The antique and art show and sale went really well this weekend. We had warm, beautiful weather and many lookers and buyers. Some drove up to find the sale and some stopped in as they drove through. Two of my crosses and a flower pot sold, at least by the time I left on Sunday at 1 p.m. It was fun meeting artists from the area and seeing their art too. I also bought one of Leslie Smith's necklaces and Kelley Jones's characters.
Now I need to focus on mosaicing a new mirror for an artist's studio and working on the dream-inspired sculpture. I'll be taking new items to the Artist Nook sometime this week. I'm pretty excited about them - and I'll have a picture or two of them posted here...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
My blog in memory of my friend...first published August 1, 2006
One of my friends died last weekend of cancer. She was a part of our dreamgroup, sitting in circle, sharing and commenting on our dreams. We have been doing this for almost 4 years. I have found that sharing dreams creates an intimacy that nothing else does. When we share dreams, we share our deepest selves, our struggles, questions, fears, triumphs, and our transformations etc. Our dream group shared all of these and more.
My friend got her cancer diagnosis not long after our dreamgroup started. It was a threshold that we all consciously and lovingly walked through, in order to support her in her journey. We talked about so many things, like spirituality, meaning, priorities, family, and of course her fighting the cancer. She was very supportive of my process of expressing my creativity and putting myself “out there.” I’ll be eternally grateful for her unwavering love and support, no matter how ambivalent and skiddish I was in the process.
About a month ago, my friend was hospitalized for medical complications of her chemo treatment. The night before I was to visit her in the hospital, I had a dream that scared me awake. The dream was a bunch of people and I are in a river, the water is probably up to our chests. We all let go of this body (face down in water) and watch it float down the river. I get very anxious and I know I have dreamed this before. I wake myself up. Hours later, I visit my friend in the hospital and there is something that she says that brings the dream memory back. I realize that my dream was preparing me for her next step in her journey - her death. We talked about death, where we go after we die, what happens to our soul, family, and her preparing her friends for her death. She seemed at peace with her death - she even said so. After our talk, I went to my car and cried. Then as I drove home, an image of a piece of art symbolizing death and our conversation flashed - something that I felt drawn to create.
Short of a month, my friend died with her family near. That morning I woke up wide awake and “knew” that I needed to stay awake, to stay present, and "help" her die. I lit a candle I made for her and her cousin, and sprinkled cinnamon around the candle, with the intention of her letting go. A butterfly or moth flitted at the screen and I talked to it, thus beginning my goodbyes. I told my friend “We love you, you fought the good fight, you have done what you can, and it’s time to let go”. I thanked her for all that she gave, who she is and what she has taught us. The butterfly or moth flew away and I felt this relief or lightening of energy -it’s really hard to explain. I later got the call from another friend, that my friend had died that morning. Believe what you will, but it did feel like I helped to hold sacred space for her in her death.
It’s just been a few days since my friend died, but I have been going through “now what?” in my life. I have been really clear about my role in helping her in any way she wanted from me for almost 4 years. Since her death, I have been looking for something to give me direction, something that I know what I’m supposed to do next. There is a reason why I say this, and I think that story is for another time.
But one thing that I will say is that creating art is something that I can not NOT do. I will create that image that I “saw” when I was driving home from the hospital. I will create more dream art too. I certainly will be creating a mosaic memorial for my friend - something to commemorate her life, what she means to me, and what she has taught me.
My friend got her cancer diagnosis not long after our dreamgroup started. It was a threshold that we all consciously and lovingly walked through, in order to support her in her journey. We talked about so many things, like spirituality, meaning, priorities, family, and of course her fighting the cancer. She was very supportive of my process of expressing my creativity and putting myself “out there.” I’ll be eternally grateful for her unwavering love and support, no matter how ambivalent and skiddish I was in the process.
About a month ago, my friend was hospitalized for medical complications of her chemo treatment. The night before I was to visit her in the hospital, I had a dream that scared me awake. The dream was a bunch of people and I are in a river, the water is probably up to our chests. We all let go of this body (face down in water) and watch it float down the river. I get very anxious and I know I have dreamed this before. I wake myself up. Hours later, I visit my friend in the hospital and there is something that she says that brings the dream memory back. I realize that my dream was preparing me for her next step in her journey - her death. We talked about death, where we go after we die, what happens to our soul, family, and her preparing her friends for her death. She seemed at peace with her death - she even said so. After our talk, I went to my car and cried. Then as I drove home, an image of a piece of art symbolizing death and our conversation flashed - something that I felt drawn to create.
Short of a month, my friend died with her family near. That morning I woke up wide awake and “knew” that I needed to stay awake, to stay present, and "help" her die. I lit a candle I made for her and her cousin, and sprinkled cinnamon around the candle, with the intention of her letting go. A butterfly or moth flitted at the screen and I talked to it, thus beginning my goodbyes. I told my friend “We love you, you fought the good fight, you have done what you can, and it’s time to let go”. I thanked her for all that she gave, who she is and what she has taught us. The butterfly or moth flew away and I felt this relief or lightening of energy -it’s really hard to explain. I later got the call from another friend, that my friend had died that morning. Believe what you will, but it did feel like I helped to hold sacred space for her in her death.
It’s just been a few days since my friend died, but I have been going through “now what?” in my life. I have been really clear about my role in helping her in any way she wanted from me for almost 4 years. Since her death, I have been looking for something to give me direction, something that I know what I’m supposed to do next. There is a reason why I say this, and I think that story is for another time.
But one thing that I will say is that creating art is something that I can not NOT do. I will create that image that I “saw” when I was driving home from the hospital. I will create more dream art too. I certainly will be creating a mosaic memorial for my friend - something to commemorate her life, what she means to me, and what she has taught me.
Working on the dream-inspired sculpture and Bellevue Store antique and art show tonight!!
Yesterday I was finishing up a mirror and in that process, I discovered some glass that I had forgotten that I had. It's brownish-gray and iridescent p and it's beautiful. As I was mosaicing the mirror, I realized that the color was perfect for the dream sculpture, expressing the muddy water in the river. Today I ordered more of the glass and I'll be ready to start mosaicing the sculpture next week.
Tonight is the opening of the antique and art show and sale at the Bellevue Store, in Bellevue Colorado. The hours are 5-8 p.m. tonight, and 10 to 4 on Saturday and Sunday. I will dropping off some more mosaic art - two more crosses, another box, more bone shaped leash hooks, and a picture frame with one of my favorite quotes inserted: "As we grow old...the beauty steals inward". I already have one of my treasure boxes (#2 of 5 series), a flower pot, many crosses, dog bone shaped leash hanger, a couple of mirrors...at least that's what I can think of.
Tonight is the opening of the antique and art show and sale at the Bellevue Store, in Bellevue Colorado. The hours are 5-8 p.m. tonight, and 10 to 4 on Saturday and Sunday. I will dropping off some more mosaic art - two more crosses, another box, more bone shaped leash hooks, and a picture frame with one of my favorite quotes inserted: "As we grow old...the beauty steals inward". I already have one of my treasure boxes (#2 of 5 series), a flower pot, many crosses, dog bone shaped leash hanger, a couple of mirrors...at least that's what I can think of.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Dream-inspired sculpture
About a year ago, I wrote about my friend being ill with cancer and finally her death. I can't find the blog anymore so I have decided to blog here.
The night before I visited her in the hospital, I had a dream of a bunch of people and I were standing in a river; the water was about chest-high. We were holding a body that face-down and then we let it go. I watched the body float down the river, and then around the bend. I knew that I had a dream like this one before and didn't want to continue it and pulled myself out of the dream. I was stumped about the meaning of the dream, yet it would reveal itself later.
Later that day, I went to visit my friend and we talked about death, where we go when we died, family, love, etc. She felt the responsibility to prepare her friends for her death, which I was priviledged to be a part of. As we talked, the memory of the dream flashed and I realized that the dream was a preparation for my visit and our talk, and ultimately, her death. As I drove home, I "saw" a completed mosaic sculpture, which I knew was an expression of that dream and my friend's death.
I have been very slowly working on this sculpture over the last 8 months. I have the base poured and the basic structure sculpted; now it's time to start mosaicing it. I have finally decided that the colors will be a combination of many shades of blues, blacks, purples, with some turquoise (to suggest reflection of light), to express the feeling in the dream as well as the imagery.
I hope to figure out how to post a picture of the structure here, and share the process of creating the mosaic. I will also post other pictures of mosaic art and other forms of art that I experiment with here.
The night before I visited her in the hospital, I had a dream of a bunch of people and I were standing in a river; the water was about chest-high. We were holding a body that face-down and then we let it go. I watched the body float down the river, and then around the bend. I knew that I had a dream like this one before and didn't want to continue it and pulled myself out of the dream. I was stumped about the meaning of the dream, yet it would reveal itself later.
Later that day, I went to visit my friend and we talked about death, where we go when we died, family, love, etc. She felt the responsibility to prepare her friends for her death, which I was priviledged to be a part of. As we talked, the memory of the dream flashed and I realized that the dream was a preparation for my visit and our talk, and ultimately, her death. As I drove home, I "saw" a completed mosaic sculpture, which I knew was an expression of that dream and my friend's death.
I have been very slowly working on this sculpture over the last 8 months. I have the base poured and the basic structure sculpted; now it's time to start mosaicing it. I have finally decided that the colors will be a combination of many shades of blues, blacks, purples, with some turquoise (to suggest reflection of light), to express the feeling in the dream as well as the imagery.
I hope to figure out how to post a picture of the structure here, and share the process of creating the mosaic. I will also post other pictures of mosaic art and other forms of art that I experiment with here.
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