Blessed....

This rainy afternoon finds me sitting in my studio...the smell of coffee and a fresh baked
lemon pound cake teasing my senses. I come in here often to just.....be....sitting in an old
beat up recliner beside a window facing the woods.

By all rights I should be stressed over the loss of my job....there's no money coming in..
my employer is trying to block my unemployment...no savings to speak of. But instead of
stress all I feel is a profound peace...like a huge burden has been lifted from me. I sit here
watching the birds wing from tree to tree...a rabbit streaking into the brush...I'm toasty
and content...and blessed.

There's a new page that has been turned...spring in season and the beginning of the
next chapter in this crones life. Peace....and gratitude....and love.

Thank you Spirit...Greater Spirits...Angels...Ancient Grandmother...Ancient Ones...Animal
Spirits....and all who guide and watch over me....Ai ya oh ah ya....Ai ya oh ya!

Grandmother Moons Blessing

Spring....it's almost here!

A time of renewal and new beginnings...my flower children

are peeking out all over...

It's also a time of renewal and new beginnings for me....a renewal

of my true self and a new start for the next phase of my life. I've 

spent the last thirteen years working in an environment that was 

so toxic and negative...for me personally... that I feel I've lost who

I truly am. I was a Law Enforcement Victim Advocate...a noble

profession...but one filled with so much pain and negativity...both from

the public I worked with and the judicial system including those working

in it. I've wanted to change careers for a while now but with my 60th

birthday looming I was dragging my feet...worrying who would hire

someone my age. 

Well that decision was taken out of my hands yesterday when I was "released

from employment" by our new sheriff...not because of anything I've done or 

didn't do....that's just the chance we take working for the sheriffs office. 

Every four years we automatically don't have a job and have to reapply

even if the same sheriff takes office.  So as of today I am officially a

lady of leisure. What will I do now? I'm not sure. I hope to be able 

to draw unemployment for a while and concentrate on my art. I've 

never had the confidence to put my art out for sale and I see this as

the kick in the rear I needed to do just that. I do know one thing for sure....

I feel nothing but tremendous relief at being out of all that negative

energy. I've spent today outside thanking the universe for this opportunity

 and remembering as I looked up at the moon last night

how she "smiled" down on me and gave me her blessings.

Redbubble

Do any of you sell your work on Redbubble?

I signed up and uploaded some of my digital art this week and 

received an email this morning telling me this piece had been 

selected to post on their home page for today.

Awesomeness!

If anyone is interested in purchasing a piece of my work

you can find me here.

i already am.......

and this is exactly what i am in the process of doing....

 

i am becoming that which

i already am..... 

Perfection........

Oh my.....

add a glass of wine...

perfection!

 

 

(picture via cookedheads.tumblr.com)

Sky-High

Happy Valentines Day...my space cowboy...

this 27th year finds me missing you...

still....

Standing over his grave…
eyes wrenched shut with the wanting of him…
she caught his smell… felt his embrace…
 opened her eyes to find a single feather
 clinging to her tears....

Underface.......

Wondering today why we feel the need to hide our true selves....

Days With My Father......

I think I may have written about this before when I first

came across Phillip Toledanos blog. Like Mr. Toledano...

and so many others...I...too...lived this heartbreak...only

with my mother. This is such a touching account of his time

 with his failing father...documented with wonderful photos...

I haven't read his book but I'm adding it to my reading list....

Apache Tears...

What a beautiful way to end the day here in

South Carolina. This sunset just took my breath away.

I think it was Spirits way of compensating for a day that started

out not so good. I planned a trip to Charlotte to pick up an

 Apache Tears stone and stopped to fill my gas tank on the

way. A guy in an old beat up Ford F150 backed into my

Tacoma....the end of his bumper hit right behind the passenger

 door on the drivers side. I'm sure you can guess who's vehicle 

was damaged. When I saw him start to back up I blew the horn

and if he had stopped then he wouldn't have hit me...but...

he didn't! Sure wish I'd already picked up that stone.

"Apache Tears are strong stones for spiritual grounding and they are

 also powerful for psychic protection. They will raise your ability

 to recognize the approach of menacing situations, where you may be at risk.

 Like other types of Black Obsidian... they will absorb negative energy.

 This makes Apache Tears powerful tools to cleanse your auric field of negativity."

I hope his insurance (it looked "iffy") will pay to fix my truck...but if not...

I can live with it....sure doesn't look nice...but it runs just fine...

Thank you Spirit for protecting my loved one and myself.

Miller Goodman toys.......

Miller Goodman toys............

forget the kids....I WANT THEM.....

true time........

“I know this much: that there is objective time,

 but also subjective time, the kind you wear on the inside of your wrist,

 next to where the pulse lies. And this personal time, 

which is the true time, is measured in your relationship to memory.” 

~ Julian Barnes

 

 

on this cold... rainy... winters day i am remembering a

gentle soul who listened to my dreams and held

me through the night.... 

 

art by jeanie tomanek

the promise of renewal....

winter has its own kind of beauty...

it's a time for showing ones bones.

i am much comforted by these silent sentries

around this place i call home. 

the skeletal trees with their adornment of nests...

the butterfly bush under the bird feeder that 

gives my little ones a sense of security...

the rattle of the dried leaves from the flowers 

that some would have pulled by now

but i like to have them share my winters with me.

 

this desiccated queen annes lace reminds me of the

moon...with a galaxy of stars arcing outward. But

most importantly...it reminds me of renewal...

new life from the precious seeds clinging to its

heart....

 

a heart should always carry within itself

the promise of renewal...

 

Earth Prayers..

Mother Earth has provided everything in your life; the food you eat, the air you breathe, the clothes you wear, the home you live in. She is the Divine Mother manifest in her most majestic form. We can never say thank you to her enough.

Today your intention is to offer your prayers to Mother Earth throughout your day. Using your breath, and an offering from nature, your prayers will begin to restore your alignment with Nature and all things of the Universe. This readjustment of righting your relationship to yourself and your place in the world is known by shamans as ayni. Ayni resides in your heart. There is a deep ease of being at home, at one with everything. Offering your prayers in this way begins to bring you into ayni, the longing of your heart to return home.

In different traditions tobacco, flowers or cocoa leaves are used to hold prayers. Today you will find something in your own kitchen or native surroundings that will work for you. Grains like rice or dried beans, fresh or dried herbs, flower petals, small leaves, organic sugar, seeds, nuts or raisins are some of the things you could use as prayer offerings.

Every good prayer starts with a thank you. As you offer your prayers hold a sense of gratitude, love and appreciation for Pachamama. Let your prayer be one of thanks for the glory of the day, for the beauty Pachamama offers so abundantly, thanks for the warmth of the sun on your face, the blessings in your life. Allow your prayer to be an authentic of the calling of your heart. Release your prayer offerings back to the Earth.

an excerpt from A Structure For Spirit

wise words from Karen Chrappa on this crisp monday morning....

Whisperings.......

yesterdays sunset...

i felt its beauty in my bones.

the ancients whispering...

all is right with your world.

Willie Drews.......

willie drews home...

one of the places i go to

soothe my soul....

Hello 2013.......

Wishing each of you a happy, safe and artful 2013!

Love in a Forest

decided to have some fun with the "volcanic" ClayBord ....

boy loves girl....

i love the sanctity of my studio...

small pleasures....

....sigh

Whew..........

***GRINCH ALERT***

DON'T GO ANY FURTHER

IF YOU AREN'T PREPARED

FOR A LITTLE  LOT OF WHINING.....

Things have been....shall we say....a wee bit stressful around Casa Jody lately!

I'll begin with my job...I have worked for the Sheriffs' Office here in my county

 for thirteen years. We elect a new Sheriff every four years. At the end of each

four year term we automatically don't have a job....even if the same Sheriff keeps

the office. We have to reapply just as if we've never worked there. Well...we have

a new Sheriff taking office this January so I may or may not have a job next year.

Needless to say that put a crimp on Christmas.

Next....my oldest daughter moved into my already small home with her two children...

my thirteen yr old grandson and ten yr old granddaughter...until she can get her tax return

(something that's NOT looking promising here in the States any time soon!) and

find a place of her own. Talk about a MAJOR change for me....I feel I've been

displaced in my own home.

And....in the middle of all this my MacBook Pro died....leaving me without Photoshop CS5

and all the other software I use in my art!!!! It's the logic board....the mother board in a PC.

And no....of course...I don't have anything backed up and no reinstall CDs for the CS5.

I do keep all my art and images on a jump drive so I've got that.

So now I need to decide if I should invest $500 to fix a six yr old laptop or put that

towards a new one and HOPE I can salvage my software and data from the hard drive.

Not a decision I'm prepared to make without knowing I have a job January 1st.

In the meantime I've pulled out this thirteen yr old PC with all its' quirks just to

be able to do anything.

Soooooooo....I found myself at home alone...WONDERFUL....WONDERFUL...

and decided to make a little art to soothe my soul. I grabbed a ClayBord and began

layering plaster...gesso...and paint. After an hour or so as I started a new layer

the whole shebang slid off the board leaving me with this:

Note to self... stick to the wood panels for this kind of art....another lesson learned! 

 Oh well....I can start over now with the layers since the clay is gone.

 And working in my studio.......

 it really was good for my soul!





Zentangle #4

blind contour drawing of owl...zentangled...

scanned and printed on watercolor paper

then added a little color....

yes...i'm definitely liking this!

Zentangle #3

still zentangling.......