The big discussion this weekend was the mix of religions. I think once the word "religion" gets thrown into the spirituality mix there is a demand to create a dogma around it that limits the perspectives and ideas of everyone. My homework this week in counseling was to read two articles on being a warrior that is able to let go of anger and embrace the doubt and openness of uncertainty. Granted there was much more to these articles but the thoughts and ideas sparked many a conversation between me and my partner who concluded that I needed to get my head back to Christianity fast. Does spirituality mix with multiple religions? Can a person take the religion out of the picture and love Jesus and all people as Jesus loved all people? When the creativity of art is mixed into this battle, my mind sees so many options to make things more open and alive to multiple ideas and loves of everyone. I wonder if even myself as a single human can even have any impact on the idea of openness to the uncertainty of the world and live in my own multi-faceted world. Pema Chodron and this year has opened my mind to so many different ideas that I cannot stop but think that there is more out there that we as human beings block off by our fear and anger. I have lived so much of 2014 in fear and anger that to let this go and open to my heart of creativity that expands beyond the normal dogma of one religion brings hope to a very tender soul that needs the sweet care of the balm of Jesus and the tender silence and solitude of the loving kindness of meditation and God. I walk in multiple worlds that have been narrowed to this one path of step by step motion of taking the next minute and the next hour as it may come my way. I have nothing much to give these days but a smile, hug, and a tender glance of acceptance. But is that not what Jesus did each day of His life on earth. A tender touch, a gaze, and a word of peace. Centering prayer, meditation, prayer, and simplicity is what my life has been condensed to after a year of turmoil and strife. All I can do is focus on the next step in the journey of a thousands miles. So, can I mix all these paths that I have in my head? As 2014 comes to a close and 2015 begins, I hope and pray I will be able to learn to focus on the expressive creativity that has been able to bring peace to myself and others about this world that can have hope without anger and strife. However in saying that, I know that the uncertainty of life will even challenge me each day to keep this journey going. Blessings and good wishes for the new year.

Through the Window, painting

So, this is one of the paintings that I have worked on this semester at Art Awakenings. The title is Through the Window. This is a 10 by 20 inch painting. It is an acrylic of a photo that I took somewhere in town, Tucson, AZ a long time ago. It is my first real geometrical painting because of the shelves. It was a challenge, but fun. I have in the past done perspective with buildings and structures only in pencil and charcoal.

Anxious Birthday Cake

So, this was my second project for my Sculpting Class this Semester. We had to pick a feeling word and an object word out of a hat this time to do an Abstraction of the object that was picked. I got Anxious Birthday Cake; my therapist likes this one the best. Most everyone that I have shown this to really likes it. I had a sheet of steel to work with, so with this project, I learned how to use a plasma cutter, metal power tools, die caster, and a welder. I have a second steel project that was a Kinetic Project which means it had to mechanically move. By the end of that project, I have become a pretty good welder. I would have never thought that I would be doing these things in my life, but boy has Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-11am been a lot of fun and a lot of learning. Note: The Birthday Cake looked more like a space rocket, so I added acrylic paint mixed with molding paste to give the appearance of frosting dripping off the cake.

End of Semester Graduate School for Art Therapy - Impatient Sculpture

Well it is official, I have everything in for my first semester at Graduate School for Art Therapy. On top of taking three graduate level courses this semester, I needed 6 credit hours of studio art in 3 D work. I still have two weeks left in my Sculpting Class at Pima Community College with Joe Del Par who is an amazing teacher - I highly recommend any of his classes. I also participated in over 60 hours of clay wheel work and hand building at the Tucson Clay Co-Op, also a great place to learn. My roommate joined me at the Clay Co-op and has just taken to clay like a natural. I think she will continue there as I go back to focus more on painting and watercolor. I have truly missed those mediums this semester. I have done some Acrylics at Art Awakenings here in Tucson which I will post here in the next couple of days. However, I wanted to share my adventures into 3D art. My first assignment in my sculpting class was a Non-Objective Piece (So it could not look like anything in everyday reality). I had a sheet of wood to work with and Pima West has a ton of tools (I am the POWER TOOL Queen now). So for this first piece, each student had to take a feeling word from a hat and create that feeling with the wood. We could paint our pieces with only one color. My Word was Impatient. I tried to give the idea of going in many directions, somewhat chaotically, and I painted it orange because impatiences has some feeling of frustration and anger which I connect with red but it is more mellow - those the orange. I have included a view from the top and from the side.

Safe Place Painting

I have now been working in trauma therapy for a little over six months. Early on, I had this visualization of a safe place to go when the memories and flashbacks come at me. This was the acrylic painting that I did at the Art Studio to help me to remember to relax in nature.

Purple Prickly Pear

I did this acrylic painting at Art Awakenings a couple of weeks ago. My new housemate loves the blossoms and the purple prickly pear, so this was for Rebekah.

Walk Together Poem

Let us walk this path together—
Same, same, same
Born into evil
Born of the same clay
Born of a loving God

Let us walk this path together—
Down, down, down
Into pain and sorrow
Into suffering and joy
Into loving-kindness

Let us walk this path together—
Care, care, care
Carrying each others’ burdens
Carrying each others’ fears
Carrying each others’ sorrow

Let us walk this path together—
Hope, hope, hope
Allowing each other to stumble
Allowing each other to feel
Allowing each other to share

Let us walk this path together—
Love, love, love
Loving each precious moment
Loving each tender thought
Loving each other as one