“a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
-Isaiah 11:1 (from the second Sunday of Advent)

Yesterday I gathered together all of the images I had found of my aunt and uncle (my mother’s siblings) as children and worked on creating something for each of them as a gift this […]

Posted in Advent, Art and Spirituality | 6 Comments »

Consent
There was the minute no one speaks of,
when she could still refuse.
A breath unbreathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting.
She did not cry,”I cannot, I am not worthy,”
nor, “I have not the strength.”
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
raging,coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the irridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparreled,
opened her utterly.
-Denise Levertov
A friend […]

Posted in Poetry, Advent, Art and Spirituality | 4 Comments »

I got a very gracious email from Jan Richardson, whose book Night Visions I highly recommended here a couple of weeks ago as my all-time favorite Advent resource.  She reported that she is now sold out and hopes to have it re-published by next year.  But she also shared with me an Advent blog she has […]

Posted in Resources, Advent | 6 Comments »

One day while walking along the shores of the Hood Canal near my hermitage I found a great big wooden stick. It was sturdy and the right height so I brought it back to sit with it for a while and ask how it wanted me to embellish it.  Often when I lead art programs […]

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The photo in the piece of art above was taken of me at age nineteen, during my junior year in college. I had a boyfriend at the time who was into photography, especially black and white, and I still have several of the photos he took of me.  I think I find them striking because at […]

Posted in Advent, Art and Spirituality | 11 Comments »

   
Today has been an especially busy day with doing my elf work this morning and attending a workshop all day. So I admit that I did not get to any new art today and probably won’t. But the three prints above are from two rubber stamp carvings I did a couple of days […]

Posted in Advent, Art and Spirituality | 9 Comments »

I am so delighted that my new reflective art journal Callings arrived today at my door, a day earlier than I expected (plus the holiday cards I had printed with my images which you can see here also).  I have been a busy little elf addressing envelopes to all of my wonderful subscribers and new orders, plus […]

Posted in Advent, Art and Spirituality, Offerings, Art Creativity Spirituality Retreat, zine journal | 7 Comments »

Yesterday morning I awoke at my hermitage and stood in the kitchen to make some breakfast with my back to the window.  I eventually turned around and saw a small rainbow across the waters of the Hood Canal over the Olympics.  Leaving behind my food, I grabbed my camera and hurried down the steps to the […]

Posted in Photos, Advent | 11 Comments »

This photo is of my grandmother on my mother’s side.  The baby is my uncle and the little girl is my mother. My uncle is the only one left alive from this image.
I can see a theme developing in my art already — I used a wooden board as a base, adhered white tissue paper […]

Posted in Advent, Art and Spirituality | 16 Comments »

Loving Advent
Christmas is coming
but Advent is here.
A time of waiting -
Not for gifts to open
but for our very selves.
Our hearts open slowly.
We must wait and wonder.
Something new will come
out of the darkness.
Let yourself sink
into the unknowing.
Bring a pillow, get comfortable.
Waiting in Advent
is like planting
bulbs for the spring.

-Pamela McCauley
Pam was one of the participants at our […]

Posted in Advent, Art and Spirituality | 9 Comments »