Another year has come and gone..
and like many..
I was not sad to say
arrivederci
to
2016
In January
as always..
I created my self portrait,
I was letting the white hair grow in
and I was eager
to start the new year
as always
a new year stretches out
as endless possibilities
In February ..
I wrote my annual love letter to myself..
In March I was beginning to deal with some
health issues
and I realized that I was going thru some
intense metamorphosis
due to the death of my mother in February...
the wings below are tissue paper, hand colored with Inktense pencils and gold leaf...
they are safety pinned to the page
and when you turn the page, they actually
flutter..
There was a lot of chaos..
and dreams going on
grandmother spider came to me in a dream...
and in May
I kept stepping on
scorpions
and when I found the old dictionary page
I used it in the spread..
to remind me to listen to my intuition..
June brought a revelation about
the nature of
Freedom...
this is a 3D page and it is hard to see, but the wings are made of mixed media paper
and they are glued into the center of the book....
the quote is Rumi
"You have escaped the cage, your wings are stretched out...
now fly!"
I often explore the double tree
image in my work, representing partnership..
In August I was doing spiritual work
and recognizing that I was still
working on
my transformation for the year..
balancing both the feminine and the masculine...
September brought more work
this time with family issues
and my role in my family..
it also brought up inner child work..
the images are not me, but represent me in
the past..
October brought relief and a visit from my
sister, it was a joyful visit..
we traveled to Europe
in November,
and arrived home the weekend before
Thanksgiving..
the pages are about my grandmother
and how brave she had to be to come here..
and how dire her situation was to make her
take on such a perilous journey..
how I admire her courage..
and love her so..
December was sweet..
literally, I made cookies and flourless Chocolate cake, coffee cake
and spiced nuts..
but my spread reflects my feelings for the holidays..
all of them..
"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of Love."
Hamilton Wright Mabi
And now I am beginning my January pages
my self portrait as usual..
and I think I can stuff another year into this journal..
and working on my new series..
the Naturalists' Notebook
I want to thank you all for the wonderful
reception
and all the subscriptions to my
YouTube
channel..
I could not do it without
Mr. La Dolce Vita..
who is my fearless videographer
and iMovie genius..
We have some fun planned so thanks for
stopping by...
xo
