Still Life, Moving Pictures and Hannah Wilke

I have not posted on this blog for an extended period of time.

Several persons near and dear to me have passed and my creative process has a peculiar ebb and flow. I write my words in earnest and after much consideration.

These words have become my primary "high" art form these days.  I take the written word very seriously.

I have been having vivid and quite lucid dreams. I dreamed (re-lived, actually) some years of my youth when I was brave, courageous, optimistic - and anything and everything was possible.

I was happy, intoxicated with all that "could be" in this life time.
I so yearn for the attitude of my youth, that I unashamedly lived with a certain reckless, fearless and carefree abandon.

Alas, many of the key players of my youth are deceased now...and my life took turns that I never could imagine in my glory days.

I do not not know if I can achieve that fearless mindset again in this life. Absurd in a way, as rationally, the longer you live, the more fearless you should become.  In my case (and, I suspect in many others), it is the opposite.

The more I know, the longer I live, the more fearful I grow.

I endeavor to change this...and live in the moment - but time seems to move faster now....

What to do? 

Wait for the "next life"?

Most people concentrate their energies on their family. This is right and just. 

But, is this a distraction from one's own life and death? Or a continuation of life after death in a sense? A way to trick the mind into delusions of such immortality? 

Being childless (by choice), I live a "still life". The moving pictures belong to other people. I am the  constant observer, a voyeur of sorts....parts of me have been 'stilled' due to the pain of loss, grief, (perceived) abandonment, being alone. Emotional scars that go unseen to others, but are personally felt, nonetheless.

I have been thinking about Hannah Wilke, an artist that I so admired, and her absolutely astonishing work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Wilke

I still remember the first time I saw Hannah Wilke's "Scars"... a photo of her nude torso covered with wads of chewing gum. An ode to the very real fact that we all experience pain and suffering in this life. We bear it internally. Hannah reminds us that internal (emotional) scars are every bit as real as the external (physical ) scar we show to the world from surgery, a bloody brush with a thorny rose bush, a cut, grief, a broken heart, loss, pain, hurt.

Hannah Wilke objectived her own body in her work.  Her "Scars" evolved into a series entitled "Scarification". This was early conceptual work at its best!
After she was diagnosed with cancer, Hannah exposed all of the physical effects of her chemotherapy before her premature death.

Hannah Wilke was a beautiful, courageous, brave, strong woman. When facing her eventual mortality, she exposed herself to a world-wide audience - scars and all.

In Love, Truth, Beauty....

Images courtesy of Artnet and Wikipedia

Tribute to Jane Blaffer Owen

Dear Reader,

I am greatly saddened to report that Jane Blaffer Owen died a few weeks ago. 

So many influential people in my life have died recently that I simply have not felt moved to write a decent or worthy post.

I hope you understand that I cannot describe many personal details about Mrs. Owen at this time. I hope that in time, I will be able to put into words how I knew her, and recount a little of what she accomplished in her very BIG, wondrous life. 

She was the real deal. The stuff legends are made of ... a visionary who actually realized those visions.

I am posting one of her many obituaries herein. The following article originated in The Houston Chronicle. They have hit some of the highlights of her extraordinary life.

I will always remember the vision of Mrs. Owen driving a horse drawn carriage around New Harmony when I was living in that area. Her long blond hair, untamed by her sun hat, flowing.

She was a visionary, a treasure, and her absence will be conspicuous.....and felt by many of the people she so freely inspired.

The Houston Chronicle

June 26, 2010 

Jane Blaffer Owen's memorial service will be in Houston next month, where she grew up in eccentric splendor as an heiress to both the Humble and Texaco oil fortunes. Surely there will be talk of the good things that she supported in this city, many of them at the University of Houston.

But her greatest effect, everyone will agree, wasn't on Houston at all, but on a place that could be considered the anti-Houston: New Harmony, Ind. — a tiny, historic, spiritual town.

Owen met New Harmony in 1941, during her honeymoon. The hometown of her husband, K.D. Owen, it was the site of two - two! - long-gone utopias.

Harmonie was founded in 1814 by the Harmonists, a celibate religious group that emphasized hard work and sound building. Ten years later, convinced the world was ending, they sold their town to a pair of secular idealists who hoped to found a new "Community of Equality." Rechristened New Harmony, the town was to be a progressive gathering of scientists and intellectuals, and so idealistic that it banned the use of money. It lasted three years.

By 1941, New Harmony was a bedraggled little town, but its history resonated with the idealistic, spiritual Owen. She poured her considerable fortune and energy into the place, shoring up its lovely old Victorian buildings and adding works by cutting-edge architects Richard Meier and Philip Johnson. The town took on a Marfa-like vibe, based on spirituality instead of art. It became a place for seekers.

And it came back to life. The American Planning Association praised New Harmony as a "cultural town," resisting the homogenization of America. The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded Owen its highest honor.

Late in her life, in an interview with the Houston Oral History Project, she described New Harmony in relation to hectic, fast-changing Houston. She invoked Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces": In myths across the world, Campbell argued, heroes go on quests and return with gifts - "boons" - for their fellow man. "I felt that if I had any boons for Houston," Owen said, "I would have to bring them from that little town."

The most obvious of those boons is still being installed. In 1963 Owen commissioned visionary architect Frederick Kiesler to design a meditation grotto for New Harmony. Its centerpiece was to look like a giant shell - a no-right-angles design so far ahead of its time that it was deemed unbuildable. But in 2008, with Owen's support, a class of UH architecture students used 3-D design software and digital fabrication to do what once could not be done. Their interpretation of Kiesler's design now sits next to UH's architecture building, awaiting benches and a garden.

"It is going to be an oasis for the busy students at UH," Owen said with satisfaction. A meditative, spiritual place, a piece of New Harmony in Houston, it will be her last boon to our city. And we are grateful.

This post is dedicated to Jane Owen, Patron Saint on Earth to so many mortals.

Mrs. Owen, as I called her, was a force that helped shape my life in more ways than I can list here.

I have no idea what would have become of me without Mrs. Owen's hand in my life.

In Love, Truth, Beauty and Loss....

Amazing Vedic Astrology

Here is a very interesting blog to follow

http://myindian-vedicastrology.blogspot.com/

And this is the website...

http://indian-vedicastrology.com/wordpress/

In Truth, Love and Beauty....

A Personal Memoir: Heikki Seppa

I have worked with metal nearly all of my life. The love of metal is in my family (both maternal and paternal), my blood and my spirit. I studied metalsmithing courses in college, but could not quite understand how to achieve my desired final product: a hollow, fabricated piece that made a bold statement in metal with the seeming lightness of a feather.
One day, I came across The Penland School of Crafts Book of Jewelrymaking (1975) - and there it was - the exact technique that I needed! A shell structure technique developed by one Heikki Seppa.
Heikki Seppa was pioneering a brand new vocabulary of form - literally redefining the art of metalsmithing. Heikki was from Helsinki, taught briefly in Louisville (close to my neck of the woods), and was currently heading up the metalsmithing department at Washington University in St. Louis.
Perfect!
The fates smiled upon me, and Heikki accepted me into the graduate metals program - although after I arrived at Washington University, there were so many talented metalsmiths! I was a small town girl (jokingly referred to as "Kentucky Woman" by Heikki) with a B.A. in Fine Arts, Art History and a minor in Political Science. Most of my peers had achieved their BFA degrees in metalsmithing.
But, I was not a fish out of water ... many of the metal students, as well as Heikki and John Baltrushunas, the undergraduate professor were Pisces.
We even had annual Pisces parties. Oh...the stories I could tell...the photographs that I treasure...
I was HOME.

Being innately shy (many will dispute this statement, but I assure you it is completely true), I recall hiding my works-in-progress ... no small feat. Critiques were nerve-wracking. This was a serious program!!! (ahh - those were the days) Heikki was in the midst of publishing Form Emphasis for Metalsmiths - a giddy time in which we all enjoyed way more than 15 minutes of fame. Everything was golden.
Heikki worked us hard! We played hard too - but that is another story.....

Below is a pin that I have watching over my workbench. The photo was taken during a two week forging session on the St. Louis campus. The image is one of my favorites of Heikki.

This period was fruitful, graced, creative, blessed. I am so grateful to have had those highly educational and challenging years! Very, very fortunate...
I received word that Heikki died last week. This was not unexpected, but I am heartbroken. Of all of his many achievements (and believe me - I cannot think of a single artist rising from the "craft" world who has achieved more honors and accolades, awards and recognition) I like to think that Heikki's best achievement was being true to himself.

What an inspiration.
I was not the perfect 'shell-structure' metalsmith. I was an odd hybrid.
Here is a complimentary note about my critical writing he sent to me not too long ago. Heikki started my writing career in 1976 when I impressed him (no small feat!) with my wordsmith ability and knowledge of metal - a rare combination.

In my letter of reference, Heikki graciously wrote that I was a master of many arts, facets and nuances - including playing the piano! His kindness, remembrance and sentiment touched me profoundly.
He was a complex, often misunderstood, fun, hard-working, hard-playing, masterful and enlightened being.
Here is an example of the type of encouragement that he freely gave me.

Heikki and I remained in touch for 35 years. I am proud to say that he was my friend.
I miss him.
Deeply.
Have you heard that 'thing' about when a mighty oak falls somewhere in the woods, do you hear it?
I may not have heard the felling of the master, but I certainly feel his absence.
Heikki was unique and unforgettable. Demanding, outspoken, opinionated ... and a real sweetheart!
This old weary soul and world will miss you, Heikki. But, somehow, I know there is a joyous and rowdy reunion in a sauna, replete with eucalyptus, vodka, snow outside and a waiting forge, hammer and anvil inside.
With Love, Beauty and Respect...

In Loving Memory of Heikki Seppa  March 8, 1927 - May 18, 2010

Images Courtesy of the Author

Soaps for Utopia

I just packed up a big box of custom soaps to be sold at Richard Meier's Atheneum in New Harmony, Indiana. I am so happy with these soaps that I wanted to share two of them with you.

"Red Geranium"

A light geranium soap that is swirled and topped with Aussie Red Clay and French Green Clay mixed with Chlorophyll. This soap was inspired by the "Red Geranium Inn and Restaurant" in New Harmony.

"Wabash River Valley"

This lovely landscape is dedicated to the Wabash River Valley, over which The Atheneum presides....I cannot stop looking at this soap! I scented it with mints and citronella (among other essential oils) to help shoo away all the Wabash mosquitoes! 

 

In addition to the above, there are four other types of handcrafted soap soon to be on sale at The Atheneum in New Harmony.
Summer is a good time to visit Utopia....

Love and Beauty....

Beltane: a (VERY) brief synopsis

May is the month of full-flowered spring in every sense. 

May is symbolized by Mother Nature, or Female Power at her most potent...or is it the other way around?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bealtaine

No coincidence that the earthy, sensual, sensitive, fixed, feminine astrological sign of Taurus falls here. Take a cue from Taurus - after working hard (read: all winter), have a fabulous meal, a massage, appreciate Venusian beauty, pamper yourself. 

Your body is of the earth. Take special care of it today.

Ground yourself. 

Say a prayer for planet earth, especially The Gulf of Mexico, the earth's elements and all creatures. 

Perform a personal kindness for the earth.

According to the old ways, Beltane (or Bealtaine) was typically celebrated on April 30, or May Eve.

In the time of my childhood, May 1st was the only day dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Hmmm....many wrong things with that practice and statement) in the Roman Catholic Church. 

Even as a young girl, I rebelled against the politics of patriarchy. I always made a shrine to Mary, almost like a beautiful bird house, presented in a corner of my room. One small step for woman kind.

In my earlier post on the Merry Month of May, I wrote about the May Queen. Often considered promiscuous, she is a young, juicy maiden, bursting with vitality......like spring itself.

Curious that 'May Day, May Day' is the phrase we associate with destruction. From the view of the Wise Ones, May Day is the actual opposite of destruction.

May Day (or Beltane or Bealtaine) is the peak of life itself. 

In place of the ancient, glorious May Day, we invented Mother's Day (that Puritan ethic again, methinks).

Celebrate and revel in Life! Get down and dirty in the garden or plant some herbs. Take a long bath (ever mindful of the HUGE gift of water). Listen to beautiful music. Acknowledge every single one of your senses.

Dance around a May Pole!! (THAT would be a statement)

Beltane represents what we have waited a long, hard winter to experience.

Express love for yourself and gratitude for Mother Nature....have some fun and frolic!

With so much Love, Truth, Beauty and Pleasure.......

Beltane

I have been away on a small vacation, so I have not been posting lately.
Bad news? The vacation is over and I am back from the Island. Landlocked.
Good news? It is Beltane!

Happy Beltane, Everyone!
May frivolity reign over the merry month of May, not unlike the above riot of lovely Texas wildflowers.
In Love, Truth and Beauty....