Tiny flame within is fed with oxygen

and bursts into a roaring blaze

Suddenly all is made clear in the 

burst of light.

Open Heart

Here is the "mariposa" (butterflywoman) that Luis Paniagua sculpted and I collaged, painted and constructed the rest of the piece.  I feel as though she is announcing

the end of a long period of inner turmoil.  My heart is open and I stand naked and free,

ready to take flight.  Learning to love life in all it's "anxious beauty".  I still have unresolved questions in my heart perhaps I always will, it is the questions themselves that I am learning to love.

I am learning to love.

To love myself and others

in all their struggles

to be human.

Barn Images

Neema playing at forest entrance

Barn Flowers

More Barn Flowers

Barn Raven

Moonfling Group

The morning after moonflinging, Viviane shot this photo of whomever was hanging around at the time.  Left to right: Rachel, Bruno, Matt, Neema, Doug, Willow,?, ?

bottom: Margo, Holly, Fraser, Moe, Viviane and of course, Elsa!  What a magical blend of people, the poets, painters, sculptors and musicians who are not in the photo

are there in spirit with us!

Full Moon Fling

The moon rose like a glowing sphere of magic from behind the silhouetted spruce trees and spilled it's sparkle down around our barn.  Moonlight, fire and torches outside.

Paintings, sculpture, poetry and music inside, a night of pure beauty as artists shared

their creations with each other.  Singing, incantations, instrumentals with a forest as a backdrop.  Children, dogs, people, life and love overflowing. The poetry walk lit up in the darkness with strings of tiny white lights, created an ambiance of mystery and ceremony as one walked the path to read the poems.  The music filled the barn with sacred sound and filled the hearts of everyone who came to this magical evening.

I await the photos from Vivian to post on this blog.  

Drumming with my Daughters

Have been drumming every Thursday night at the barn with a regular group of people

led by Marc Seguin, an accomplished drummer and wonderful teacher.  My daughter

Amy has been coming to the sessions and last night my younger daughter, Georgia joined us too.  Fun to have them both there.  The drumming is so grounding and mind

clearing.  It takes a lot of concentration to follow and learn the rhythms but once you

get them they just flow out of you.  I loved grooving with my girls last night.

The Joy of Painting

I love to paint, I love the feeling of the brushes and knives swooshing the colours onto the canvas.  One colour becomes another as they fuse into layers on the surface.  I make a mark and the mark evokes a response from somewhere deep inside which produces another mark.  Sometimes words come into my head when I am working on a painting, sometimes a whole line or sentence of words will appear out of thin air, I often use these words in the title of the painting.  The words are echoes of the colours, shapes and textures.  There are times when I can taste the shapes in my mouth as I paint and I can feel the rhythms and movement of energy flowing through my whole body when I am working.  I am growing more and more confident in my work and as I let go of preconceived outcomes for the paintings the more the painting reveals itself to me from a deeper source.  This connection is vital for me and it is the only way I know of to dance with angels.

River Revelations

Here is the latest painting, River Revelations...I have hung it high up on the barn

wall as a companion to Cloud Spill, they are in complete contrast to each other,

yet they both are inspired by the same river.  I have now started a smaller study

of the shoreline rocks which continue to whisper their essence to me through

their shapes and textures as I row my canoe by them.  I LOVE painting so much,

it is like a prayer as it is the closest I feel to God when in the process of painting.

I feel like my whole being opens up and all my gratitude for existing pours out onto

the canvas.  It is a way of praying for the earth and all her gifts and when people come

into the barn and are made aware of this incredible spiritual presence that permeates all living things I feel I am twice blessed.

Barn Update

I love our barn, coolest place on the planet for exhibiting art.  Yesterday I finished another large painting from the river series I have been working on since spring.  

It feels good to be working on a series, helps to keep me focused cause my mind is

always overflowing with ideas, one thing just leads to another, continuously.

I finalized and put up the "poetry walk" today, it took way more time and energy than

I had expected but it is well worth it, it looks beautiful!  I can't wait to see how people

respond to it.  The first woman to see me hanging the poems on the trees was a poet herself and she thought the idea was amazing.  I am so happy to have finally completed it and I dedicate it with all my heart to the poetman who created it with me, Jim Larwill.

Meeting Jim was a turning point in my creative life and otherwise, he is one of those once in a life time people that you meet and they change your life forever.  

I am ever so grateful for his presence in my life and look forward to future collaborations together.

I would post photos of both my newest painting and the poetry walk but my camera

seems to have died and I am imageless for this post.

On another note, we have a baby groundhog, a fox and a racoon that share the barn with us, not so sure how long that baby groundhog is going to last with the other two but it's kinda fun to have them around, as long as they don't eat the flowers!!!