ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

migration 

i have a new baby...blog, that is!   i have been feeling like i needed to return this one to its intended purpose - that being mandalas, but i've branched out creatively speaking, and wanted another place where i could explore a different kind of art, as well.  over time i will be migrating the art on this blog that is not mandala-specific to the new one.  so if you begin to notice some images  missing, you'll know they've been moved to the other site.

the new blog is called:  sacred alter  and yes, that's alter with an "e."  if you visit, you'll see why...and of course i hope you will visit. :-)

the mandala below came about as a creative response to the current course i'm taking through abbey of the arts, called women on the threshold.  this has been a year filled with thresholds for me personally - and not all of them have been easy to cross...in fact, most of them have been very hard...and i find it very difficult to be creative when things are tough.   through participating in this class, however, i'm finding the creative juices are flowing again...and i am ever so grateful for that.

eve's whisper 

the end of eden

the end of eden (mixed media 2012)

what is it i desire...

what do i long for so much

 that i am willing...

willing to reach for it,

willing to stretch myself,

 to extend myself 

past the point 

of being comfortable,

to take that  risk?

i think of eve...

in that moment.

i imagine her

seeing the fruit of that tree.

was it just out of reach?

did she have to stretch beyond

what she thought was possible....

find a strength inside herself

she'd never known?

straighten and  lengthen her whole body

 as never before?

did she exert herself, extend herself, assert herself -

 more than she ever had?

did she stand on tiptoe

wishing - oh wishing to be taller?

i see her -

reaching...stretching...a l m o s t  there...

just a little bit  m o r e. . .

 when suddenly

  her hand grasps

the object of her desire,

and for a split second

 her feet leave the earth.

and i wonder...

is there something that i long for that much?

or have i told myself...

don't even try,

you know it's out of reach.

-stacy wills (9/12/2012)

crossing the threshold

 i am currently involved in an online class via abbey of the arts called  women on the threshold.  as with any course i've ever been a part of at the abbey, the journey through the material takes me places i never dreamed i could go.

this past week, we were invited to do "gush art" (the focus is on process, not product) while listening to a piece of music of our choosing.   this first image (layers) is what came through.  i was very aware of that big red gash...which for me symbolized a very deep wound - the  deepest kind of wound that affects body, mind and spirit.

(layers)

in my artwork in general these days, i find i do not want to be limited to one medium...one mode of creating, so i took layers into some image editing software and did some "digital gush art" using it as the source image.  thus this...

   

(phoenix rising)

became this...phoenix rising.  when taken into another realm, the deep wound transforms into something else entirely...a healing, of sorts, occurs.

in art, as in life, when the invitation to step across a threshold comes, transformation happens...limitations fall away as you taste freedom, and suddenly you realize you can never go back, indeed, never want to go back to the way things were before.

the song i listened to (i will be free by cindy morgan) while creating these pieces is one i've known and loved for many years.  it has always held special meaning for me...even more so now.  it was not until today, however, that i saw the video for it.  talk about crossing a threshold!  

Coming Full Circle: Mandalas by Stacy Wills

Coming Full Circle:  Mandalas by Stacy Wills

All of the mandalas in this video have been

lovingly created with digital assistance
from source images such as photographs
 I've taken of things in nature, or cropped

  portions of  original mixed media artwork.

If you are having trouble viewing the
video on my blog, you can watch it
here on youtube.

Ishwarle performed by Aradhna, 

used with permission.

Enjoy!

the velveteen rabbit

now...you shall be real to everyone.

-margery williams (1881 - 1944)

moving water - a poem from rumi

meandering by stacy wills

(9" x 12" mixed media on watercolor paper)

moving water

when you do things from your soul,
you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

when actions come from another section, 
the feeling disappears.

don't let others lead you.  they may be blind or,
worse, vultures.

reach for the rope of god.  and what is that?
putting aside self-will.

because of willfulness people sit in jail, 
the trapped bird's wings are tied,
fish sizzle in the skillet.

...you've seen a magistrate inflict visible punishment.
now see the invisible.

if you could leave your selfishness, you would see
how you've been torturing your soul.

we are born and live inside black water
in a well.

how could we know what an open field of sunlight is?
Don't insist on going where you think you want to go.

ask the way to the spring.
your living pieces will form a harmony.

there is a moving palace that floats in the air
with balconies and clear water flowing through,

infinity everywhere, yet contained
under a single tent.

- rumi (1207 - 1273)
translated by coleman barks

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