elemental

earth and sky

 fire and water

changes

 'the ground submits to the sky and suffers whatever comes.

tell me, is the earth worse for giving in like that?'

~ rumi

as water causes reactions with the elements, creating a weathered beauty of patina and texture... so too do tears, adding depth and beauty to our souls...

~~~

tears that follow the contours of the face, 

as droplets on branches, leaves & rock faces...

leaving behind changes for better or for worse (or even just because)... 

adding the color of joy and grief to our souls... 

pressing us to gratitude for being able to feel these things at all... 

winding

'winding'

'may your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.

may your mountains rise into and above the clouds.'

~ edward abbey

whether you agree with wishing this upon someone or not - the first part at least, i think we can agree that the most rewarding achievements and periods of growth come from times of difficulty... marsha neal's shard (this time) made me think of winding and movement... the subtle color changes on top of the chocolate clay flowed right into barbara lewis' enameled connector - both pieces had played with fire and come through it with great strength and beauty ... the ceramic and the metal, both with soft color, asked me to be joined... and so i acquiesced, because it really was such a great request! 

after manipulating a little metal myself, i had some etched copper rounds and findings... beautiful glass beads from mary ann at linden avenue designs and marie at bleu verre...

it became a bit elemental, greens, blues, ivory & browns... air, water, earth & fire all playing their role in the creation of each part... things that live & grow in the greens and spirals... masculine and feminine... 

all united in moving towards the most amazing view... 

adrift

'not all those who wander are lost'
the fellowship of the ring
j.r.r. tolkien

we go walking in a park where a stream runs through... there is even a wooden bridge that crosses it which makes me think of the one that christopher robin and company stand on to play pooh-sticks... trees filled with their warm weather garb form a canopy... your view of the bright blue cloudless sky is filtered through the branches and the leaves... when you look into the water, you see that same view reflected back on the shimmering water...
and then a soft breeze blows, rustling the leaves... some of the small dead ones from the forest floor are swept up and drop into the water, and they are adrift... swirling along with the water as it moves around branches and rocks... gliding along with the stream's curving path...
'not all those who wander are lost'...
we all need time to wander, to free ourselves from the over scheduled, task-oriented lifestyle we often find ourselves caught up in... wandering can be physical - going to the beach, a park, or on a walk - and we find ourselves rejuvenated by nature... but really, more important than where you are is your mindset while you are there... did you free yourself? or did you think about how long you can stay so you can go on to your next task? you can be in the midst of your office or home and as long as you can shut off the head static and let your mind go, you are wandering... go for it...
the metallic blue lentil beads with raku finish from blue seraphim make me think of leaves floating on water... and only mak's raku beads could compliment them... thank you both... and to jenn at blue seraphim, you have my apologies for not mentioning you in my first blog... i'm a newbie but getting better!