Come Walk With Me

Come walk with me along the path above the Kinniconick Creek on a magical wintery morning...

Looking through the trees, down at the swirl hole from behind the cedar cabin....

... though it's late fall, the moss is still green...

We can look down at the swirl hole, the point, and the island...

We begin to walk downstream from the swirl...

  

Gazing out across the creek, we see the tip of the island, with mountains behind...

On the island, you can see the sunlight gleaming on white sycamores...

...which echo the shape of the mountain beyond...

Hemlocks and mountain laurel stay green all winter...

The water level is low at this time of year; there hasn't been much rain.

This view is from down behind the "back yard", in back of the log cabin...

... heading a bit further downstream, with the creek always to our right...

I love the huge beeches and hemlocks that seem to guard the path as it overlooks the Kinniconick...

Looking across again, at the island...

We continue to head downstream...

 We've now climbed down the embankment to the creek level, and stand looking upstream...

... and downstream one last time as we climb back up to the path above the creek...



Thanks for joining me; I hope you enjoyed the views. This post is dedicated to my dear friend Ken Lobitz, who owned this land at one time, and built the cedar cabin; I was inspired his recent blog post about pathways at Shabowmekaw.  To find out more about this magical place, I strongly encourage you to read the other posts at Ken's beautiful blog, Kinniconick Reverie.  Ken has some wonderful stories to tell.

Weekly Quick Collage: Even Yet

Even Yet

I saw blackbirds today when I

        was driving home

hundreds of them

         in an intricate spontaneous

unchoreographed ballet

    across the sky

         and it made me

smile

          even yet.

I look for inspiration

 wherever I can find it

and take it

       even where I can't

and hold onto hope

                                  even yet.

Drawing Challenge: Rara Avis

Contemplations

ingedients: vintage book pages and ephemera, image transfers, Pitt artist pens

I just couldn't resist the theme of this drawing challenge, hosted by Eric Adama of the wonderful Cerulean blog: rara avis.  So, I accepted his kind invitation to participate.

Defined:
- a rare bird.
- an unusual, uncommon or exceptional person or thing.




Please go to Eric's blog on November 22 to follow the links to the other drawing challenge participants. Can't wait to see what everyone has come up with!

November Brown

Brown seems a fitting color for November.  Even the Kinneyconick Creek looks brown at this time of year, due to low water levels and sediment, though the water is actually very clear.

I build a cairn of brown stones to honor the spirits of this place...

 

and an altar on which to leave an offering.

So many shades of brown to be seen at this time of year... grey-brown logs, red-brown cedar clapboard, myriad shades of brown leaves covering the ground...

Brown leaves look like beautiful calligraphy written across a striking blue sky...

Yellow- and red-brown leaves in the creek...

The warm brown of newly-sanded logs...

... and the fall foliage of a single redwood tree...




To enjoy more gorgeous brown, go to Jennifer Coyne Qudeen's or Julie Booth's wonderful blogs; they will hook you up with all the links!  Hope you enjoy!  Happy Fall, everyone!

In Tara's Garden

In Tara's Garden

9.5 x 15.75 inches

ingredients: vintage book cover, image transfers, acrylic ink, Derwent watercolor pencils, cut-outs, metallic pens, Pitt artist pens, monotype, woodblock prints, found objects, brads

Tara is known primarily as the Tibetan Buddhist bodhisattva (enlightened being) of compassion and action.  According to Wikipedia, "Tārā came to be seen as an expression of the compassion of perfected wisdom... Tārā is also known as a saviouress, as a heavenly deity who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in sansara (the cycle of suffering, death, and re-birth)."

Tara is one of the earliest known dieties; her origins are not entirely clear, but some scholars believe she may come from pre-Buddhist animist religions in Tibet. She has many different forms or aspects, of which Green Tara is one of the most popular. Green Tara (Khadiravani) is usually associated with protection from fear.

According to wildmind Buddhist meditation, "Green Tara is a forest goddess, and in one story is shown as being clad in leaves. Her Pure Land, in distinction to others that are composed of precious gems, is said to be lush and verdant:

Covered with manifold trees and creepers, resounding with the sound of many birds,
And with murmur of waterfalls, thronged with wild beasts of many kinds;
Many species of flowers grow everywhere.

She is therefore a female form of the "Green Man" figure who is found carved in many European churches and cathedrals, and who is found in the Islamic traditions as the figure Al-Khidr."

Weekly Quick Collage: Serendipity

Serendipity

Another in my series of weekly collages, done (mostly) in less than an hour using materials laying around on my drafting table (or floor). Enjoy!

"Vital lives are about action. You can't feel warmth unless you create it, can't feel delight until you play, can't know serendipity unless you risk.”

~ Joan Erickson

“Sometimes serendipity is just intention unmasked.”
~ Elizabeth Berg, The Year of Pleasures

Peace

Here is where I find peace:

Happy Veterans Day. And to all veterans, thank you for your service.

Weekly Quick Collage: Fly

                                     Fly                   8 x 4.25 inches

ingredients: vintage book pages, vintage map, vintages stamps and other ephemera, Derwent watercolor pencils, graphite

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
~C. Joybell C.





“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.”
~ Stephen King





Happy weekend, everyone!

Flight Talismans

This one just came together without much planning at all; in fact, when I started it, I wasn't even sure of the subject matter. I just started building layers of collage and symbols, then suddenly made a decision to draw/embroider a wing on it, and it's meaning became clearer from there.

Flight Talismans       21.75 x 8 inches

ingredients: vintage book cover, vintage maps and book pages, image transfers, woodblock print on cloth, stitching, feathers, brass wire, bone, glass, beads, found objects, stick     

I apologize for the quality of the photo, as I had to lay the piece atop 2 bricks because of the stick sticking out beyond the edges of the book cover. I will have to take a photo later with a nice black background, but didn't want to take the trouble to set that up right now.

Here are a couple of details; if you want to see more close-ups, go to my last post.

Thanks for looking, everyone, and have a great week!  

WIP

Just a few peeks at some work in progress. I'll be showing you the complete and finished versions soon.

And some teasers from another piece that's almost finished:

Stay tuned!


Happy weekend, Happy Samhain (Halloween) and All Souls' Day, everyone, and thanks for looking!