"The original reason for art is the sacred-to be a portal, an access point for the sacred. 

When you see it or experience it, you experience yourself.  In it you see yourself reflected.

In true art, the formless is shining through the form."

Eckhart Tolle

Happy Year of the Tiger Y'all!

Last night was the most surreal sunset that we have had in a long time.  The air was calm and warm.  There was a electrifying energy in the air that brought great joy to me.  I ran across the road to catch it on camera before it disappeared.  I was left with the feeling that everything will turn out just fine.  I am so very happy to be alive.

Out at the coast the other day ago,  my Dad and I came across this gazebo

 that had the perfect opening for a wood stove. 

I took this picture to remember the design and keep my dream alive.

Below is a Bald Cypress on the beautiful Rainbow River.....

“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.”

Thich Nhat Hahn

"Wholeheartedness is a precious gift, but no one can actually give it to you. You have to find the path that has heart and then walk it impeccably....It's like someone laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don't know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart."

Pema Chödrön

The Wisdom of No Escape

We had a pretty strong rain and wind storm here yesterday and this was a shot that I took across the road after it was all over, at sunset.
I really do love storms , wherever I am when they are occuring ( even outside). I am a junkie for the negative ions that are in the air, the electricity (seemingly apparent in all of the trees and other plants and wildlife) fresh new air and clarity that it all brings forth.

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference,
ignore the small daily difference we can make which, over time, add up to
big differences that we often cannot foresee. "

Marion Wright Edelman




To see a spread sheet of this art, click on the picture.
To support my Art with your donation, email me at
annie.siemer@gmail.com

Yesterday my Dad and I made a pilgrimage out to the local beach.  It's hard to believe, but I hadn't been there yet this visit.  Many factors are involved.  I don't have my own vehicle for the first time in many years.  Gas prices and very limited funds  keep the truck trips down to the very basic essentials like going to town for food and the library.

The beach is in the town of Crystal River.  Tourism is starting to pick up again, so for a little while we felt like we were on vacation.  It was warm, no breeze and no waves.  The no waves part was kind of a shocker for me after living right on the edge of the Pacific for so long.  But it was/is still beautiful and invigorating any time that I get to stand on the edge of Earth's waters.  I am definitely an ocean pilgrim and hope to live on or near the Pacific Ocean again soon.  Peace Y'all

Happy Birthday Month to Katie B. and my Aunt Mickey and all of you other Aquarius folks out there.

Today is the Feast of the Goddess Brigid.  Brigid is the Irish Goddess of poetry and smithcraft, a patroness of all of the arts really: 

I am She

that is the natural

mother of all things,

mistress and governess

of all the elements,

the initial progeny of worlds,

chief of the powers divine,

Queen of all that are in the otherworld,

the principal of them

that dwell above,

manifested alone

and under one form

of all the Gods and Goddesses.

The three Mothers from Burgundy, 3rd century CE
Lucius Apuleius

and finally here is an abstract painting that I did yesterday.....

 

More mapping of my "Year of the Tiger"

The top  is Northwest corner of my "Year of the Tiger Collage"....middle picture is the sw corner.

Many things I hope to see this year: The coast (and all of ) Oregon again, including Mt. Hood.

It has been a number of years since I was there. I have bicycled, backpacked, hitchhiked and walked throughout the "left half" of the state.

 I always thought that I would live there "someday" Hopefully  I can stay there a little longer this time.

The Grand Tetons are a mountain range that has intrigued me for a number of reasons over the past few years.  I also hope to go back through Joshua Tree and to see my cousins in Desert Hot Springs.

In the sw corner is also a collage version of my tiny strawbale house complete with a dog on the front porch.   I have not had my own dog since childhood.  I am long overdue for another pet/companion.

The bottom picture is something that I copuld be content to sit and look at forever.  I never tire of a blue sky with clouds.  May the peace of it be with you all.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair grows in me


and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound


in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,


I go and lie down where the wood drake


rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.


I come into the peace of wild things


who do not tax their lives with forethought


of grief. I come into the presence of still water.


And I feel above me the day-blind stars


waiting for their light. For a time


I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.



Wendell Berry