Day-15

In Love of the Sea....

"The Sea" (paint, ink & mesh)

Song of Myself 

"You sea! I resign myself to you also - I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me,
We must have a turn together, I undress, hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft, rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet, I can repay you. Sea of stretch'd ground-swells,

Sea breathing broad and convulsive breaths,
Sea of the brine of life and of unshovell'd yet always-ready graves, Howler and scooper of storms, capricious and dainty sea,
I am integral with you, I too am of one phase and of all phases. Partaker of influx and efflux, 

I, extoller of hate and conciliation, 

extoller of enemies and those that sleep in each others' arms."
 

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman's poem spoke to me in so many ways; I grew up at the ocean, in Germany, and every time I go away from living at the sea, I have regrets that ultimately make me return to it; at the sea, I love the feel of soft warm sand between my toes or walking on it when it is wet and dense while the tide is out and I get squirted by crabs; I love taking off all my clothes in the sun and feeling the warm water caress my naked body....but the ocean can also be cold and dark, and there is no 'perfect storm'; the sea can be angry and unforgiving, neither of which I consider myself to still be; but it is the feeling of being One when in nature and the surrender and peace I feel from that....

Have a creative sunny day,

Susanne

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Maria's 15th Prayer Flag:

 

 "Magpie" (fabric, yarn & feathers)

Maria tells this short story: "My tarot card said today that the reward for work will come soon, and in the book I blindly chose, 'department chief' - oh no!  Shortly after that, I found two small magpie feathers. I really like crows and the magpies are clearly the department chiefs in our garden."

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Day-14

Love Is Everywhere....

 

"The One I Love" 

(paper, paint, ink, foil & cloth)

"Love is for vanishing into the sky. 

The mind for learning 

what men have done and tried to do.

Mysteries are not to be solved: 

The eye goes blind when it only wants to see why.

A lover is always accused of something.
But when he finds his love,

whatever was lost in the looking

 comes back completely changed.”

― Rumi, Night and Sleep ―

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Maria's 14th Prayer Flag:

 

"Abstract" (fabric & thread)

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Day-13

Eternal Flow...

....of art, life and Divine love...

 

"Eternal Flow" (paper & paint)

My uncensored and unedited stream-of-consciousness-writing on: Eternal Flow.... out of our control; unable to grasp with our minds and hands the ever changing movement of what is and has no end; a play of a love story with changing actors and neither script nor conclusion; eternal flow when surrendered to it, life lived effortlessly; when resisted, struggle and suffering; ... eternal flow is here and then it is not, because as soon it has arrived, it has left; like each drop of water in a rushing river, streaming down giant rocks in a waterfall; come and gone, and we cannot hold on, in the ever moving stream of..... Eternal Flow.

Namaste,
Susanne

PS: The successful artist of this challenge will also receive a gift of the CD: "Sakura Dream, reiki music for healing and relaxation", which includes the beautiful song, "Eternal Flow".

And here, a lovely poem by Jodie Mayhew:

Eternal Flow

Eternal Flowing of the Tide
With Gentle Force in Rhythmic Glide
So Too My Love with Grace and Art
Shall Dance the Waves
within My Heart.
And Where the Watered Winds May Blow
My Wings of Faith Forever Flow
Through Darkened Depths of Midnight Rays
Beside You

I Will Always Stay.
Within the Song of Storied Seas
The White Caps are The Doves of Peace
On Prevalent Shores of Journeyed Sand
Our Strength will Reign On
Hand In Hand
Like Eternal Flowing
Of The Tide
In Rhythm We Walk
Side By Side

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A Love Letter to the Swedish Forests by Maria:

 

 

"Love Letter" 

(yarn, fabric, paper, paint, crayon & found objects)

"Today, I pulled the 'Harmony Card' and then 'love letter' in the book, and this flag is my love declaration to the Swedish forests, where I am so happy at home."  Maria 

 

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Day-12

  Timelessness....

 

"Timeless Buddha" (paper & paint)

The truth or energy of the Buddha is timeless and I can loose track of time when reading his words, meditating or creating. For example, I am not counting the days of this challenge anymore, except when I write the title for this post: Day-12 today :)

They say it takes 21 days of doing something everyday to create a habit, hence the 21-day meditation challenge with the Chopra Centre: http://www.chopra.com/meditationhttp://www.chopra.com/meditation. I have taken that challenge twice and loved it, especially the first time. During one meditation we were asked to do self-inquiry by repeatedly asking the question: "Who am I?". It was during that meditation that I felt time as well as space disappear.  I experienced 'myself' out of body as 'just' pure energy, traveling at the speed of light, so it seemed. An experience that is beyond words really and larger than who I think I am and what I know: "Timeless Buddha or Divine Energy"?

Have a  wonderful day,

and here is s link to some nice music to go with the Timeless Buddha:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVeCx0bM7Xg&feature=related

Susanne

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"At The Water's Edge" (encaustic)

"I called this one "At The Water's Edge". I have always lived near water, even on the prairies we were right on the Saskatchewan River, and in Ontario we lived at the edge of Lake Ontario, but living out here by the ocean, that's the best!"    Maddy

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"Wake Up" (fabric & yarn)

Today: Knight with sword - wow! And then, "wake up" in the book! I understand it as "wake up and get to work! :)

In this spirit: happy creating! Many heartfelt greetings, Maria

P.S. Your project is VERY awesome and useful, and connected with so much happiness. MANY LOVING THANKS!

 

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Day-11

Art and the Narrative

Context creates meaning....and makes art more interesting

 

"Surfing the Wave" (paper & paints)

Surfing the waves of my inner sea of thoughts and feelings has become a metaphor for me in my search for inner peace with all that is, partly because I love the ocean so much. Also, because I noticed in meditation that I could not make my thoughts go away, no matter how much I focused on my breath and a mantra. Thoughts were coming and going like waves on a beach, and so I decided intuitively to surrender to them, instead of trying to control them.

I started to surf the waves of my constantly shifting inner experience by focusing my attention and following each wave up close in matching motion with my breath. I realised that I was not my thoughts and feelings, and I found that the very act of surfing creates inner peace, no matter how turbulent the waves are. That is because not only do I accept my thoughts and feelings as being there, but also by not trying to change them, they precisely do change. 

Wishing you all a peaceful day,
Susanne

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Maria's Narrative and Art Today:

This morning something made me angry, but then came a bird of prey and turned his rounds above my head high in the sky for half an hour. After that, nothing bugged me anymore.  Today's flag is a 'thank you' to this bird:

(fabric, photo, yarn & found object)

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Our other regular contributor is Maddy, who has been house sitting and just sent in a number of encaustic creations, now that she has access to a computer:

"Fire On The Mountain" (encaustic)

"Good Morning!

I've been housesitting and not able to post my paintings. Again, my idea for this one was completely different from the end result...at least where I stopped! I like that about encaustics....it's so immediate and so changeable! Maddy"

 

"Ancient Cavern" (encaustic)

".... as it evolved and the texture was revealed, it reminded me of hieroglyphics on the wall of an ancient tomb... Maddy"

 "Meteor Shower" (encaustic)

"This was inspired by the amazing meteor showers that have been dancing in the night sky the last week or so... Maddy"

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Day-10

Nature Heals

Hope and Healing Nature's Way....

 

The title of my newest creation on this beautiful day:

 

"Hope and Healing Nature's Way" (paper & paint)

Or I could call it, "Rasta Sun" :)

 

But actually, this mixed media painting was inspired by a job interview I had last Friday, where the overuse of prescription drugs and an alternative use of vitamins for mental health came up during a role play I was engaged in.  When I got home, I wrote an email to someone sharing about this and gave an example, where a friend of mine recently had chosen meditation over medication.

Then later that day I found the newspaper clipping on the left that says: "Hope and Healing Nature's Way" and I just had to do something with that. The colours are kind of rasta inspired and I guess, the medicinal use of marijuana is also considered a natural treatment. I wish though I could post some music on this blog; first "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot for Maria yesterday and now some Raggae to go with 'Rasta Sun', but I guess, it is what it is :)

 

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Well, Maddy is back with this jewel:

 

"Flowers" (encaustic)

"My latest creation. You never know where things will end up....this was going to be a water scene, lots of colours built up, but irises and pansies started to appear! Add a little bit of sparkle and voila!" Maddy

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And Maria has this to share:

 

 "Outside" (fabric & yarn)

Which looks a lot like her farm in Sweden, I believe....

Maria writes: "Today, I am not talkative (but satisfied) and will keep it short with a quote from the Dalai Lama: 'Nothing is more relaxing than to embrace what comes.' "

 

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Day-9

Whow ~ Nine Consecutive Days of Creative Fun!

It is not too late to join in, even without the possible prize at the end....

 

...you could do it just for yourself....12 more days to create....!?

 

 

Here I am with a present for Maria: 

"Sleeping In The Forest" (acrylic paint & ink)

I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees. All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness. All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom. By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better.   by Mary Oliver

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  Maria's Prayer Flag of the Day:

 

(fabric, string & ink)

Maria writes: "I had a more difficult day today and in accordance with that I had to cross a huge nettle field in the forest - and then at home again, I picked the word "enter".

Another contribution from Maria:

 

"Sundown" (photo)

She shares: Thank you!!! "Sleeping in the forest" is a real soul comforter! So nice! And lovely of you!

And here is the superfat sundown, which is just moving over my head! I would love it if you could post it. Then nature can also be part of your project :)

Lots of love and have a peaceful Sunday,
Maria

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