Gleanings

You all know what gleanings are. The food left in the field after the big harvest. Here are random bits from my past weeks of painting and writing. All of the painting was done in the class under the spell of Robert Burridge. All of the writing was done under the spell of my very own self.

I task myself to perfecting living in the moment that I might enjoy this dumb and endless comedy.

The Lord said, “I go before you always” but sometimes I need someone to have my back. I can usually avoid the devil before me, it’s the one sneaking up behind that I worry over.

This piece of writing was soooo prompted by Mary Ann at Dispatch from LA. If you don't read that blog your life is not as rich as it could be.

I dream of going to Merida. It seems so lovely, so comfortingly shabby and relaxed. The locals drive their horse drawn vehicles through the narrow winding streets as one with private cars and rickety buses. They have ballroom dancing on a roughly constructed wooden platform right in the middle of the square, and most afternoons you can watch the men and women, their bodies viejo, their hearts reciente , lost in punctuated executions of waltz, samba, tango. The markets flourish beneath beautifully ragged awnings that shade all manner of exotic produce and tempting trinkets. The fragrance of paper wrapped bouquets mingled with the spicy scent of street food calls to me, demands my presence. The magical pyramids of the Mayans, all of the hypnotic Yucatan, are but a short taxi ride away. Merida means “I can’t understand you”, as the Mayans answered Cortez when he asked, “Where am I.”

Life, it seems, comes in slices and I am sure to feel fragmented, incomplete, lacking, until the last slice reveals all.

A quiet yet urgent voice, calls softly through the phone,
Please, can you talk me off the ledge?
From my own precarious perch
I throw my rope of words
which she catches and ties around her waist.
I test the knot around mine
and together, once again
we cheat the abyss.

No one wants me until I want myself.
I see a ball tossed into the air,
climbing into the sky,
struggling out of the clutching arms of earth,
then, just before the inevitable descent,
a sacred moment.
The ball hesitates,
unencumbered in a state of bliss,
free of time and space.
It is that moment that
contains the hope of
me longing for me.

Her eyes tell me she is in a universe far away,
a place in a constant state of creation.
She nods in false assent,
directed by the shrieking phantoms
who whisper instructions,
whose commands protect
the gates of her mind
allowing no visitors, no thoughts
that might corrupt the hellish paradise
they have made there for themselves.

The porcelain hen lies shattered to powder and bits on the kitchen floor. The very last of my resolve as broken as she as I step into the shower to hide my tears.

My heart has turned to stone yet beautiful flowers still burst into bloom in it’s barren nooks and crannies.

all work by lm/2010

The remains of the day...

It seems that every where I look in blogland, someone is talking about a ROD journal. This evening sky with it's bits and pieces of rag tag clouds strikes me as the remains of a day.

I love looking through my old journals, I see them as bits and pieces of what is left of me from the passing of time.

While searching for something to use in the Mother's Day cards I was making, I dusted off Image Tricks, a free app that I downloaded years ago. Posterizing photos is way too much fun and this app makes it a snap.

I know this can be done with Photo shop, maybe even better. But Image Tricks is such a no brainer to use I can't resist.

I am looking forward to taking a four day painting class next week with Robert Burridge. And it's right in my back yard! No flying or marathon driving. If you live in So Cal you might want to check in with the delightful Sylvia at The Art Box to see if there is still room.

Check out my blog list for a new entry. Galaxy Dreams is the work of a good friend. If you need some inspiration, go take a peek.

Here's what I'm thinking at the end of a day that had some rough edges: Take only what you loved about today. Leave the rest for the dust bin.

Today I feel random

One moment relishing

the dumb and stilted comedy of curses,

blessings, redemption and damnation,

imploring the intervention of gods and goddesses,

longing for the deus ex machina.

The next moment, imploring

Cat-in-the-Hat to visit, to trick me

into turning my house upside down

and, in spite of my protestations,

to goad me into jumping on the furniture

and running wildly indoors.

Oh ye gods and goddesses,

you show me the righteous way

to blessings and peace.

Oh you Cat-in-the-Hat,

you cause me to tingle

with the delicious fear

of being caught.

lm 4/2010

Fruit of Your Mind

Pick it before it rots

before the birds ruin it

with their peck, peck, pecking.

By The Sweat of Your Brow

Heed the ancient formula;

be patient and diligent, thoughtful

and courageous.

Do as the seasons dictate;

plant, sow, tend, nurture,

harvest, and preserve.

Tend to the plowing, weeding

and the tilling.

Clear rocks and break sod.

Repeat your tasks as have those

who came before you.

Learn to tell weeds from crops.

Or

Heed the ancient formula,

be patient and diligent, thoughtful

and courageous.

Learn to trust.

lm 4/2010

Playing with the iPhone, so many wonderful camera apps, scribbling a bit and thinking of all of you.

Lent

I woke up early this morning and as I made my way to the oatmeal calling me from the kitchen, I had one of those moments when you ask yourself, "what was that, in the corner of my eye?" I retraced a few steps to be greeted by a most provoking site.


The sun was filtering in just right to create these images of the crucifixion scene that a dear friend and masterful carver of Santos, Eddie Johnson, made for us several years ago. As a lapsed Catholic, I love liturgical art and have a fantasy of having life sized statues of the saints, like I grew up with, in the house.


This one is shades of Dali.

Click on the photos to enlarge, you will see more of the light that I love.

The moment was mystical and I felt compelled to share this art with you.

Spring

The ranch has enjoyed the rain we had this year. We needed it so badly and I hope we can get at least a few more showers before we head into Summer.

I am always amazed that beautiful flowers grow in great profusion, in unlikely places, with no help from us. In fact, I realize that they grow precisely because we leave them alone! I'm sort of like that, I tend to bloom best when left a bit wild and alone.

The flowers, vague ghosts of earth,

the heroic daughters of March, appear.

They sit in the sun, eager to greet our steps

if only we would venture

outside of the tended garden.

lm/2010

Even now, our highest good is rushing to us from unknown sources. Bless our efforts
to open our arms wide enough to receive it.

Art and Soul

What happens in Vegas, gets posted here!!! That city is a photographers paradise.






Look up
look down, look around, go to the rest room just bring your camera!


Just spending time with my sweet daughter was enough of a treat. Then spending time with Katie Kendrick (I'll admit it, I was a bit star struck meeting her after following her blog for several years)


and making delicious books from cardboard and cheese cloth put me over the top.






I have been basking in an attitude of gratitude ever since.

I wish for all, an experience of the abundance of fun that makes the world go 'round.