Heights and Depths

I am so thrilled cause I entered this painting in an exhibition in Montreal for the International Conference on the Study of Dreams.  Paintings inspired by dreams

was the theme of the exhibition, and I won 2nd prize for this piece!  This work is

a special piece that reminds me of the heights of clarity and joy that come from plunging into the murky depths of dark waters.

A month before being diagnosed with breast cancer I had the following dream:

I know I must descend into the depths of darkness but I also know that I will be able

to retrieve my drum, which has fallen to the bottom of this dark valley.  I am afraid to leave my position on top of the mountain bathed in the luminous light of the full moon but know that I really have no choice.  Somehow this descent is connected to my journey

as an artist and as I descend I am also in the process of creating a colourful collage of red hearts.

The following poem was inspired by the same dream:

Heart Drums

The veil slips away and there you stand,

luminescent and glowing.

I take one look and know you,

just as you are and always have been and always will be.

You are my reflection,

only you don't know this yet.

Do not be afraid to claim this beauty as your own,

It belongs to you, you have earned it.

You have fed in this swamp long enough

It is time to take this dark nourishment along

with my hand and rise up to the light

where we will sing healing songs of the earth

with the rhythm of our heart drums.

We both thought we were alone in the darkness

when really we were guiding each other home.

We meet where the shadows are deep 

and the light is dim.

I recognize your soul, dripping with the

mud and sludge of the swamp

that we both have been soaking in,

afraid to move for fear of drowning or worse

for fear of surviving in this foul, festering pond.

I discover that this swamp is the Source.

All beauty arises from here like a silent mist,

surprising us as she spreads her veils wide open

with the splendors of the Light beyond.

I claim my swamp self and wrap it around my glowing heart like

a warm comfortable blanket that keeps my light safe.

Opening of the Barn 2008

The launch of the "Barn" this year was a joyous celebration of art and music!

In spite of pouring rain all day, the rain stopped just in time for our festivities!

This year we hope to incorporate more live music, a regular drumming circle on Thursday evenings and a "Poetry Walk".  I just love this barn as a venue for exhibiting paintings as well as a magical place to work for the summer, as I can be inside/outside at the same time. I love the atmosphere of the pine forest plantation behind the barn. This spring I began working two days a week with Northland, a local landscaping co. which has reawakened the gardner in me.  I am presently building the "Poetry Walk" and take great joy in raking the pine needles into a winding path through the forest...I want to integrate other physical aspects of the land, such as stones, moss, ferns, etc. with time.  Once the physical space is created then comes the preparation and installation of the actual poems, I am very excited about this project and love to be a part of it's unfolding.

Two Men in my Dreams

There are two men in my dreams

They keep trying to meet

but are never successful.

One man is young and often

associated with the colour

blue or white.

The other man is older

and more serious.

They continue to almost

meet each other but

something always 

prevents them from

an actual encounter.

I saw them last night again,

Two men in a forest,

one in a blue jacket

with his hands in his

pockets, quietly following

the older man through

the woods.

I watched through a window

as the older man

avoided 

by slipping into 

shadows

thus eluding

their potential 

engagement

or confrontation

yet again.

Prayer for Mother Earth

Prayer for Mother Earth

Tangled curl of lichen dry branches outside the window

in exchange for dry dust of broken hearts.

Sun warmed rock with it's cool moss shroud

for deep inner strength tempered by humility.

Turbulent night of lightning and thunder

for heat of passion released in full expression.

A whole field of sun-ripened wild strawberries

for one long lingering kiss.

Curve of distant hillsides bathed in moonlight

for tender caress of vivacious flesh.

Offerings of the earth in exchange for love lost

I bow low in reverence and remember:

"There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth."

Monthly blood offering to the Great Mother

given lovingly back to it's source.

I honor this mother with all of my life, 

curl into her arms and ask that she hold me

as I howl into her breast of the death inside

and water her moss with blood and tears.

Nightmare

Frozen in timeless dark

choking on thumbtacks

lips being pierced with poison

I fight and bite and kick.

I find his eye sockets and dig

my fingers in hard, still he pins

me to the ground forcing poison

into my lips.

I manage to escape his grip

and start to dance on the street

with two blue scarves spinning

the freedom of sky around me.

He throws beer bottles that shatter

at my feet

and laughs as my dancing feet turn 

red with blood.

Studio work in progress

River series - this group of paintings was inspired by an afternoon canoe trip down

the Devil's River with my daughter last fall.  The joy of just going with the flow of the

river and being surprised by every bend in the river as it unfolds before you.

Sometimes there is faster water and you have to work to stay on course, sometimes

you are surprised by a rock or a deadhead, sometimes your breath is taken away by

the awe and beauty that appears before you.  I love working on this series, each painting is brimming with revelations.

I am learning so much about and through painting. It is my way of connecting to the earth and everything around me.  I need to just let go and flow with the river and my paints.  Ultimately it doesn't matter where I end up as it is the beauty of the journey that sustains me.

Emerging River

This painting has a dozen under paintings and stories that are all part of the 

almost finished piece, the under currents of a river, a life, an emerging truth...

The Truth upholds the fragrant Earth and makes the living

water wet.  Truth makes fire burn and the air move, makes sun

shine and all life grow.  A hidden truth 

supports everything.

Find it and win.

Ramayana

Stay true to yourself.  Let your voice ring out, and don't let anybody fiddle with it.  Never turn down a good idea, but never take a bad idea.  And meditate.  It's very important to experience that Self, that pure consciousness.

David Lynch