A Couple Rounds of BranchPlay

Yesterday I spent the entire day doing art… after a good cry about my father and his bravery during this time of his cancer. I like how the initial tree piece eventually led me into a deeply satisfying day of art-making culminating in the Zentangle round. Both of these pieces are actually in the two art journals I am sharing with my niece, Annalyn. We mail these back and forth. One is our Art Journal for more serious artistic answers to the Inquiry “What’s Up with Me Right Now?” and the other is our Playbook for technique exploration. That lucky young womon is headed to Rochester Institute of Technology for college — oh if my parents could have supported my journey as an artist back in my beginnings. I am very happy to be that supportive aunt though!

Bluetiful
ZenTangle Branch

The poem around the tree:

This Tree is beautiful.
The Spring is beautiful.
But my Sadness is so strong the only color I want to add is Blue.

SoulCollage

This past weekend I did some SoulCollage around the inquiries of Who Is My Guide during this passage into my hagitudinal years, and what am I releasing. I have shifted my altar to make room for Turtle Tree Moon Womon and am still listening to Her Teaching. She also has Rooted KivaSpace on her back. I had to laugh at the DungBeetle in my Head round. I can share more, but wanted to share the images here in our gallery.

2024 Easter Bowl Altar — the Newest Shoot of our Family Traditions Tree Branch

When we arrived at my father’s and began to set his home for what is likely our final family Easter gathering with my father, I decided that this was the year to refresh the little bowl altar I had made for Dad’s Easter table over 15 years ago. He has kept this bowl altar all these years, all dried up, on his dining room sideboard. I asked him some years back why he still had that and he said he just thought it was beautiful when I brought it all those years ago and has kept it as a memory. One year he added tiny wren eggs that he found abandoned in a nest in his grill. I learned that Moments of Beauty bring him similar joy and hope as they bring me, something I had not known up until this precious year about him. On Sunday early afternoon, I invited my niece to help me create anew the little bowl altar using mosses, stones and branches from his yard and anything else she’d like to add. She brought shells and stones to make a little “stream” through the “hills” of mosses and branches. We were even able to keep one of the little wren eggs in the altar. I wish we had remembered to take a photo of when the candles were lit and the cherry blossom sprigs were fresh, but here’s our newest generational flowering branch shoot of our family traditions. Ronald –> Christina –> Annalyn