Sprung…

It is with great relief that I  have been srung from the brace!!! The last few days were intense in that I was worried my “sentence”  might be expanded- which was not the case. I feel liberated and extremely vulnerable, like a turtle without a shell or a soft shell crab. I  have been able to schedule physical therapy and am on my way to returning to supra-normal…gently, slowly and with grace (as I examine my expanded to-do list for the upcoming months).I remain grateful for all the visits, errand running, cards, emails and calls of support and cheer- it certainly made the past few months easier knowing I had so many people holding loving thoughts, sending remote healing and intercessionary prayers-  THANK YOU

Countdown…

My fingers and toes are crossed…and I realize I may be being too optimistic, hopeful, delusional….? Perhaps I only have 45 minutes until the hot pajamas come out of the dryer and forty-one hours until I get this brace off? I am chafing, claustrophobic and pissy…and uncertain as to just how much longer the brace stays on?

Scanned…

Perhaps you’ve seen those ads for those FULL BODY scans? By the time I’m done here, I won’t be needing one of those for some time…in the next couple of weeks I will be getting more x-rays, ultra-sounds to my thyroid and abodomen, a colonoscopy and more blood test as my CT’s and MRI’s are compared.More importantly, fingers crossed, I am on the one week countdown to being sprung from my current orthopeadic brace !!!

Un-mered Color..

Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”

 Oscar Wilde

Re- Balance…

I feel., actually pretty fabulous at the moment, much more calm, unwound, balanced and grounded. In the past three days I have had an Healing Touch session, reflexology hand massage and Traggerwork to my upper back. While meditation and self-relaxation techniques can have profound effects on one’s healing process- the act of receiving energy healing from experienced practitioners is seemingly exactly just what I needed this week.

I have been extremely lucky in that for the past seven years I have participated in several energy work/massage/ bodywok study and exchange groups. While I was  working towards my Healing Touch certification (July 2003) one of the assignments was to experience at least ten different alternative healing modalities, interview the practitioner and to write a report on my experiences. I continue to exchange sessions with several of these practitioners and this has provided invaluable learning opportunities.

As part of starting your new year off on right, I would encourage you to schedule a energy healing or massage session today- you deserve it!

Rainbows in 2008…

In the spirit of my “returning” post my 2008 artistic goals include:

Three months=

• making a new set of molds from Savoy cabbage, lettuce, and herb leaves
• Making three prototype necklaces, a salad, a Brussels sprout spiral and an eggplant extravaganza
• Exploring bracelet and earring designs based upon those themes

Six months=

• Revisiting, cataloging and fleshing out the food quilt series blocks
• Exploring updates to six color HP printing on archival paper
• Printing a few prototype images

New Year’s 2009=

• completing a series of twelve food vignettes -perhaps sushi as before? or involving new food groups
• investigate appropriate, relatively inexpensive framing that highlights the pieces
• prepare proposal for gallery show

Dreams…

” A goal is a dream with a deadline”

Napoleon Hill

Reminder to Return…

I am a great believer in the synchronicity of threes:

• As part of my fabulous Christmas gifts, I received several new cookbooks- remarkable to my “reminder” Eating By Color from Maggie Maggio
• Watching Chef-ographies on Food TV= several remarkably talented chefs that allowed their passions for working with food to manifest great joy and accomplishments despite adversity, set-backs and challenges
• A blog post by Kim Cavendar about the new work of David Forlano and Steven Ford, that included a photo of their new bubble necklace which reminds me of Brussels sprouts

These three things have provided a powerful reminder to me to return/re-visit and embellish upon my fascination with faux polymer clay food, as wall quilts, assemblages and jewelry. Right now I have images of lettuce necklaces, brussel sprout leis, fingerling potatoes, squash wall  pieces…lush, verdant, visceral, hallucinatory, magical reference to food. I have several hundred components designed to be incorporated into wall quilts, jewelery beyond the asparagus- but, most importantly the perfect, timely reminder to return to an aesthetic  subject that really engages all my senses and incorporates my fascination and passion for all things food!

Butterfly…?

Today I find my sense of humor missing…is this a photo of  a butterfly ready to take flight? A fantasy costume from Star Wars? A rare white lobster preparing for the Tahitian vanilla bean beurre blanc? OR The challenge accessory for next weeks Project Runway?

Reminder to Delete…

I own hundreds of books, mostly non-fiction in subjects ranging from energy healing to a rather impressive collection of cookbooks. Occasionally I entertain the idea of  clearing some of these out- and easily get bogged down in making the decisions- what is reference? what is something that I am likely to re-read and which ones should I donate to a book sale?I do have several books that I have re-read over five times. Joy’s Way by Joy Brugh is one of these books. The word “delete” keeps coming to my mind this afternoon, which prompted me to find the book and re-visit the three admonishments outlined in his book…

• Make no comparisons
• Make no judgements
• Delete the need to understand

So, while it is unlikely that my “silver lining” will be delivered by overnight express mail this afternoon- i have been reminded to consider these three things. And to return to the very powerful spiral heart meditation that Joy presented in Joy’s Way.