Something happened to me in the desert in 2018. When one has a deeply moving and mystical experience, it is best not to talk about it until a year has passed, so as to preserve the magic and vitality of the moment. My intention is to slowly disseminate and record the creative awakening that happened in that desert; and how it has completely changed the course of my life. Welcome to the birdhouse.
Awakening Ceremony
The smell of ceremony clings, thick to the fibers of my clothing;
My hair, my skin; saturated in Dakota sage, mugwort and sweetgrass.
My cells relax into a warm fuzzy glow. A broken star, blue-green,
cries out for the lost parts of its soul. “Follow my voice back home”
I call back, “I will tend you. I will nurture you. I will mend those ancient wounds
back to wholeness, back to where you belong. And when you return,
it will be to a whole new world; where together, we will collect starlight.”
On the eve of the new moon in December 2019, Christmas Day, I offered a ceremony to the muses to assist me in awakening 13 canvases for a series of paintings I was calling the Soul Retrieval Collection. It also happened to be the first eclipse of the winter eclipse season, and the last solar eclipse of the decade. The energy during this celestial period was that of the family shadow being brought to light, and the unleashing our full potential. It was vitally potent medicine to be infusing with this collection, which in hindsight, I believe wove itself into the entirety of following 9 months it took me to birth this body of work.
I left the sacred circle open until the 12th day of Yule, New Year’s Day 2020. The time between allowed me the opportunity to clearly define my intentions for this series.
Taken directly from my art journal:
1/1/20: This collection of paintings will create blessings of joy, happiness, healing and a sense of wholeness, not only to myself and my family of ancestors, but to everyone who looks upon one or all of these paintings. This collection will be the foundation for a new decade of inspiration and creativity.
Yesterday was Art in the Park at Kennedy Park (known as High Banks by my grandparents & great-grandparents) here in Somers Point, NJ. I am so excited to share that I won the People’s Choice award with this Coastal Abstract painting of an Atlantic green sea turtle and a black scoter sea duck. Like the title of this painting, this past year has been one chance encounter after another. Instead of a sea turtle crossing the opposite migratory path of the sea duck with barely an acknowledgment, my crossings have been made of divinely orchestrated timing with the most supportive local creative talent I never imagined would be so free and generous with their time and advice. Most people don’t learn from other people’s mistakes, but I do. I have been listening to everyone who has been sharing their ups and downs as an artist, offering suggestions from how to use my time and resources most wisely to where to take my style of art and who to talk to. This is such an exciting period in all aspects of my life, and everyone who I’ve met on this path, including all those wonderful people I’ve never met before but voted for my art anyway, they are all a part of this swell of momentum that is pushing me forward. And winning this award at a location that was so special to my ancestors is the cherry on top.
