potentialities for growth lie within

"From the seed grows a root, then a sprout; from the sprout, the seedling leaves; from the leaves, the stem; around the stem, the branches; at the top, the flower...

We cannot say that the seed causes the growth, nor that the soil does. We can say that the potentialities for growth lie within the seed, in mysterious life forces, which when properly fostered, take on certain forms."

- M.C. Richards (1916-1999)

How do we properly foster our seeds?

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

mermaid tales

mixed media from a series
I dreamed I was a mermaid. My underwater world was encrusted with crystals, corals and precious stones. The moon was my Mother, the sun was my Father.

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)

know what sparks the light in you

“…Passion…that is what a calling is. It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you and hope that you will take from this show. To live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world." - OPRAH

work we love

"Life is too short to work so hard."

- Vivien Leigh (1913-1967)

If we are doing work we LOVE, then it does not seem very hard...

sweet simple things

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)

evolve

"There are many teachers who could ruin you. Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher. You have to evolve on your own."

- Berenice Abbott (1898 – 1991)

high-energy levels

"Expand your reality to the point where you pursue what you love doing and excel at it. Involve yourself in high-energy levels of trust, optimism, appreciation, reverence, joy, and love when you engage in every activity in your life." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

now is the time

...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 him in July 2004

waves

my body moves in waves,
when I dance...even when I walk,
waves of laughter...waves of surrender...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

landscape of my soul

in my dreams

I am one with the wind

I merge with the mountains

I melt into the landscape of my soul

in my dreams I touch the face of Our Creator

and I awaken

explore dream discover

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER."

- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

transit of venus across the sun

She moves across his burning face of fire, whispering secret blessings and kissing...

Under last night's full moon I dreamed with my beloved grandmother.  I dreamed with the ocean.  I dreamed with crystals and blessing rituals...

from my journals

a king and a woman

“…but you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love…”
– Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor (1894-1972)

silence & strength

Yoga 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

Future of Nicargua Foundation - Celebrating A Decade of Service

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
- Picasso    

These seniors live in the most humble conditions yet are full of JOY, GRACE and GRATITUDE. Most of them have no family. I was introduced to these beloved "Abuelitos"/"Grandparents" through Future of Nicaragua Foundation, a small non-profit that works with local artists in bringing art, dance and poetry to the elders through its cultural programs.

This year, Future of Nicaragua Foundation celebrates a decade of service...

feathers and roses

plumas y rosas
yo me regalo plumas y rosas

bailo al ritmo de mi alma

y soy feliz...



I give myself feathers and roses

dancing at soul's rhythm

I am happy...

soy madre

madre del mar
madre de madres
reina del planeta
canto tu canto
bailo tu ritmo
escucho tu voz dentro de mi
soy parte mar
soy parte mujer
soy madre

excerpt from a series of writings soon to be published in print

La Madre Nicaragüense

30 de Mayo, Día de La Madre Nicaragüense

Felicidades Nicaragua

remembering and honouring every Nicaraguan mother

mujeres de luz, women of light

we sat in circle sharing our stories, our joys, our worries...
women of light...mujeres de luz

in gratitude

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" - Maya Angelou

La Salvadora

Mama Yoya, I paint you in blue and sing you in red
celebrating your roots in Nicaragua, France and Spain.

Abuelita Yoya,
I dance with your wisdom and strength.

Salvadora
I honour you.

Salvadorita
I love you.

Yoyita
I understand and thank you....

excerpt from a series of poem-prayers

from a series of writings - teenage girls

They said I had a fabulous figure. Good genes. How lucky. Que dichosa la Julita. Well-proportioned, tiny waist and delicately defined arms. Twenty years ago I had an almost flawless body - tight and alabaster, smooth and free of any stretchmarks, scars or dimples. I ate whatever I wished and never bothered with scales, sizes or exercise. I was 15 years old.

I began gaining weight in my twenties. Three to five pounds here. Two to three pounds there. I was becoming a woman and my body was evolving. They said I had such a "beautiful face" but that I was getting "fat" - "gorda" - "chubby" -- and I believed them.

I believed them and gained more weight without understanding why. I believed them and judged my body as no longer being perfect, no longer being good enough. I believed them and in doing so betrayed myself, my body and my spirit.

I am still over-weight by their standards. I walk into a room and I feel I am being scanned - has she lost weight? Or has she gained more? What a shame with that beautiful face...

My body continues to evolve - with yoga and age. My body has become my temple - my healthy temple - and I am slowing becoming DEAF to their spells that have more to do with THEIR weight and body issues.

Women, men - whomever reads this - please, please - watch what you say and what you don't say to the teenage girls in your life...

excerpt from a series of writings in progress, originally posted in 2007

silk goddess

2005 hand-dyed silks

goddess of silk from the east,
plummeting cocoon in tea,
unraveling mystery

from my journals

There is a pile of clean clothes that needs to be sorted and folded.

There is another pile of clothes that needs to be washed.

The thank you notes are almost completed.


Why don’t you get a maid to come at least once a week, they ask.

Why don’t you start to bottle-feed the baby at least once in a while, they ask.

Why don’t you send us the most recent photos, they ask.

Why don’t you call or email anymore, they ask.


I am a mother to a 5-month old.

I am an artist working on new projects.

I am a woman who is learning to prioritize.

I am happy...I am joyful...and yes, just a bit weary of they never-ending things to do and of the never-ending questions which I try to ignore...

I am not the same person I was a year ago...I am grateful beyond words...

from my 2008-2009 journals

art of motherhood

"Every mother should endeavor to be a true artist."

- Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)

What do you endeavor to be?

writing on wings of dragons

"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...

wild

my wild child and his artwork

"You were WILD once. Don't let them TAME you."
- Isadora Duncan

solar eclipse - ring of fire

“I'm falling in love with somebody I have no right to fall in love with...I can't fall in love with this man, but it's just like a ring of fire.”- June Carter Cash (1929-2003)

Love is a burning thing,
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire.

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher,
And it burns, burn, burns,
The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet.
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire ran wild.

fearlessness

"For a gallant spirit there can never be defeat."
- Wallis Simpson, The Duchess of Windsor (1896-1986)


A gallant spirit...I love the sound of that...

Every woman I know has a superior level of fearlessness.

from my 2008 journals

earth and stars

los santos de La Mama Yoya en mi altar...
Be humble for you are made of earth.

Be noble for you are made of stars.

- SERBIAN PROVERB

my mantra

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

mother courage

"I've been through it all, baby, I'm Mother Courage."
- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

breathing in courage

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
- ANAÏS NIN

remembering Mimi

dressed in deep oceans and skies, swimming between memory and dream

me visto de mares y cielos profundos

nado entre recuerdos y sueños

me pierdo y me encuentro en tu mirada


remembering Mimi

ephemeral eternal beauty

ephemeral beauty of childhood, eternal beauty of motherhood
Happy Mother's Day

ancient oceans

My beloved grandmothers, truly Grand Mothers shared a sacred connection with the ocean as I do...

The three of us are ancient oceans...

from my motherhood journals

love and only love

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

madre diosa

mother goddess energy surrounds us, guides and protects us
madre nuestra

madre diosa

madre majestuosa

madre tierra

madre naturaleza

mujeres

generation of women, generation of daughters, generation of mothers

PHOTOGRAPH:  from an ongoing series featuring Nicaragua

saving memories

"You never realize how much your mother loves you till you explore the attic - and find every letter you ever sent her, every finger painting, clay pot, bead necklace, Easter chicken, cardboard Santa Claus, paper-lace Mother's Day card and school report since day one."
- Pam Brown

I save letters, photos, ribbons...I suppose I save memories

living and learning

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?

mystical mother of the universe

her roses

invaded me with sacred blessings

mother mary, mother earth
 
mystical goddess
 
mystical mother of the universe

from my journals
I love to dedicate the month of May to Mothers...
to the Mother Goddess in Every Woman

madre luna

mother moon guides, in all her fullness...

madre luna, madre mia...

a mother

A mother exists in every woman.
A mother is one who is loving and compassionate towards another.
A mother is the one who loves unconditionally.
A mother forgives.
A mother survives.
A mother nourishes.
A mother heals.
A mother need not give birth in order to be a mother.
Can we be mothers to ourselves? I believe so...
from my journals

goddess divine

my grandmother, truly a grand mother
first 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

Happy Birthday Beloved Mimi

women who nurture & give unconditionally

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...

surrender

May of Mothers...

as I surrender to the dance of divine motherhood

I sing and give praise

to all of the mothers who impact my life

to Gaia, Mother Earth...

to Our Universal Mother...

...May of Mothers

from my journals