2010 July | the magic of hands

Monthly Archives: July 2010

Studio Update: Summer’s End

31 July 2010

I worked past midnight in the studio yesterday, and rose late this morning to calm clouds and breezes. This is a distinct change from the weather of late, and most welcome. A few days ago I noticed another distinct change: ironweed blooming, a high cluster of deep violet blooms, and I know that means Summer’s end is upon us. The whirring of crickets reminds me of that too, and I embrace the shifting days. I am ready for cooler nights!

There’s another shift in my life, one I can barely explain, except to attribute it to the workings of Mystery: I have been working regularly in my studio! For me this is a dramatic departure from my usual stance of “mother-and-frustrated-artist.” Not only have I been working in the studio, I’ve also been lining up exhibitions, events, and workshops to which I will be applying. Really, this is an amazing development! Finally subscribing to The Pastel Journal no doubt has something to do with it, as it is a wonderful resource for the pastelist, but there’s something else at work here.

Last Sunday we performed a despacho ceremony, which originates with the Andean people, and which we did under the direction of our passionate intern, Andy. I’d never heard of it before, but ever since he arrived in early July he’d been talking about doing a despacho. It was fulfilling and intimate and luminous. And it has everything, everything, everything to do with that dramatic shift.

What else can I say about that? I believe meaningful ceremony is the raison d’être for humanity’s existence upon the Earth. Not the only reason for being, but high, high up there. So there will be more Ceremony in my life. More fulfillment. More intimacy. More luminosity.

Speaking of fulfillment, here’s the piece I finished last night:

Wake Robin Rising from the Earth
4.5″ x 6.5″
pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

More finished pieces coming soon! Yay!

Prescription for Rising Heat

22 July 2010

This album contains 1 items.

July is a strange month. The heat rises quickly. Long, bright days filled with the whir of bugs bend time. The garden calls in the lush heat, and I answer, covered in soil and sweat in a matter of minutes. The laundry hung to dry gets washed again in a sudden [...]

Book Review: The Elegance of the Hedgehog (without spoilers)

21 July 2010

This album contains 1 items.

4.5 out of 5 stars
The Elegance of the Hedgehog was a challenge to read, in the most delightful of ways. Discussions of Japanese cinema, Anna Karenina, and the meaning of life and Art bloom upon the pages, but never slow the book or its characters’ developments, which gain a careful momentum, unfolding perfectly. [...]

Book Review of Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (with spoilers)

18 July 2010

This album contains 1 items.

3.5 out of 5 stars
Here is a book that tackles a difficult subject from history, the Vél’ d’Hiv’ roundups of French Jews during WWII, weaving together the story of one of the children of the Vél’ d’Hiv’ with the story of a middle-aged journalist. The shared ground of their lives is the apartment where [...]

How the Goat Doth Whine

15 July 2010

Back in early June I sold my goats. It was a decision I had toyed with for awhile, especially whenever I walked out my door and they assailed me with a collective whining bleat. Truly, I have enough whining in my life. When I had a spontaneous vision of removing their vocal chords I knew it was time. I don’t even like goat milk! What was I thinking?

Well, I was dreaming, really, and in a creative way, about my little farm. But what I have always wanted is a milk cow (and some horses, and a pond, and a barn). I went with goats, and Nigerian Dwarf Goats in particular, because they are smaller and more suited to the land I have available. I don’t have acres of pasture, you see, but I do have plenty of browse, which goats prefer, in certain areas of my land. So while the goats were a good fit for my land, they were not a good fit with me. So, no goat milk soap in my future, or goat cheese, and that’s is alright by me.

I still have a dream about a little farm–maybe not the kind of farm that sells a lot of what is grown as its income, but the kind of farm where the family is fed. I describe it as joyful sustainability. I added the joyful recently to my goal, because otherwise I get all stressed out about it, pressuring myself to work hard at this goal, which then completely ruins it.

I gauge my success toward reaching joyful sustainability carefully, and realize that I can support sustainability in other ways as well, such as shopping at the farmer’s market. I am not a master gardener, by any stretch of the imagination. Every year I make improvements, and I’m hoping the addition of a greenhouse will be a big improvement. That is on our to-do list. Somewhere in my future there is a barn, and rabbits and American Guinea Hogs for meat. And I would love to have a milk cow. It would just need to be a little milk cow, which does exist, by the way. Way back when joyful sustainability was part and parcel of life for most folks, the livestock was smaller. There is a wonderful reclamation of these breeds, from miniature Jerseys to Olde English Babydoll Sheep. I would love to participate in the revival of these breeds. But for now I have two gardens, eleven chickens, one chick, two Angora bunnies, and no goats.