I have just created a new web page for my series of wall shrines. They are called, Walking Gently Through Time. These wall shrines began to appear last Spring as I experimented with hypertufa concrete. I wanted to create a series of products to offer to others that were unique and hopefully, meaningful. I have tried different designs and used different colors. Some are more favorite than others. Soon I will be sharing them more publicly at Lakota Moon in San Mateo and in December at a local winery for the holidays. Then I will see which ones resonate more than others.
They are primitive. The hypertufa mix creates a stone like material that is workable to carve before fully setting and the result is a sense of the ancient and old and being timeless. In the simplest of ages it was on the cave walls that the first art was created revealing stories of life. Why am I lead to create these images in stone? Are they ancient memories? They are not examples of fine art but I get lost in the carving, in the shaping of crude designs and spirals, in the feeling of being directed to create these objects. The shelf leaves the impression and opportunity of offering, making room for a small sacred object or tea light. It touches the spiritual.
This summer a SoulCollage® card came to me. This is a council card, one who is archetypal and certainly bigger than me. I do not fully know what this energy is about in my life at this time but as I make more of these shrines I hope that I learn. When the card appeared I recognized it, "that is the energy that is my muse for the shrines," I said to myself. It was clear, and then just as unexpectedly I knew that this was "The One Who Walks Gently Through Time."
They are primitive. The hypertufa mix creates a stone like material that is workable to carve before fully setting and the result is a sense of the ancient and old and being timeless. In the simplest of ages it was on the cave walls that the first art was created revealing stories of life. Why am I lead to create these images in stone? Are they ancient memories? They are not examples of fine art but I get lost in the carving, in the shaping of crude designs and spirals, in the feeling of being directed to create these objects. The shelf leaves the impression and opportunity of offering, making room for a small sacred object or tea light. It touches the spiritual.
This summer a SoulCollage® card came to me. This is a council card, one who is archetypal and certainly bigger than me. I do not fully know what this energy is about in my life at this time but as I make more of these shrines I hope that I learn. When the card appeared I recognized it, "that is the energy that is my muse for the shrines," I said to myself. It was clear, and then just as unexpectedly I knew that this was "The One Who Walks Gently Through Time."
Is this the way I am being taught to live? And what does this mean? How can we walk gently through time? How can we cause no harm to ourselves and others? How can we quiet our steps so that we touch the ground feeling it through our toes in every step? How can we honor these steps and find our direction? What do we do with our broken hearts, terrible losses and angry thoughts? Where is the wisdom to do journey in this way? I am listening and am asking these questions. This is how I begin. Perhaps these wall shrines are created to awaken that place in my heart and mind. It is the simplicity of the creation, in the crudeness of the carving, in the clarity of the color, in the honoring of the shelf. Is this honoring a part of walking gently? I have far to go on this path especially in learning to walk gently within my own mind. I have a hint that I need to open and feel as emotions and thoughts arise. I need to taste the flavor of what emerges within me. I need to find the meaning of the arising and look for what direction it takes me and then I need to go with it, stepping in the sand, on the path, in my life.
As always, art is life and life is art. When you are a creative person whether through the lens of a camera, the paint brush, the pen and paper or the concrete carving it all is a canvas for growth, for learning, for metaphor, for the appreciation of this amazing life. Perhaps it is the curse of the creative as it works on you, as it makes you have to search, to feel unsettled, to look deep and then perhaps it is the blessing when a little crack in your armor appears and you see through your creations, "Ah, there, that is where I need to go, walking gently through time."
As always, art is life and life is art. When you are a creative person whether through the lens of a camera, the paint brush, the pen and paper or the concrete carving it all is a canvas for growth, for learning, for metaphor, for the appreciation of this amazing life. Perhaps it is the curse of the creative as it works on you, as it makes you have to search, to feel unsettled, to look deep and then perhaps it is the blessing when a little crack in your armor appears and you see through your creations, "Ah, there, that is where I need to go, walking gently through time."
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