At the ancient city of Ephesus on the Aegean Sea, in the years before Christ, the Romans built large condos from carved red sandstone and red bricks. In 2019, our guide led us up stairways to see the different floors, many decorated with intricate and stunning mosaics. We could distinguish upper class Romans, who enjoyed …
My sister, Nan, killed an eagle in Canada. Distraught, she choked out the words, describing her crime to me. Having worked for the Department of Ecology in Washington State, she assumed she’d go to jail. Although her close encounter with the eagle had been an accident, she knew these giant birds were sacred to the …
As our train slid into the western German city of Trier, large banners festooned the station, Augusta Treverorum. My son went nuts. With glistening dark eyes, curly hair and a broad smile, Jon, in his middle twenties, loudly blurted, “Mom, it’s Augusta Treverorum,” as if I knew what that meant. “We’re here on the spot. …
Browsing in Native Alaskan trading posts and chatting with folks, I was surprised to learn that eagles and ravens were called “lovebirds” by the Tlingit Native Americans. Many carvings and paintings depicted them together, as in this photo of a moose antler totem pole: the eagle above with spread wings perched on top of the …
If I’d been wrestling with an issue during the day, when I sat down to meditate, it seemed like many pointing fingers in my mind demanded to know How?, Why? and Who’s to blame? Emotional chaos took over, destroying peace. That’s why I painted the life-sized shape of a meditator on thick paper, made from …
Lizard Head and Backbend Dancer burst into my vision as I walked by the bushy vines clinging to a stucco wall in my neighborhood. When I gazed into the textured swarm of leaves, these two figures appeared to my inner vision. In the animated swirls of the foliage, I sensed dancers. Lizard Head’s mouth opened …
I walk across the street, a busy city corridor where buses park and construction cranes loom.A white plastic bag is tied to a tree like a large Christmas ornament, bulging into spiky shapes Defined, I suppose, by empty food take-out boxes inside.If it was Christmas morning, this large oddly shaped package would be The source …
The Template Scapula fly. I know this because I dipped a string in black paint, then I carefully tied it around my nude chest and back. Slowly, I moved one shoulder up as high as it would go. Deliberately, I lowered it far down. I did the same with the other side.I arched my shoulders …
When I walk into a store and see long lines, my Inner Grump says, “Grrrr…” and begins her favorite rant. Are stores in the business of selling? If so, why can’t they transact a sale efficiently, rather than torture me with lines? I imagine evil bureaucratic nihilists in charge of store computers loading algorithms to …
The stag and I communed for what seemed like an endless time. I thanked him for sharing his trail with me and praised his beauty again and again. I told him I would leave him gifts of salt, which I knew deer needed. But far more than mental words, our communication consisted of a surge …
