💗 Art Inspiration: Dreaming of Sailing Away 💗

 

Hello My Fellow Art Lovers-    "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for.” - John A. Shedd Do you ever feel like sailing away?  Escaping on a pilgrimage of epic proportions? I have!  Lately I dream of crossing the ocean with just a notebook and set of paints to document the journey.   I even added a Viking ship to my 2022 vision board. In the song, "Blue Boat Home" Peter Mayer wrote: "I’ve been sailing all my life now, never harbor or port have I known. The wide universe is the ocean I travel and the earth is my blue boat home." Last year I made this painting for a client of an albatross.  This amazing bird travels way out into the ocean, miles from land, and just lives.  He doesn't need to touch down on grounded earth.  Wow I wrote a whole section of my upcoming symbolism book on how it is best to: If plants are to grow they have to get rooted, stay in one place.     "Along the Picket Fence" Sold I like being grounded in one place.  To sink my feet into the soil like a plant.   Dreaming of the Ocean, Framed $469 BUT sometimes it is good to explore. I've been reading this fabulous travel diary book "A Fine Romance" by Susan Branch (for the third time!)  It is a dream just to imagine crossing the Atlantic on a boat and pottering about England.  I wish I could go!  Keep dreaming... Chaucer wrote that springtime is when people get this feeling.... When we "longen to goon on pilgrimages." So where should I go?  Suggestions for fabulous art retreats?  Is this just the siren calling my name???? Many of today's illustrations are from my upcoming book on SYMBOLISM!  Stay tuned for the more juicy symbols and art philosophy as I swim through this material.  Would someone you love be inspired by this message?  Feel free to share

♥ Art Inspiration: The Healing Power of Love ♥

 

Hello My Fellow Art Lovers- 


"Love is absolutely vital for a human life. 
For love alone can awaken what is divine within you. 
In love, you grow and come home to yourself.”
- John O'Donohue


I know what you are thinking!  Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  Let's talk about  romantic love . 

Oh la la- nope sorry!  The story I'd like to share with you today is about motherly love.  

In 1966 my mother visited St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  One of her most memorable experiences from the visit was seeing the sculpture by Michelangelo, the Pieta.


Pieta means “piety” in Italian.  This sculpture, created in 1499, depicts Mother Mary holding the body of Jesus after he has been crucified.  My mother remembers the sculpture as being serenely beautiful.  Mary’s gentle face expressed the deep sadness of grief. 

Michelangelo stated that he wanted the sculpture to show “the heart’s image.” 

In May of 1972 a mentally ill man entered the Basilica.  With a geologist’s hammer he attacked the Pieta shouting, “I am Jesus Christ.  I have risen from the dead!”  He broke off Mary’s left arm, the tip of her nose and part of her eye.  An American sculptor named Bob Cassilly grabbed the disturbed man by the beard and wrestled him to the ground. 


Unfortunately, several of the chunks of marble were stolen by onlookers in the chaos that ensued.  Nevertheless, artisans were able to restore the Pieta.  She now sits in the Basilica behind bulletproof glass. 


A friend of mine recently lost her mother to gun violence.  Late one night an intruder, who was only thirteen years old, broke into their house and shot her.  This terrible crime is the most horrific tragedy I have ever witnessed. It reminds me of the vandalism of the Pieta.  The sacred mother was attacked.  Innocence was lost. We try to repair the damage but there are permanent scars. 



The injustice of my friend’s mother’s death has made me feel many moments of despair, yet I find hope in the eternal symbol of motherhood and my own belief in the nature of the spirit.  I believe that the body can be broken but nothing can touch the spirit within. 



The spirit of all mothers lives in the arms that hold and the hands that do the work of love.  It is embodied in symbols of motherhood like the Pieta. It lives on with the birth of every new mother.  It is alive in everyone who does an act of love. 



When I created my vision board for this year I filled it with images of springtime and motherhood.  Creating the collage helped me to solidify my intention to live out the spirit of motherhood rather than focusing on negative things.

My friend, dream meditation guide Jennifer Foley, and I are designing an amazing Dream/Vision Board Workshop February 27th.  Jennifer always creates a wonderful nurturing atmosphere in her workshops where we go deep into our visions.  If you are craving spiritual community and want to clarify your hopes for the future with symbolism this workshop is for you.
Find out more at: https://www.balancedsoulindy.com/events/2022-dream-board