I am so grateful to have some of my work included in Silver Eye institute’s ‘In Dreams I walk With You’ show. This show features work made by students and teachers during recent virtual classes. I was so lucky to attend a few of these classes and made some new work that I am very proud of. A central theme in these classes was reclaiming one’s sense of self through creativity which is why the classes really spoke to me. I am including some install photos of the show below, as well as images of my work that is included in the show. The install photos are by Sean Carroll, Courtesy of Silver Eye Center for Photography.
Photo in The San Pedro River Review and Christ Park
My photo titled ‘Rest’ is featured in the Fall Issue of The San Pedro River Review. I took this photo in 2014 at a place called Desert Christ Park. This remote place was full of large decaying biblical statues. I thought I’d share my featured photo along with some of the other photos I took there.
The Curated Fridge Summer Show
I’ve been a big fan of The Curated Fridge so I am very excited to be included in their Summer show. If you don’t know what The Curated Fridge is, it is as it sounds…. a gallery of curated images on a kitchen fridge. You can see what it looks like when you scroll down this post. The image that the curator Orestes Gonzalez chose for inclusion in the show is from a photo shoot I did with Nina. Nina and I hiked to her favorite tree in Oakland to capture photos of her relationship to this special Oak tree. The tree was slightly off the trail. We passed many Fly Agaric mushrooms on our way. After we finished capturing the photos we enjoyed tea and homemade chocolate on the soft forest ground. Hiking back to our cars, we took many detours to explore all the cool mushrooms. It was a magical day. I had never met Nina before and as often happens during photoshoots, I felt like I slipped between the veil and lost track of all time in the best way possible. Here are some of the images from the shoot .
Nina wrote these words to go along with the photos:
Here is a photo of the whole show. To see more of the images and find out more about The Curated Fridge Summer show click here.
Virtual Show at Wilder Gallery
I’m so happy to share that I have a virtual show featuring some of my photos at the Wilder Gallery in Orinda. You can view the show here.
Straylight Literary and Curtains
I am so happy that my photo ‘The Deeper Feels’ was included in the recent issue of Straylight Literary journal. This photo of a window with tattered lace curtains was taken at Bodie Ghost Town. This photo has me thinking about my obsession with curtains. I have quite a collection in my photo archives of them. Most of them have been taken at abandoned buildings.
Thinking a little deeper about the curtains, I realize that they are boundary for a threshold. They buffer the visibility in and out. They offer privacy and they are also an adornment for the window or the threshold.
Thresholds have always spoken to me about the liminal space between one place and another, a place that divides different states of being. In these photos, the curtains take many shapes, states of being and offer varying degrees of boundaries.
Happy Arbor Day
“Trees are poems that the Earth writes upon the sky.” - Kahlil Gibran
Facing It
When you really turn to face something that you have been avoid facing and suddenly you realize you have actually been facing it all along. Slowly, tenderly turning to look at it in your own time that is just right for you. This shift in awareness makes the past and present more connected and meaningful. It brings a gentle appreciation for the courage to really look at something that is challenging to see in our lives. I have always used my camera to face it all. To see yourself facing yourself puts you in the position of the witness and lets the story be the story. And stories can always be rewritten.
Begonia
I wrote this poem about an heirloom plant that I inherited from someone I didn’t know. The plant has been a source of inspiration for me. The poem and some photos of the Begonia are below. This poem was published in Thimble Lit Mag in 2019.
Begonia
I met you when I went to pick up a table
from your house. I saw you on the white
mantle. Your floppy leaves were grieving.
You were not facing the window. Your
home was being cleared out. I asked if I
could have you. The caretaker paused
and sized me up, then told me you had
loved two women before me, that you
were passed from mother to daughter.
Was I willing to love you carefully like
they had? I brought you home and wanted
to give you light so I put you outside.
Your bright green (on front) and red
(on back) leaves burnt, swelled, and
turned brown. I thought I killed you.
I felt unworthy of your nurtured legacy.
I felt unqualified. I had no idea if you
could rebound, and if so; should I cut off
all your leaves, or would you mend them?
I decided to cut them off which left you
with only one brown limb, lying flush
against the soil. I placed you in a window
that I knew in my body was the right place
for you all along. I gave you water and
nutrients. Very quickly you rebounded,
fanning out over a few weeks to your
original glittering wide-leaf self.
Desert Center, CA
Desert Center is in the middle of nowhere, half way between LA and Phoenix. When I found out that there was an abandoned school there I was very excited. An abandoned school full of old pink chairs is my idea of a real life dream come true.
As with most abandoned places they have an eerie feeling to them. Time stands still and yet there is usually still a few people living there. This seemed to be the case although we did not see anyone while we explored the many abandoned structures in the town.
My friend Joey and I packed up the car with snacks and costumes. Everything you need for a day trip to the middle of nowhere. Here are a few photos from this unique place.
Spiral In, Spiral Out
I’ve been a Labyrinth enthusiast for many years. I love seeking them out and enjoy a meditative walk through the maze. Each labyrinth is different, though they follow similar designs. The location that each is set, is what I am most enthused by. They can be hard to find or off the beaten path. Getting to the location of a labyrinth has often involved asking permission from a stranger who owns the property, finding it randomly by chance, or trying out different paths until I eventually get there. I often find that the energy of a labyrinth begins for me, long before I reach the labyrinth.
The way I have always walked the labyrinth is to set an intention before I enter and then meditate on that intention as I walk. Sometimes I go to the labyrinth with the intention to release something. In this case I walk into the labyrinth focusing on the letting go, and I walk out, focusing on the opening and expansion after the letting go. Other times, I walk in with the intention of inviting something into my life or inviting an inner part of myself to be more abundant.
If possible, I take an offering to leave at the center of the labyrinth. Not all labyrinths welcome things to be left but if they do, this is a wonderful practice. I will often make something to leave. The offering could be something you want to charge with the energy of the labyrinth or it could be something you want to let go of, or it could simply be an offering of gratitude for the labyrinth itself.
This is my local labyrinth that I visit often. I love to see how it changes through the seasons.
Photo of Briones Labyrinth
Each time I visit this labyrinth, there is a new collection of offerings in the center. I’ve left things that I have later reclaimed from the center, like this polaroid of the Virgin Mary that I took in Mt. Shasta. I love how being outside and in the center of the labyrinth for many months changed it.
Here is another photo of an offering I left at the labyrinth.
Some of the coolest Labyrinths I’ve visited have been in Mt. Shasta. This one was near the top of the mountain.
photo by Joey Paynter
This one was on a private property in Mt. Shasta where I meditated inside a pyramid.
Photo of the pyramid.
This gorgeous labyrinth is at The Mt. Shasta Peace Garden.
And here is one close to home at The Albany Bulb where there are actually a few different labyrinths.
This is another labyrinth nearby in Martinez which I discovered by wandering off the main path.
This labyrinth at Land’s End in San Francisco is stunning with its view of The Golden Gate Bridge.
The symbol and teachings of the labyrinth have been a part of my journey for a while and continually offer a sacred path to return to my deeper self.
Even The Weeds
The abundant rain has brought more weeds than we’ve ever had, also more wildflowers and so much growth for all the trees. I’ve been connecting to the weeds much more this year since they are here in full force. I’ve spent several mornings walking around photographing them and feeling their value. With them here, there are so many more birds. They also make so many unique shapes and patterns. The more I look, the more complexity I find. Here are some photos from this year’s Super weed bloom.
Happy Earth Day
The Maid, Heligan Gardens
On this Earth Day I am thinking of the many inspiring artists and healers who work with the Earth. In 2016 on a trip to England, I visited the Heligan Gardens simply because I wanted to see the Mud Maid in person. Her restful body half in the earth and half out, and covered in greenery was something I deeply needed to experience.
One of my favorite artists, Ana Mendieta made work in connection to the Earth. I just love this image of her body, with flowers seeming to emerge from all parts of her.
Ana Mendieta
Imagen de Yagul, from the series Silueta Works in Mexico 1973-1977, 1973
Another inspiring artist who works with the Earth is Andy Goldsworthy. The relationship to impermanence, beauty and symbiosis (amongst other qualities) in his work is so inspiring to me.
Andy Goldwworthy Woven Branch Circular Arch, Dumfrieshire, 1986
If you are like me, you have this need for connection with the Earth too. We are the only species living on Earth that has to work at this relationship. Art is a wonderful way to return to our roots, to the inner knowing of our belonging and connection to Earth. Some ways to connect to the Earth through art making are:
Use natural pigments to paint with or dye fabric with. You can likely find what you need in your fridge already.
Make a nature mandala. If you look online you will be bombarded with beautiful circles filled with colorful earth gifts. Find a place you feel drawn to spend some time. Collect some items such as rocks, branches, leaves, berries, etc. and make your own mandala. A mandala is a piece of art that serves as a meditation. The act of making it and also experiencing it, is part of the meditation.
Lay your body on the earth. Have someone take your photo. Find other ways to connect your body to the Earth. Document the process.
Keep a Commonplace Book to document the nature that is in your immediate environment. A commonplace book is a journal that is dedicated to a topic that inspires you. In your commonplace journal you can sketch the plants, birds, and other nature through the seasons. You can take notes of things you witness nature doing. You can also collect research on the flora and fauna in your environment and include that in your journal. There are several blue bird boxes on our property. The previous owner kept notes of their activities and gave us these notes. It feels like treasure having these. I remember my grandma had a little rain guage that was attached to her clothing line. She kept a hand written record of the rainfall. Handwritten records of what you saw in nature are their own work of art.
Reworking Your Words
I keep a file on my computer that I call the poem boneyard. This is where poems that I just couldn’t make work but didn’t want to give up on go for a long rest. After all, rest is a good solution for most of life’s problems. I find it especially true for poems that don’t cooperate. With enough sleep, they may have more energy when I come back to them. I’ve been feeling drawn to revisiting these old poems to mine them for new work lately. I’ve also been thinking along these same lines about other ways of collecting words that I either already have or that exist around me. I’ll tell you some of the fun things I’ve been doing.
First, I go to my file of disobedient poems and I copy and paste lines that speak to me. I add them all to a new file and then print the pages out. I then cut the lines out that seem to relate to one another and play with their order and placement. I also like to turn to old magazines to cut lines or words out that I can use to fuse with my words. This is helpful to flesh out the poem by insuring you have enough content to work with. I can’t explain to you how this madness turns into something meaningful except to say, try it for yourself. It often leads to some really cool new poems.
Another thing I started doing this year was keeping index cards with me and writing down fragments of experiences or things I heard people say that were intriguing. It’s sort of a field collection of words and moments from my life. I then tuck them into the back pocket of my moleskin journal and will take them all out at the end of the year to make a poem or multiple poems with them. The fabulous thing about this is that it will be a big surprise when I look at them.
Another fun thing that I have done in the past is to cut up my childhood composition books and make poems with them. This is really fun, and challenging because of the simple and limited language. Doing this really felt like a conversation between my child self and my adult artist. It’s a way that they get to work together. If you don’t have school work that was saved from your childhood you could do this same thing with old letters or cards as well.
Saving words and reusing them is a fun way to give yourself something to start with in your writing. You get to take on the role of the collector or in some of our cases the hoarder. All that stuff you’ve saved gets to have a new purpose. Sometimes I think that maybe we knew we would use the words later. In that sort of Quantum physics way, perhaps we are always in conversation with every age we have been or will be. Imagine, there is a future you who will want to cut up her old emails, love letters, grocery receipts, movie tickets, etc. and turn them into a beautiful poem.