Donna Iona Drozda...

Following the Moon: Renewing the Heart

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:27:00 +0000

paper mache skin on half-size guitar

I send all best to you as we wind down this mysterious time of the natural year when deep internal realinment takes place preparing us for the approaching 90 days of spring.

I've invested this moon in renewing my heart. I've been sitting in the quiet of my studio creating a tribute to my dear friend and mentor Ann Dearsley Vernon.
The video shows Ann's art created in the 12 months following a cutting edge medical treatment, the insertion of an LVAD. The procedure gave Ann a new lease on life...her vitality and passion soared and her paintings flowed like the newly revitalized blood in her veins.

On December 12 at 2am Ann suffered a massive stroke. Since that time she has been unable to communicate clearly and her time is spent in physical, occupational and speech therapy sessions. Every aspect of her recovery is made more complicated and affected by the LVAD that literally keeps her on the planet.

Honoring the family's request for holding back and not flooding her with visitors I sat and wondered what I could do so that my love for her was being directed in a healthy way. When the idea came: create a tribute...every step fell into place.

Along came the call for artists to create an 'instrument of art' for the 6th annual Sea Level Festival's . Both Ann and I have been active with Tidewater Arts Outreach since it began in 2004. TAO is the organization that hosts the SeaLevel Festival and so I accepted the half size guitar offered to me and went into the studio.

A work of art using someone elses images, in this case Ann Vernon's paintings as transfers, became my new experience as I moved forward to create a tribute to her life well lived.


begin to lay in color and texture

add repeat transfers of Ann's painting of her memory of collapsing in her garden

one side of the guitar holds a transfer of her painting 'Word Salad'...

the opposite side panel with Ann and her painting 'My Mechanical Heart'...

We're in the Full Moon phase of the Renewal/Purity moon cycle. A lovely time to take a deep breath and renew the love of your heart.

As we move into the last weeks of the winter 'Mystery' quadrant of this year's Natural Wheel I dream of best health to your heart and for our world.

Enjoy your Luna See
d

Following the Blue Moon

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:10:00 +0000

Journal page, Drozda, 2006

It's been a busy time, no?
As it ought to be during this most active 'doing' time of the year.

Celebrate the Full 'Love' Blue Moon with some dancing.

I'm so happy to share with you the 'Life in Transit' project that I've been investing in since last fall and now launched as a public art initiative in collaboration with dear artist friend, poet/educator Toni Wynn and nonprofit partner, Tidewater Arts Outreach.

'Life in Transit', a public art/education project, honors and respects the strength and vitality of women around the world who have taken creative action to be liberated from domestic violence and poverty.
As a 'think global, act local', venture LiT invites a group of marginalized and culturally invisible women (who have participated in a community shelter support program in our community) to creatively express their inner strengths and inspire courage through personal art made public.

Please visit our new Face Book page, friend us and give the project a LIKE...we're moving toward sponsorship by our public transit system, enlisting their support in making 'Life in Transit' a community outreach...is your life in transit? ...visit our blog and share your courage and strength.

Read more...

And may you dance...

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Following the Moon: Who do You Trust?

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:27:00 +0000

Leo,Opposite hand Tarot, Drozda, mixed media, 1993

I hope you've had a fabulous Growth Moon ...in the blink of an eye... here we are:

Welcome to the New Trust Moon. As we are well aware it requires strength to cultivate trust. I truly appreciate that in a subtle way each year, at this place on the Natural Calendar, we have the opportunity to set a vision for where we choose to invest our Trust. Being born in February my moon/month keyword gift is Renewal...now half way round the wheel... is where I discover my opposite point and the challenge/opportunity for growth. Year by year I learn a bit more about surrendering fears, known and unknown, and radically trusting Life. Read more...

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Following the Moon: Growing Pains

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:50:00 +0000

MOCA Plein Aire class in my garden, Drozda, 2012

Welcome to Following the Moon...can you sense into and feel the need for an Art/Life stretch? It's Growing-pain time...and that's meant to be a healthy and beneficial sensation.

Week by week , as Luna-tics, we engage the natural rhythm of the moon cycles and the seasons to find our current creative flow. This week we end the 'Illumination' Moon cycle . Illumination visits each year during the Moon of June. Of course nature could care less about our calendars and not every moon falls exactly within the confines of a month. For example, currently we're experiencing the half n' half quality of the new moon falling at the midpoint of the month. This makes for an interesting opportunity to straddle our keywords...the moon cycle now closing is the Wisdom/Illumination cycle.

We're in the Balsamic Phase between now and Tuesday's New Moon. Each month these last several Balsamic days, prior to the New Moon, are perfect for dreaming.

What do you dream of growing in the cycle ahead?
The New Moon, beginning on Tuesday, June 19, brings us the Illumination/Growth cycle. In June, July and August we're looking at the most fertile and expansive period of the Natural Year. Whatever you are intending for the Natural Year's walk from Equinox in March all the way round to next spring when we begin anew...really put a push on now.

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Following the Moon: Sparkle and Shine

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Young artists entranced by Andy Warhol's Silver Pillow, MOCA, 2012, Drozda

Welcome to Following the Moon...it's the First Quarter phase of the Illumination cycle. Each year at this time we have the opportunity to push out and make contact with 'lightening up'.

Once again I'm sharing my artist/friend Sandra's writing. She publishes an essay on the First Quarter each moon/month...

The New Moon in Gemini on May 20 began a 29.6-day cycle, during which the emphasis is on information. The quality of our thoughts shapes the quality of our lives. Throughout this lunation, we are choosing what to bring into our consciousness, and thus into our experience. The results of our efforts will become evident seven months from now, during the Capricorn lunation. Consider the differences between reporting and gossip, knowledge and intelligence, versatility and superficiality.

This is a good cycle to engage in remedial studies, address transportation issues, or to make contact with others via correspondence and telephone.

Gemini correlates to Illumination on the Medicine Wheel. Arriving from the place of Wisdom developed during the Taurus lunation, we now occupy a place of illumination. Illumination allows us to interpret and make use of the clarity and wisdom gained thus far in the cycle that began with the Aries lunation. At this place in the cycle we develop a road map of sorts to guide us through the rest of the year.

During the 1st Quarter phase of this cycle it’s important to be discriminating. Pay close attention to everything heard and said. Filter out facts from speculation. Identify and break away from old mental patterns and styles of communication, especially as they occur in your daily activities and routines. Cultivate habits which make your communication more efficient.
Sometimes the smallest actions can have far-reaching effects and that is certainly true during this phase. Simple practices like counting silently to ten before responding to another in conversation.

Here are some additional suggestions for “Moving With Spirit” during this 1st Quarter phase (May 28 - 31):

Exercise with a Hula Hoop.

Write a book review or recommendation.

Attend a neighborhood meeting or block party.

Contact your siblings.

Sign up for a class or register for school.

Practice Yoga.

Play some mind games and tease your brain.

Physical activity during this phase should be detailed and well-considered. All actions this phase need to be taken from a place of service and humility.

Questions to consider during this phase:

How do you express your feelings of appreciation?

When are you most verbal and what words do you use repeatedly?

What triggers your curiosity?

Where and with whom would it serve you best to speak your truth and communicate with greater clarity?

How are your relationships with siblings and/or neighbors?

What situations bring out the student, teacher or debater in you?

Affirm: “ I communicate with honor and sensitivity.”

May we walk the path of illumination together with humility and grace.

Read complete post here

Making the Art/Life the Master Peace

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Following the Moon: Ruby & Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:41:00 +0000

Ruby & Valentine...the early days

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF OUR HEROIC FRIENDS RUBY & VALENTINE

Both of our girls left the planet yesterday, May 31, 2012, with the help of the hospice veterinarian...we are so grateful to Dr. Tom Woods for offering such a heartfelt service in our community.

“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition;

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;

Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;

Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;

Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.”

Walt Whitman

Ruby Slippers of Wren House, April 11, 1998 ...born in a raging storm, 6 of her litter mates drowned in their birthing box. She came to Wren House as a rescue, actually being drained of all energy by countless ticks and fleas. She lived a most wonderful and heroic life.

Valentine, born September 9, 1999... a puppy mill/petshop pup purchased as a ploy to save a marriage...it didn't work so the abandoned husband/father cast her into a kennel cage hardly large enough to turn around in... where she was 'stored' for a nearly a year. We heard that the man was going to dump her at the pound and we went to her rescue. She wasn't house broken or socialized but she became a devoted and fabulous protector of all thing Wren related.

I send love to you, and all your four leggeds, in honor of the Art/Life that we share with all the gentle beings.

Following the Moon:

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 22 May 2012 01:49:00 +0000

Luna See, Drozda, ink on Bristol, 2012

Welcome to Following the Moon... This week we begin the 'Illumination' Moon which visits us each year during the Moon of June. This New Moon began on Sunday, May 20, in the early evening (EDT). Perhaps you were able to witness the extraordinary 'ring of fire' solar eclipse.

This is a great time to set your Art/Life creatively ablaze for the 6 Moon/Months ahead. From the Equinox in March through the Equinox in September the primary creative quality is 'masculine action'...step up...step out...act...assert...it's completely natural to get a move on now. What would you like to have sizzle into your creative expression between now and November? Keep a journal...track the steps you need to take.

In June, with the Gemini Moon, you can be natural and seek to expand. Each New Moon provides space for a vision. Start with a vision that can expand your mind. This is a great Moon/Month to continue the active push that is expected at this point of the year. Move yourself forward and notice how qualified you are to create the work of beauty, goodness and care that only you can bring into the world.

The New Moon, and your opportunity to visualize your genius, continues through Thursday, May 24 and then opens to the Crescent Phase in the late evening. At the Crescent Phase (which extends through Monday afternoon, May 28) it's time to do your research focusing on your 'Illumination' vision.

read whole post here

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Following the Moon: Wise Up

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:43:00 +0000

Fence Graffitti, Drozda, 2012

Welcome to Following the Moon... It's the Wisdom cycle...

We're in the Full Moon Phase through Wednesday, May 9, pre-dawn (EDT) and it's been a Super Moon...put these pieces together, apply them creatively, and you'll discover that it's a great time for observing how you balance your Art/Life and take action...all without making yourself crazy.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius...and a lot of courage...to move in the opposite dierection.

E.F.Schumacher

A whole lot can...and ought...to happen during this 29.6 days (April 21 - May 20) of the Wisdom cycle. It's a time to take a risk on an idea that inspires you. Take a leap of faith. Add to your leadership skills. The 90 days between Equinox and Solstice are like flint igniting and sparks flying.

On Wednesday morning when the Phase turns to Disseminating, we have a stretch of time...until Saturday, May 12 at dusk ... to share. Focus on your Art/Life vision. Notice what's brought the greatest dose of Wisdom since the cycle began April 21.

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Following the Moon: Get a Move on

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:14:00 +0000

The Natural Calendar, portable version, Drozda, 2012

Welcome to Following the Moon... I had a terrific 10 days away hosted by Lorain County Community College where I presented an Artist Residency and the Earth Day Eve Creativity Salon...thanks to all... the wonderful Joan Perch, all students and faculty for such a fabulous week.

Students working on Medai Blend, Drozda, 2012

This week the Wisdom Moon carries us through the First Quarter Phase...that means it's time to take an action in direction of your wisdom as it is unfolding. We can't see the Wisdom that we contain we can only express and meet it as it comes to find us.

First Quarter began early morning (EDT) Sunday, April 29 and extends through Wednesday, early evening, May 2.

In honor of both the beauty and wonder of the First Quarter Phase I share my dear artist friend Sandra's writing and her ideas for how you can connect with this potent time...

read more here
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Following the Moon: Eat Some Fire

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:18:00 +0000

Welcome to Following the Moon...

Heat Up Your Passion!!, Drozda, 2012

This week the Clarity Moon takes us through the Gibbous Phase...that means it's time to create, create, create in the direction of your intention for the year! Gibbous begins early morning (EDT) Tuesday, April 3 and extends through Friday, mid afternoon, April 6.

On Friday, April 6 the Full 'Clarity' Moon comes to call. It's the only time in the Natural Year when you'll have the opportunity to experience a sense of balance and order in the particular way that will visit now. Pay attention. See if you can show up with true, what the Buddhist teachings refer to as, 'equanimity'...go for it....really notice how much steadiness you possess.

This Moon is ruled by Aries and Mars. I truly respect the dynamic qualities of these Archetypes. They are here to bring it on in every and all forms.

Recently, while spring cleaning, I opened a cool looking storage box and my eyes widened to take in the surprise. There in front of me was a lost treasure... a stack of drawings done many years ago when I led a group of 'Luna-tics' in a year long exploration of the Major Arcana...through a process of creating 'opposite hand' postcard size 'Inner Child Tarot' cards. I've been missing this group of twenty two images for several years and had no idea where they might have gone. Have you ever lost a creative project and recognized how attached you get to the images and inspirations that come but once?

The Archetypes for this current Moon/Month are Aries/Emperor and Mars/Tower...they combine to challenge you to take your next step standing in your power, dying to the ego and all forms of bravado...
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Following the Moon: Begin Again

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Welcome to the new Natural Year!

Welcome to Following the Moon and our first moon cycle of the Natural Year. I'm a week behind...but here we go...this whole year is one to practice being at peace with what is...though of course that does not condone being victimized...ya gotta know how to take a stand.

Speaking of taking a stand...this week we move through the First Quarter Moon Phase, Friday, March 30 through early morning Tuesday, April 3. It's timely to take an action that relates to your Art/Life intention. By all means know what you stand for in your precious Art/Life.

The keyword for this cycle is Clarity...can you see places where you can invite some in?

I began this new Natural Year by having a techno-breakdown...no computer and therefore no postings. When I asked for Clarity I saw that this was actually no problem. So I didn't turn it into one.

I'm an outdoors gal...so I went outside to play... lovin' it.

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Following the Moon: Open the Door

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:08:00 +0000

Happy New Natural Year!

Welcome to Following the Moon, March 19, 2012 the doorway of the Equinox opens to a new beginning!

I like to say, 'Something wonderful is emerging' when Aries comes to call . Read my dear friend Sandra's take on what's coming to meet us astrologically.

Can you feel and connect with the space that lies before you in the 12 Moon/Months ahead? The idea now is to be visualizing the birth of this new phase of your Art/Life as you communicate from a place of balance and inner peace. There's a grand challenge ahead and solutions to problems include listening, listening and listening even more deeply to your intuition... call it your Muse, your Inner Guide, Shaman, Hero, Grandmother, Alchemist, Advisor ... name this part so you can really become intimate.

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May you have the most creative and peace-filled year of your amazing Art/Life!

Following the Moon: The Art of the Start

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:14:00 +0000

Media Blend, 2012, Virginia MOCA

This week I celebrate the work of my Winter Media Blend Studio at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. What a fabulous and edgy unfolding as we traveled our seven weeks together. We also completed the seven week Saturday in the Studio with the young ones...here's a sample of work one artist created for her self...

9-11 year/Saturday in the Studio, 2012, Virginia MOCA

Welcome to the Purity Moon cycle. I get pretty jazzed at this point in the Natural Year...I love being able to look over my shoulder taking in the breadth and depth of the physical, emotional and intuitive experiences that have come to visit in the year now closing.

Walking around the circle of the year by ’Following the Moon’ becomes more natural and brings an instinctive focus as you apply the Moon to Moon rhythms to your own Art/Life.

This final cycle in the Natural Calendar opened on February 21 and now we are in the Third Quarter Phases the point of giving thanks for what you have experienced from the past year.

This is an ending place. There’s much possibility in endings. This attending to closure is powerful ... it sets the tone for your Vision of the Natural Year ahead. As one door closes and the new opens on March 22 when the Aries cycle begins all possibility awaits your Art/Life.

Have you been dreaming of what your Art/Life will grow in the new walk round the wheel?

Read more...
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See you next week for the New Aries Moon and the beginning of the Natural Year!

Following the Moon: No Evil

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:12:00 +0000

Yama, BD, & Nonnie: Speak Hear No, Speak No, See No

Welcome to Following the Moon and the Full Phase of the Purity cycle. This moon cycle began on February 21 and provides us with 29.6 days to release the residue of all that we would choose to leave behind prior to stepping over the threshold into the new Natural Year at Equinox on March 20.

What a wonderful time of the year this is to take a fast from the intensity that surrounds…take a walk, a nap or a moment to forgive whatever it is that is weighing heavy on your heart/mind.

My maternal grandmother was a gardener and a closet Buddhist…she never spoke of her interest in the loving kindness wisdom of the Buddha but she had several visual prompts, what we students of Buddhism refer to as ‘sight meditations’… such as a small bronze of the Monkey Mind sculpture: ‘Hear no, See no, Speak no Evil’. I loved that compact, fit in your hand, reminder of an exotic and mysterious way of moving through the world. When Grandmother died I was given a box of treasures including a ‘Hear no, Speak no…” and a dimunitive booklet on the Essentials of Buddhism circulated in 1921…the year my mother was born, and costing one dime.

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Lotus Blossom, Drozda: respect copyright

Following the Moon: A Final Test

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:36:00 +0000

I Seem to be a Verb, Drozda

Since last October we've been exploring the quieting and calm that can be practiced for six Moon/Month cycles of each year. Now we come to the culmination and closure of that primarily inward time.

Here, at the close of the Natural Year we will do well to review, reflect and release anything that may still linger as a negativity built up since last spring. In the Purity cycle we can forgive the world.

During the Purity segment of the Natural Year we can make a conscious choice. Each of us is born with an inner support system. Joseph Campbell refers to these archetypal energies as Helping Hands. These unseen forces are also called Mighty Companions, Angelic Forces, Muses and the spontaneous occurrence of Synchronicity. Leaning into this level of support provides assistance when the Art/Life feels like it is on the floor, knocked out for the count. This is when, here...at this point on the wheel... we can get in touch with the Alchemical Shamanic Artist Within. We can engage in shape shifting the direction of the Art/Life so that it feels more and more like a true fit.

read more...

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See you next Monday for the Gibbous Phase of the Purity Moon

Following the Moon: Wake Up

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:07:00 +0000

Esperance, Drozda, 72x54" mixed, 2010

Welcome to 'Following the Moon'. The 'Purity' Moon cycle begins Tuesday, February 21.
Today, February 20, is the last day of the Balsamic Renewal Phase. Dream of being awake!

My wandering friend Sara sent along this beautiful reminder to wake up on this day:

Maha shivratri is the day when shiv tattva touches the ground.

The consciousness (ethereal world) is 10 inches above the surface. On this day, it touches the Earth element. It is very useful for people to keep awake and meditate. This helps in fulfillment of desires....

It helps you grow stronger in your being.

It is like a new year for a sadhak (seeker).

The night on this day, when the constellations are in a particular position, it is auspicious. It is considered an auspicious moment for a spiritual aspirant.

It is the wedding of the spiritual and material world.

Ratri: That which comes you comfort is Ratri.

That which takes you from the issue to the solution is ratri. Ratri means night. It removes 3 types of discomfort.

Shivratri gives you comfort and confidence that the Divine is with you and He/she is your valentine.

Ask yourself what really, really, really works and reassure yourself in the areas that feel like a fit. As you come closer to the Equinox of March 20 sense that there is a shift taking place. Energy is beginning to move at a quickening pace.

The Crescent Phase of this 'Purity' Moon cycle begins Saturday, February 25...read more

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I send along special heartfelt thanks to Ursuline College and Tri-C College for including me as Guest Artist, Keynote Speaker: 'Planting Seeds/Harvesting Health' and Workshop Presenter: 'Making Life the Master Peace' at 'The Art of Mental Health and Wellness' the 12th annual Art & Healing Exhibition at Tri-C Gallery East, Cleveland, Ohio.

Thank you Mary Sender, Amy Jacobs and all of your staff. Thank you gallery curator Roy Bigler. You all created a smooth and effortless ease that surround every aspect of a delightful experience. Thanks to all who attended the lively opening talk and the amazingly jazzed workshop...what a fabulous day!

If you, Dear Readers, are in the Cleveland area I invite you to stop in at Gallery East through March to savor the creative works of many who understand the power of creative healing. The exhibit is sponsored collaboratively by the Tri-C Creative Arts/Pre-Art Therapy Department, the Ursuline College Art Therapy & Counseling Department and Tri-C Gallery East, with support from The Buckeye Art Therapy Association.

See you next Monday for the First Quarter Phase of the Purity Moon

Following the Moon: Who Now?

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Full Renewal Moon, Drozda 2012

Welcome to 'Following the Moon'. We began the 'Renewal' Moon cycle on January 23. I hope that you're finding the pace and the purpose of your Art/Life gathering momentum in a way that feels stable and grounded for you. The whole idea of taking this time within the Mystery is to discover the tempo that feels most natural for your Art/Life so that you are well aware of the rhythm that feels healthiest for you.

Monday, February 6 is the last day of the Gibbous Phase. The three days of the Gibbous Phase provide a level of energy that's best for: create, create, create! Create in conjunction with what it is you're attempting to renew.

The Full Phase of this 'Renewal' Moon cycle begins Tuesday, in the late afternoon, and extends through Friday, February 10. At the Full Moon each month cyber friend Dr. Lilan Laishley shares her beautifully designed monthly Full Moon Newsletter. Here's an excerpt from the current issue:

During this Full Moon we continue to work with the creative and innovative energy available during this Year of the Dragon. Dragon combines the visible actions of a bold innovator with the invisible essence of a spiritual mystic. Bold innovation and spiritual mysticism seem like two very different qualities, and our job this month is to figure out how to bring them together in ourselves. Fortunately we have a Full Moon in Leo (bold!) and Neptune in Pisces (mystic!) to help us out. As I contemplate this Moon I have come to believe that only actions infused with spirituality will create the changes we need in this world. Fortunately for us, these qualities are as close as our own heads and hearts.

More

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Following the Moon: Renew You

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:54:00 +0000

Happy Year of the Black Water Dragon...Monday, January 23 through Thursday, January 26 brings us the New 'Renewal' Moon.

At the New Phase of each Moon/month the opportunity presents us with a lovely three days for creating a vision and with the Lunar New Year bringing its gifts of the Dragon just imagine what's possible.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, Drozda, Watercolor/Arches

How does Renewal look in your Art/Life?
You can look deep inside. You see what needs Renewal.

At the New Moon you're standing at the Eastern most point on your Moon/month circle. It's the dawn, it's the beginning. Take a moment to gaze out and imagine the 4 weeks ahead...so much will be coming to meet you.

The New Moon is that classic space in which you hold the vision of the 'art of the start'. Feel inspired by the 'not yet experienced', there is adventure ahead. It's the time to embrace the active emotion that can propel you toward your passion. It's time to be visualize the emergence of new levels of clarity in your Art/Life.

Being filled with inspiration as the Equinox approaches...'something wonderful is emerging, something wonderful is on its way'.

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Following the Moon: Refining Tradition

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:54:00 +0000

Rescue, Drozda, Acrylic/wood, 2001

Monday, January 16 through Thursday, January 19 brings us to the 3rd Quarter 'Cleansing' Moon. At the 3rd Quarter Phase of each Moon/month the opportunity presents us with a lovely three days for giving grateful thanks.

You can take a deep soothing breath. You can refine this into a tradition.

At 3rd Quarter you're standing at the top most point on your Moon/month circle. Take a moment to gaze out absorbing the lay of the last three weeks terrain and count the blessings.

The 3rd Quarter is that classic space in which you can realign. Feel washed over by the wisdom gathered and guidance received. It's the time to embrace the Instinctive You. It's time to be grateful to yourself for all the ways in which you have wisely chosen to invest in your Art/Life.

Be filled with gratitude for the wealth given to you to share within your world.
...More

See you next Monday for the New Renewal Moon and the start of 'Ages & Stages...registration is open.

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Following the Moon: Nature/Nurture: YOU

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Standing at the West Gate, Drozda, Ink on Bristol board

Monday, January 9 through early evening (EST) Thursday, January 12 brings you the opportunity to reflect (that's what Full Moon's make room for) upon all that you are willing to face and release as part of the Cleansing of your Art/Life at this time. I'd like to share with you the creative brilliance of my friend Lilan Laishley. You can Google her and sign up for her newsletter at the top of her home page. I put her link in repeatedly and for some reason it wouldn't open. Lilan is a word artist who writes a beautifully illustrated Full Moon journal/newsletter that you may enjoying subscribing to. I know that each month I brighten when it arrives and I am ever delighted by Lilan's gift for word-weaving the 'above with the below'.

This, the Full Moon segment of the cycle, is an important time for nurturing yourself. The Full Moon is that classic space in which we can see our shadow and it can sometimes feel a bit spooky and disconcerting. Thta's for good reason. It's a marvelous time of the Moon/Month to allow yourself the time/space to claim more of who you are now. It's a time to relate to yourself more clearly. Who you are now, in January during the Cleansing cycle is not known because you're in the depths of the Mystery. Yet even in the 'not knowing' you can recognize that you are filled with treasure of enormous value to yourself and our world.

Read more...

IT’S TIME TO BECOME AN AHA ADVOCATE:

January 12…this Thursday... registration opens

On January 24 as the New ‘Renewal’ moon begins, AHA’s for the Art/Life e-studio will open with ‘AGES & STAGES'...THE NATURAL ART OF PERSONAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT 'Ages & Stages' explores YOUR gold mine applying eight focused ways to deepen your Art/Life adventure. In this eStudio we will be getting personally attuned to the gifts and talents that are yours to share... in 2012...specifically. You'll be able to place your Art/Life goal on the Natural Wheel at Spring Equinox and watch the unfolding Moon by Moon.

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Following the Moon: Relaxing into the Middle Way

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:13:00 +0000

Hindu Flyer

Welcome to the Cleansing Moon cycle and our first step into the New Roman Calendar Year...may it bring all that your heart desires.

2012 will be bringing forward all that you have worked toward over the past 4 years.

My yearly article, Lifecycle Forecast for 2012, is posted and I hope that you'll take a few minutes to check it out. It's hefty so you may choose to bookmark it. The information is there for reminding you throughout the year that you've hit the balance point...this is the year of learning to walk, what in Buddhism is referred to, as the Middle Way.

Sunday, January 1 through Thursday, January 5 is a terrific period for taking all action possible to clear away the old and unusable. This is the Cleansing cycle so all manner of release and refresh is in order. We continue to move through the quietest time of the year. With Winter Solstice, on December 22, we stepped into the last quadrant of the Natural Year's walk around the wheel.

The next three Moon/Months are all about sinking into the MYSTERY... Ahhhh...couldn't you use some of that level of immersion in your Art/Life?

The definition of IMMERSION:

the act of immersing or the state of being immersed: as a : baptism by complete submersion of the person in water b : absorbing involvement c : instruction based on extensive exposure to surroundings or conditions that are native or pertinent to the object of study.

In the last few posts I've been sharing images of water and with the mild weather that we've had here at the beach it's been easy to hang out and take advantage of all of the beautiful views that surround. It goes without saying that during the Cleansing cycle hot baths, saunas, steams of any kind and floating, whenever possible, are in order.

Since I have been 'Following the Moon'... being a Luna-tic for 22 years now... I've also been experimenting that long with the keywords that represent each Moon/Month. Here's a review of the moon by moon keywords given to our culture as a gift from Sun Bear: January=Cleansing, February=Renewal, March=Purity, April=Clarity, May=Wisdom, June=Illumination, July=Growth, August=Trust, September=Love, October=Experience, November=Introspection(death&rebirth), December=Strength.

I've experienced many forms of consciously chosen techniques for Cleansings during this period of the year. I have several favorites...one of them is the Floatation Tank.

'In You Go', Drozda, Acrylic/wood

read more...
Subscribe to the monthly 'Luna See'

Read the 2012 Lifecycle Forecast

A Water World

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:18:00 +0000

River View:Dusk, Drozda, 2011

It's the Strength Moon cycle and this week the energy is offering each of us the opportunity to be as creative, in connection to our current goal, as we can allow. We're moving toward a Lunar Eclipse at this weekend's Full Moon...The Full Moon makes me think of the pull of the tide so here are a few more shares on the topic of water.

Palm, Kim Keever

The glorious, albeit disorienting, large format photographs by Kim Keever are on exhibit at MOCA . I've had the pleasure of spending time with them over the last two months and also observing how catalytic Kim's method is for inspiring minds. My young artists in the MOCA 'Saturday in the Studio' arts apprentice program quickly found themselves enthralled. This was made easy for them with a terrific hand's on corner of the gallery. Two empty 20 gallon tanks are surrounded by baskets of many miniature landscape elements that Keever favors. With these, tiny clamp on lights and filmy fabrics that drapes 'like his pumped paints' they were very happy to create their own versions of 'tank art' (as they coined the term).
Here's a bit of info on Keever's process...and a video of him working in the studio...

"New York-based Kim Keever makes photographs of bonsai-scaled landscapes assembled inside a 200-gallon tank that is filled with water and topped with paint pigment and addressed with lights and gels to create convincing effects of clouds and atmosphere. His tropical vistas, sylvan forests, and mountain views openly wear their own artifice while they also display the fine-grained complexity of the real thing. Looking at them can be an otherworldly experience. NewArtTV visits Keever at his East Village studio."

Read more...and click over to my main blog see the charming water tale here

Gratitude to Water

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:24:00 +0000

Hooded Mergansers in the Cove

"Water, whether still or in motion, has so great an attraction for the lover of nature, that the most beautiful landscape seems scarcely complete without it. There are no effects so fascinating as those produced by the reflexions in nature’s living mirror, with their delicacy of form, ever fleeting and changing, and their subtle combinations of colour.”
- Montagu Pollock - Light and Water: A Study of Reflexion and Colour in River, Lake and Sea, 1903 -

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature."
Henry David Thoreau

A week of being on or near the water...during the Strength Moon cycle...

more

Media Blend & Contemporary Retablo

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:57:00 +0000

Media Blend at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

"If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you", that would suffice." Meister Eckhart

My catalog blurb reads something like this...

Media Blend: Step outside the box and find new ways of seeing. Sticking with the tried and true can also be stiff and stagnant. Discover exciting combinations of materials... express... make handmade prints, stamps, stencils ... experiment with a wide variety of mediums...unsettle and surprise yourself. Each session builds on the last: experiment with ideas in deeper, more personally relevant ways and unleash an invigorating style...of your own.

Here's a sampling...

Your inspiration may be a gift...

It may arrive through a poem...

your impulse may rise up through a deeply personal story...

more...

Saturday in the Studio

noreply@blogger.com (merci33) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:03:00 +0000

Saturday in the Studio/Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

I have an on going love affair with young artists and the positively open, spontaneous and joyful willingness that allows them to be inventors and detectives continually discovering ways to express and playfully explore.

Three semesters and a summer studio make up the yearly schedule for my program called 'Saturday in the Studio' an on-going series at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. I developed this program a number of years ago so that young artists would have a place to come and experiment with diverse materials and ideas of their own. Here's a collection of projects simply to celebrate unstructured imagination:

Saturday in the Studio/Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

Each artist is free to develop their own direction....read more