you know how to draw the moon ?


excerpt from “The Goddess Speaks” a manuscript in progress

rain mother

2007 Untitled mixed media
Rain Mother wakes me up

softly

sweetly

slowly

drop by drop

it is time to wake up

it is time to dream and write...

thirst

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...

my dancing shoes

2007 "CINDERELLA" - one of my shoes immortalizedviolet
silk satin open-toe shoes
trimmed in exotic leather
a glorious lacquered black heel
encrusted in crystal

He loves to shop. She loves to collect. The shoes did not fit her tiny feet, so she gave them to me. I wore them all night, almost to bed, feeling a bit like Cinderella...I am ready to dance...

the lady of pazardzhik

2007 "LADY of PAZARDZHIK" pencil study for sculpture


I sit.
I wait.
I pray.
I listen in silence.
I breathe in gratitude.
I feel the moon blessing me, bestowing fertility.

excerpt from “The Goddess Speaks”, a manuscript in progress

restless

2007 Untitled mixed media

I woke up feeling restless…wanting to run and run...and not run away, but run towards...what is my soul telling me? I shall sit still and listen...

earth day

2007 Untitled

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

...let us respect Mother Nature and recognize that we are a part of the Living Planet Earth and that She is a part of us...

hearts

2007 "CORAZONES" photographic mixed media study
"Hearts, like doors, will open
with ease
To very, very little keys.

And don't forget that two
of these
Are "I thank you" and
"if you please."

-- Joan Walsh Anglund Copyright 1964

shaman speaks to butterfly

2007 Untitled mixed media collage detailsButterfly, you are my Third Eye.
You are the one who gives me the power of flight.
I belong to you...

Did I even exist before you flew into my life?

excerpt from a short story in progress

shaman butterfly

2007 Untitled mixed media collage detailThe butterfly belonged to the shaman. She relished spreading her glorious wings upon his 3rd eye, yet was still unable to fly. She could not bear to leave him, not even for an instant.

excerpt from a short story in progress

the church fundraiser

2007 Untitled sketch from journal
The vintage car was parked in a handicapped space. The two women must have been in their late 80’s. Both had white cotton-candy hair and dressed in similar hand-knit cardigans with laced-up orthopedic shoes. The taller senior wore a golden crucifix. One of them had a walker, the other a grocery cart. The two were busy whispering, giggling and unloading something from the trunk of the car. When I passed by, they smiled mischievously. I smiled back, finally noticing three cases of enormous wine bottles going from trunk to cart...

excerpt from today’s journal entry

pueblo blessing

2007 Untitled mixed media
Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.

Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.

Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.

~Pueblo Blessing ~

mermaid, monk, tail & saint

2007 "Under The Sea" mixed media
“...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

Has every saint somehow lost her wildness?...

birth

2007 Untitled mixed media sculpture in progress
Birth is a process involving pain, blood and tears. Birth signifies a new beginning. Birth announces change. I birth each of my sculptures to life...from dream to reality...

excerpt from my journals

of roses & archangels

2007 Untitled detail from sketchbook
“As for the roses, you could not help feeling they understood that roses are the only flowers that impress people at garden-parties; the only flowers that everybody is certain of knowing. Hundreds, yes, literally hundreds, had come out in a single night; the green bushes bowed down as though they had been visited by archangels.”

-- Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)

excerpt from a book my husband gave my Grand-Mother Lillian in 1997

new lessons

2006 Untitled detail from pen & ink wash
Are you open to learning new lessons...even if they contradict what you think you already know?

one's world

2007 Untitled mixed media photographic study

"To create one's own world in any of the arts takes courage."
- Georgia O'Keeffe

elegance

2007 Untitled sketch


"Elegance is refusal."
- Coco Chanel

queen or king of what

2007 "CORONA I" pen & ink on paper
What crown do you where? Where and what do you rule? Do you treat your body and soul with the majesty each deserves?

devouring books

2007 Untitled mixed media collage detail
I just finished reading another book. The words, the stories - - they nourish my spirit and give my imagination wings of freedom.

muse

2007 Untitled mixed media sculpture study




















She poured stars into my hands and asked me to WISH.

She explained the sacred beauty of stones and told me to DARE.

She blessed the pen and paper and begged me to CREATE.

gold goddess

anticipating CASIMIRA transformation



goddess of gold

dressed in moonlight tonight

goddess of old

bathed is sunlight tomorrow

goddess of gold



excerpt from my meditation journal

ISIS

2007 "ISIS" mixed media collage study for sculpture
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

what people say & think

2007 Untitled page detail from my sketchbook
Most of my adult life, I've worried about maintaining a spotless reputation. I consider myself somewhat of a recovering perfectionist and am still battling with a desperate need to please everyone - with the exception of myself, of course. What will people say when they read this? What will people think when they judge me or attempt to analyze my artwork? I do not know. Do trivial matters merit my precious time, energy or attention? I think not.

la flor y sus raíces

2007 Untitled mixed media photographic study
La Flor pidió que la jalaran, que la cortaran. Esta Flor era muy ambiciosa y demasiado caprichosa. Ella abría sus pétalos y sacaba su fragancia con orgullo y petulancia.

La Flor pidió que la jalaran, que la cortaran. Una vez separada de sus raíces, la Flor se sintió libre. Sus nuevos amos le dieron agua bendita de cristales. Estos amos la amaron, la velaron. Hasta el día que le salió la primera arruga, hasta el día que se le calló el primer pétalo. Una Flor marchita, ya no es considerada tan bonita. La Flor sin raíces murió sola y triste.

she dares it all

2007 Untitled mixed media collage detail




She dares it all, removing designer armor, peeling away layers of masks and baring her naked soul.


excerpt from “Vulnerable Power” a CASI-MIRA series of writings

enano de mariposas

2007 Untitled mixed media collage detail
El enano era un galán. Entró al Salón de Escudos como un sultán. Dos tigres, una avestruz y seis jabalíes lo escoltaron a los aposentos de la Diosa Blanca. El enano le traía las mejores Mariposas Maravillas para adornar sus cabellos de plata.

excerpt from a short story in progress