within

my baby boy in Granada, Nicaragua
the path to happiness
is within

If you want to find a deeper meaning in your life, you can't find it in the opinions or the beliefs that have been handed to you. You have to go to that place within yourself. - Dr. Wayne Dyer

songs of change

2006 Untitled mixed mediawhere are they?
they elude me tonight...
my dreams

the wind whispers
songs of change
the breeze kisses
songs of change

be not afraid
to close your eyes and dream
be not afraid
to dream awake

let us dance to songs of change

live like you are dying

2007 Untitled mixed media study





I have never been a big fan of country music,
but this song sent a profound message...

He said I was in my early forties
with a lot of life before me
when a moment came that stopped me on a dime
and I spent most of the next days
looking at the x-rays
Talking bout the options
and talking bout sweet time
I asked him when it sank in
that this might really be the real end
how's it hit you when you get that kinda news
man what'd you do

and he said
I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named FuManchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.

He said I was finally the husband
that most the time I wasn't
and I became a friend a friend would like to have
and all the sudden going fishin
wasn't such an imposition
and I went three times that year I lost my dad
well I finally read the good book
and I took a good long hard look
at what I'd do if I could do it all again

Like tomorrow was a gift and you got eternity to think about
what'd you do with it what did you do with it
what did I do with it
what would I do with it'

...and then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I watched an eagle as it was flying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying...

- TIM McGRAW

must we be close to death in order to live?

meditative journey

2005 Untitled hand-dyed silk detail



sound invaded every pore of my body


a meditative journey

embracing memories

inspiring dreams


sitting in stillness...

...suddenly sacredly shy


originally published in 2007

dance

2007 untitled installation detail

we are going to dance
so come now
you delectable graces
you muses with the glorious tresses
- SAPPHO

so, get up and dance
dance for life
dance for light
dance for your SELF

change

self-portraitchange
my 37th year began with major changes around me....
I meditate upon this song
and I move and dance to change, to life itself...
as I realize and trust the perfection of the universe...

Cambia lo superficial
Cambia también lo profundo
Cambia el modo de pensar
Cambia todo en este mundo

Cambia el clima con los años
Cambia el pastor su rebaño
Y así como todo cambia
Que yo cambie no es extraño

Cambia el más fino brillante
De mano en mano su brillo
Cambia el nido el pajarillo
Cambia el sentir un amante

Cambia el rumbo el caminante
Aunque esto le cause daño
Y así como todo cambia
Que yo cambie no es extraño

Cambia, todo cambia
Cambia, todo cambia

Cambia el sol en su carrera
Cuando la noche subsiste
Cambia la planta y se viste
De verde en la primavera

Cambia el pelaje la fiera
Cambia el cabello el anciano
Y así como todo cambia
Que yo cambie no es extraño

Pero no cambia mi amor
Por mas lejos que me encuentre
Ni el recuerdo ni el dolor
De mi tierra y de mi gente

Y lo que cambió ayer
Tendrá que cambiar mañana
Así como cambio yo
En esta tierra lejana.

- Julio Numhauser

healing

one of my beloved buddhas wearing a mixed media sculpture
Just as the soft rains fill the streams,
pour into the rivers, and join together in the oceans,
so may the power of every moment of your goodness
flow forth to awaken and heal all beings--
those here now, those gone before, those yet to come.

By the power of every moment of your goodness,
may your heart's wishes be soon fulfilled
as completely shining as the bright full moon,
as magically as by a wish-fulfilling gem.

By the power of every moment of your goodness,
may all dangers be averted and all disease be gone.
May no obstacle come across your way.
May you enjoy fulfillment and long life.

For all in whose heart dwells respect,
who follow the wisdom and compassion, of the Way,
may your life prosper in the four blessings
of old age, beauty, happiness and strength.

- Traditional Buddhist Blessing & Healing Chant

more beautiful now

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

such a secret place

2007 Untitled
"If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself: 'Somewhere, my flower is there...' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened....And you think that is not important!"

He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing....I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more. It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

- excerpt from Antoine de Saint-Exupery's
"The Little Prince"

birthday girl

mixed media of moi...circa 1970's
a dear friend once gave me a cosmetic bag that reads:

"birthday girl philosophy: be grateful to have been given one more day, let alone one more year. remember to dance in your nightgown, sing in the shower, ride a bike, fly a kite, and take an occasional "wind bath" in your bare skin. give those you love big kisses, huge hugs, and the words "i love you" often and always. nurture your body rather than starve your soul with fad dieting. spend time with the old and the weary to better appreciate your life. on your birthday, call your mother and father wherever they are to thank them for all that they have done for you. watch the movie "life is beautiful" at least once a year. remember that you are not guaranteed tomorrow and that today is as good as it gets. thank god for every thing, every day, every moment."

wash away worries

2007 Untitled mixed media
may the SUN
bring you new energy by day,

may the MOON
softly restore you by night,

may the RAIN
wash away your worries,

may the BREEZE
blow new strength into your being.

may you walk gently through the world
and know its beauty all the days of your life.

- APACHE BLESSING

RAIN MOTHER, wash away our worries...

turquoise & silk

detail from my studio
she dresses in turquoise
for protection
for power
she dances in silk
for wisdom
for strength

pearls of wisdom

detail from my studio's desk

The richest merchandise of all, the most sovereign commodity throughout the whole world, are these pearls.

- Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.)

pearls of wisdom
from the sea
she has given me

blue eyes

2007 Untitled textile study - hand dyed silk is from 2005
blue reminds me of his eyes
framed in dark rimmed glasses
remembering my Papa-Coco on his birthday

pink feather prayers

feathers found during morning walk
one by one
she collected
pink feather prayers

el camino

detail from sculpture
I was in a strangely wonderful land where giant boulders erupted from blue oceans. He appeared wearing a red mantel over his shoulders and carrying an ancient walking stick. The Shaman smiled and asked me to show him the way...to show him "el camino"....

in progress

detail from a piece in progress, 2009

Thoughts are like drops of water. When I think the same thoughts over and over again, I am creating this incredible body of water. First, I have a little puddle, then I may get a pond, and as I continue to think the same thoughts over and over and over again, I have a lake, and finally an ocean. If my thoughts are negative, I can drown in a sea of my own negativity. If my thoughts are positive, I can float on the ocean of life. I dwell on positive thoughts.

- Louise L. Hay

we are all works in progress
let us be kind to ourselves and to each other
let us choose thoughts of peace and compassion

goddess gifts

detail from a recent photograph taken in Granada, Nicaragua
I was walking barefoot on the cobblestone streets, heading towards the colonial cathedral.

The goddess appeared with specific messages and gifts:

a golden pen to write

a blue feather to fly

corals, crystals and minerals to sculpt

excerpt from last night's dreams

looking

2009 mixed media on wood from a series in progress

Why do you study so much?
What secret are you looking for?
Life will soon reveal it to you.
I already know everything...

- Frida Kahlo,
excerpt from a letter to Alejandro Gomez Arias, circa 1926

what are we looking for?

open open

2007 Untitled mixed media

You use my world without gratitude. You are blessed but fail to see your blessings. Open your eyes. The sun rises in beauty. The day begins. It is my day that I give you. You are my cherished child. Open your heart. Learn to thank me for all that unfolds for you. I am always present, always active. I bring you people, places, and things to bless your path. I am your provider, your opportunity. I am your path. Be conscious of me. Count your blessings and allow me to multiply them. Every thank-you triggers another gift. Blessings build upon blessings. They multiply in a grateful heart.

Bring me your heart. Let me soften it. Let me teach it to cherish and appreciate the smallest things. The puppy basking in the sun. The butterfly alighting on a bush. The industrious ant. The budding rose. All of these are part of me. All of life is my life, and all of life is yours to enjoy.

Celebrate beauty when you find it. Practice compassion for every living thing. Allow life to teach your heart how to respond to life. Let the willow teach you flexibility. For the poplar learn optimism. From the cottonwood take lessons in gentleness. I bless you with all these. Exercise gratitude that I may bless you more.

- Julia Cameron, excerpt from her book
"Answered Prayers: Love Letters from the Divine"

This morning in the midst of feeding, bathing and dressing baby....feeding, bathing and dressing myself...finding lost keys -- I stopped to take a breath and was called to this book, to this passage. Let us open our eyes, open our hearts and remember to be grateful....Om Shanti...

Mercedes Sosa

2009 mixed media
Music can't solve problems. Human beings have to resolve their own problems. But music can console people who suffer from problems, and perhaps it can inspire people to try to solve their problems. Singers have to sing whatever they believe in. They have to stay true to themselves. These are the songs I believe in, so I have to keep singing them.
- Mercedes Sosa (1935-2009)

....and we must continue singing, for our children's children...

I woke up

2003 sculpture surrounded by some of my stone collection
what very strange dreams last night

a famous man was overdressed
his infamous wife was tardy

a nurse attempted to sell me a crystal chandelier
something I do not need or want or even like very much

what very strange dreams last night

I woke up to find my baby dancing and giggling
every day seems like Christmas morning with him

turquoise morning

detail from a turquoise I have been working with




turquoise and corals

silks with silver

sewing and hammering

sculpting with dreams

just another morning

playing with silk

2009 self-portrait
Mother Goddess delivered ten silk pouches for me to play with.
She tells me I am "light years ahead"...

one's courage

2005 “BODHISATTVA” mixed media on paper




“LIFE SHRINKS OR EXPANDS IN PROPORTION TO ONE’S COURAGE.”
--- ANAÏS NIN




for anyone in need of courage today
originally published in 2007

begin today

2006 Untitled mixed media
where do I begin?

just begin, she answered

begin today

our eternal souls

2007 mixed media
When you look in the mirror who do you see?

When you find a new little wrinkle what do you blame?

A gray hair? Is it really time to despair?

An extra pound or two? Is that important to you?

Our bodies are not eternal, our souls are.

Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi...

originally published in 2007

manifest

2007 mixed media
...this book is about you and me...

We travel in the light, hand in hand, giggling all the way!

Let's create together...let us be guided by the Masters and manifest our Divine Destinies...NOW is the time!

excerpt from a book I gave and dedicated to him in July 2004

every single day

2007 mixed media detail
what do you do every single day?
breathe
laugh
pray
write
dream

daisies to diamonds

2005 Untitled hand-dyed silk detail








ribbons in her hair
a flower tucked behind an ear
rubber bands as bracelets
mother’s pearls - what pleasure
a crown of paper and a feather
oh nymph - oh fairy princess !

Always adoring adornments, from daisies to diamonds, if I thought it magical I was wearing it. Grand Mother initiated me by personally piercing my ears with gold when I was but two weeks old. Since then, adornments developed into a form of silent, almost sacred communication. Every piece I conceive carries a bit of my soul, paying respectful homage to my Muse, Mother Nature. A decade ago, after creating the first wearable sculpture I wrote, “…like the human soul, no two are alike…” It is still true today.

originally published in January 2007

playing

inherited antique bronze venus


As a girl, she showed me to play with clay. As a woman, he taught me to command and form the clay. In telling me HIStory he posed a simple yet profound question: DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ? I do have something to say. I am telling my story. I am remembering HERstory.

originally published in January 2007

I have so much to say...so much to remember....and I am playing every step of the way, through every dream...

eagle goddess memories

study for sculpture

One of my earliest memories is that of sitting on the majestic throne-like lap of beloved Grand Mother and kissing the Pre-Colombian eagle goddess pendant suspended from a long gold chain reaching her solar plexus. The shiny hammered talisman glowed in the sunlight, becoming warm in my hand, silently transferring ancestral wisdom.

originally published in January 2007

Consuelo Velázquez: BESO

2008 mixed media

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.

- Consuelo Velázquez (1917- 2005)

Juana de Ibarbourou: ALMA

2008 mixed media

Te doy mi alma desnuda,
como estatua a la cual ningún cendal escuda.

Desnuda con el puro impudor
de un fruto, de una estrella o una flor;
de todas esas cosas que tienen la infinita
serenidad de Eva antes de ser maldita.

De todas esas cosas,
frutos, astros y rosas,
que no sienten vergüenza del sexo sin celajes
y a quienes nadie osara fabricarles ropajes.

Sin velos, como el cuerpo de una diosa serena
¡que tuviera una intensa blancura de azucena!

Desnuda, y toda abierta de par en par
¡por el ansia del amar!

- Juana de Ibarbourou (1892(5) – 1979)

Floricelda Rivas Aráuz: MOVIMIENTO

2008 mixed media

Hay que vivir como en todo, actualizado. Vivir leyendo, dando vueltas junto con el mundo, no estar viendo que el mundo da vueltas, sino meterse en ese movimiento, si no te quedás, como el que quedó esperando un bus en la parada y lo vio partir. Si uno sigue así, se hace viejo, yo, en ese sentido, sí me siento jovencita.

- Floricelda Rivas Aráuz (1947-2007)

Sor María Romero: AIRE

2008 mixed media

La oración es para el alma lo que el aire para los pulmones.

Prayer is to the soul what air is to the lungs.

- Sor María Romero Meneses (1902 – 1977)

a prayer can be a single breath

inhale light, inhale God,
exhale love, exhale forgiveness

Casimira: MUJER

2008 mixed media of my Great-Great-Grand-Mother

Casimira Sacasa Sacasa de Debayle
mujer de mujeres

Daughter of a President.

Sister of a President.

Wife of a Genius.

Mother of a Muse.

Mother-in-Law of a President.

Grand-Mother of Presidents.

Grand-Mother of Muses.

Grand-Mother of Poets.

Grand Matriarch of Multitudes.

Great-Great-Grand-Mother of Mine...

mujer de mujeres es un orgullo llevar su nombre

María Félix: CORAZON

2008 mixed media
Sólo he sido una mujer con corazón de hombre.

- María Félix (1914 – 2002)

Hope: ARTE

2008 mixed media
Hope Portocarrero Debayle de Somoza
esperanza, luz, amada Tia Mia

...un templo del arte...

- Hope Portocarrero Debayle de Somoza (1929 –1991)

temple of art

temple of culture

temple of expression

temple of light

temple of music

temple of dance

temple of history

temple of HERstory

temple of HOPE

thank you
for being a visionary
for birthing Nicaragua’s majestic theatre,
Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío

Yoyita: GUERRERA REAL

2008 mixed media of my beloved Great Grand Mother

Salvadora Debayle Sacasa de Somoza
mi bisabuela, mi guerrera real, mi YOYITA

she visits my dreams with messages, symbols and strength

Mi Mimi: REINA

2008 mixed media of my beloved Grand Mother
Lillian Somoza Debayle de Sevilla-Sacasa
mi abuela materna, mi reina, mi MIMI

Nicaragua: VIENTRE

2003 Untitled mixed media on canvas



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

Mi Uca: ESTRELLA

2007 "MARUCA" my beautiful Grand Mother, mixed media
Maria Lidia Tercero Teran de Sacasa
mi abuela paterna, mi estrella del mar, mi Uca

...Hoy sentí el sol mas fuerte que nunca y la luna brilla con luz especial...las olas del mar bailan de alegría y mis lágrimas me las seca con su manto nuestra Madre María...Estrella Maruca regreso a su hogar, al cielo...ya no hay porque llorar...

excerpt from "Estrella Maruca" written in 2005

Sacasa-Sarria: CIELOS AZULES

2007 mixed media of my beloved Grand Father
entre cielos azules
y mares morados

los pájaros cantaban
las mariposas bailaban

amado abuelo

con luna llena
y sol fuerte
hoy te pinto de celeste

originally published in 2007

Sevilla-Sacasa: PLANETA

2007 mixed media of my beloved Grand-Father
nació un 11 de septiembre
del vientre de venus
con alas de mariposas
y plumas de pavo-real

el sol
la luna
las estrellas
te celebran
hoy y siempre

amado abuelo
embajador del planeta
en mis sueños nos vemos

remembering my Popo on his birthday

originally published in 2007

Júlia Lopes Almeida: LUZ

2008 mixed media

Perfumada laranjeira,
Linda assim dessa maneira,
Sorrindo à luz do arrebol,
Toda em flores, branca toda
- Parece a noiva do Sol
Preparada para a boda.

E esposa do Sol, que a adora,
Com que cuidados divinos
Curva ela os ramos, agora!
E entre as folhas abrigados,
Seus filhos, frutos dourados,
Parecem sois pequeninos.

- Júlia Lopes Almeida (1862-1934)

Remedios Varo: LOCURA

2008 mixed media

On second thought, I think I am crazier than my goat.

- Remedios Varo (1908-1963)

There is a Spanish saying, which I grew up with:

mas loca que una cabra OR

crazier than a goat

In Granada, Nicaragua I have recently heard:

mas loca que una cabra en bicicleta

crazier than a goat on a bicycle

At times, aren't we all crazier than goats on bicycles...?

...trying to pedal our way through life

striving for balance and stability while moving along...

originally published in 2008

Carmen Miranda: CUERPO

2008 mixed media

Look at me and tell me if I don't have Brazil in every curve of my body.

- Carmen Miranda (1909 – 1955)

our bodies tell a story
where we have been, where we are headed
every curve is a blessing...our bodies are our temples

Marina Nuñez del Prado: MILAGRO

2008 mixed media

Mi vida es mi obra:
Siento la inmensa dicha de haber nacido bajo la tutela de los Andes que son la expresión de la fuerza y el milagro cósmico así mi obra expresa el espiritu de mi tierra Andina y el espiritu de mi gente aymara.

- Marina Nuñez del Prado (approximately 1910 -1995)

...el espiritu de mi gente...