November 6, 2008
I first discovered Matthew Whitney‘s art through the Image Journal‘s email newsletter. I am always looking for artists to include in the Presence journal, and I loved Matthew’s work and was delighted to find out he is also a fellow Seattleite. (In fact, for those of you who live in the area, he has a solo exhibition opening on December 4th at the Marni Muir Gallery here in Seattle. I am grateful to Matt for his thoughtfulness and willingness to share his insights into the connections between the spiritual journey and the creative process here with you, my wonderful readers. _________________________________________
Wage peace with your breath. Breathe in firemen and rubble, breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds. Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields. Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees. Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact. Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud. Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers. Make soup. Play music, memorize the words for thank you in three languages. Learn to knit, and make a hat. Think of chaos as dancing raspberries, imagine grief as the outbreath of
Two weeks ago I shared my journey to the nearby cemetery on a foggy morning as a way of being present to my mother on the anniversary of her death. One thing I did not share then was my brief encounter with coyote on this walk of remembering, in part because I needed to reflect more on this meeting before speaking of it. Despite the fact that I live in a very urban neighborhood of Seattle I had heard there are coyotes roaming who come from the many green spaces and Arboretum of our beautiful city, but I had never
Leah Piken Kolidas is another artist I discovered in my art editing work for Presence journal. I fell in love with her piece “Betwixt and Between” (seen just below). It evoked in me that exhilirating sense of being on the border of something new, of entering a new landscape. I especially loved when I went to look it up in her shop and read her inspiration behind the piece because she refers to the term “antevasin” from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love, a phrase that captured my imagination immediately when first I read it in her book myself. It
On Saturday a wonderful package arrived in the mail. It was a commission I ordered from artist Marcy Hall (see her Sacred Artist Interview) of my two beloved animal companions — Duke who died over two years ago and Tune who is of course alive and well. When I discovered Marcy’s delightful art, I knew she would be the right person to create an icon to honor the role that canine wisdom plays in my life. I also adore the tree of life in the center with crows and the full moon. In front of the altar are various seasonal symbols I have gathered
Poetry Party #26! I select an image and suggest a title and invite you to respond with your poems, words, reflections, quotes, song lyrics, etc. Leave them in the comments or email me and I’ll add them to the body of the post as they come in along with a link back to your blog if you have one (not required to participate!) I’ll add your contributions all week and then I will draw a name at random on Friday morning from everyone who participates and will send the winner a copy of my newest zine Crossing the Threshold: New Year, New Beginnings.
*** Again the wind Flakes gold-leaf from the trees And the painting darkens—as if a thousand penitents Kissed an icon Till it thinned Back to bare wood, Without diminishment. -Jane Hirshfield *** -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts (all photos except for the last one taken at the Seattle Arboretum, end photo taken at Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle) ** Come back Monday, October 27th for our next Poetry Party ** ** Wednesday, October 29th will be our next Sacred Artist Interview with Leah Piken Kolidas **
I long for You so much I have even begun to travel Where I have never been before. -Hafiz (excerpt) Last week on Tuesday I piled my things into the car, the essentials like my journal, my yoga mat, my camera, and of course my sweet Petunia. We headed north on I-5 to the Canadian border. Two elements of getting to a retreat that feel important to me are a border crossing and a ferry ride and this time I had the gift of both. When I arrived at the guard booth though, to my disappointment the guard waved me through with half a
Today is the fifth anniversary of my mother’s death. My time away on retreat the last few days was a time of ritual and remembering. I will post more about the retreat itself in the next couple of days. Thank you for all of your beautiful blessings in comments and emails. Last night after I returned home we went to a friend’s house for Sukkot. It is a 7-day festival that comes after the Jewish high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and during it, celebrants build sukkahs or tents and live in them as a remembrance of the Israelites time of wandering. As my rabbi friend reflected, it