just sing a song

one of my son's favorite songs has become a favorite of mine too...

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

- Words & Music by Joe Raposo created for Sesame Street

celebrating four years of majestic motherhood

my little prince is four years old today...

motherhood blesses, changes, challenges, transforms...

perfection

"There will never be any more perfection than there is now."
- Walt Whitman

blessed life

" To love what you do and feel that it matters
– how could anything be more fun? " KATHERINE GRAHAM

I love being a MAMA, a woman, an artist...I am so grateful for my blessed life...

our beautiful time

"There may be more beautiful times, but this one is ours."
- Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

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)

Happy Birthday Ricardo...I love you

beauty & poetry - last day of summer camp

details from mixed media by my soon-to-be 4-year-old...

he gave these to his teachers today,

the last day of summer camp...

and he titled them, "FIREWORKS"

"We especially need imagination in science.  It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry."

- Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

yoga, journaling, yogurt and tea

It is so early and I am awake.
I treasure this quiet, contemplative time alone.  Yoga and journaling, then perhaps yogurt and tea...

heal the planet through play

A child is born pure and full of wonder.  We need not rush this sacred innocence.  Let the children play with mother earth.  Join in their celebration of life.  Sing, dance, laugh and be silly and wild.  Let us access our inner child and heal the planet one breath at a time...

from my journals

Amelia Earhart

"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace, the soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things."

- Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)

estrellas

"The stars don't look bigger, but they do look brighter."
-Sally Ride (1950-2012)

secret skies

"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.  First to let go of life.  Finally, to take a step without feet." - RUMI

a day of reading, painting and writing...

heart and soul

"A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."

 - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

esmeraldas de mi abuela

The estate sale had passed and I had fortunately missed it. The remains of a once majestic home were scattered about and I began to salvage books, trinkets and treasures...

"...The Empress arrived that night, flashing a million golden lights like the enchanted queen that she was. Her full-skirted Dior ballgown was made of encrusted gold paillettes woven into sheer gold fabric. Other jewel-colored paillettes gleamed as she moved in the light. Crowning her elaborately upswept dark hair was an immense diamond tiara, studded with emeralds the size of robins' eggs. The same design of diamonds and emeralds made up her necklace and bracelet..."

- Letitia Baldrige, 1968 "Of Diamonds & Diplomats" - 1st edition

Grandmother's emeralds...in words...through strories...

let go of the past

"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

wanting to write in white...

antique books with golden pages

blank textured cards - thirsty for words

transparent buttons and crystal clusters

a corset to be worn with white leather gloves

colorless miniature buildings

framed porcelain seeds waiting to bloom

a fallen tree birthed into something new

an empty box ready to hold memories

bleached banana leaves and a single brave feather

tiny fingerprint pebbles

an ivory talisman that rested upon her heart

a sculpture that whispers - WOMAN, you have WINGS, now FLY...

from my journals

majestic ancient mountain spirit

"You never conquer a mountain.
You stand on the summit a few moments;
then the wind blows your footprints away. 

 - Arlene Blum (born 1945)

majestic

ancient

mountain spirit

from the soul

"True glamour comes from within...it radiates from the soul."

- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

you are in truth the soul of the soul

"Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul." - RUMI

Margarita Debayle, Mi Padre y El Mar...

my beautiful Tia Margarita

The beach holds memories of sand castles and salty smiles.

It is where I begin telling my story...

Happy Birthday to my Muse of Muses...

Happy Birthday to my one and only Dad...

with my Dad on the beach, circa 1970s

creativity

“Creativity - like human life itself - begins in darkness.”
- Julia Cameron

I am going through a creative phase and sometimes feel as if I just don't have enough time for all of my ideas, all of my projects...it is exciting and overwhelming at once...

fantasies

Andy Warhol and I are friends...I call him Andres. He wears CASIMIRA and likes to photograph me when I dance...

"Everyone must have a fantasy." - Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987)

what is one of your fantasies?

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)

ain't no mountain high enough

"My love is alive
Way down in my heart
Although we are miles apart
If you ever need a helping hand
I'll be there on the double
As fast as I can

Don't you know that there
Ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you..."

- Nick Ashford (1941-2011) & Valerie Simpson (b. 1946)

at the edge of the roof

"Sit, be still and listen, because you're drunk and we're at the edge of the roof." - RUMI

not afraid

"I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them."
- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

one verse one song

"When you are consciously aware of your body and what it is telling you, the quality of intelligence is amplified.  Its reach is infinite.  While the human body performs countless physical processes, it tracks the movement of stars and planets, because your biological rhythms are actually the symphony of the whole universe.  That's why we call it the universe -- one verse, one song." - Deepak Chopra

mermaid life

my eyes in mermaid hues...

conceived and birthed,

in salt waters...

mermaid life

mother ocean's womb

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...

independence is happiness

I am inspired by this 1913 illustration "Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession"

"Independence is happiness." - Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

Happy 4th of July

blue oceans and lions

I dreamed with blue oceans and lions,

I heard his voice calling to me...

I wrote to him in blue spanish

~~~~~~~

lineas azules,

besos celestes,

abrazos morados risas rosadas,

y luz infinita...


excerpt from a letter

divine mother goddess - an ocean of compassion

"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?

ocean waves at her hips

vestida de agua,

camina la diosa

-sombras bailando en las paredes del alma

-ella lleva olas del mar en sus caderas

-ella lleva luz de luna en su sonrisa

~~~~~~~

dressed in waters,

goddess walks

-shadows dance on soul’s walls

-ocean waves at her hips

-moonlight in her smile

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

a dream with an ex-president

I had a very strange dream last night. My dreams are often strange, prophetic and layered with symbolism and meaning. This was a VERY strange dream, however.

An ex-president - I won't mention names or countries - was attempting to take off on a hot air balloon while eating a hamburger.

I was shopping in a supermarket and bumped into all kinds of interesting people from the past.

Before waking up, I received a fabulous design - just fabulous - many of my sculpture designs originate in dreams.

originally published in 2007

remembering Tia 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

wisdom

"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)

blessed space of peace

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

the beauty of what you love

I love being a mother.  I love being a woman.  I love being with him.

I love writing.  I love dreaming.  I love playing...  What do you love?

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." - Rumi

moonlight dancing butterfly wings

2011 mixed media

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

from my journals

poems reach up...wanting

"This singing art is sea foam.
The graceful movements come from a pearl
somewhere on the ocean floor.

Poems reach up like spindrift and the edge
of driftwood along the beach, wanting!

They derive from a slow and powerful root
that we can't see.

Stop the words now.

Open the window in the centre of your chest,

and let the spirits fly in and out."

-RUMI

mujer

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

my soul dance

I love how the grass grows tall and proud despite the concrete
"See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls."

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

yesterday afternoon, I lay upon the sweet grass, looked up at the rising moon and setting sun and felt my soul dance

summer solstice

I could not sleep. I meditated. I prayed. I practiced my asanas and pranayama. It was then that I realized that the SUN was calling me, asking me to greet him this morning of mornings, the Summer Solstice...

sun king and mother earth

FIRE

wedding of heaven and earth

dance around the fire

be cleansed and purified

sing with joy

remove unwanted things…unwanted obstacles

cleanse and purify with the rays of fire

manifest heart’s desire

sun and earth

male and female

fertility

primal creative forces

god and goddess

abundance

powers of union of god and goddess

celebrate

renew

sun-light

With praying hands I face the sun, feeling love and joy in my heart. I stretch up my hands and let the sun fill me with warmth. I bow before the sun’s radiance and place my face to the ground with humble respect. I lift my face to the sun and then remember, to achieve such heights, I must be as the dust of the earth. I stretch up towards its light trying to reach the greatest heights and again surrender.  I stand tall as I remember the true sun is within me...

fly

"The shell must break before the bird can fly" -Tennyson (1809-1892)