a surfacing light

An Excess of Imagination

 

"An Excess of Imagination #1" - Valenzuela

 

"An Excess of Imagination #2" - Valenzuela 

 

"I've always been aware of the otherworld, of spirits that exist in 

that twilight place that lies in the corner of our eyes, of fairie

and stranger things still that we spy only when we're not really

paying attention to them, whispers and flickering shadows

here one moment, gone the instant we turn our heads for a 

closer look.  But I couldn't always find the. And when I did, 

for a long time I thought they were only this excess of 

imagination that I carry around inside me, that somehow it was

leaking out of me into the world.

 

Excerpt from "The Onion Girl"

Charles de Lint 

 

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Etta James

 

"REST IN PEACE"

Etta James

- THANK YOU for the GLORIOUS Music -

  

Click to hear Etta James:  "At Last"

 

via daydreamsoul.tumblr.com

 

***

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Luminous Threads

 

 

I've actually started and am so pleased to say, continuing with,

an organizing project I started on New Year's day of this year.  

I was in the throe's of New Year's resolution guilt,(specifically,

guilt about not having any resolutions) and was sitting with a warm

laptop in my lap, warm cookies on my plate and looking at pretty

pictures on the internet, when I came across a photo of a

magnificent book all sewn together.  

This book had been created by Mary Ann Moss, an artist who teaches

an online course in creating these gorgeous books out of the piles of 

pretty papers and bits of ephemera that some of us tend to collect.

I have always saved papers.  I have bins full of ticket stubs from

places like the Louvre,(how could I throw it out?) old bits of

stationery, stacks of art papers from college and continuing through 

every project I've ever done.  She really caught me at "Are you

drowning in pieces of paper?"  I purchased it at that exact

moment, on-line ON New Year's day!

© Mary Ann Moss - Book from her Online Course 

I was intrigued by the sewing aspect of the program. I felt that

the process of sewing something beautiful out of my piles of

ephemera could be a meditation in itself.  In Sanskrit,

Sutra means "little thread" and the yoga sutras are the words

of wisdom that when meditated upon, stitch together the

fragments of ourselves and create wholeness.  Likewise,

when doing physical Yoga, which means Union in Sanskrit -

every inhalation and exhalation of the breath stitches our

physical body to the etheric body.  In this tradition, it is

the etheric body that heals first, the physical is actually the

emanation of what's happening on the etheric level.  This is

expressed in the adage "We are not physical beings having

a Spiritual experience, we are Spiritual beings having a physical

experience."  Think about this the next time a doctor sutures you

back together with stitches and you'll more than likely heal

much faster!

***

Just a small portion of my thread collection...

 

The books are organized into very "I can do this" sized individual

 signatures and so far I have made three signatures - organized,

of course, by color.  Below are a few of photos of a pastel

version - pale roses, aqua tissue, creamy paint chips.  My work

table (and just about every other space in my house) is currently 

covered with old papers and bits and bobs.  I stitch and

breathe and with every thrumm of my sewing machine, I

feel a tiny bit more of clear and beauty in both the

physical and etheric spaces around me, rather than clutter

and frustation.  Finally!  A New Year' resolution that is working!

 

Cover

Inside Pages 

"Bestow Upon Me this Fragrant Night, Your Love" - journal page detail

 

 ***

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***

 

I will write peace on your wings.

 

"Floating Cranes" - Artist Unknown

 

“I will write peace on your wings

and you will fly all over the world.”

Quote by Sadako Sasaki.  Sadako was a young japanese girl

on the threshold of adolescence when she developed

leukemia in 1955 from the effects of radiation caused

by the bombing of Hiroshima.  She was told that if she

folded 1,000 paper cranes, the gods would grant her

wish to get well.  She folded 644 cranes before she died. 

Sadako Sasaki 1943 - 1955

 

***

 

 "The Paper Flowers Project #1" - Mishy Lane

(The Paper Flowers Project #1 is the first limited edition

photo available from the upcoming series by Mishy Lane.)

 

"Crane. Simplicity" - daffie @ flicker 

 

***

"Paper Crane Nite Lite" - Valenzuela 

A photo (above) of my paper crane night light,

hard at work. I'm not sure if it's the gorgeous

origami crane print or the warm, golden glow it gives,

but I just love this night light - it makes me

 peaceful and comforted whenever it's on. 

If I were evacuated again,

this would be one of the first things

in my car, right after the cats

and the computers.

***

 

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***

 

Everything carries me to you...

 

"It was a Dull Night" - Alexander Jansson 

 

"I want you to know

one thing. 

You know how this is:

if I look at the crystal moon,

at the red branch 

of the slow autumn at my window, 

if I touch near the fire 

the impalpable ash

 or the wrinkled body of the log, 

everything carries me to you, 

as if everything that exists, 

aromas, light, metals, were little boats that sail

 toward those isles of yours that wait for me."

 

Excerpt from “If You Forget Me”

Pablo Neruda

 

***

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Wings of Paper & Silk

 

GHD Photography and Design

 

"Butterflies can’t see their wings.

They can’t see how beautiful they are,

but everyone else can.  

People are like that."

 Anonymous

 

I fell in love with the abundance and color in this stop you

in your tracks paper and silk butterfly window display, but

then again, I have an absolute weakness for good marketing. Show 

me a "catch your eye" window display, a well designed wine label,

butterflies floating anywhere - just about any ol' pretty packaging

- and I'm there.  Think anthropologie store and window displays -

that would be very close to my dream job.  Anyhoo, visit 

GHD Photography and Design for a little blurb about how this

gorgeous shot was taken by the photographer.

***

    

 

Dr. David Livingstone's first-person account of a 19th-century massacre

in Africa helped to close one of the continent's

most notorious slave markets, but researchers now believe

the legendary explorer

may not have been telling the whole truth.

***

 

"Tattered Wings...but still flying"

***

 

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The Sudsy Scent of Handmade

A glass Ball jar filled with handmade soaps we made over Christmas.

The kitchen smelled like a parfumerie and the little circles of color

 - aqua, saffron and cranberry - 

glowed on our windowsill like precious jewels.

 

***

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*** 

 

 

The Unseen Wind

"It's not the towering sail,

 but the unseen wind the moves the ship."

***

"Ghost Ship" - Artist Unknown

***

I've been looking at a lot of images lately, 

but rarely does one take my breath away like 

the eerie and ghostly ship print, above.  Like the wind, 

I have no idea where it came, who made or when

- simply magical.

 

***

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 The Unseen Wind blows

exactly what you need right to you.

Cup your palms,

hold them out.

It's here now.

Simply say

"Here I am."

***

 

Throwing Stars at the Moon

 

Andrew Wyeth - "Moon Madness" 

I missed the New Year holiday that most bloggers

use as a "restart" for blogging, mostly because I was having too

much fun to take down the Christmas lights on the banner and

Schrödinger wasn't inclined to do so either - at least we don't

leave them up year round, because that would be tacky...or pretty?

Anyway, I think that a good pick up point and an auspicious omen

for new beginnings is the full moon. 

In honor of the glorious Goddess, I've added a link on the blog for

the daily phases of the moon.  I realized over the holiday that I

no idea when the moon was changing or what waning gibbous meant, or

anything at all pertaining to the cycles of the moon.  This morning I

was up before daybreak looking at the moon - awestruck.  I did feel

the need to share this with my husband, (a dedicated night owl) who

managed to crawl out of bed, say "oooooh" appreciatively and go 

right back to snoring.  

 

***

 

"Barn and Moon" - Valenzuela

 

The art above is my painting for a collage piece of the moon

and the Masahide haiku using acrylics on linen paper - I do like

the way the paper texture comes through.  The red ball on the bottom

is also acrylic and really does look much nicer in person, but

never mind.  I'd also like to add the phases of the moon somehow,

but that might be in a different medium.  Below I've posted a bit

of my process, because I'm not sure if it's finished yet, I'm

thinking about making the lettering smaller and the moon bigger

- another work in progress.

  The gorgeous illustration at the top of the blog is "Moon Madness"

by Andrew Wyeth and directly below us is Pogeny's illustration from

"The Rubiyat" which inspired the title of this blog.

 

Willy Pogany 1882-1955,

 illustration from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, 1942

***

By the way, just in case you're wondering about waning gibbous,

here's a bit of info:  It is the phase of the Moon just after a

full Moon.  The word "waning" means decreasing in size

(referring to the illuminated portion), and "gibbous" means that

more than half of the surface is illuminated.

The waning gibbous phase becomes the "last quarter" or

"third quarter" when the illuminated portion is exactly 50%, leading

to the "waning crescent" with less than 50% and eventually a

New Moon (totally darkened, as the Moon is between the Earth

and the Sun).

 
Phases of the Moon in sequence:

• New moon (0%)
• Waxing crescent moon
• First quarter moon (50%)
• Waxing gibbous moon
• Full moon (100%)
• Waning gibbous moon
• Last quarter moon (50%)
• Waning crescent moon

 

***

 

 Be sure to check out that beautiful moon tonight, or even early in

the morn - I know I'll be out there and if I think you are I might

not be so inclined to drag said sleeping hubby out of bed to take

in the view...not.

 

 

***

 

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A bit of moon magic 

is here for you now.

Light a candle of the color that most

appeals to your RIGHT NOW.

Make a wish and 

feel (actually feel it) it in your heart.

Breathe out and as you do,

send your wish to the light and love

of the Moon

It now is.

*** 

 

 

A Flurry of Snow & Swords

 

 

SNOW WAS FALLING ON RIVERSIDE,

GREAT WHITE feather-puffs that veiled the

cracks in the façades of its ruined houses;

slowly softening the harsh

contours of jagged roof and fallen beam.  

Eaves were rounded with snow,

overlapping, embracing, sliding into each other,

capping houses all clustered

together like a fairy-tale village. 

Excerpt from “Swordspoint” - Ellen Kushner

Photographer Unknown 

I'm both listening to and reading Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner.  

The fabulously talented Neil Gaiman has just produced a new

"illuminated" audio version of this quiet cult classic and  

"melodrama of manners", now available on audible.com.  

Everytime I put in my headphones,I step right into a world of

buckled leather boots crunching across snow covered cobblestones,

a duel to the death fought to the clang of steel swords

on a bitter cold morning, the glug glug of good brandy poured

into a crystal snifter by a warm fire, the clink of a

champagne toast floating down river from the extravagent

party barge of a duchess, whispered conversations, and of course,

a truly bittersweet love.  So if you're in the mood to escape into

a drift of winter, a touch of fantasy and some good

conversation, either version will do.  

 Photographer Unknown 

 

Cover art, below, by the brilliant Thomas Canty 

 

***

 

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Wishing you a good book, a toasty fire,

and a delicious cuppa' of your

favorite beverage.

Cheers!

***