finding time.........

This past weekend I went 'up north'.............again.

With a clarity that comes from, well.........a cleanse.......for body and mind...........

I broke my fast with juice...........God, help me Mimosas.............silly me......silly us........

and with a Walk.........

To this place........on the now frozen shore of the Big Lake.........










And a Sunset............

That can only happen over a lake like this.......








In the winter..........



I became very very quiet..........

Oracle Cards..............

From time to time..........when I'm feeling wistful or a bit aimless.........wondering why it is taking so long to figure out the rest of my life............being a bit impatient with the lull of winter..........I turn to my collection of Oracle cards.

This day..................I consulted the Wisdom of the Four Winds Oracle Cards by Barry Brailsford, beautifully illustrated by Cecilie Okada.  They are cards that carry the legends of the Maori......supported by their Spiritual home, Aotearoa......The Land of the Long White Cloud.......New Zealand.

One of the things one can do with these cards, is to focus on one of the Wind Songs with one thought in mind........

And on this day.........I chose..........

The Wind Song of Direction gathers when you wish to know where the Sacred Wind carries you at this time........


Yes.........what direction am I headed?..............

and this card came to meet me as I chose it from the spread.......

















And these are the gifts............

Which actually hold great meaning for me.....in this phase of my life.......





And that is....... since I've been home from my great journey, all I can think about, is paring down my life.........you know......getting rid of more stuff.  Carrying 'little' for the journey that I know I am on now.........

It seems like I emptied half of my big house already.........and I know there is more work to be done.  That pile of stuff in the basement that I don't use........is really gnawing at me.  And so is the pile of stuff in my studio.

And I'm also thinking seriously about my art practice.  I am one of the unfortunates who LOVES to do many things.........and also can do many things fairly well...........so I keep the pile of stuff ready for when the mood strikes........or need arises.

So what to do there?  How does one decide which direction to move when paring down?

So that got me to thinking about what I really need.  Truth is I don't need much to keep myself busy.......and one of the greatest joys of my journey in OZ..........was at Wirrealpa Station......where there was a sea of broken glass from generations of dumping and using bottles for target practice........and I was mesmerized for hours.......just sorting it.......

and making this.........

Which would have grown had I more time.....

So yes.............what do I really 'need' for my practice.......?

And I know there is a death of the old in my life right now......and a balancing is happening.......and I know I must continue this journey...........And I hope I do find the courage to set aside the comfortable.....so that I may bravely embrace the necessary and walk towards a deeper wisdom.

To be continued..........

A 'Muse' Ment........

Forward progress on these............

Fun!

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A Clean Slate............

So this is what's happening.......

I've decided to fast this week........and instead of writing about it here......ahem.......not knowing who would want to read my musings on THAT......

I thought a different blog to journal that adventure might be appropriate.......

Perhaps I'll dabble a bit more in my interest in metaphysics there too.......

This whole journey is a work in progress.....but that decision is made now.

If you care to follow my musings on that please do here.

In the mean time........it is an eight day fast......a cleanse really.......and it's going quite well.......

I feel clear and well and have lots of energy.  I have just finished day 4, so I am half way there.......

Heading for a Clean Slate.......

Full Circle................

And to continue my Summer 'back' Dreaming...........

My thoughts went to the next delicious workshop I attended last summer with India Flint from down under at wonder filled Shakerag (pronounced Shake Rag) on the mountain with Angels in Sewanee, Tennessee.......

Where we.............OK, I..........

Became more centered on this earth.........







And now that I'm looking back, I'm wondering if this was the beginning of a good year, or the end of a good one..........and the beginning of another?  And I'm thinking now................

My years begin in June........

And that means ........I have more goodness to look forward to in this fabulous one!

And OH!  Ms. Flint is teaching at Haystack this summer...............this one is sure to be popular and what an incredible venue!


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Dreaming of Summer.............

I just received the catalogs for Haystack and Penland .......decadent workshops for adults and some young........

Upon gazing at these......... my mind drifted back to last summer..........

Where for two weeks, I studied with  Helen Carnac from Great Britain at Penland.............

.......to wander and ponder......

being influenced by the land ...........

noticing what caught our attention as we strolled........

  

Picking up treasures along the way.........

And from those treasures we made tools to 'mark' with......

and made marks with the tools......

and I used my 'map' as a guide........
















to make more marks with knots..........

 

And rust..............









To eventually end up with.........

This collection..................

of industrial enamel on steel panels............

And these two lovely pins I donated to the auction.........so sad to see them go!












And I will now wake up from my dream............and perhaps dream some more............

To be continued..........

OH, and Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow yesterday...........predicting an early Spring! And now I'm rushing into summer..........


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Appreciating winter..........

It's Groundhog Day............

What more can I say?....................