Entering the New Year: 2014

Entering the New Year: 2014

Identify Your Heart’s Desires

Raise Your Voices

Shed Your Illusions

Value Learning

Commune, Plan, and Build with Others

Entering the New Year: 2014

2014…Here We Are

2014…Here We Are

Wishing all of You…All of Us:

For 2014 and Beyond!

Peace be with You!

 

Let There Be Shadow

Let There Be Shadow

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” —Johann Wolfgang von Gogh Goethe

As we begin a new year, and the teen years of the millennium, there is a great deal of talk, longing and intention around new beginnings, fresh starts, new leaves, new chapters and so forth.

Let a new day dawn.    I am all for that.

Let the new page be started, the new leaf turned,  the fresh chapter embarked upon, longed for beginnings begun, and previously stalled starts started.  Let’s find that rainbow at the end of the storm, that light at the end of the tunnel.

But, let’s not forget, as the writer Goethe so pithily yet eloquently states, where there is light, there must also be shadow…and vice versa…we cannot have one without the other.

So, when confronted with the shadow side of our own natures,

even our own gifts,

 the coolness of the shade that we need as respite  from the sun,

and the shadow of our own fears, challenges, anxieties and struggles in the so-called dark,

as we move towards the light of fulfilling our longings and realizing our dreams,

let us remember that “Shadow owes its birth to light.” ( –-John Gay),

and not be stumped,

stopped,

or stupefied by

its presence,

but know…

that shadow will always be there…

a companion on our journey….

needing

to be acknowledged,

insisting,

on making its presence known,

 

so that we can continue

to feel the glory

of the light.

Here’s to 2013!

Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light

The Miracle of Light

Brilliant Light

Transformed by Light

Breaking Light

Reflecting Light

Rainbow is Light

Happy New Year 2013 from Artissima, blog of Artifactory Studio

May Your Year be Filled with Light

Taking Flight in 2011

Taking Flight in 2011

What does taking flight mean to you?  New projects, new ideas, new possibilities? A whole new you? (Hmmm…) My colleague, Rebecca E. Parsons recently posted  about her word for 2011: soar, in Cre8tive Compass Magazine.  I found the term very apropos to a project completed in the last days of 2010, which involved painting birds (mostly) in flight, in a young boy’s room.

My client, the boy’s father, wanted the room to become something special and reflect his son’s interests.  Painting (mostly) flying (mostly) colorful birds on the walls and ceiling seemed a fitting way bring the old year down to a soft landing, and take flight into the new.  No time to hover…it was time to take-off!

The initial concept of depicting birds in flight across the ceiling with one Bald Eagle on a designated wall expanded, as I  took off with my avian research of the gorgeously plumed, brilliantly feathered, and stunningly patterned.  Falling under the spell of our endlessly fascinating feathered friends, the project became a labor of love, not lost.

The Parrot ascends,

The Toucan dives,

The Barn Swallow glides by,

The Spotted Owl swoops, but don’t worry, he’s friendly!

Two of the most richly hued herald the entrance to the adjoining bath, perched sentinel atop the door frame.

Color-full beauties contemplate each other in calm communion.

Little Green Bird ( Calyptomena viridis )

Yariguíes Brush-Finch (Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum)

Just the act of observing birds can teach us so much.  Their gracefulness, the purity of their movement, their strength and agility, the glory of their plumage, their color, the adornment of their astonishing patterns and textures, all worn without a hint of vanity (no Peacocks here!) is  humbling and at the same time uplifting to the human spirit, when we take time to see it. Birds’ beauty and innocence, doing only what nature intends them to do without apparent ego  interference, is a quiet marvel to behold.

Wing your way…

So, prepare to be inspired as you take flight into 2011. Take a lesson from our avian friends, our fellow creatures of the sky, and use this New Year to take off…into whatever you yearn to become.  Of course, there will be those times of hovering, flapping, even of dragging, but don’t let that stop you from lifting, gliding, and making your own ascension.  Don’t worry about a few dives. Like light and dark, up and down seem to be interlocked…two parts of a whole: Life.

Float, glide, dive and circle, but don’t forget to commune, contemplate and converse.

How do you intend to take flight in 2011?  If you feel so inspired, don’t hover and drag, share it with us here.  We love to hear from you.  Remember,  we are all flying though this thing called Life, together.

 

Behold the Glitterati

Behold the Glitterati

All that glitters isn’t gold…or is it?  Well, it might be “schlag” , or combination metal leaf, it might be 22 karat gold leaf, or it might be copper, silver, bronze or a combination of all of the above. Materials that contain or give the look of  precious metals can add instant warmth and light to a room, which can be a welcome addition at any time, but perhaps especially during this the darkest time of the year.  Use of metallic leaf, waxes, paints and glazes can be instrumental in transforming a time of darkness  into a season of light. In a space that is.  Which may just affect our state of mind, and lift our spirits.

We speak of radiance, iridescence,  incandescence and luminescence.   We crave shine, sparkle, glitter and glamor.  We love sheen and shimmer, glow and glimmer.  We are attracted to the translucent, which lets the light through, and the reflective, which bounces it back to us.  In other words, we long for light,  our source, our fuel, without which we cannot live.

So, its only natural that we should adorn our  objects, furniture, architecture and accessories with materials which play with and celebrate light, and expand our experience and enjoyment of its qualities.

So, whether it is the enhancement of  a craftperson’s  decorative detail,

a ceiling treated in tones of gold,

or the embellishment of a chair…

let us celebrate the spark of our spirits, and illuminate our state of mind with the pure enjoyment of things shiny and bright.  Let’s revel in radiance, especially during the dark time of the year.  Let’s lavish ourselves and our loved ones with light, shine and shimmer, and spread a sphere of good cheer around us wherever we go, during this Season of Light.

Who knows? It may make us whole.

What is your favorite ritual of light?  Do you have a special way of embellishing the Holidays with glow and glitter, sheen and shimmer?   If you feel so inspired, please share your unique light with us.  We love to hear from you.  Remember, we are all  in this thing called Life, together.

Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for the New Year!