ocean of compassion

2009 mixed media
Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.

- Oprah Winfrey

I believe there is a mother within every woman.

She is the divine mother goddess who is an ocean of compassion...

How can we mother ourselves today?

simply surrender

baby & me
motherhood transforms

moment by moment

one must simply surrender

beloved high priestess

remembering my beloved Yoya, Great Grand Mother
...it was all about the necklace. The necklace had been created for a high priestess and possessed magic and mystery which only a high priestess would understand...

excerpt from a short story written years ago which is now included in a series about our relationships to jewels

rain mother blessing

2007 detail from 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...


originally published in April 2007

rain is a blessing...so many people complain about the rain...I love to feel raindrops on my face, especially in the summer...

rosa madre

2007 "SANTO" mixed media
el santo de rodillas
le rogaba
le pedía

el santo de rodillas
resaba noche y día
con una cruz de cristal
y una fe natural

el santo de rodillas
iluminado con la luz
de nuestra Rosa Madre María

originally published in October 2007

think twice

2009 mixed media study for sculpture
When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.

- Sophia Loren

...so very true...

soy hija de luna

2007 "Hija de la Luna" linoleum print on hand-made tree-free paper

nací una noche salvaje

del vientre sagrado de luz


soy hija de luna

hermana de sol

madre de estrellas

the little print was created in Nicaragua as part of a recent course taught by Robert Barberena De La Rocha

originally published in November 2007

healing hands

2006 mixed media collage detail









my hands are her hands...

...and her hands...

...and her hands...

i hold

i create

i pray

my hands shall be her hands one day...

...and her hands...

...and her hands...


for the healing hands of Mothers in my life

originally published in January 2007

pilares en mi rancho

my beautiful Mama
Yo quiero pilares en mi rancho...

- Julia S. de Hopping

She is one-of-a-kind and I simply adore her...my Mother...my MamaDiva...a pillar in my life...

moon goddess

2007 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

originally published in April 2007
it has been polished and extended since then...and I have learned to draw more and more moonlight into my life...

she visited my dreams

2007 mixed media detail
She visited my dreams last night and this morning. She smelled of roses when she hugged me close and told me she loved me and was so happy for me. She warned me against a certain few who would be envious and who would not hesitate to betray. Together we visited palaces and gardens. Before waking up, she embraced me and whispered into my ear, "WRITE"....

originally published in October 2007

in dreams...eagle

2005 hand-dyed silk detail

in dreams

Eagle came to me


under moonlight

Eagle sang to me


with wisdom and grace

Eagle blessed me


excerpt from my dream last night

originally published in February 2007

merging with nature

2007 mixed media
Her world had become green...alive with mother’s bounty. As she reached for the earth, she discovered emeralds all around; she found hope. Her energies went from serpent to butterfly in cyclic dance and harmony, she was neither one nor the other, but both. She had merged with Mother Nature.

originally published in June 2007

her salt waters

components inspiring a sculpture, 2007
I often dream with Mother Ocean. Her salt waters and waves. Her sandy beaches. After swimming in her womb, I feel refreshed and cleansed, truly renewed and reborn. One of these days I will live on the beach...and swim by moonlight...

originally published in November 2007

Today is one of those days I crave the ocean...to taste her salt waters on my flesh...Mother Ocean, how I miss you...

soy mamista

detail from my notebook

soy mamisma o mamista
y ni lo sabia...

no es exactamente lo opuesto del machismo
no es exactamente lo mismo que feminismo

mamisma es
una fuerza feroz y femenina
una fuerza natural y maternal
compasión con amor

soy mamista
y mi alma siempre lo sabia...

Gracias Isabel Allende...

being mamisma or would it be mamista
without realizing it...

it’s not exactly the opposite of machismo
it’s not exactly the same as feminism

mamisma is
a fierce feminine force
a natural and maternal force
compassion with love

I am mamista
and my soul has always known it...

Thank you Isabel Allende...


originally published in November 2007 after embracing Isabel Allende

it has been polished and extended since then, inspiring a series of images

into fullness

study for sculpture

It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace.

- Christopher Morley (1890-1957)

I see her smile in his.

I hear her voice in mine.

I feel her protection in the wind.

I dream her into being...eternal...Grand Mother...

becoming like mother

2009 mixed media of Oscar wearing my ring and brooch
All women become like their mothers.
That is their tragedy.

No man does.
That's his.

- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

the idea of motherhood

2007 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...

originally published in May 2007

it has been polished and extended since then...

he loves his mother the longest

my baby boy
A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.

- Irish Proverb

m a m a

2009 mixed media of my mother

My mother is a poem
I'll never be able to write,
though everything I write
is a poem to my mother.

- Sharon Doubiago

Wishing my beautiful MAMA and all of the beautiful MAMAs on the planet a blessed Mother's Day...and every other day too...

My first Mother's Day....and he is already calling me MA-MA...

instinctive automatic love

detail from mixed media circa 2007
Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.

- Buddha (563-483 B.C.)

How can we love the whole world when there are horrible human beings out there?

A mother loves her child (children) unconditionally and this love comes easily, without a second thought, it is an instinctive, automatic love. This is how we must love the whole world, without a second thought...not easy, but possible.....yes, anything is possible....

resistance, not the answer

2009 mixed media from a series in progress
excerpt from the book, 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...

children loving our children

2009 mixed media from a series

Our babies cried when we left them and we cry when they leave us. Echoes. Proud almost to arrogance then, we pushed them about in their carriages. Dutifully, wearily now, they push us about in our chairs.

Our children don't know us as we are now. Less do they know us as we were. Oh, how I wish they could have known us as we were. Do you think they would recognize their young selves in our young selves? I wish they could have seen us in all our clumsiness and selfishness, which is so like their own clumsiness and selfishness right now. There's another echo for you.

We believed the fairy tales we told our children and we loved them beyond reason even when we were green and bungling about it. We were children loving our children. And that's who we are still.

-Marlena De Blasi

I am holding my child as I type...I kiss his delicious cheeks and am just overwhelmed with gratitude and a sense of both humility and honor...I am his mother, his mother...

in the eyes of mother

detail from an insect I found

Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother.

- Moorish Proverb

anything is possible

2009 mixed media
I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

What of our mothers follows and clings to us through life?

I rejoice in my Mother's belief that anything is possible...

paternal grand mother

my beloved Grand Mother, Maria Lidia Tercero Teran de Sacasa Sarria
Un día, una estrellita muy bonita fue hablar con el Padre Sol, pidiéndole un gran favor.

- Padre, yo sueño con ser Madre. Quisiera vivir en la tierra para sentir y amar hasta llorar.

--- Estrellita, hija mía, tu lugar es en el cielo, de donde puedes alumbrar y atravez de esa luz, amar.

- O, Padre Sol, te pido que me dejes caminar el mundo. Prometo llevar conmigo el manto de nuestra Madre María, ya que es por Ella que sueño con ser Madre un día.

excerpt from "Estrella Maruca" © 2005

The story is about a little star who dreams of becoming a mother...it was written for Grand Mother, in her honour.

maternal grand mother

my beloved Grand Mother, Lillian Somoza Debayle de Sevilla-Sacasadaughter
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

originally published in May 2007

celebrating Grand Mother on her birthday

a mother's influence

Picasso and I share a special bond...he visits my dreams, often wearing sculpture, always telling stories...mixed media, 2009
Mi madre un día me dijo: "Si te haces soldado, serás General; si te haces monje, terminarás como el Papa." En cambio, me hice pintor y ahora soy Picasso.

One day, my mother said to me, "If you become a soldier, you will be a general; if you become a monk you'll end up as the Pope." Instead, I became a painter and now I am Picasso.

- Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

How much influence do our mothers have on us...still...?

month of motherhood

a rose so blue it could only be for you
celebrating 9 months of motherhood...

he was in my womb for 9 months - a little less,
he was in a hurry and arrived early

my baby boy is 9 months old today,
an ideal way to begin the month of May

goddess in cuba

detail from mixed media, circa 2006-2007




The bare-breasted goddess walked through Cuban villages looking for antique silks...

from last night's dreams

personal zen master

detail from mixed media cards at NMWA, 2008
Empty the cup.

- Zen Master Nan-in (1868-1912)

How do we empty our cups?

Last night I had trouble sleeping. After I prayed and meditated I was finally able to sleep - until baby woke up giggling...he is my personal Zen Master these days...

what sustains us from the INSIDE?

detail from a photograph of Lydia's orchids, 2009
excerpt from the book The Invitation by Oriah Mountaindreaming:

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

© Oriah Mountain Dreamer, from the book The Invitation, HarperSanFrancisco, 1999

what sustains us from the INSIDE?

younger and younger

2007 "PETAL FAIRY" mixed media self-portrait




















she was born an old woman,

but with each year,

through every smile,

she grew younger and younger...

for anyone forgetting to smile today

originally published in February 2007

are you satisfied?

detail from mixed media, 2009
Don't gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold...

Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?

- Bob Marley (1945-1981)

are we satisfied with the life we are living?

as juicy as usual

2009 mixed media
BANANO: Buenos Dias, you two...how are you?

LIMON I: OK, I guess, but I'm not feeling as juicy as usual.

LIMON II: Me either. Do you know what they did to LIMON III? They put him in the microwave for 20 seconds and then rolled him on the counter and finally sliced him in half - and all for a can of tuna.

BANANO: Well, they are waiting for me to get really old and sweet - just to mash me up and make a loaf of bread.

excerpt from "Conversations with Fruit" a series in progress

healing wings

detail from mixed media on cloth, 2007
Truth, that fair goddess who comes always with healing in her wings.

- Anne Shannon Monroe (1877-1942)

how does truth heal?

con corona de cristal

2007 mixed media

con corona de cristal

con arete de brillar

la fresa caminaba las calles

sin darse cuenta que era fresa

from "Conversations with Fruit" a series in progress

originally published in January 2007

earth day

detail from pen & ink
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children. - Native American quote

in pearls from neck to foot

2007 Untitled study
she dressed in pearls from neck to foot

her eyes sparkled when she spoke

she told me to continue on the path

towards beauty

towards greatness

towards peace in the heart

from my dream last night

originally published in July 2007

the heat of our souls' desires

2007 Untitled study for sculpture series
stars have secrets to tell us
- can we silence our minds and hear their whispers?

mother moon flirts with our emotions
- are we brave enough to feel?

great sun burns with passion
- can we stand the heat of our souls' desires?

oh what galaxies exist within us!


originally published in September 2007

she wears butterflies

2007 photo & mixed media depicting a fellow artist who lives in Granada and participates in art courses taught by Robert Barberena De La Rocha through Future of Nicaragua Foundation in association with Arts for the Aging
She wears butterflies in her hair and sings old love songs never forgotten. She sports a vintage pair of Chuck Taylor All Stars and tries not to use a cane when walking. When I hug her, she smells of fresh roses and baby powder. Once upon a time, she loved to cook and occasionally shares secret recipes. She is one of the greatest artists I have ever met, teaching me about the Art of Living.

originally published in November 2007

kissing...almost biting him

She was beautiful and she knew it.


Her skin was alabaster with mother-of-pearl iridescence.


She dressed in layers of flowing, transparent chiffon veils that floated around her long and slender ethereal body.


She pouted thick, sensual, hungry lips resembling only those of Angelina.


Her enormous dark eyes bulged out just enough.


She chased after him.


Had she no pride?


She pursued him, kissing him desperately, almost biting him.


Was she ready to mate?


Do fish have sex...?


notes upon observing a fish tank in a waiting room2007 quick sketch of the dangerous beauty

originally published in June 2007

for the wise women

2007 detail from print
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.

"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"

originally published in December 2007

no time to love

mixed media
Human beings judge all of the time.

We judge other human beings.

We judge politicians and actors – similar professions.

We judge restaurants and fashion.

We judge books and artists.

He is an excellent judge of character.
She is an awful judge of character.

She is overweight and must be depressed.
She is underweight and must be anorexic.

He is lazy.
He is a bohemian dreamer.

The baby is so cute.
What, are you having a fourth, fifth baby?
What, you’ve been married how long and no babies?

How many languages does your child speak?
Only one, barely one…why?

You don’t go to church.
God will punish you.
Shame on you.

She has had many lovers.
She is a whore.
She is confused.

He has had many lovers.
He is a healthy, virile man.
He celebrates his manhood.

She is a virgin.
She is a pious nerd.

He is a virgin.
He is gay, perhaps in the closet.

Human beings judge all of the time, when perhaps we should LOVE all of the time...

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
- Mother Teresa

originally published in December 2007

a woman expects a man...

mixed media, circa 1990's

"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

...and how SAD for that woman...giving up her power to man...
giving up her creativity on deMANd...

originally published in December 2007

celeste-mente

2007 color studies


celeste
cielo
laguna
mar

celeste
pétalos
uno por uno

celeste-mente
te quiero

celeste
es mi amor

celeste y fresco
celeste y puro

celeste-mente tu
celeste-mente yo

originally published in October 2007

my body moves in waves

2007 Untitled
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

from her book "Sweat Your Prayers: Movement as Spiritual Practice" which I am currently reading and practicing

originally published in November 2007

pétalos familiares

2007 Untitled mixed media color study
una familia de pétalos

salieron a bailar

uno por uno

fueron cayendo

...lluvia de pétalos familiares

originally published in October 2007