Documentation of land action, 31.5"x23" (framed), 2018 ($5,000)
Alchemical transformation asks us to strip ourselves down to nothing. To open to scrutiny. To seek self-knowledge and become pure, undivided souls.
For now, we find ourselves stuck in the shallow mud of Al Qaa at sunrise. There is a cold breeze but the promise of warm sun rays to come. Help is on the way.
Documentation of land action, 37.5"x18.5" (framed), 2019 ($5,000)
Salt is the first principle. It represents the body. It is often contaminated when collected, but can be dissolved and refined, as we too can purify ourselves.
Years ago, when all was in balance, the people harvested salt for use and export. Now excess saltwater poisons the soil. We see such contradictions everywhere. We inhabit the paradoxes within ourselves.
Cut paper, acrylic and thread on paper, 30”x13.5” (framed), 2019 ($5,000)
The second principle is mercury, which possesses the cold and moist qualities of water. It represents a life force that bridges the body and spirit. It represents light, shining the infinite divine through the body.
Dreaming of the return of the fresh water, we allow our purpose to emerge. The reason for everything becomes clear.
Mixed media on paper, 19"x20" (framed), 2018 ($1,500)
I read somewhere that desires are the instructional blueprint of the possible.
The poet Nizar Qabbani wrote:
I want you,
And I know that I want the impossible,
And that you’re above the claim of imagination,
Above possession and above destiny,
And the sweetest in sweetness,
And the most beautiful in beauty.
Acrylic on paper, 26”x18” (framed), 2018 ($1,250)
Back in Washington, DC I receive these memories of Al Azraq: Wadi Rajil brings life and death. It is the river that built civilizations, like Jawa, about which so little is known even today. Rajil comes, both benevolent and wicked; a despotic beauty, a gentle power. It ripens the thyme and watercress, yet it drowns the salt and ruins the harvest.
Acrylic, tape on paper, “34”x23.5“ (framed), 2018 ($2,500)
The rains in Jabal Ad Druze are still some months away, but more memories come: Wadi Rajil brings luck, and it brings misery, with its distorted beauty. The blue faded, and hearts became empty. When the water went, everything went with it. Knowledge and words alone could not save the land—only the beauty of the heart’s resuscitation.
Acrylic, thread on map, 44”x41”, 2019 ($2,000)
Sulfur is the third principle. It brings the ability to create change. Hot and dry, it is like fire. It represents the soul’s activities, rising above the confines of matter.
Together we decide to change the world, to open our hearts widely, to dream without limits.
Cut paper, photograph, acrylic on board, 13.5“x43.5” (framed), 2019 ($2,000)
Comfort with uncertainty is essential to gain a sense of safety. Fear of change just creates a cycle of fear.
Returning to Al Azraq, I wonder what I will find. Is my commitment to this work shared? In some ways it is easier, in some ways harder, to come and go as I do.
Cut paper, acrylic on photograph, “12”x15” (framed), 2018 ($500)
Today I argue with people about expectations. Are they the drivers that help us achieve our dreams, or the root of all disappointment? This is a conversation I’ve been having all my life. It is in my nature to hope.
Acrylic paint, thread, on paper, 21.5"x21.5" (framed), 2018 ($1,250)
I have visions of a purpose-driven life halfway around the world. I’m seeing glimpses of what could be—if we can rise to the occasion.
Are we doing the best we can with the information we have? It seems like a good time for us to forgive ourselves for being human.
Cut paper, tape on paper, “15”x12” (framed), 2018 ($750)
As I take down the wall between my mind and heart I wonder where the new boundaries will be. Always so steeped in thought, I aim to move from feeling now.
Documented action on the land, “12”x30.5“ (framed), 2019 ($1,250)
To Belong: To be the property of, be owned by. To be held by, to be in the hands of. This here, this now, is in our hands. What will we do with it?
Cut paper, found book pages, acrylic on paper, “33.5”x26”, 2018 ($1,000)
I begin to gather the bones, to build a foundation for belief. Who among us can rise above our weaknesses to create something bigger than ourselves?
I imagine the sound of the wind on that flat, empty land and I hear it calling: “I am”.
Cut paper on photograph, 11”x15" (framed), 2018 ($500)
We must stop pretending that we are powerless. We are called now to own our power, knowing it can come only from within.
I’m open to the possibility that this life is a waking dream.
Acrylic paint, palm frond, thread on paper, 16"x10" (framed), 2019 ($750)
This month is an exercise in finding calm within a storm of transformation. I spend days stewing in a joy of my own making to see what impact it will have on my heart.
Documentation of land action, 44” x 41” (framed), 2018 ($5,000)
I’m captivated by the idea that we create reality through what we believe… It’s true. But is it true? All that we want, we create it. All that we do not want, we that too. We are good, we are evil. We are a microcosm of all that is.
Cut paper, acrylic on paper, 20.5”x26.5“ (framed), 2019 ($1,250)
To Trust: To rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of. To place confidence in, rely on. To hope or expect confidently. The strength to walk the path, to put one foot in front of the other. Again, and again.
Fabric, thread, cut paper on paper, 18"x15", 2018 ($750)
We are always arriving, and today I arrive. On this beautiful day I am guided home from the studio by a bird that flies alongside me. I suddenly and completely know perfection, the oneness of it all.
Acrylic paint, stone pigment, salt on paper, 2018, 32”x24” (Sold)