Best Friends...

A conversation sparked considerable pondering on what friendship means and the concept of "best friends."  There are the Friends I've spent the most time on earth with, Friends I've gotten into the most trouble with, Friends I've broken up with, Friends who went their way and were not seen again and Friends who have wandered back into my life after decades. I supposed if I'd spent enough time in one geographical place, I might have a best friend. 

For me a Friend is the person who is looking into my eyes and listening with their heart. In that moment of recognition, I belong to a community and know my worth to another soul on the planet. 

What if we considered every person we connected with as a potential Best Friend? What would happen if we looked across the artificial boundaries of race, religion or nationality into the eyes of the person in front of us? We have the potential to find friends in the most unexpected places. We have the potential to heal a hurting world one Best Friend at a time. 

Working the River series...

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Continuing my fascination for architecture and place, Working the River II. In process, I like the drawing marks and may leave them. 

Ancestors and creativity...

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Have you ever come up against a creative block and tried everything you know with little results? Therapy, journaling, medication et al?

Sometimes, the genesis of the issue is found in the family history and a protected family story that may not be serving this generation. 

Unexamined family programs are often the nail holding our foot to the floor in personal progress ~ the “automatic” responses become very discouraging to someone who feels they’ve done “all they can” to heal their issues.  Once we understand what belongs to us and the part we carry from progenitors, our smaller percentage of the issue is usually very easily handled and healed. When we stop protecting the family story this frees up energy to focus creatively.

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Bigger than a breadbox...

Haven’t posted for awhile because my art project for the past few months has been a bit larger than the norm. It’s great when vision becomes a reality. I enjoy visiting with all of you who stop by the new gallery in Oregon City ~ corner of 9th and Main across from Coffee Rush. 

Cain and Abel, Archetype: Perfect Mother

In the Christian tradition, Eve, the Mother of All Living had two sons with the First Adam. While narrative focuses on the animosity of Cain for Abel and the crime of fratricide I feel deep compassion for the mother, unmentioned in the records, who lost both sons. No matter what we do, how perfectly we strive to parent, our children lead their own lives from the moment they draw breath and our task is to learn to let them go to be what they will from the womb. Loss is the first hard lesson of motherhood. 

Three Generations of Archetypes...

Elva, my mother, wanted to be an attorney and circumstances didn’t make it easy for a woman to attain such a goal in the 1930’s. Mother spent her life advocating changes to better society and at 97 is still politically active.  My daughter Brooke is a school counselor, one of this centuries more dangerous and most essential professions. In the middle generation, a self-portrait. One of the freedoms of the new millenia is pursuit of spiritual nature while remaining involved with family and community life.