Ideas for my Sanctuary

I'm homesick. AGAIN. I'm a creature of habit when it comes to Chile. I know I mention it at least once a day in my conversations.

Today I spent most of the day browsing through some pre-fab homes websites to start to get solid ideas about the house in Puerto Varas. Mi casita, mi santuario, mi ruca, mi chacra. I need to look up some native plants too because my idea is to plant native plants, trees and flowers. I have always wanted to do a shrine too, a long winding road down the side of the property where people can come and light candles day or night, say a prayer, be at peace. It will be non-denominational with religious art from all religions.

My collection is now huge, all packed in boxes since I have so much from Peru and Mexico and Chile.

I miss my friends,the ones I used to get really silly with. Mairene and Anita & Paty.

I miss La Plaza del Mulato Gil, mis poetas Nicanor y Gonzalo.

I miss taking the metro all over the city and WALKING. Here in California we never walk and it's NOT HEALTHY. I will make it a commitment to walk to the movie theatre one night instead of driving.

My eye hurts so .....to be continued.

A Travel Journal about ZNE Convenzione 2008

I had to let a few days go by to let things sink in after ZNE Convenzione. As with all things in life, there were the good things, the bad things and the in between things. And I will choose to remember the GOOD things. As I ponder on the purpose, my purpose, I did the right thing in going. I am a Fondante member and in spite of the fact that it was not within my budget to go (I got sponsored by a dear friend) I thought it my duty to be there. Being a 95% Nature person, the choice of "The House on the Hill" was perfect, up a winding road in Livermore with the most spectacular view I have seen in years. My surroundings were rolling hills everywhere , turkeys crossing the street, horses out to graze in the early morning, swallows dancing for me as I sat on the terrace for my morning coffee and the city lights down below in the evening. To greet us, a gem of a person, Jenna with whom I felt an instant connection; soft spoken, kind, warm, intuitive and earthy with no airs about her and a flexibility with all of us. And I really lucked out with my housemates, especially meeting my all time favorite ZNE artist JoAnna Pierotti of Moss Hill Studio. These were the heavenly scenes of this journey. These are the treasures I bring back with me.

When we travel, we just go about our days absorbing it all. Everything doesn't hit you all at once, it takes the distance to realize what the overall effect was.

Lani's finished piece after class with Mossy

So I guess the few treasures I brought back with me, human treasures more than anything else as well as the memory of the natural surroundings are here. All the more valuable!

1. Chrysti Hydeck and her boyfriend (real people) who drove all the way from North Carolina hoping to make a vacation out of this. They were funny, spontaneous and warm.

2. Jenna

3. JoAnna who I imagined so different and who turned out to be much more interesting in person.

4. Susan Tuttle, my instructor, a superior soul with an amazing artistic talent. I learned so much in her class and loved her stories at lunch.

5.Dawn De Vries-Sokol and her book 1000 Journal Pages and her personal journal which I actually got to hold in my hands. Her tributes to her dog Judy are heart-wrenching. Wish I had had more time to talk to her in extenso.

6. The Movie presentation of 1000 Journals at the amador Theatre. Incredible. Lani Kent got to sing at this presentation and just blew us away with her voice and physical beauty.

7. Meeting Gina Gabriell and our common love for Isabel Allende.

8. The drive home with my son Jon, stopping for lunch in San Francisco with his girlfriend Ashley and talking about his music all the way home.

9. Realizing how beautiful Ashley really is.

10. And so as not to be altogether negative about the commercial feeling of the event, I have to acknowledge that the accomplishment by Chel in organizing and pulling it off as well as she did is commendable. SHE DID IT and that is success in itself.

Would I do it again? I'm not so sure. It took alot out of me. Would I recommend it YES: Community is the way to go, networking with like spirits, knowing that you are not alone in the world and that there are similar stories out there. Since it was our first time meeting, we only got pieces of the whole. We could have spent a little more time together getting to know each other.

We go out in search, we touch a surface, we yearn for its essence, we come away with a result. In this case.....there was a little too much background NOISE. Noise, noise, noise everywhere. Maybe we can keep it even simpler for next time.

Art Journal Pages

Art Journal Pages
Originally uploaded by peregrine blue

My continuings of an 80+ page spiral journal I have committed to finishing before CONVENZIONE, if possible. It has taken alot out of me. Each page requires hours of manipulation, but the results can be so rewarding. Just the color coordination and the choice of images and where they should go on the page are feats in themselves. The journalling, harder than all the previous since I tend to go blank once the visuals are ready. I just don't want to copy poems and quotes only, I really want to spill muy guts.

"Off to the County Fair" Mixed Media Work in Progress

"Off to the County Fair" Mixed Media Work in Progress
Originally uploaded by peregrine blue

And so it goes all these creations popping out of my hands and head. Picking up a lot of new skills and materials and reading those instructions as well as watching all those U-Tube tutorials has really helped to put those techniques into practice.

I have been trading rather than selling lately since I notice sales have suffered on etsy. Must be that dark cloud hanging over US, literally.

Living in Wonderland

Red, White and Blue Button Bag
Originally uploaded by peregrine blue

I've totally regressed to childhood in the past few weeks. Even my sleeping patterns have changed. I have yet to suck my thumb. I look in the mirror and, in spite of a few wrinkles and discoloration of skin, liver spots on my legs and grey hair, I see a child. Maybe it's wishful thinking, maybe I want to be pampered, maybe I just want to curl up into the fetal position and just return to my mother's womb where it was warm and Daddy played Dvorak's New World Symphony for me on the record player. All I know is that it baffles me. Even my art is becoming more and more naive. I pick and choose where and when to go out and it's usually to surround myself with the innocent of heart. I just refuse to see any darkness around me.

And believe me it's getting pretty dark. No belief in the politicians or religious leaders anymore. An egotistical, hedonistic youth draining us, taking it all and giving very little back. No new frontiers. A world gone mayhem, with no clear priorities, each to his own. Yes, it all means shielding ourselves and be part of the survivival of the fittest. So I choose Protectionism, my own.

That is why I keep re-inventing my English Cottage in the style of Tasha Tudor and Beatrix Potter even though it be in my imagination. What could be better than a paradisiacal garden, a pot of tea on the cast iron stove to welcome friends and neighbors, the hand-knit quilt strewn over the bed for a welcoming nap, a fireplace at dusk, scones and apple pie on Sunday? I can think of no other happiness like it.

People may judge, laugh, giggle at me but I have made that choice to remain the Nerd in Wonderland.