True Faces

primed

ready

face in

pieces

on the hearth

 

no man

for any considerable period

can wear one face to

himself

and another to the multitude

without finally getting

bewildered

as to which may be

true

 i know 

my

true face

it has never been one that

counted

 

unloveable

Dear Santa

dear santa

i know i haven't been particularly

 good

this year .. but

i sure would love to have a shop where

i can do my 

 wood work

 spent the better part of 

 three hours

 on my next project

cutting .. sanding 

working on saw horses

direct sun

hat

goggles

mask

 hot

 yard art day is

 labor day 

i don't live in charlotte

'bout an hour out

 don't have to live there

to participate

 give the passersby

 something

 to

see

 

 

Made From Clay

finished my walking stick today

 needs a coat of sealer

earth my body

air my breath

fire my spirit

water my blood

"the laws of nature were in place from

the beginning of the earth

there are certain powers...customs

and ways that humans are meant to live by

rules obeyed even by the stars and sun

our every act...word...and thought

is of great significance to this world

and there are consequences for each

we do not have the right to live in

any way that we desire

our way was made for us out of clay

by adept fingers at creation"

We All Carry Our Stories Inside of Us

my mind

filled with trees

 

storytellers

 

even after 

 

death

 

cedar crosscut

 

sanded

 

burned

 

sealed

 

printed

we all carry our

 

stories

 

inside of us

trees

birds

stones

me

In the Hands of Nature

" i

live

in the hands of

nature

and all her

creatures

hear 

as they hear

move 

as they move

see

as they see"

i do.... 

Earth's Dreaming

this morning carries

memories

of fall
i feel the trees

breathe

standing here as earth

dreams

in the grey mist of
morning

What Memories Do You Bring

i sit with storm

who rides the wind

smell heat scorched earth

bruised mint leaves

wonder

rain

floating water

what memories do you bring

lifted from a spill

filled with

moon's

reflection

or someone's salty

tears

are you as

sad

as 

i
am
 

More Than I Have to Give

 i am

 a glint of light

 already gone

when looked for

nameless

i don't know what

life wants of me

but it is

 more 

than i have

 to give

Don't Talk to Them About Me

don't....

Seeking Why....Still

image by richard burbridge

"we hold on to our shit and the accumulative garbage

of our own consciousness and experiences rather

than just letting it go and have it stop interfering

with our lives."

~kiki smith 

dissolving

salt in

water

seeking why i can't

let go

still

The Sisters

i call these four oaks

 

the sisters

 

this is where i go to 

meditate..or just

 

be

 

in these times of so much

 

time sickness

 

the hurrying about busyness

everyone should have a 

sacred place

 

there is an old well

covered over

under these trees

 

trees breath

 

water

 

so much life force

 

powerful

 

i trimmed a dead limb from

the one in the foreground yesterday

thanked her for the gift

promised to honor her with a

carving

 

 

i will make myself a walking stick with her

 

gift

 

i also prepped a piece of cedar root that was

 

given

 

to me

i envision the face of 

 

ancient grandmother

 

we'll see

 

 

 

The Reward of Patience is Patience

 

one revolution around the sun

with the Insight Timer Meditation app

meditation

spirituality

mindfulness

balance

today's rune:

 

WARRIOR

 

This is the Rune of the Spiritual Warrior. Always the battle of the Spiritual Warrior is with the self. Funding a will through action, yet unattached to outcomes, remaining mindful that all you can really do is stay out of your own way and let the Will of Heaven flow through you -- these are the hallmarks of the Spiritual Warrior.

 

Embodied in this Rune is the energy of discrimination, the swordlike quality that enables you to cut away the old, the dead, the extraneous. And yet with the Warrior Rune comes certain knowledge that the universe always has the first move.  Patience is the virtue of this Rune, and it recalls the words of St. Augustine that the reward of patience is patience.

Here, you are asked to look within, to delve down to the foundations of life itself. Only in so doing can you hope to meet the deepest needs of your nature and tap into your most profound resources. The molding of character is at issue when you draw Teiwaz.

Associated with this Rune are the sun, masculine energy, the active principle. The urge for conquest is powerful here, especially self-conquest, which is a lifelong pursuit and calls for awareness, single-mindedness and the willingness to undergo your passage with compassion and in total trust.

A Rune of courage and dedication, in ancient times Teiwaz was the glyph that warriors painted on their shields before battle. Now, the same symbol strengthens our resolve to align the self with the self.

i watch from the still point of my

 

breath

 

i 

 

am

 

a 

 

spiritual warrior

Learning....

image by unworn

 give up all the other worlds

except the one to which

you

belong

sometimes it takes

darkness

and the sweet confinement of your

aloneness

to

learn

Who Fixes the Fixer

i am a fixer

from as far back as i can remember

i am the one people come to with their problems

their pain

i am the strong one

the one who gets things done

i am the fixer

i’ve taken care of my parents

my siblings 

my children

friends

and with my job

victims of all race…creed….and situation

but

who fixes the fixer

 people assume that my strong exterior goes 

all the way to the core of my being

wish they could be like me

 but

they see only the face i offer up to the world

when in reality

it’s a daily battle to keep the fragile pieces

 that make up who i am from imploding 

with the sound of a thousand fine crystal glasses

breaking

falling

tinkling

 glittery

 into a pile

on the floor

leaving only an image

like that burned into the memory of your eye from a searing light

i’ve become a master at hiding the real me

a most noble actor on this stage called life

covering up the sound of the chains i carry

and the quiet click of the door closing in my heart

so

who fixes the fixer

i can soothe her each night with wine

and music

i can make her rise each morning

  force her to put on her mask and cape

 send her out into the world 

to fight the evils of another day

but i can’t fix her

i can’t fix her

who fixes the fixer

None But Ourselves

take a long hard look at

you

Too Great to Bridge

image by nancy holly

 

"what need we humans have

a species

 lonely

and

lacking in

love

its no wonder we turn to

animals

for love

the distance between one

human

and another is often too

great to bridge"

Finished

i finished this piece today

instead of burning and sanding

i used my razortip wood burner

to add shadows

i've got a new project in mind

but won't be able to get started 

for another week

i'm looking forward to

experimenting with some

coloring and surface design

on wood

Protector of Lost Souls

image and words by paula jones

"there are angels that are given particularly 

interesting "jobs"

the ones whose task is to guard those who

are lost

that don't know who they are

why they are here

they feel worthless

invisible

like they are just existing

these angels

these protectors

are here to help the lost find their way

by putting others in their paths

to question why...what...how...

or

just to guard them

until one day

something happens

and they find their own light

are you one of those angels

or one of the lost"

i bow my head
 in gratitude

for their
protection

Kill Hole

cedar
healing

 purification 

spiritual

 protection

 roughed out

with a chainsaw

finished with a rotary tool

the small hole on the bottom
a "kill hole"
used by the ancient Mimbres
to release the spirit

placed in my works
(my signature)

so their spirits aren't trapped
 in this time between times

This Piece of God

i have always wanted 

 

something 

 

beyond what i've wanted

there is no language to speak words

deep enough... strong enough to

articulate what i truly 

 

desire

 

it isn't the secrets of the

 

 stars

 

or water

maybe it's just to know

 

myself

 

who i am

this piece of

 

God

 

who is

 

 me