Monday, July 31, 2017

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



Saturday, July 29, 2017

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
 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


 

 


Friday, July 28, 2017

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"



Thursday, July 27, 2017

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









Wednesday, July 26, 2017

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.... 




Tuesday, July 25, 2017

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


Sunday, July 23, 2017

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
 

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

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





Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Don't Talk to Them About Me




don't....

Monday, July 17, 2017

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




Sunday, July 16, 2017

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
 
 
 



Friday, July 14, 2017

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
 
 
am
 
 
spiritual warrior





Sunday, July 9, 2017

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



Friday, July 7, 2017

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

Thursday, July 6, 2017

None But Ourselves








take a long hard look at

you

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

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"



Tuesday, July 4, 2017

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



Monday, July 3, 2017

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





Sunday, July 2, 2017

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








Saturday, July 1, 2017

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