Healing

I think someone emailed me this picture or perhaps I found it on the Web.

 This is how I see the energy of the Universal Source, how energy healing happens, how we are all connected.

 The meridians of the body are shown so well and the Silver thread that connects us all / it all.

We are One with, at One with this Source.

Finished Poppy Paper Collage

Other than the finishing coat on this collage I think it's done!!

Finding my way with paper collage is definably a process. Without a teacher, who has done this sort of work before it's an expensive "find my way around" process. I started thinking I could do this with just torn paper however it has morphed into cutting and creating as I go. Which I suppose is what Art is.

Butterfly ......... out of the woods

Here is the finished Butterfly Picture - I guess I need to name it. I want to call it "out of the woods" because of the process that got me to this point. I found that the learning was huge in doing this piece, so that the beginning of the next few will be easier.
THIS PICTURE NOW LIVES AT THE WELLWOOD CENTER IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO.

New Paper Collage "in process"

These are my second attempt at flowers ... done in paper.
they are "in Process" am adding more grass at the bottom to bring something to anchor it all. I love working with paper and have stopped doing cards and moved into this larger form of paper art.

THE LIGHT ............

Yesterday I saw this quote on a blog that I read weekly. It was from either a Lenard Cohen song or Poem.

It said:
 






RING THE BELLS THAT STILL CAN RING

FORGET YOUR PERFECT OFFERING

THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING

THAT'S HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN


 I am so moved by this.........probably more moved than I have been in a long time.
My interpretation of this tells me to " ring the bells that still can ring" = do what you still can do
..........."forget your perfect offering" = stop not doing things because they/it may not be perfect.....
."there is a crack in everything" = no thing is perfect, all have faults/cracks...............
."that's how the Light gets in" = it is in our humble state/ our brokeness that God/Light/Source get to us ...............Ah ah Amen

Out of the Wood .........

I have really struggled with this piece. I had purchased a lot of paper and what I ended up with in the first to pictures here was something that looked like chipboard ........... I hated it.
But I just kept working at it and looking at it and this is where it's at now .....

G-8 Hunstville Mural, Terry Gill

This is my friend Terry Gill's Mural in respect to the G-8 happening here in Huntsville this summer.

He will have the first public showing of this piece at Grandview Resort next week.

view other works at
www.impressionsofnature.ca

Abundance Angel

Someone sent me an email with this picture in it - how beautiful !!

And how do we define Abundance?
Looking at my life and seeing how much I have. All that I have and all that is coming to me as I write this.

Family, friends, a car to drive a nice roof over my head, food in the fridge, lots of things to keep me warm......

Abundance of gifts to share with others.

For all of this I am grateful !!

My gentle giant .......

Six years have gone
I don't know where
You are gone
And I still care

Moving on / Slow Motion
One step at a time
One year at a time
If you get the notion

Move on ...........






What can I say except I still have a difficult time thinking about and taking in the impact your leaving has had on my life, and the lives of others. You are missed and thought about, and so it is.

The road less travelled ............

  The path of this next season, winter in Muskoka.................

I took this picture just after the big storm before Christmas. Love the Orb in the distance.

Like to imagine it's Brent or Karl watching over Bev and I.

Once again the new year sits in front of us..... which path - which road shall we go down.

Choice; as stated by a friend today " If it's to be then bless it, if it's not to be then block it. What a great prayer.

I just know that this year will be one of great growth for all in my circle of life. Friends and family will flourish - creativity will flow - abundance will prevail. It is our time.

It is our gift to each other.

Snow and Tell .........

A friend took this picture in the past few days after the most incredible snow storm.

Well this very well be my last post before Christmas, busy times. Emotional times, mental times.

One day at a time.......... that is the way to get through the holidays. Too many memories, too many Ghosts of Christmas past.

So take it to a Spiritual level and make a Gratitude List of all the Blessing I have in my life. Family and Friends who love me and want to spend time with me. My health ( it could be so much worse ) a great roof over my head........... my Jeep........ 16 years of Sobriety ( Jan 4th) and so much more.

Blessings one and all ...........

serenity now ............

And that is about all I have to say today.................

Recycled Watercolours

four cards made from watercolours............

Once again uploading from Picasa places the pictures and writing where I am unable to change the layout ??
I suppose I just need to be grateful that I can upload ......... manage to blog a bit and even though I am struggling with my printer/scanner I seem to get by. So I made cards for two days and am now trying to get back at it, experiencing some difficulty getting the "flow"  back. Getting the Spiritual "flow" back is another place I need to be .... in the "river of life" going with the flow of where ever my life is taking me. Days like today I question where my life is taking me. I was irritable, after being out and about with a friend. Thanks God that each day is a new beginning. So Tomorrow is another day to enter into the river. 

Butterflies and Transformations

This is another of my Torn Paper and Butterfly Series of cards that I am currently working on.                                                                                        The holiday season is starting to enter into my realm of consciousness. And once again I consider what it all means as we grow older - do we still consider this a special time. The statement that "Christmas is for children"  is one to ponder. What does that mean? Is there really magic in Christmas. Ram Dass ( a guru of the 60's ) said " If you think you are Spiritually evolved go spend a weekend with your family of origin", and I wonder if this is true for most of us. And if we have children what then does this mean for them - and for us? I have two friends who are now living with their mothers full time. The one friend is fearful for his sanity and the other who is new to this way of living says the "warehousing" that goes on with the elderly is just not any way to treat our parents. Recently I visited my mother-in-law at such a facility. Once in her room I was fine; however the walk down the corridor to get to her room, was long and filled with the some of the horrors of aging. Folks slumped over in their chairs, mouths gaping open, oblivious to all that was around them. Perhaps we should be like Benjamin Button ............ and go the other way; start out as an old man and get younger. No one really minds caring for a baby !!

As I re-read this I realize it's still some "leftovers" from my birthday and getting older, and I need to know that "going home" is not such a bad thing; for that Home, that place of "many mansions" in my Fathers house, is not such a scary thing...............

Amen

Torn Paper .............

Here are two of my newest cards.
The paper is so lovely I just tore and added to these ones.
More to come.

Flow

I am sitting down to stop the intensity of "being in the creative flow" of making some new cards.

It occurs to me that when I get start to make  a series of cards, it's like an addiction. I have to tell myself to take a break, the pain usually stops me.  I have been working since 11 am this morning and its almost 5pm and I feel like I have been hit by a truck. My body reacts to the standing and the bending over the table.
I have not made any cards in such a long time; and it took finding some yummy new paper when I was in Halifax to kick in the desire, the vision and then the movement into doing. Willl try and scan some cards soon.




found the picture on the weeb..............

Thy will and mine be One

I love this picture of Jesus called Thy Will ........... today my 62nd Birthday I am grateful that I have the knowledge to know that my will/ my way does not work for me. I need the Creators will in my life. And I need to say those words Thy Will be done.......... or Thy will and Mine be One. Meaning that I pray that my will be aligned with the will of the Creator.I am grateful for family and friends, for well wishes and forgotten wishes. I am as God created me ............ 

Photo Collage

This is a "Photo Collage" done by taking two photos and cutting them in strips and then alternating them on a piece of card stock. They look great matted and framed. It is a challenge to choose the right photos. In this one we have a photo of a back pocket of a pair of jeans and the other photo was one of shirts hanging. They fit well together. Photo's that are too busy would not work, it takes an eye for color and balance for this type of work. 

Spiritual Life / Human Life

Human life comes from human parents, but the spiritual life comes from the Spirit (John3:6)
Perhaps our past isn't much to brag about, having seen the darkness that lurked there.
I choose, I chose, to rise above and no longer be controlled by the past.
There are times ( like today) that I make a conscious decision to remember the past.
(Friday the 13th, 1987)
However I remeber re-member, to be a member you "join"  - and so to join with the past in memory is for me at this time, to re-call the spirit of that time. Not the earthly "stuff" of that day but rather the spirit of what was really intended. And so Robin Michael Harris where ever you are I remember.

Carla's Blue Harron

Seems when I upload from Picassa I get this underlined text !!

This is a picture done on black mat board with gel pens. I actually had a heron feather to include in the mix. 
A friend of mine owns it now and I am thinking I need to go and see her and get a better photo. 
It is one of my drawings that was done in the center of a circle, as I "danced with the wheel".
As I re-visit this piece it reminds me and moves me towards trying this type of art again. Not sure what it is that keeps me doing something different every time I move in to a creative place. So easily bored? Attention span problem? 




 

Comes November

I found this picture on the web and I find it reminds of November.
A real time of transition, as we can no longer ignore the reality that winter is here.
These past few days of mild weather has truly been a gift. Taking a long drive and listening to Marianne Williamson ......... solitude while being in motion. Noticing the colours left - before white comes the colour  of  wheat ....
So, I notice that each winter becomes a challange, and I am not so sure why I have that sense of things. Perhaps because spring always feels like rebirth.
I do not know who did this beautiful picture but I love the light and the dark, both are familiar.
A birthday on the rise for me. Another reason to call it a transitional time.I am grateful to be alive and to face another winter in the "near" north.
Snow and storms and cold crisp days .....
Bring it on!!

Medicine Wheel ..........

Finding our place and time in life can be sought though many different methods. One is using the medicine wheel, of which there are many.
This one, created by Sun Bear ( who published Danceing with the Wheel) is showing the stone, plant and animal that go with each month. This is very reflective of a Astrological interpretation of the months as they pass through the moon cycles.
I suppose I am drawn to this at this "birthday" month of mine. I started to draw feathers and read the above mentioned book in 1994 ......... the beginning of my path as an artist. And although many years inbetween I did nothing creative in terms of art, I suppose I was still creating in different ways.

So Snake , thistle, Malachite ...........somewhere I have a picture of two snakes I did way back then. And I have a really good piece of  Malachite, which I will put on my alter, just not sure about the thistle ...........perhaps if I went for a walk..........



this drawing is by M.G. Knoch ( not sure who he is however I need to mention his name)

The Huntsville Art Society is taking part in a benifit for the folks who lived at the Empire Hotel here in Huntssville.
There was a fire in October and over 50 people who lost almost everything.
Members of the Art Society have donated works of art for a silent Auction.
A concert, featuring local muscians will be held Thursday at the Algonquin Theater.

All Souls Day

This is an old watercolor that is now framed ( and I suppose I need to photograph it framed ) however I always want to have it reframed with a larger mat and larger frame.
I have tried a couple of times to re-create the process that caused this to happen, but have never managed to do it.
Today is All Souls Day, and I am going to do some lighting of candles and smugding and prayer for the loved ones who have gone to another place in time.
Brent, Frances, Emery, Peter, Terry and Al.........many others.
And the prayer for today is from the Course in Miracles...........Where would you have me go, what would you have me do, what would you have me say, and to whom.

Pray the Swine Flu Away

I got lost in the " energy" of the crowd and ended up in fear of the flu. Don't get me wrong, I intend to take precautions, however instead of fear I will have faith.
Dear God, please take away this Swine Flu........ remove or transform it so that it leaves.
If we believe all that was said in "The Secret" - that we create our reality, that our thoughts are more powerful than we know, then we need to change our thoughts.
Mass hysteria will not do anything except feed the energy of the flu. So from this point on I choose to be aware, but not panic !!
I pray that my family is healthy enough that they get through this time. In fact my daughter has already had this flu and although she said it was the sickest she can remember being, she got through as did her daughter.
So let us take this to a Spiritual level and pray that we do our part and ask God to do God's part.
Amen

The Spirit Cafe' / The Wisdom of the Circle

I hate that when I attend the Spirit Cafe' that I come away feeling like I could not say the things I wanted to say. Not because of opportunity, instead it is the struggle to find the words.
In the conversations I know what folks are speaking of however I just do not seem to have the language.
Now a new Circle starting in Bracebridge at the home of a great facilitator. Seekers, journeying together, chasing the truth.
I suppose I just need to be grateful that I understand what others are saying and I "know" that we are on a path to a better, more spiritual life.
What a joy to be in the energy of like minded folks. A spiritual community that is not "in a box".
Our topic last night was Spirit in Nature or the Spirituality of Nature. I was amazed at the talk of trees and grounding and how trees just are, just as I know the Creator just is.
I spoke about the roots and using that image in meditation to ground myself and then reach upwards, like the tree reaches up for the sun. Some great mete fores and analogies.

When I do a wet on wet watercolor I wonder why I don't do more of them !!
So my Goal today is to do a few watercolors.

Not sure what happened here to the font and the color and the underline !!
Another collage of torn paper and cut out leaves ............. how interesting. I will continue to explore this medium.

I don't do flowers

Photos are difficult in terms of showing the true colors. Well perhaps I need to re-think that and say it's the camera.
I will try and scan these - although they are an inch thick !!
and let's see what happens..............

Emerald Chamberlain

What is it about publishing a picture of myself that feels so strange? Perhaps that I do not recognize the face that I see, the process of getting older is ego deflation at depth !!

Once again I wonder where the time has gone - what can I do to get into the creative process.
I found some paper while in Halifax that I hope will inspire me.

Inspire - to be "in spirit" - so perhaps what I need to do is get connected Spiritually. I wonder what happens that I get dis-connected?? What is the process that gets me to that place of Creator, Create, Creativity..............

Terry Gill

This is my friend Terry Gills' art ....... he has a series he call Spirit Posters and this is one of them. I will upload a few over the next while.

Lord knows I am not painting at this point.

He is my teacher, my friend and a great support!!

I am grateful for those who Spirit sends my way .... and I am grateful that I have learned to live a life that I am peaceful in. ( for the most part)

I just remembered I do have a small collage I can scan and upload ............ need to do more of those, find my niche in that arena.

I have been walking daily and napping daily and wonder if the two are connected, cause I do not seem to have a problem sleeping again at night.

Day 62 if staying away from foods that trigger me into "more" and more is a dis-ease. Oh we must long for the Great Comforter instead of looking for comfort in other people places and things.

Pow Wow

Seems I "gap" at times and forget again to come here. Well it is day 59 no sugar !!
HOWEVER I still do not have a firm "plan of eating" so I suppose I am only abstinent from sugar.
In Overeaters Anonymous that would not be considered real abstinence.
Oh well......... I do feel better mentally and physically and the process of looking at my food habits has certainly brought me back to the 12 steps in a new way. Most of all seeking help from "a Power beyond my Understanding" feels right and good and comforting.

I have had a desire to "get away" and cannot see my way financially to do it HOWEVER I have decided to do a two day Sobriety Pow Wow on the weekend of the 21st of August. It is at the Shawanaga Reserve north of Parry Sound. Credit Card will have to do........ it will be good for my sanity. Touch the earth - hear the drumbeat of Mother Earth, watch the dancers.

and that's all for now folks

Summer in Muskoka

Sunrise, sunset.......... quickly goes the day.

And the week and the month and the summer !

And Life ........... I feel a shift coming and its good to be aware of it. My prayer is to be shown what my next step is to be and to be given the whatever I need to take that step.

I am in a flux and yet a flow. I am ...........

The day is day 50 of sugar free living and still I do not have a "plan of eating" figured out.

Well perhaps that is not accurate. I think I have the plan in place, just don't have the accountability factor yet. Soon ....I hope. I continue to do inventory around this whole food thing however I fear that the "10 garbage cans and 9 lids" may be true. Always one addiction rearing it's ugly head.

Energy

I may have uploaded this painting before......... it was the first painting I sold.

I did it with a feather and iridescent paint,

Well here I am at day 41 of my sugar free life. I am restless.......... I have a great desire to "take a trip" and keep thinking Elliot Lake would be nice, reflective and cheaper than most places. However a good friend tells me my Jeep may not like a 250 mile trip.

Maybe next week I will take just a short two day excursion somewhere.

I am doing the "waiting to be inspired" thing with my art right now......... wanting to get back to the paper collages and see where it takes me. I know if I just start and not worry about where its going I will be ok... it's just getting started that's the kicker.

A 5 year celebration for my friend last night and I felt very connected to folks. It was a great night and reminds me to get to more meetings and get connected - as opposed to staying alone.

It's a struggle for me at times .......... I like the solitary life. Just wish I was on a lake somewhere.

Well ya can't win without a ticket so tonight I am gettin a ticket.

Along the shores of Georgian Bay............. I did a painting of the bay.... from a high point in the north channel.

It sold at the art show on Sunday to a couple who were celebrating their tenth anniversary.

Congrats and thank you.

It was my first oil painting and if anyone has a picture of it please send it to me. I just can't seem to find a photo I took of it however I know I did cause I recall mailing it to a few folks.

It was a busy weekend and I managed to stay abstinent from sugar and all whites. I packed a lunch on Sunday to go to Parry Sound, and had salads friday and saturday at the show. I feel pretty good about this. I continue to go to O.A. meetings on line (dispite problems with Java) and continue to get on my knees and ask for help.

I often think about a nun that used to come to some AA meetings at the hospital in Hamilton she said " My God is a gentleman and he likes to be asked" and so I ask. Each day I ask for this absinence to continue and for the willingness and ability to stick to a plan of eating that will keep me healthy.

Day 36 for me and I am grateful............

When we recover Spiritually.........

I suppose for everything EACH DAY IS A NEW BEGINNING.........

AND they say you can start your day ( or your next 24 hours ) anytime you want.

I see how anxious I can get if there are too many things going on. And this seems to be one of those months.

An Art Show tonight and tomorrow and then Parry Sound and Skeleton Lake on Sunday.

Seeing old friends and acquaintances should not make one anxious and yet at time it seems to.

Was reading a post today on one of my email loops that quote from the Big Book of AA, that says "we recovery spiritually first and then we recover physically and emotionally".

And so for the past few days as I return to my "roots" or my "bascis" of recovery; listening to spiritually minded folks on C.D.'S I am feeling more connected to Source.

this collage is the a part of the beginning of something new.........

the writing says- change the way you look at things

today I had a great day.......... I walked this morning and did this collage this afternoon.
the best part was going to the spirit cafe' tonight.
spiritual nourishment was the topic of discussion this evening and it is so healing to be in a room of like minded folks.

Busy times this month and still I must stay in today........31 days sugar free and counting!! Perhaps I need to not count the days and just do the "one day at a time" thing, which is really how I am doing it anyway. Asking the Creator each day for the gift of this new way of being.

And like Wayne Dyer says......... when you change the way you look at things - the things you look at change.

Paper Collage and other rambleings

Well I am unsure of how to photograph this piece.......... It sure does not look anything like it does in person.

The center has Desiderata written in a circle.

There is an art show next weekend and I am pretty sure I am going to go in it and put this piece in.

And......... day 28 sugar free for me. This whole business of feeling like I am new in recovery is amazing.

I know that if I continue to do the writing and the meetings online ; and going to Orillia when I can to a face to face meeting, I will continue on this same path.

Walking really needs to continue. I had been walking 3 times a week for two weeks then it rained for a week which plays havoc with my Fibromyalgia, so my goal this week is to walk at least 2 times. Keep moving, into the lightness of being ( for those who are into the light !!)

Listened to CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS CHANGE YOUR LIFE ; Living the Wisdom of the Tao) today and the first verse of the Tao te Ching.......(which means the book of "the way" ... the lesson is around "allowing" it's about honouring the Great Mystery ( that some call God) and about letting go and letting God.

All of this sounds very familiar to me...........Wayne suggests One lesson a day. So I will add this to my daily's.

Possiblilty Thinking

I found this picture a while back on the web, and love it for it's movement and excitement.


Today I think of possible changes that can be made. I have returned to the awareness that I have had my TV on - to get away from the noise around me. Using it for "white noise" when in fact there is nothing white about it. So the garbage that has been pouring into my psyche for the past few weeks has to stop now.

This week someone gave me a couple of CD's by Spiritual teachers, and as I listen I begin to realize I just purchased the new Wayne Dyer series and have not listened DUH !!


The other realization is that I have always got my spiritual nourishment ( a lot of it) from listening to spiritual teachers. Beginning with Jack Boland and Marianne Williamson on to Wayne and others. Add the Soul Series that Oprah did and I can't believe how far away I have gotten recently from all this.

And I need to back up and listen to Wayne's previous series called Change Your Thoughts Change Your Mind, I think this is the missing piece. (for me)

The process of these realizations has been one of connecting the dots............. change my thinking and the possibilities arise from that place.

The clearing of my mind, the clarity that is coming to me since stopping the sugar (26 days ago) is all connected also.
Being connected to God................. the light .......... the comforter

Today I am .......an Artist

THIS PIECE WAS DONE BY A NATIVE ARTIST NAMED CARL RAY........... I LOVE HIS WORK !!




today I am an artist....... I recently attended a Gallery where a paper artist absolutely was an inspiration to me. Because of my love for paper I am now trying to create my own Paper Collage.
and I will have a camera by the end of the week and will publish photos next week.
There is an Art Show on the 17th and 18th and so I would like to have some new work done by then.I traveled to Bracbridge this morning on a paper hunt............. mulberry paper - none to be found here in Huntsville. Soon I will be out of this great "YES" glue and will need to hunt that down.........on the internet.
I have to create to stay sane in this new noisy place I am living in........ I realized yesterday that I have had the TV on for weeks; to drown out the pitter patter of heavy little feet. What is the lessen here ??
On the recovery side of life I am day 24 sugar free. And it feels so good !! and I have been listening to some CD's that are keeping me in touch with the more Spiritual side of my life.

to blog or not to blog: seeing the LIGHT

Well it does seem I have fallen into the realm of nothingness, in terms of my blogging.

I thought at the outset of this I would be writing about my art and my recovery. My recovery is ongoing and so I need to keep writing about all of it. Perhaps recovery is just another word for life and the growth we experience.

This month I have realized many things about my relationship with food. It never ceases to amaze me how things can be just below consciousness. On some level I have known that food had become a bit of a problem, the denial in that is; it had become a huge problem.
I stopped smoking 5 1/2 years ago and I see now that I switched addictions. So in fact became a food addict. My whole life was revolving around food, just like it had around cigarettes, just like it had around drugs and alcohol. Finally about 6weeks ago I bottomed out with sugar. I know what happens to my body when I consume things like ice cream. I bloat and all the horrible part is the sugar goes right through my system like somebody is shaking a can of pop.
And yet I would go "unconscious" and be gone to the store and be ingesting the stuff. And then once again go through the experience of it all.

Today is day 23 of no sugar !!! AND no junk food (chips etc.) No french fries, no drive thru, no white bread, no potatoes, no white pasta.

And so it is. My head is clearer. I feel more awake and more alive.

When people ask how you are ...........do they really want to know?

Could they understand ...... could they really grasp what is being said and not be too judgemental.

Are we really allowed to feel some very real emotions and not be told to " get over it" .....

Perhaps that is why we don't really tell folks how we are.............. Sunrise Sunset

In the Spirit of Love

How fragile our hearts can be. My young friend Amanda has just had her heart broken. She is 16.......... and I told her that her first love would always have a "little piece of her heart" and that's ok.

I recently heard from my first love. He lives in Arizona, a desert rat? It stirred alot of memories but in reality I felt just confused as to the reason or point of the contact. It was really rather sad that when I did the math I was only 13 or 14 years old. More math ........... I am 61.

Did I lie to Amanda or did the contact ruin the illusion that it was love.

I am grateful that I have known true love and that now I experience love in many different ways.

God's love is demonstrated in my life daily. Through friends and family. I know that I am loved.

And my heart is light most days................so in the Spirit of Love I walk into today, asking to be led in the direction of the larger plan. And I pray that the God of my understanding helps me to see Love and be Love and recieve Love.

I ask to be of Service in some small way ...............

New Year Intentions

I would think it's more metaphysical to set an intention as opposed to a resolution.
To affirm what I want to happen and set the intention seems to fit for me at this point.
It is my intention to ask God to help me with all my plans and efforts in this year 2009.
Daily......... to ask each morning ( or whenever Spirit moves me) for help.
My lessons this past year have been around how powerless I am, over people, places and things.

I have worked on forgiveness of self and others.

I have realized that I am the only one who can change
my life and my life directions.

I have known friendship through the good works of others.

And I learn over and over that loss is a part of life and that life is on God's terms.
And I am ok with all of the above.

Emerald Rose

Another month, another birthday............another move. Sometimes I feel I am just too old to have to pack up and move. I do know that once I get that first box packed I will be ok.

HOWEVER moving 6 times in the past 6 years just feels overwhelming. The good news is I am totally leaving this one up to God. I will pack, apply for the new place, rent a mover.......that's the footwork.

I am "in the flow" of Spirit at this point. And teachings tell me that "this too shall pass" however if I am vigilant about spiritual practices, all will be well.

I am gratefull for the fall like weather today........this past week, it will make winter so much shorter.

Really working at staying in the day, in the moment.

And gratitude for friends who care........................