Greetings Everyone and Happy Spring to you!


It has been a very long time since I posted and I apologize to my fans. It has been one whirlwind after another it seems. The excitement of spring, the unusual weather, unpredictable challenges and a delightful variety of activities and events have all been keeping me focused and busy! So busy that there has not been time to DO and write, so I've been taking notes and photos, hoping to find some time to share them with you eventually.  Now I can at least give you some highlights....and hopefully more detailed posts can follow very soon.


NEW CARDS!
  Since customers seemed to be drawn to the greens of moss and forest images now that spring is here, I'm pleased to announce the first new line of cards for the spring/summer season. You can find this new collection at my website. It is called "Mossy Dreams"

A New Faerie House!
   There is a new Faerie house to show you. I'll give you a quick peek here and will devote a whole post to showing you more of the details. It is a very special house with a Balcony, lights, sweet windows, crystal jewels and velvet trimmings! And, the best door yet!

 Here it is perched on a mossy log, basking in the late afternoon sun.

 And here it is at twilight... so enchanting! But we will visit this cutie again soon and learn all about it's special features!
























  Spring Tuning
    In addition to preparing for spring and all the creative projects that can now be done in the warm and green world, I've also been given several art assignments. I am grateful for the work and have enjoyed the change of focus and the return to the drawing table...plus, these are paying jobs which I have also needed to keep my checkbook happy.  The business of being an artist is sometimes incredibly challenging. Being alone in the woods making art is the easy part...for me at least. Trying to earn a living from it has been the steepest mountain I've yet climbed! But, I've received some GREAT guidance and first-rate seminars from two wonderful art coaches I'd like to recommend: First up is Alyson B Stanfield. You can find her website HERE. I've taken her Blast-off class and her recent sales-for-artists tele-seminars with Carolyn Edlund of Arstsy Shark (don't let her logo scare you, she's really VERY nice!). Both of these women have a lot to offer any artist who feels they need a boost in managing the business side of their art career.  They bring energy, clarity and professional expertise to help any artist move forward with confidence and focus.
  Workshops!

In early May we had our first workshop for 2012 at Lakeside Pre-school at Black Kettle Farm in Essex, NY. I'll be telling you more about this delightful event, the school and the workshop schedule for later this summer. The workshop season will begin in July and will run through autumn, to take advantage of the best weather and seasons. 

   We will have several venues to choose from and a variety of focus levels for all sorts of students...from those who want to bring their kids for a fun day of forest frolics to classes geared for just adults. Classes will be announced here and in my newsletter as soon as the schedules are confirmed.

  Open Studio events!

 I am hoping to host at least one, possibly more Open Studio/Garden events this summer/autumn. There are two organized tours that are in this area and if I can get the gardens ready, and have enough sculptures/Faerie houses made in time, I will join the tours. I will announce the tours here and in my newsletter once those dates have been confirmed.

While the plants are so luscious this time of year, it must also be said that the famous Adirondack Black flies and mosquitoes are in full force now, so waiting till later in the year will make for a much nicer experience for all the visitors. There will (hopefully) be some fun things to spot tucked in secret nooks here and there. So stay tuned!

  

It is going to be a busy summer with lots of things to share and anticipate... and I promise to keep you updated with all the fun!

HAPPY SPRING!!!

It was just over a week ago. On March 11th I woke up and we had a surprise blanket of white. It was a very thin blanket, but it was snow nonetheless... and after a winter of brown and no snow, it was a complete delight. But the day warmed quickly and by noon it was all gone. I was so sad because as many of you know, I love winter and do many of my most daring sculptures in the winter...but this year, it was not meant to be. As I watched the snow vanish from that surprise delivery, I knew this was the last remnant of winter and soon it would be gone.
In addition to the sadness I was feeling about the loss of winter, I was also feeling into the sadness surrounding the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, so it was a bittersweet morning, to be sure. I realized that I needed to DO something to commemorate these feelings of loss. Remembering the practise of folding a thousand paper cranes as a meditation and prayer, I decided to start making snowballs and see how far I could get. There was not mush snow left....but appropriately, in the shadows there was still some... just enough to start making a piece. I began making small snowballs and setting them out in the moss garden. I had the camera on a tripod and after each addition I snapped a shot. The whole process will become a movie when I have time to put it all together.

The sculpture started in the center and worked out from there. I worked until I had used up all the snow I could find. It took a couple of hours, during which I entered the wordless space where one is when they are merged with the greater collective. The waves of emotion were huge as the grief and loss that so many were acknowledging also poured into me. I cannot explain how this happens, it just does sometimes. I felt that in some tiny way, this work was dedicated to all the families who were mourning their loss as I was also mourning the loss of a good friend....Winter.

The snowballs were melting even as I was making more. The air was very warm, the snow - deliciously cold. It was hard to scrape up enough to make more snowballs, but I found another piece of shaded area and was able to make another couple dozen.

It was a mad race in some ways...and a simple contemplation: gratefully receive what you have and use it well.


It felt good to make something of the moment, to honour those who were marking their loss and to also celebrate what we do have in this moment...however small it may seem. I let the sculpture take its own course and photographed it thru the afternoon as the snowballs melted. I wanted to document the slow and gentle return to the landscape. It seemed fitting, given the mood. When I looked thru all the photos, one was my favourite...a spiral caught between shadows.

















SO... this post is titled "Happy" Spring and that last piece of winter work while lovely, was not exactly arising from a "happy" mood...so let me leave you with this...
If you go to my website, you'll see a new set of greeting cards has just arrived!!! Here is the link to make it easier to find: http://www.greenspiritarts.com/Greenspirit_Arts_Cards_-_Faerie_Houses_Collections.html

ALSO... I'm very excited because I've just finished a new lighted Faerie house and it is quite enchanting. I need to photograph it today and will be so pleased to share it with you very soon!! Can't wait for you to see it!! Happy Spring Everyone!!!!

Celebrating the non-winter

As with so many other parts of the country, we had a remarkable non-winter this year. It was not possible to do my usual work. Everything felt disconnected, odd...unfamiliar. There were positives, to be sure...less time struggling against the cold for one thing, but the lack of snow was unprecedented for this area.

Then, last week a sudden storm in the night left a think blanket of white and I felt so compelled to DO something, anything! But there was such a thin covering...what to do? As I've learned by now, when uncertainty is in the air, spirals are too. I ventured to the moss garden and began to follow the curves in the tiny landscape. It was so delicious to feel the cold on my fingers once again!

However, the sun is so strong this time of year and even as I was working, the melting was fierce. Every minute the sculpture underwent subtle shifts and changes...soon it would all be lost into the heat and glare of the sun.









It is so strange to have had the whole winter pass with so few chances to play with the white stuff. We had another surprise snowfall the next night and I could feel that this was the last time it would be dusting the landscape for this season. It is hard to describe how I felt with this kind of knowing... humbled and sad come close.
So when the next morning came, and the sun came out from behind the clouds I knew I had to work fast. I'll share that sculpture soon. I have to process the photos but it is too nice out today and I must go to work outside!

30% off at Lulu!! only till the 19th

HI Everyone,

A quick note.... I just received word that Lulu is offering 30% off all book titles....this is a very big discount and if you've been wanting to get my books or any Lulu books, now would be a great time to take advantage.

This sale is only good until midnight on Sunday night, however. To receive the discount, use the following coupon code at check-out:

FEBRUARYCART305USD


Also... I had hoped to be making a little announcement here today but there has been a technical delay...next week early, hopefully!! Stay tuned!! And enjoy the week-end!!!

Of Goddesses and Groundhogs

On the circular wheel of the year, in Earth-based festivals we have just passed the cross-quarter day known to some as "Imbolc" which marks the half-way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox (in the Northern hemisphere). For those of us who live closer to the north, this is a very special time of year for by now we are able to notice that indeed the days are getting longer. Winter is not over by any means, but the return of the light of the sun is significant. Our spirits are lifted and we can start dreaming of gardens and green grass once more.

Here in America, on this "special" day, a poor old sleepy groundhog is dragged out of his nice warm borrow by a bunch of loud and rowdy humans. It is a bizarre ritual that even as a kid I felt was so unfair and it really embarrassed me to be an American with this very strange "holiday" that made absolutely no sense...and the whole formula for divining the remaining winter seemed so nonsensical to me...I mean, if it is sunny out, that should be good, right? But apparently not according to the legend. I can remember asking the adults in my world and no one had a good answer...it was just "tradition" and so we were supposed to accept it...and get into it. But the whole thing made me queasy...like it was a violation of something much deeper. But I was just a kid and what do kids know....right?

Did you ever wonder where we got such a silly ritual and why this day, February 2nd was the day chosen for this strange celebration?

Here is what made it all finally make some sense to me - though I don't quite yet understand how the groundhog got into the picture. I was in Scotland doing some independent study on Celtic Goddesses for a painting I was working on and found this little gem; the ancient peoples of what is now Scotland had many Goddesses in their culture. The most important was the one called The Cailleach, or by another name " Beira" the Queen of Winter. She was the oldest of all the Goddesses and many thought her to be the most powerful.... she was no fluffy snowflake, no snow bunny! She was a force to be reckoned with, striding across the land with her staff creating mountain ranges and with a flourish of her Ermine-tipped cape, spreading a thick blanket of cold and dark across the land...for as long as she deemed it should be so, there would be winter.
Scotland is even further to the north than here so it is easy to imagine how important this cross-quarter day was to those ancient communities. It was said that if Beira had decided to let winter not go on for so long, then on this day, the cross-quarter day half way between the beginning of winter and the beginning of spring, (Feb 1st or 2nd) she would make it be a cloudy day for better napping in her cave. But, if she had decided she was going to linger in the glens and lochs for a good while longer and keep the winter shroud tight against the landscape, then she would bring on a day full of sun so she had plenty daylight to gather the firewood she would need to get thru her intended, extended stay.

So now, when they drag that poor old sleepy groundhog out of his cozy den and search for shadows or none, you can be somewhat the wiser about what is really going on!!

******************************

To celebrate the return of the Light and to say "Thank you" to all my great fans, I'm having a special offer on my card sales. For the entire month of February, if you make a purchase of a set of greeting cards or a DVD, I'll add free greeting cards to your order...one for each pack of 6 cards, and 2 for each DVD. I actually started this sale in mid-January, and for those folks who placed orders in January, they got their extra cards already with their shipment. This is my way of saying "Thank You" for all your wonderful support! Your free card(s) will be in the same style as the collection(s) you have chosen. This is a good deal...it brings the cost of a card down to approx $2.14, so don't miss out. And if you have ordered from me before, make a note of it on the Paypal invoice and I'll try to make sure that you get an extra little something in your package. My way to share the love.

I am also preparing some e-cards which I will be giving away as we get closer to Valentines Day, as a way to say "Love you" to all the great people who have followed my work all these years but who perhaps don't send paper cards. I'll be announcing this next week.

And, as an extra special token of Gratitude, I am going to be raffling off one of my Faerie Houses! This is going to be a very rare opportunity for one lucky winner!! I'm working out the details and will let you know when it is ready to launch but the basics will be this: for a small fee, your name will be entered into a "hat". At the end of the time period, one name will be chosen from the pool of participants and they will WIN a Faerie House!! You will be able to enter multiple times. But I need to work out a few final details before I can officially announce this, but I should have everything ready to present to you in a week or so... so stay tuned, as they say!!

Finally, this.... I have just 5 copies left of the 2012 Faerie Houses calendar put out by Pomegranate. If you would like a signed copy, let me know and I can make that happen. Just email me.

Happy Imbolc Everyone!!

BIG Sale at Lulu

This can't wait... I just received a notice that Lulu is having a 30% off sale! But only till the end of January 31st. To get the discount use coupon code : SHELFSTOCK305

This news was too big to let it sit for a day. The notice says it is good for all "titles" so this may not work for calendars, but it will work for my books...or ANY Lulu book you may want to get! Have fun!

FREE Booklet about custom-crafted Faerie houses now online

Greetings Everyone!

Finally, at last! My first edition FREE information booklet for my Custom-crafted Faerie houses is finished! It is now available as a download or for online viewing in two different places at absolutely no cost. You can go to the top of this page and go to the special page labeled "Custom Faerie houses Info".

Once there you can see the pages of the booklet. However, because of the limitations of Blogger, I was not able to get these pages to full size without viewing problems, so these pages may be hard to read depending on your browser and screen size. If you've tried to view the blog page and if it is not working for you, try clicking HERE and you'll be taken to a tiny, simple website that has the PDF file listed on the page. From here you can choose to view it right away, or you can download it and save it to view later. Here is the URL if you are unable to click on the link:
https://sites.google.com/site/gsacustomcraftedfaeriehouses/home/information-booklet-pdf

There is a LOT of information in the 16 pages. I give a brief description of the materials, a bit of a basic step-by-step on what goes into making the Faerie houses, a look at the 4 different "levels" of complexity for my the sculptures as well as information on how the whole "custom crafted" process works. Then I have additional pages that look at some of the basic features each house would have but comparing the different levels of complexity. Finally there are pages about special add-on features and prices....ah yes, the nitty-gritty!!

It may take a bit to wade through it all, but the process is meant to be fun and inspiring and hopefully you will find it to be so...and there are loads of images! I will soon have an additional page which one can use as a worksheet/order form in case you might be dreaming of one of these houses for yourself or as a gift for someone else. I'll let you know when that is ready.

PLEASE do feel free to share the link with anyone you know who might be interested in my work. Anyone who makes a successful referral (to someone who places an order) will get a VERY nice commission!

I have a few other announcements to make later this week so do come back soon. There will be two very special pieces of news to celebrate the return of the Light! The cross-quarter day festival called Imbolc is almost here (usually celebrated on February 1st) and those of us who live in the north of the Northern Hemisphere are really noticing that the daylight hours are getting longer so it is time to share the love...which I will be doing for the whole month as you will see!! :-)

Midnight Visitor

I had a very special visitor come to my bird feeder a few nights ago. A Flying Squirrel! These amazing creatures are supposedly fairly common here in the Eastern North American forests, it is just that they are so good at remaining unseen by humans, that we rarely if ever get to see them in the wild. So, I was thrilled to see this lovely visitor right at my kitchen window! The photo is not very good because the squirrel moves very fast and I did not want to use a flash for the photo because it might hurt its very sensitive eyes. We have owls here and this guy would have been temporarily blinded if I had used a flash, so, the compromise means we have blurry pics.

What a tail !!! Flying squirrels use their big, flattish tails much like the tail of a kite is used to stabilize the kite in flight. The squirrel is bigger than you might think... I estimated it is slightly bigger than a red squirrel. Here the Squirrel has backed right up to the glass which is why the tail looks a bit flattened to the right.









Here, the Squirrel is bumped right up against the glass with his rump. Here also you can see the large fold of skin which is between the front legs and the back ones. When the Squirrel launches itself, it does not actually fly, but glides from tree to tree or tree to ground. They often look like a handkerchief flying by if you happen to be lucky enough to see one at night. They don't seem to mind humans too much..at least the ones I have here are that way. I've been outside gardening in the late evening and have seen these guys leaping from tree to tree...coming quite close at times. Once, I found a nest of babies. It was in the hollow of a big maple tree right along my driveway. The hole was just low enough for me to peek inside regularly and watch their progress. Perhaps this guy was one from that nest, I'd like to think so!

It was such a thrill to see this spunky creature. Even though it was right by my kitchen sink, separated only by the glass and it could see every move I made, it did not seem to be too bothered by me...as long as there were seeds to eat!!

Why make art that no one will see?

Why make art that no one will see?

Well, first of all, that statement isn't quite true. You are "seeing" this sculpture, in a way. Yes it is just a photograph. Yes it is not the full experience. You are not hearing the stillness of the forest, the gurgling sound of the waterfall as it tumbles over and under the ice to the pool below.
You are not feeling the cold in your fingers and toes (maybe this is a good thing! ) nor the exhilaration of standing in the icy water to get this shot (definitely a good thing!). But, you are seeing something of the magic that was present in this moment... the impossible view of shards of ice rising up to form a delicate archway over the black ribbon of water deep in a secluded corner of a nature reserve. No trails lead to this place so it is most likely, no one but me saw this sculpture once I completed it. And I know it did not last the night because we had strong, warm winds the next day and much of the snowcover melted so its a good bet this came down sometime in the night.


But the pictures don't convey the awe experienced when a beam of sparkling sunlight, drifted down thru the pine branches hundreds of feet above , to settle on the foot of the ice arch which set the whole sculpture glowing into a delicate crystalline bridge of light....sadly, the photos cannot capture what the human can see nor what the human heart can feel.

Which brings up another point... just because only one pair of human eyes got to see this sculpture does not mean it was not seen by others. And this is one of the parts that is so hard to explain... for when I am out in the forest, doing this work, feeling in harmony with the landscape and environment, I do not feel alone, not one bit. I feel the presence of the great trees, sleeping in the snow... I feel the presence of the small birds and lively squirrels high in the branches above...and I feel the deep and powerful Presence of both Mother Earth and the Great Spirit which hold it all together. And I feel more than this, even... I feel the presence of graceful beings of energy and light. Some might call them Faeries, some might call them Devas or Elementals or angels, even. But the point is, they are there too and sometimes, when everything is just right and peace is big in my heart, I get to feel them too.

And that is one of the big reasons why I do this art... as an offering... for them.

How and Why part 1

Winter has finally come to these woods. It has taken the long route getting here. An extended brown fall followed by a warm brown December followed by 2 weeks of cold brown January...but no snow here during the whole of it except for a few soggy inches back around Halloween. I've never seen the likes of this sort of strangeness. Everything feels wrong...but none of us here are complaining because we knew what it should be like and we are happy to have the cold and snow holding off a wee bit longer.
The long, extended dry spell gave us all a rare chance to take care of chores we don't often get to do in early winter. In my case it was to collect more Faerie house materials in the forests and along the river. Yes, it was cold sometimes but the lack of snow made the collecting very easy. It also made magic along the river.



I've been writing a lot lately. Mostly trying to find the right words for my book, which is in process. I've been trying to understand and then describe why I do what I do... it has been very challenging to find the words... any words to wrap around the waves that rise up and push me forward into the creative process.

It used to be that when I would look upon a scene such as this, a magical creation made by the river all by herself, it was enough to just drink it in...to gaze in wonder and marvel at the magic. It was enough to just find such treasures, photograph them, perhaps try and paint them but mostly, it was a passive process of receiving the gift of the moment, straight from Nature Herself. And I always felt very grateful to be allowed to witness such Beauty.

But something mysterious happens when you take yourself and step into the frame, and begin to have a dialog directly with the landscape. When you start to co-create together WITH the landscape. That is another feeling altogether. That is the part I am having the most difficulty trying to describe. But I keep trying because I want to have an answer to the question : "Why do this work?"

I have come to realize that basically, for me, there seem to be 4 primary motivations:

1) Because sometimes, something in the landscape calls to me to come and work with it
2) Because sometimes, design elements in the materials themselves delight me so much that I want to play with the shapes and forms
3) Because sometimes I am given a vision and I feel the challenge to try and bring it into form
4) Because I know there are others who feel as I do and together we are keeping portals and doorways open between the Visible and the Invisible worlds... and when I am doing this work then I feel that I am part of that Tribe and I feel connected to a sense of purpose.



So when I finished with my bit of writing this morning, trying to wrestle the dragon of my creative impulses onto the page long enough to take form into words, I felt unsure about whether I would ever be able to put into words everything that I felt about what I do as a creative artist, making these little creations...and just then, I looked up to see a rainbow of magical Faerie Light dance across the Dragon House. And it made me smile because I had my answer in that moment.

I used to spend time with a very magical child named Ananda. He told me once that whenever you see a rainbow on something, it was the sign of a Faerie's Kiss... that the Faeries liked something so much that they covered it with kisses and that was where the rainbows came from. Even the very, very big rainbows that we see in the sky. His story came back to me in a flood when I saw this rainbow kiss this morning... and I felt very blessed and honoured once again.


Not long after that it was time to step away from the writing and go make some lunch, so I loaded a few more logs into the firebox of the trusty wood-stove and made some soup. When it is 8 degrees below zero, making soup on the wood-stove can also be a very creative and rewarding experience!! Yum!

Next up: we go into the studio and see what is lurking there!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Wishing a peaceful and prosperous 2012
to all beings who share this beautiful Earth
together.

Most everyone I know is glad to have the chance to start a new year. Last year was so tough for many people....not everyone, but it seems that the resounding chorus these days is a sincere sentiment something like: "Thank goodness we get to put that year behind us!"

I have to say that I agree.

So here we sit on the edge of a New Year. I saw a lovely card once that spoke of the New Year as a fresh blanket of snow, with the suggestion to tread carefully for each and every step we make will leave a mark. I feel a resonance with that idea as we turn over our journals, daybooks and calendars. ( You did get a calendar, didn't you? wink wink). Who doesn't like the idea of a fresh start?

But before we close the books entirely on last year, I have a tiny little apology to place here: for those of you who contacted me during the Holiday break, thank you and my sincere regret for not giving you a timely reply. My holiday activities had me away from my computer for most of the time. I found that I needed to take a much needed break for a few days and the span between Solstice and what much of the rest of the world celebrates as New Years was the perfect time to do some much needed contemplation and reflection, as well as planning and prioritizing. So, as a result, many of your emails and requests did not get a reply until very recently. I hope that was not a disappointment to you. But the studio is now open again and things are getting the attention they need and deserve.

Currently I am still working on the book project and am very pleased with how it is going. I also am waiting to hear back on several projects that were in development with other business partners and projects. I've also been invited to another state to conduct a workshop in Faerie House construction (will let you know when details are confirmed) and so I am/we are developing a plan for (finally) conducting more workshops this coming year... something many folks have been asking for and I am finally able to do. I am also helping to develop a few small projects on the local level with other volunteers for programs in my area which are close to my heart. There will also be a few more fine art painting projects coming off my painting table and I'm hoping to have at least one good gallery show for my one-of-a-kind Faerie Houses. And there are other plans in the works as well, but they are too misty for the moment to discuss. So for many of us, myself included, now is a time of deep dreaming and practical planning - woven together like a basket to hold the New Year and all its abundant potential.

* * * * * * *

I love the deep nights of winter because we have the chance to become quiet inside, if we choose. Yes, the outer world of holiday-making and festivities can be overwhelming just like the rich meals and overabundance of sweets and goodies that seem to go with this season. However, a simple walk in the woods at this time of year can bring one into a deeply restive and quiet space within, if one lets it. The forest is so quiet wrapped in its shrouds of snow and low-angled sun here in the north. Only a few of the hardiest of birds are heard from time to time. No leaves rustle overhead or crunch underfoot. No insects buzz or hum. It is a time of deep stillness, long starry nights and moving with very careful steps whether one is on ice or fresh snow.

May the peace and stillness of this pause in time bring you refreshment and a chance to center yourself as we prepare to enter the coming year. From all angles it appears that the coming year will be one of powerful growth and positive transformation. I know there are many people who are feeling all sorts of mixed feelings about this year because so much has been made of what it might "mean" for our collective. One thing that Nature teaches me is that while it is good to prepare for what we want to have happen, it is also good to remain flexible to what will happen... sometimes the two are not the same and if we are too emotionally or egoistically attached to the former, we may miss out on the opportunities and gifts of the latter. So here's to dancing on the edge of all the positive potentials of the New Year and diving in to fully receive and enjoy all the goodness that it can bring.

Very best wishes to you all,

Sally

12 days of specials at Lulu

Hi Everyone,

I've just received notice that Lulu will be having "12 days of Coupon specials" starting today. They have not indicated to me exactly what the specials will be so I will be just as surprised as you, but if you want to follow the program (and take advantage of any of the sales) here is the link to the page:

http://www.lulu.com/holiday_coupons/

I know that I said I would be raising my calendars prices after December 1st, but thanks to better than anticipated orders this holiday season I am delighted to announce that I can continue to keep my personal discount sale of 10% off going for longer than expected... we can all use a little extra holiday cheer, and now it appears that Lulu will be adding to the fun with the 12 days of coupons program.

Be sure to pay attention to the fine print on their offers - some of the offers may apply to all Lulu products and some of the discounts may apply to only books or calendars. Since I have both on offer (you can see all my books and calendars here:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/greenspiritarts ) this may make a difference to you.

Also a notification I received from Lulu recently: some rural customers are currently experiencing ordering problems and will see an notice that they have an "unacceptable address" and they will be unable to complete their order. If this happens, you can try using a different land address ( a friend or relative?) or you can contact me directly and I will place an order for you personally. This is a bug in the Lulu system that they are working on fixing but it still seems to be an issue for a few rare customers, so if you are unable to place and order because of this issue, please email me directly and we will get you sorted out. My apologies if this happens, it has/had to do with a Fed-Ex interface issue with the Lulu website and only affects a very small number of rural customers.

A previous Lunar Eclipse

A while ago we had the chance to observe a lunar eclipse just like the one which happened yesterday for much of the west-coast US and pacific regions. It was the middle of winter here when the event was to unfold and I decided to make a "net" of icicles to see if I could frame the eclipsed moon somehow. I went to the lake and collected hundreds of long icicles, some almost 5 ft long, and brought them to the site I had designed. I knew the moon would be high in the sky, so I needed to get "under" the net somehow to capture the eclipsed moon in the net. Since I built this at night, under the light of the full moon it has a mixture of order and randomness that really pleases me, visually speaking.

This photograph is quite deceptive because you don't get to see how this net is suspended out over the space below...the space I had hoped I could place my camera in and take photos of the moon as it was turning red in the shadow of the earth...the photo also gives no clue as to the scale of this thing...but one could put a large couch in the middle of this net and have plenty left on any side, it was that big...and, it is completely rigid since it is made of single icicles, stuck together.
Well, I was very happy with the sculpture, but the experiment was limited by my (at the time) low-tech camera...it simply was unable to capture the low light scene sufficiently when it was in full eclipse mode. So, I just enjoyed the show instead.
The next night, which was also clear and cold, the sculpture was more or less still there so I tried to get the full moon photographed against the crystalline web and this time, with the increase in light, it worked.


Some of the icicles had fallen down, but as luck would have it, the hole that was created was actually where the moon ended up being, so it all worked out just fine.

I decided to re-post this sculpture for a couple of reasons. One, to celebrate the eclipse that just happened and was visible to so many...and two, because it reminds me that even when we make our best plans, sometimes things happen that we cannot predict, giving our human limitations....but, sometimes things also work out in spite of our human limitations too...sometime great things.

As I continue to work on my book, and share my images on calendars and cards (thank you to everyone who has been able to make a purchase...every bit helps truly!) I want so much for this work to continue. There is magic here and this artificial world we humans have created for ourselves does not feed my soul the way Nature does...and I suspect I am not alone in this. So, somehow, some way, I want to keep this stream of work burbling along, even if it means revisiting older works from time to time along with new pieces that I know will still get created. And perhaps, in this way, the flow might take the work forward to find new resources and outlets which would support me enough for me to keep making more environmental sculptures. In the meantime, there is certainly much to celebrate in terms of what has already been created.

Next week I will have a special gift for all my readers, so stay tuned!

Bright Blessings all around you and yours!

Hi there Everyone,

I am continuing to do work in the studio on the book and also on other projects which are in mid-process so there are not a lot of tangible images of things to share right now from my hands. Fortunately, there are plenty of extremely talented and deeply spiritual people out there making their gifts of creativity available to help us all feel positive and powerful as we move forward here in the middle of much transformation.

Here is a beautiful video that really speaks to my heart and is one that I thought the readers of this blog would enjoy as well. I hope it brings a sense of Peace and harmony to you. I'll share more of my work as it becomes available or if there are any other big sales going on at Lulu. I did receive a very nice email from one of the developers at Lulu outlining the changes they are about to make for next year. They have been listening to the issues and problems that some people experienced with Lulu and they are going to be addressing many of them soon, so thank you those of you who took the time to write to me and share your issues.... I sent them ALL into Lulu and they are working on fixing the problems some folks had. For instance, some people got a message that they had an "invalid address" and were therefore unable to place an order. That will be fixed!! The problem was using the Fed-Ex database which does not always recognize rural addresses....so there will be progress and I thank you for being patient and for your feedback.

OK.. on to the video.... enjoy!!!





Here is the link to the video if it is not showing up in your browser... it is worth viewing...very relaxing and beautiful. A Mini-vacation of sorts!

http://youtu.be/wBKANDobw28

A meditation on Gratitude

For all of you who know and love Beauty, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into another artist's view of this magnificent creation we call Life. I also hope you enjoy the wise words spoken by the young Innocent and the wise Elder as much as I do. This is a celebration of gratitude that resonates deeply in my heart and gives me great joy to share with you.

Happy Giving-of-Thanks Day


Please click here to see the video....

( I'm not sure if the video will embed or not... I can see it in the preview so hopefully you can too, but if not, click on the link above and you'll be taken to the TED talk. My apologies for multiple postings for my followers)