Journeys
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"Soon"
Birds are a universal symbol of the spirit - free. I am fascinated by all things bird - feather, egg, nest.
The little bird in this image wants to fly, but it’s too soon. One day, however… I know how she feels. Do you?
My friend Wendy posed for this piece just after she shaved her long hair to bring awareness to childhood cancer. The nest, one of many in my collection, was blown from a tree - the gravity of the world pretending to be important. I photographed the flowered forest on the Isle of Wight in the UK during a trip with treasured friends when she turned 64. (“Every summer we can rent a cottage In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear”)
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"Beyond"
I’ve always felt like existence is more than the world we see. I keep opening doors, hoping to find one to the beyond.
The door in this image was standing in a beautiful building in Paris, before I laid it down in this Virginia Forest. Thank you Carrie, for modeling.
What doors are right in front of you, waiting to be opened?
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"You Will No Longer Doubt"
It takes a lot of faith, or hope, or persistence - or all of the above - to believe in a world you can’t see. To invest everything in a dream of something more.
This image is a self-portrait. It was inspired by a passage in Workbook lesson 151 in “A Course in Miracles.” The text of that lesson is visible just beneath the river in this piece, including these words which comfort me deeply:
“He will remove all faith that you have placed in pain, disaster, suffering and loss. He gives you vision which can look beyond these grim appearances, and can behold the gentle face of Christ in all of them. You will no longer doubt that only good can come to you who are beloved of God, for He will judge all happenings, and teach the single lesson that they all contain.”
I spend most of my days, now, trying to learn that lesson.
Is doubt robbing you of the thing you want most?
Every day I walk down to the Rivanna River near my home in Charlottesville, Virginia. On this day, it was a winter wonderland. The bird was captured on one of many weekends spent with a camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release. That wonderful leaf was larger than my outstretched hand. The dress is a long length of fabric, wrapped.
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"Descent"
In this image and its two sister images, I turned moonflowers upside down to form skirts, and changed them from white to deep red. Moonflowers open after the sun is gone and close soon after dawn, being pollinated by only night-dwelling insects. They are also poisonous.
The rooms in these images are from an abandoned home, echoing with its own history.
To grow, sometimes we have to visit dark places. We have to descend into the murky unknown.
How do you dance with your dark side?
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"Belonging"
I’m fascinated with old abandoned places and things, and haunted about what to belongings to keep and what let go of. I don’t want to leave behind a mess when I die. I have a joke that when I die, I hope whoever has to clean up my abode can just come in and vacuum.
Unlikely. Life is messy.
Our moonflower lady - dancer? angel? has no head! she’s growing, but not from her head. And she’s managing to float above the mess.
What mess in your life is keeping you grounded. Can you rise above it?
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"Follow"
Our third moonflower lady is fleeing, either toward or away. Not through the outside door but to the dusty, risky attic; she’s been in the moldy underworld long enough. Her underworld protectors know it’s time for her to go, and they show her the way.
Is it time for you to move from earth to sky?
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Sunshine on a Saturday
This cheerful composition was first inspired by that delicious red crocheted dress. It’s a barbie doll dress, one of many miniature concoctions fashioned for by by my grandmother and mother back in the 1960’s for me and my sisters to play with. I wanted to see if I could bring the dress to full-scale life today.
Voila! My friend Madeline, a singer and composer, modeled for this image. The sheet music is for a song she wrote about her husband Umberto: “Sunshine on a Saturday.” The playful animals in the windows are from one of their album covers for their band, Beleza. Our mutual friend Chicho, a talented artist, designed them cover.
I bought this hand made dollhouse and am in love with it even though it is huge and hard to store - you will likely see it in images in the future.
What makes you feel joyful?
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"Home"
I created this image when hurting for my friend. She and her husband were in the middle of building their dream house (with their own four hands!) - when a dispute forced them to abandon it.
During the construction of the house, they lived in a make-shift structure with windows for walls, a wood stove, and the fanciful shower house you see in this image. The shower house later morphed itself into the most playful chicken coup I’ve ever seen. My friend is resilient that way.
How do you deal with loss and grief?