Tales From The Labyrinth

Hesperia

This sculpture is submitted with joy to the October 7, 2007 Forrestville, CA Food For Thought "Calabash: A Celebration of Gourds, Art, and the Garden" auction.

Hesperia...

Star of the West...

Sister of three,
daughters of the Evening Star...

Golden Apples are your gift...

Your open womb births imagination...

and sweet longing
for life beautiful emerging...

in amethyst nest of kissing stones,
kissing the earth,
touching this place of being
here,
now...

and dancing into life...

this moment of heart meeting heart...

Materials used: ProSculpt and  Apoxie Sculpt clay, alcohol inks and acrylic paints, gold foil, Pearl-ex powders, glass beads, amethyst stones from Crystal Channels, Swarovski Crystals from Legendary Beads, both stores in Santa Rosa, and bark, twigs, and roots from our garden.

The Next Day...

She slipped through
the portal
in the labyrinth
in the wee hours of the morning...
and when she awoke,
only one of her shoes
lay in the folds of the fall leaves of her ball gown...
Now...
where did she leave that shoe...
for she had danced all over bloglandia,
meeting the most amazing people
seeing the most gorgeous gowns,
simple and fancy,
full of imagination,
play, and delight
beneath the full September moon...

Oh sweet friends,
if you find this little  slipper
beneath flowers and feasting treats,
near crystal or music echoes...
Spin three times
in the center of your labyrinth
and you'll find yourself here!!!
And we can reminisce and
send periwinkle kisses to eb
and all the revelers
of the Bloglandia Ball!!!!

Bloglandia Ball!!! ~ September Full Moon

Today...
this Full September moon,
is the Bloglandia Ball...
hosted by beloved
eb, Elizabeth Bunsen, of Be...Dream...Play...

Even if you have no dress,
or pants,
to swirl in paper, ribbon, glitter, or lace,
in word, or story...
use your imagination
and come dance and feast with us
at the Cyberspace Palace!!!!

I might wear for a little while...

some blue, green, and pink...

or for part of the evening,
my mermaid dress,
that you've seen before,
with little mermaids
swimming and sunning in gown and on crown...

or maybe this light frock,
all iridescent air and fire and ice...

or my favorite of all,
my true Bloglandia Ball Gown...

This is the one that I'll remember years from now...

for it was created when eb first announced with glee
her idea coming to fruition,
of a Bloglandia Ball,
where our creativity can be shared and danced
and celebrated...

This dress
comes from the divas in our yard...

and wears the memory
of Summer turning into Fall...

and the joy that comes when we dance
with our muses and each other...

Please visit eb, at Be...Dream...Play... for links in post and comments to more wonder~filled delights to be found this Full Moon at the Bloglandia Ball!!!

The Key ~ Writers Island

oh key,
what can I say here...
the muse is silent,
she sits behind my eyelids
napping
and the tapping of my keyboard
wakes her
to brush aside stories
of locks and keys,
of anvil and alchemy,
of smythes sweating in fires
deep within the earth...
of time rusting and long forgotten treasures horded...
of Kings and Queens,
of treachery and greed,
of beginnings and endings of empires
and loves lost and stolen...

and this key in my path...
begs me to fit it into the one
dark and secret place it belongs...

turning at last,
this whisper of longing...

© "The Key" for Writers Island 2007

Photo: Key found along the path in the labyrinth,
deep within the ocean...
a gift from Marilyn Radzat, Gail Lackey, & Patricia Ebert

Santa Rosa Labyrinth on Curb Appeal ~ A Peaceful Retreat

This Saturday, September 22nd at 12:30 pm Pacific Standard Time (3:30 pm Eastern Standard time) one of my labyrinth designs, the Santa Rosa Labyrinth, is on the Home and Garden program, Curb Appeal!!!

It was installed at the Brookside Gardens in Pennsylvania by my dear friend and colleague Michael Clarridge of Highland, Maryland.

Michael has told me stories about the people that come to walk this labyrinth, and how during the summer concert months at these beautiful gardens, children dance to the music in the labyrinth!

Here is a beautiful pine needle Santa Rosa Labyrinth created by Michael at the 2005 Fall International Labyrinth Society Gathering in Massachusetts.

Many people enjoyed walking
and sitting in this beautiful natural setting...

This Curb Appeal episode is entitled, "A Peaceful Retreat" and takes place in front of a tall, old house in a busy Eastern town and features the amazing tile work of friends and colleagues Debi & Marty Kermeen of Artistic Pavers. Marty is a master labyrinth builder, having installed replicas of many ancient designs as well as contemporary designs, including the Santa Rosa Labyrinth, as seen here at Standing Bear Native American Park in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Marty and Debi have also designed some beautiful contemporary labyrinths that have added also to the ever growing interest and long lineage of labyrinths.

For the Curb Appeal project, Marty installed an ancient design from India called the Chakra~vyuha labyrinth. When finished, I think it was the jewel and crown of the entire project!!!

Let me know if you see the program!

Dressess... and more Dressess...

Well... I just could not resist
to show you some of the dresses that continue
to swirl out of my imagination
for this coming Wednesday,
the September Full Moon
and Bloglandia Ball!!!
hosted by dear Elizabeth Bunsen,
fondly known by all as eb of Be...Dream...Play

Here are a few of my dresses so far,
to give you a peek,
and some inspiration if needed...

One blogging friend said she might wear
only roses... strategically placed...
Another friend may be wearing gold rings
in her ears and swearing like a sailor...

So... anything you can think of will be wonderful!!!

Here is my mermaid ~ water dress,
with a seaweed stole...

There are little mermaids swimming and playing
throughout the waves, treasures, and seaweed of the dress...

and even a crown with shells, stars, waves,
and a very happy mermaid...

This second dress is more of a fire and air dress...

irredescencent folds fire the imagination,
while silver sparkles, gold beads, and blue silk...

enables you to dance throughout the night...

Why this dress... can even dance on its own!!!!

but in case I do get a little bit tired
and need to rest my feet...

I do have a mermaid's chair to relax into...

as I watch the other belles of the ball...

Like HERE and HERE and HERE ...

and HERE and HERE... and HERE and HERE...

and look at this... the CYBERSPACE PALACE has already begun to take form!!!!

"The Gift" ~ Writers Island

above,
below...
in the north,
the south, the east
and in the west...
breathing in,
breathing out,
my name whispered in the silence
and the space between...
this moment in time,
a seamless rift
that runs along fault lines in the earth,
the ocean,
and the place between me and you...
where flames of water
earth this breeze in the air,
and stepping in,
a joy unfolding,
touching this place,
this now,
this gift...
the beat of my heart...

© "The Gift" for Writers Island 2007

Photo: Heart space of our Santa Rosa Labyrinth.

 

Making Dresses For the Bloglandia Ball!!!

You are all invited
to the Bloglandia Ball
at the Cyberspace Palace
on the September 26th Full Moon!!

Drop on over to eb's at Be...Dream...Play for more details
and start making your party clothes!!!!

Today...
two of my dear neighbor friends,
Ulla and Lynnette, and their girls
came on over for a party making dress day!

Ulla at her magic box of endless colored papers...

and a picnic table full of paper and creative delights!

where imaginations soar...

and no dress design is impossible...

Fashion design world...

Here we come!!!

And what dear friends...
are you going to wear for the Bloglandia Ball????

More Harry Potter Magic

Owl post arrived today...

It's amazing how birthdays can stretch,
and surprise you when you least expect...

Inside was magic...
the kind that only a best friend can know what will make you want to dance on the outside picnic table and throw your arms into the afternoon sunshine...

Like Harry Potter Royal Mail Postcards...

all seven books, houses, and Hogwarts Emblems...

I can get excited about new shoes,
paints or clay or glass tiles,
or an afternoon nap...
but this truly made my day...

especially the first edition Kings Cross Station stamps...

and the first edition book stamps...

Where inside...
the tale is told
of how one woman followed her muse,
her dream,
and changed the world...

Kimberly...

I love you so...

"My Imaginary Life"

My imaginary life...
is rich and full...

A gift from my soul,
my imagination opens doors...

into all possibilities...

Where dreams take flight...

and soar the heavens
to land upon the earth...

and be
this moment in time
of heart's desire
coming to rest in the palm
of my hand...

My imaginary life
dances upon the earth...

breathes in
and out
and lets the words of soul
flow
into all that is me
becoming,
merging,
spirit and matter...

remembering
this love,
this sacred, sacred love
of the path beneath my feet...

And you dear reader... Where, oh where
does the path to your imagination begin???

© "My Imaginary Life" for Writers Island 2007

First three pictures from my Enchanted Tree sculpture, then Dragon sculpture, Mud People series, and final picture of footsteps in our twenty-two foot Santa Rosa Labyrinth.