Kate Jobe

The Best Gifts of All

2012-01-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

Gabby & Jesse
Photo by Alison Jobe

Without a doubt, the best gifts I have ever received are those of the births of each of my children and my grandchildren. Each Christmas season, I am flooded with memories of the arrival of two of these gifts...my son, Jesse, whose birthday is December 26 and his daughter, Gabrielle, born on December 21. Each birth was memorable in their own way and each of them has abundantly filled my life with unending gifts of love, joy and laughter.

The year that Jesse was born, I worked on Christmas Eve and then walked home wearing a full length fur coat I had purchased at a thrift store. I loved its thick soft fur, but with my pregnant belly, must have resembled a brown bear padding through the snow. The evening was magical. Big white flakes of snow floated through the sky and glistened in the beams of the street lights. A pervading aura of peacefulness permeated the atmosphere.

A few blocks from my home I suddenly felt like I was merging with the earth. It was awesome and perplexing at the same time. My doctor had insisted that I would not deliver Jesse until the second week in January, but in typical fashion, Jesse was exhibiting his persistent tendency to do things his own way and was beginning his entry into my life. From the moment that he arrived on the day after Christmas, Jesse has continued this behavior. He marches to his own drum and has absolutely no qualms about wearing that badge proudly. He stands strong in who he is and remains firm in his convictions and ideals.

Aside from the fact that he had a fascination with bigger than life professional wrestling personalities when he was younger, I would have never anticipated that he would pursue doing Strong Man competitions. From the time that he started his weight lifting pursuits, he has focused intently upon all of its aspects. Every day, with rare exception, he trains in his garage gym for several hours. Over several years progression of time, he has acquired many trophies and has qualified to go to the national Strong Man competitions in Las Vegas more than once.

Jesse's loyalties run deep. He likes to put on a tough act, but his true spirit is very kind, generous and loving. Regardless of where he is, including Strong Man competitions, he has never failed to hug me and tell me he loves me. He adores his wife and his daughter and is devoted to both of them. They have a deeply bonded family life and are content to spend time with each other experiencing down to earth moments of daily life.

Jesse would frequently sit and talk to me from the time he was very small. When he had not yet started kindergarten, he often asked me profoundly serious questions about the Universe and about peoples behaviors. Now he talks less about these things, but we watch movies together on television and I try not to talk and ask questions during this time because it drives him nuts. We have had alot of fun together and he delights in playing harmless tricks on me. One of the funniest things he ever did occurred when he was helping me at my home one afternoon. I was in the process of baking cinnamon rolls and he suddenly began wrapping duct tape around me and rapidly taped up my entire torso. We were both laughing so hard he had to hold me up to keep me from falling over.

Gabby is very much like both of her parents. She too, is strong willed. I was present at her birth and cut her cord. She wouldn't let me (or almost everyone except her mother) touch her for months after that and I swear it is because she resented me for separating her cord from her mother. She is a beautiful girl with huge blue eyes and waist length blond hair. Gabby loves animals, is very intelligent, loves to read and is a talented artist. She loves fashion and has a trendy sense of style. Even though she is beautiful and very feminine, Gabby is incredibly strong and enjoys working out with Jesse and her mother in his gym.

Thank you Jesse and Gabby for gifting me with your presence in my life. I am rich with the gifts of your love for me.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T10:43:00.000-08:00

"Returning to the Home of My Radiant Heart"
Mixed Media Drawing by Kate Jobe 12/25/11

Happy New Year!

Wishing you the gifts of basking in the warmth of love and the illumination
of the radiance of your light in 2012.

The above art was created by me as a gift for my daughter for Christmas. I attained the symbolism and design details via a meditative journey. The drawing is a symbolic representation and an artistic interpretation
of this meditative experience.

The original work is 20" x 20" square and incorporates the following media: Prismacolor Pencils;Watercolor; Glass Bead Gel Medium; Metallic Paints;
Interference Paint and Swaroski Crystals.

12" x 12" copies of this work, printed on museum quality paper with high definition inks are available for sale. Larger sizes are available upon request. Please email me at the address included on this blog site if you are interested in purchasing this print or would like to commission me to use this process to create a custom drawing for you that is a one-of-a-kind symbolic and artistic depiction of your personal energy, a specific moment in time, the energy of you and your spouse or a newly married couple, your family, a new baby, the energy of your business or your land.

Each piece of finished work includes a typed narrative of the meditative journey and explanations of the symbolic components included in the composition.

Process of Illumination

2011-11-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

"First Light"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 11/12/11

Inspiration's first light

flows into us with a palpable

awakening...

an alertness and awareness of truth

that...when recognized...

expands into our cells...

a bridge from dreaming

to the manifestation of brilliance.

Eleven Eleven Eleven

2011-11-11T05:07:00.000-08:00

"A Star By Any Name"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe

You are a star.
Shine your radiance brightly.
Expand the light of your intentions
into the infinite
expanses
of the Universe.
Own your brilliance.
You are a star.

- Kate Jobe -
11/11/11

No Man Is An Island

2011-11-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

"Community"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe

no man is an island
the rhapsody of our lives is inspired
and elevated
through embracing
the interconnected wisdom
of our individual
gifts
and
strengths

Kate Jobe 11/10/11

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

2011-11-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

"Golden Opportunities"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 11/9/11

thoughts...and words weave a web
of golden opportunities...
ephermeral alchemy that manifests
the fabric of our dreams

For Everything There is a Season

2011-11-07T06:24:00.000-08:00

"Autumn Dreaming Winter"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe

For everything there is a season
the movement of time...temperature...and light
bridge one moment into another
the cycle of life repeats
releasing...going within...rebirth.
Growth

Kate Jobe 11/7/11

The Call of the Quest

2011-11-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

"Call of the Quest"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe
11/6/11

the pulse of the quest thunders
in the music of our hearts
a beckoning cadence for silenced wings.
stifled smiles of forgotten dreams
rise to its rhythm...and dip
...soaring upward...building speed.
magic begins.

Kate Jobe 11/6/11

Lighting the Way Home

2011-11-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

"Polaris"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe / 11/5/11
Source Image: Hand painted fabric by Kate Jobe

behind our hearts a pearl

forged from the stars

burns brilliant

blue...

breathing remembrance

radiating truth

lighting the way home.

K. Jobe 11/5/11

Dancing to the Light

2011-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

"Celebrating Lightfully"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe
10/30/2011

Light shines
everywhere
when
your eyes are open to it.
Celebrate
it's brilliance.
Breathe.
Embrace.
Dance
life
lightfully.
Shine.

Kate Jobe 10/31/2011

In Full Working Order

2011-10-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

"Burning Through the Past"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe
created from source image of hand drawn art
October 2011

My blog was not allowing me to submit posts for some time...apparently throughout much of this year but today, with fingers crossed, I tried creating a post just one more time and...Viola! ...It worked!!!. I have missed writing in my blog and I have missed the inspiration that came through me when I focused upon writing in it. Words are interesting things. Sometimes they have a mind of their own and they can direct their energy through you as you focus upon an intent. Intents are interesting things. Intents are powerful things. They direct your thoughts, your decisions and your actions. Choose your intents well and...when things seem like they just won't work or couldn't possibly work...try again or try a different approach. You might be surprised and discover that you can achieve what you thought was impossible.

Turn the Page

2010-12-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

"Soul Skin: Crossroads"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 12/31/10

"Decree"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 12/31/10

What paths have you traveled upon this year?

What crossroads have you come to today?

What does the skin of your soul need to feel whole and alive?

Open to it's calling.

Begin anew.

Turn the page.

Decree your truth.

Your life begins...Again...Today.

Begin.

The Warmth of Gratefulness

2010-11-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

"Gratitude"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe

Today...our hearts are woven together...

strengthened by the warmth of gratitude

for family, friends

and the gift of life upon this planet.

Today...our hearts are woven together...

from shared memories,

new stories and laughter.

Today...our hearts are woven together...

in shared

moments of sacredness...

Today...our hearts are woven together in

an unending sacred hoop of love.

-Kate Jobe 11/25/10-

Gifts of Fire

2010-10-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

"With Wings of Fire"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 10/2010

For some time, I have not been creating posts that focus upon events or people in my life, but was inspired to do so today. Recently, my friend, Annie, called me to ask about the mandala pictured above. She said she its symbolism created a strong emotional connection for her. It evoked a similar response in me when I created it. It spoke to me of deep mystical power; of strong spiritual guardians and a direct contact with the wisdom of spirit.

Annie may not truly know how powerful she is, but she has all of the qualities mentioned above. My daughter, Annie-Lori, who is named after Annie, has the same qualities. Both of them are fire signs. Both of them were born with wings of fire and souls filled with the fire of passion. Both of them express that passion in everything they do. Annie-Lori is a competitive runner who runs with the speed of lightning and the force of fire. My friend, Annie, has the ability to overcome any obstacle put before her with the ferocity of roaring flames. The fire of the love they extend toward others brings great warmth and joy to whomever is the recipient of this gift.

LIke the Phoenix, fire energy can be reduced to less than a glowing ember that can still be regenerated into the manifestation of massive and magnificent flames that can reach great heights. It can be oppressed. It can be challenged, but the energy of a soul born from fire can be relentless in its quest to pursue life to its fullest. At it's best, this energy is illuminating, magical and transforming.

Please contact me if you know someone who has wings of fire and would like to honor them by giving them this mandala. All of my mandalas are available for purchase in the following sizes: 7-1/2" x 7-1/2" ($33); 10" x 10" ($44); 12" x 12" ($55). kjjobe@gmail.com

Children of the Stars

2010-08-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

"Gestation"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 8/22/10

Angel babies...children of the stars...the journey from the universe to Earth and back again...may seem perilous...and undaunting...but...each moment...of each passage...is just a dream away....dream infinite dreams...dream dreams of the radiance of the stars.
Namaste.
The Earth awaits your thunder...your wisdom...and your love.

-Kate Jobe 8/24/10-

Moment by Moment

2010-08-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

"Moments in Time"
Digital Mandalas by Kate Jobe 8/21/10

Each moment provides the opportunity to grow and change...physically, emotionally and spiritually. Each change holds beauty when the way it is viewed is shifted.

Remembering

2010-08-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

"Sun Spots"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 8/14/10

Memories of happiness and laughter reach beyond boundaries built from pain and fill the heart with warmth.

Morning's Song

2010-07-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

"Morning's Song"
Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 7/25/10
Source Image: Photo by Warren Nistad

Listen...A symphony of light spreads spreads across the horizon...Hear the sounds of orange, gold and purple piercing through dusky shards of evening sky...melting shadow into vibrant song...dawn turns into day... See...Feel...Breathe...A New Beginning.

Hope.wmv

2010-07-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Shining Through

2010-07-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

"Shining Through"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 7/19/10

The strength of light produced by unending layers of love reveals an unending beacon of hope. Shine On.

When Joy Meets Love

2010-07-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

"When Joy Meets Love"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 7/12/10

The dream of love surfaces when not anchored by fear and judgement but strengthened with boundaries woven from threads of respect and mutual empowerment.

Taking Flight

2010-06-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

"Taking Flight"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 5/2010

Source Image: Photograph by Warren Nistad

Open to the fire that burns within...accept the gifts of golden light...accept the winds of spirit's breath....with billowing wings...rise up...take flight.

Ethereal Mandala Journey.wmv

2010-06-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

Guardians of Peace.wmv

2010-06-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Breathing Truth

2010-05-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

"Diversity"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 5/29/10

Source Image: Photograph by Warren Nistad

Truth cleanses the soul...Truth shifts limited perspectives...Truth supports the enrichment of life...enhanced by the beauty of diversity.

Look To The Center

2010-05-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

"Trinity"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 5/24/10

Source Image: Photo by Warren Nistad

In the journey toward love all roads point to the center.

Sacred Fire

2010-05-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

"The Fire Within"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 5/19/10

Source Image: Photo by Warren Nistad

Kundalini rising...death...birth...ascension...advent of awakening...thundering...gold...molten...light...gracious blessing...sacred fire.

Our Mother Earth

2010-05-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

"Maiden, Mother, Crone"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 5/2010

She is wise...She is strong...She is nurturing...She is beautiful...our Mother, the Earth.

The Language of Trees

2010-05-10T06:09:00.001-07:00

"The Language of Trees"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 5/2010

Listen...the breath of spirit...sifts through trees...forming words...in the rustling of leaves...bare twigs shift...and rattle messages...answers...confirmations...traveling across synapses of branches brushing the sky...Listen...Hear.

Freeing the Heart Song

2010-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

" Heart Song"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 4/2010

Seeds of love...winged compassion...journeying fearlessly through time...and space...plunging through the complexities of fear...freeing the heart song...implanting hope; implanting strength; implanting love.

For Love of the Earth

2010-04-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

"And So It Begins"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 4/14/10

Father Sky cradles them...the star children he dreamed for Mother Earth...sons and daughters of Sirius...the Pleiades...and constellations beyond...their wisdom unites in love...for Her...she sighs in gratitude...welcome home

Spring!

2010-04-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

"Good Morning Starshine"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 4/9/10

Source Image: Photo by Warren Nistad

Cascading pollen of honeyed morning...Light...Shimmering warmth...Radiant fire...Sun Shine.

Re-Wiring Pathways

2010-04-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

"Tree Star"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/2010

New roots grow...seeking dormant wisdom...re-wiring pathways and possibilities...shifting ley lines of the mind.

Within the Realm of Plants

2010-03-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

"Within the Realm of Plants"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/20/2010

Past bramble...vine...moss...and twig...beyond earth supported roots of trees...another world...concealed within the realm of plants..guileless...soulful...healers...that dream the dreams of Gaia's love

Hold Close Your Dreams

2010-03-21T11:24:00.001-07:00

"Cradling the Seed of Life"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/2010

Hold close the seeds of your dreams...caress their intent...and...Imagine...Hush...they sleep...nestled in warm darkness...awaiting the awakening of their arrival...afloat...cradled...journeying upon the seas of undetermined thought.

Irish Blessing

2010-03-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

"Four Leaves of Clover"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/15/2010

May God grant you always...A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.

- An Old Irish Blessing -

The World of In-Between

2010-03-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

"Betwixt & Between"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/13/10

Silence hovers...sanctioning the passing of the sun and the moon..a flicker of light glistens in the mist...revealing the world of in-between...ordinary becomes extraordinary...a womb of magical possibilities. Believe.

A Soul is Born

2010-03-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

"The Birth of a Soul"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/12/10

eternity yields
to the breath of
new life
spinning
toward the bridge
between grace
and rhapsody.
Light
dreamed by God
hurtles past
explosions
of starlight.
a soul is born.

-Kate Jobe 3/12/10-

Answering the Call

2010-03-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Legions of Light Workers"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/8/10

The Call was made...and floated for light years through the heavens...gathering speed...expanding outward in radiating waves...the Call for Healing...for Mother Earth....

and they came...relentlessly, unselfishly:Generations of Light Workers...a billion strong and more...uniting the fire of their love for this planet until it grew from a radiant haze into a pulsating beacon...Illuminating forgotten ways of being...Igniting Passion for Living...Revealing Truth & Love.

To each of you...Shine On.

To Have Lived This Moment

2010-03-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

"Forest Sentinels"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/8/10

Moonlight rises behind

lichen

covered trees

above fragile

branches...arms reaching

toward heaven...

caressing the glow

of moments yet

to be dreamed.

Bear scoops their

puddled light

from the ground...luminous

honey dripping

from her paws and stands

entwined in starlight...

breath spiraling

softly...Her Prayer

of Reverence

to have lived

this moment on Earth.

Kate Jobe 3/8/10

Coyote Wisdom

2010-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

"Coyote Shaman"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/1/2010

Coyote Shaman's drum beat howls of the duality of life...revealing paradoxical truths...revealing crossroads that require infinitely important decisions. Appropriate may be inappropriate. Inappropriate may be appropriate. Wisdom may be folly. What seems like folly may be profound wisdom. Coyote Shaman's song of trickery is a reminder to pay attention to what has heart and meaning. Coyote Shaman's drum sings with laughter. Life, after all, is to be enjoyed and not endured.

The Creation of Eve

2010-03-03T18:18:00.001-08:00

" The Creation of Eve"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 3/3/10

Woman was created from Man. Woman gave birth to Mankind. Man is part of Woman. Woman is part of Man. Man and Woman, together, create co-creatively: new life; new thought; new frontiers. Find peace with the man and woman within you. Nurture each act of creation. Respect each moment that the power of spirit merges with the essence of thought to create new energy...to create new form...to create.

Breathe

2010-02-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

"Balancing Act"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/18/10

Let go. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Slowly. Release. Slowly. Let go. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Release. Let go. Breathe. Inhale. Slowly. Exhale. Slowly. Breathe. Slowly. Let Go. Slowly. Breathe in Not My Way But Thy Way. Breathe out Control. Go into the Center. Breathe in Peace. Breathe out Anger. Go into the Center. Breathe in Love. Breathe out Fear. Go into the Center. Breathe in Forgiveness. Breathe out Pain. Go into the Center. Be Peace. Be Love. Be Forgiveness. Be in Oneness.

Be Here Now

2010-02-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

"Incoming"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/18/10

Relish in joy when it is presented to you. Laugh fully when frivolity delights you. Mesmerize yourself by inhaling the scent of flowers deep into your soul. Appreciate the food you eat and honor it by immersing yourself in slowly tasting each flavor. Sing with abandon when the music of life flows through you. Allow your arms and heart to experience hugs. Embrace intense blue skies. Seek diamonds in the gleam of snowflakes as they sift to the ground. Appreciate the warmth of soft brown earth against bare feet. Marvel at new life. Be fully present for every moment and be here now.

Who You Are

2010-02-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

"Casting Out my Net for Love"

Kate Jobe 2/2010

The web of ones life changes with each new paradigm shift. It rapidly changes, exponentially, with the addition of paradigm shifts of more than one being unified in thought and intent of action. In this state of being, the sky can be the limit, leaving change open to infinite unlimitedness. There is no absolute or dominion of conceivable expectations. Each day...like Grandmother Spider...thoughts spin out in silvery luminosity, deftly altering the pattern of the web. New colors; new patterns; new adornments are added. Who You Are ceases to be relevant when you have the potential to live so many lifetimes within the tapestry of one.

All You Need Is Love

2010-02-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

"Lovebugs"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/2010

The web of life grows stronger and more magical when woven from threads of love. With the affirmation of love, the world shines brighter, the compulsion to laugh is more prevalent and boredom ceases to be a component of your vocabulary. Love is returned in direct proportion to the love that is extended toward others.... Sometimes the presence of love goes undetected because it does not arrive in a form dictated by a yearning. Love arrives and reaches out to us every day in many ways. Nature reaches out in love in the luscious scent of a flower; the unexpected song of a bird; the breathtaking beauty of the sunrise of a new day. All around, people extend love with passion that may be missed: in the dedication and admiration of an employee; through the genuine respect and appreciation of a student; the thankfulness of a stranger for the simplicity of a "minor" compliment or kindness; the unabashed guileless love that radiates from a child's eyes and in their loving hugs. Pay attention to all moments that have heart and meaning. Scoop them up and hold them in your heart.

Angels Among Us

2010-02-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

"We Come In Peace"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/6/10

Angels walk among us every day. There are those people that we recognize for their angelic presence...they almost glow from their radiant demeanor...their kindness extends to everyone and everything..their laughter energizes us and makes us feel happy deep down to the tips of our toes....and the angel babies whose smiles light up their faces and reach out toward everyone to envelope them with their love. But angels also walk among us in places and in forms not always recognized....their glow might be masked by an unkempt appearance...they may not fulfill an assumed expectation of piousness...their behavior is sometimes abrasive and impatient. Regardless of their physical qualities, their presence is, at some time, a catalyst to assist others to acquire personal empowerment, healing and spiritual awareness...lessons that sometimes require an unexpected or undesirable presentation to be fully realized. Personal healing is owned when there are no expectations of someone else magically infusing it. An angel may have walked into the landscape of your life to prod you into facing self imposed limitations. They may have appeared as a messenger offering an answer to your prayer. The answer is only effective to the extent that it is heard. If an angel came to help you would you know when it arrived?

Envisioning Spring

2010-02-05T23:40:00.000-08:00

"Early Morning Rain"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/6/10

The softness of fog slowly drifts across the sky. Raindrops plunk gently upon the ground in a dull, hypnotic rhythm. Scents of damp earth and new grass mingle with the perfume of lilacs and saffron hued daffodils. Robins sing among branches that hang heavy with clusters of velvety damp pink and white apple blossoms. Seedlings reach toward the rain and spread their roots deeper into the soil, preparing for their salutation to the sun. Springtime. Early morning rain. Envision these thoughts clearly in your mind. Inhale their scent. Listen to their sounds. See the radiance of their colors. Amid the chill of winter and what seems like unending snow...remember Spring.

Visioning A Greater Love

2010-02-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

"The World Within"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/4/10

At all times...look...and listen for beauty. Beauty is before you...Beauty is behind you...Beauty is above you...Beauty is all around you....Beauty is within you. The blueprint of your spirit is much larger and more beautiful than you can imagine. A being walking upon this planet appears seemingly small and yet their spiritual imprint may be infinitely expansive. Small children carry within them a Universe as complex as those that comprise the spiritual cells of an adult. Wisdom lives within those cells...wisdom gleaned from the blessings of the stars; the breath of the wind; the songs of the trees; the chronicles of the earth. Listen to your inner wisdom and know that it speaks volumes. It goes before you and will speak of who you are without you having to utter a word.

Crossroads

2010-02-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

"Violet Consuming Flame"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 2/3/10

Crossroads. Many now stand upon the intersection of a crossroads. Crossroads...some standing still and contemplating the direction in which they want to proceed. Crossroads...some generating movement toward a new direction. Crossroads...some looking back and wondering if they should return from where they came. Crossroads...some wishing desperately they could make the process of moving forward occur more rapidly. Crossroads are an intersection comprised of alternatives and choices, but also, the intersection of the crossroads is The Center...the place where we become aligned with our highest spiritual wisdom...where choices become viable possibilities and alternatives are seen with clarity of awareness. Stand mindfully upon your crossroad. Stand strong within your center. Breathe. Reach upward to the breath of spirit. Breathe in "Not My Way but Thy Way" and wait while awareness flows within you. Breathe. Look for what shines brightly with heart and meaning. Move toward it. Life is calling to you.

Breaking Through

2010-01-31T21:24:00.000-08:00

"Breaking Through"

Digital Mandala by Kate Jobe 1/30/10

There comes a time...or times..in each of our lives when things just have to change. The dynamics of our lives have either become stale...or unbearable...or no longer resonate with truth within our souls. Those dynamics, regardless of what they are and who they may involve, feel like they are pushing us forward with the force of a freight train, closer and closer, to the boundaries of our comfort zone. Some of us may wait at the edge of the boundaries, peering out to see what lies beyond, hopeful that it is something that we like, but hesitating to fully step through to the other side for fear that what we see is an illusion, or that what lies on the side of familiarity might change in a month...or a year...or maybe five? Is the grass really greener on the other side, we wonder...is the sky really as blue as it seems over there?...and, after all, change requires us to re-negotiate some paradigm contracts with ourselves and you know how hard it can be to live inside this place we call our Self when we introduce a change into our plans...

...and then one day, while we are mulling over all these details, bantering with ourselves about this and that, something happens that makes not breaking through to the other side impossible. It just happens...an opening appears before our eyes where we had not seen it before...we find a key that was previously hidden...or our comfort zone shifts from comfort into abrasiveness and we grasp the opening we have found and pull it away..and we don't stop until the doorway to this new way of being is fully accessible for us to walk through it. We discover that while the grass isn't necessarily greener on this side, everything appears more vibrant and alive to us in this paradigm...we inhale its newness and marvel at why breaking through took us so long...and up ahead..far in the distance...we see another doorway...that will some day open into another space of change...and we hope that we enjoy the journey it takes to get there and that by the time we arrive, we won't forget that there are some doorways that we have to walk through, because avoiding them is more painful and exhausting than walking into what waits in the space beyond them.

Ancestral Memories / Ancestral Love

2009-11-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

The topic of Abbey of the Arts Poetry Party was my inspiration for this post. The pastel drawing was created by me a number of years ago and I wrote the poem and posted it with another piece of art last year, but both are reflective of each other. As I looked at the drawing, which I have always loved, I noticed how the grandmother's hand gently sits upon the arch of the handle of the basket that is a cradle for the child. The handle resembles a bridge between the two of them with the grandmother's hand supporting it with loving protection. We never lose connection with our ancestors. We are interwoven with them with strands of love. They stand behind us in united waves of strength, waiting for us to call upon them for guidance and support. Concurrently, when we heal our lives, we heal a part of our lineage, for our ancestors, as well as our descendants. They were born to help us, as we were born to help them. Listen for them. They call to us in unexpected ways: the whisper of the wind; a burst of sunlight; the song of a bird; the buoyant presence of joy or in a moment of profound remembrance of them. They are with us.

The sun smiles

and the moon beams

throughout infinite

journeys…

cycles of life

shining through the stars

of our bones …

revealing ancestral bridges

paved in love

that applauds us.

holy blessings.

gifts of light.

we are the substance

of our ancestors

and they…

ever after…are us.

Kate Jobe 9/8/2008

Listen With the Ear of Your Heart

2009-07-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

"A River of Stones"

photograph by Kate Jobe

This post relates to the theme of this weeks Poetry Party at Christine Valters Painter's blog, Abbey of the Arts. The theme "Listen With the ear of Your Heart" is reflected in this poem that Christine wrote and featured in this blog post:

"ears listen, eyes look,

hearing, seeing below ground

to the sacred source "

Stones and crystals...minerals...are ancient...live below ground..and permeate it with sacred source. They are solid and ethereal at the same time. Many times they appear rough, monochromatic and plain on the outside, but when cracked open, reveal themselves to be lustrous and resplendent with many faceted hues of color.

Stones, like humans, are far more complex when you place your full attention upon their unique beauty and seek to understand the wisdom they have come into this world to share. Stones, like some people may appear to be uncommunicative but, when listened to with the ear of your heart, their truth will flow into you. It is the only way to truly hear the notes of the music of life.

What notes of the music of life have you been missing because you forgot to listen with the ear of your heart? What truth have you heard when you did allow your heart to guide your ability to hear? What new song can you hear whispering in your ear? What melody have you closed yourself off from and cannot hear?

To Martha

2009-06-13T16:40:00.001-07:00

"Martha's Grotto Collage"

Today is my sister Martha 's birthday. From the moment that she was born, Martha was loved by each of us in our family. She has been, since she was very young, a ray of light and a source of joy and laughter. She is, at times, much related to the fairy kingdom. Plants flourish when she grows them. Hummingbirds, Orioles and birds of beautiful song flock to her property. A flower garden appeared out of nowhere the first year after she and her husband moved to her present home. She called it her Fairy Garden and said the birds must have brought the seeds.

Martha has been a rock to everyone and everything that she loves and has loved. She stands by them, loyally, and does whatever she can do to bring beauty, safety and happiness into their lives:Her pets; Her plants; Her friends; Her family. Martha is my sister, but she is also my friend. We have shared incredible and unforgettable moments together. We have laughed together until we could barely breath and tears were running down our faces. We have contemplated; argued; consoled; applauded; danced; played cards; worked; created; cooked; gardened; exercised,; lost weight; gained weight (without wanting to); appreciated; supported and cried together. We share a love of campfires, blues music, science fiction and fantasy movies and have spent rainy days watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies, back to back.

I was with her when her husband passed away last April and I have learned much about grief and grieving from her. The last year has been a time of sadness, surrealism and reconfiguring for her. Through it, Martha has exhibited grace under fire & deep compassion. She is re-birthing into discovering who she is without her husband. She is being birthed when she least expected it. For Martha, this year, I send light filled love and wish for her, safe passage to this new manifestation of herself. I wish for her deeper strength, greater joy, more expansive peace..and I wish for her fulfilling new beginnings that validate the gifts she has shared with others. Live long and prosper.

Who has touched your life and given you great joy? How can you honor the people you love? How have your sisters changed your life? Who do you know that is like a sister to you? What birthing is occurring for you, a friend or a family member at this time?

Transitions

2009-06-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

Archway at The Grotto of Redemption, West Bend, IA

I am amazed to discover that I have not written an entry for almost two months. During this time many things have occurred that have deterred me from this. My scanner has a glitch that I have to figure out and get it back in working order. This prevents me from scanning art that I include with my posts. Without a scanner, I am adapting my methods and will be posting photographs I have taken until I get it working.

During my scanner-less-ness I have gone through a shift in my work focus which has created the need for some adaptations and new orientations in my life. My mechanical scanner may be out of sync, but my internal life scanner has been working overtime. Last year, I made the decision to place my dominant career focus up my art and soul healing work. Although I had transitioned from full-time work into working as a substitute employee, in April, I was presented with the possibility to apply for another full-time position at the same agency. The focus of this new job is more in alignment with my specific skills and work background than the previous work I have done there. Before applying for it, I had to scan my life: consider my goals; contemplate my personal mission statement; assess what I was willing to adapt and modify.

Engrossing myself in creating art and working at a job that is not typically art oriented has always been a struggle for me. Being fully present for one always seemed to overwhelm my ability to be fully present for the other. It has been an either/or dilemma for me that created frustration in my life. I felt like I was falling short of fully utilizing my true gifts if I inhibited my calling to create art. I felt like I was not constructing a legacy of substance and significance.

Charting our course in life begins the process of fulfilling who we are...once we set sail, guided by the map we have created to get us there, spirit will lead us away from or toward the channels that will ultimately allow us to travel to the most significant way we are to express our intentions. Artful healing is the process of creating a healing environment with an artful approach, regardless of the venue in which it is expressed. In applying for this job I made a major shift in my mental processing and gained the awareness of knowing that whatever art I did while fulfilling this job was enough. I realized that I could do both at the same time and that defining myself as an artist or, defining myself as anything, for that matter, was not important. I was called to embody what I knew but had not embraced.

In allowing myself to be resilient in thought, rather than rigidly holding on to thought patterns that I felt defined me, I have discovered something I had not expected: For the first time in a very long time I wake up looking forward to going to work.

When you scan your life, what is calling to you? What ways of being and thinking can you let go of to create an opening for new possibilities? How can you expand the way you are defining yourself? If you didn't define yourself in any way, would you fall apart or create a path for limitless possibilities?

Turtle Island

2009-04-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

"Turtle Island"

Kate Jobe 4/2009

I began this mandala perhaps eight months ago with the intention of creating in a more earthy, and somewhat simple style. Being me, loving ornamentation, that didn’t happen. I found it this week and was inspired to recycle it. The more I worked on it, the turtles became more flamboyant. They are, after all, painted turtles and the focus of this piece was to celebrate and honor Mother Earth. So, my humble turtles have been transformed into highly embellished ones but venerable, nonetheless.

Turtle Grandmother is a symbol of Mother Earth. Turtle reminds us to slow down, look around at the world around us and to remember that all that we need is provided for us in the realms of Mother Earth: Her trees; Her lakes and rivers; Her grasses and flowers; Her animals and birds; Her sunsets and sunrises; The geography of her land…all have gifts of insurmountable beauty and resources to share with us. We will continue to be sustained by our beautiful planet if we reciprocate her generosity and take care of her.

Wherever Turtle travels she has her home upon her back. At all times, everything that she needs surrounds her. We carry everything we need within us…the spark of original joy…the comfort of our original peace that was infused in us at birth. We have to seek shelter within the home of our spirit, the compass that steers us toward truth, to experience more beauty and appreciation of the world around us.

To me, the alignment of the turtles shells in the North & South segments of this mandala resemble ornate tropical butterflies. On the medicine wheel the red road of the path of heart runs between the north and south. When we go within to the truth of our soul, we can determine what speaks to us with heart and meaning. Energized by passion for life, we rise beyond ourselves to reach greater heights of awareness and can then reach outward with a generosity of spirit.

We owe it to ourselves to nurture that inner spark…to cultivate it to its full bloom. We owe it to Mother Earth to be fully present for ourselves to allow us to take care of her in the best way possible. How can you further cultivate your spark of original joy and peace to it’s full bloom? How can you nurture and appreciate Mother Earth?

Listening for the Rainbow

2009-04-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

"Listening for the Rainbow"

Kate Jobe 4/2009

The mandala featured above, "Listening for the Rainbow", with it's lines weaving together, some times in neat orderly rows and, in other segments, in a pattern that is in the process of being loosely formed, reminds me very much of fabric that has been created from mixed media processes...hand-drawn fabric resembling a crazy quilt or a tapestry embellished with texture, color and the sheen of gold metallic glitter. As I contemplate it further, the mandala speaks to me of the fabric that defines us, woven together from the threads and colors of a multitude of processes, interactions and knowledge gleaned from everyone who has touched our lives. Many of the individuals who have added to the richness that makes us who we have become are people we have never met and perhaps, never will:authors of books whose words resonated passion within us and supported our values;politicians, scientists, visual artists,actors and musicians whose work assisted in forming the direction of the roads we traveled in life; and ancestors...born generations before us...who have gifted us with genetic assets that resonate within our cells and whisper directives to us as we create our lives. We are the vehicles chosen to act upon the inspiration whispered to us by all of these people, as well as the ones that form, or have formed, an active part of our lives. They are all a part of our web. We are their gift and they are ours.

What significant threads woven into the tapestry of your life were created by people you have never met? What dominant threads were created by people you know or knew? How did each of them change the course of your life? What new threads or embellishments are being formed?

Ganesha's Labyrinth

2009-03-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

"Ganesha's Magic Labyrinth"

Kate Jobe 3/30/09

Illusion builds
the bones that bridge
Ganesha’s
magic labyrinth.
Listen.
The dance of
laughter shines through…
revealing golden keys
cascading
from shrouds
veiling open
doorways:
Breathe Trust.
Pray Forgiveness.
Embrace Love.
Inhale Truth.

Plunge

into

the flowing stream.
Be Abundance.

The mandala art featured above began as a rambling doodle that evolved into the image of an elephant and as I continued to embellish it, I transformed it into a mandala. The poem came after I meditated while focusing upon the image. I then researched the symbolic meaning of Ganesha, a Hindu deity, here and here (among many other sites), and discovered that Ganesha, while generally depicted as red, is also shown in blue or pink. Ganesha can have a snake draped across him and has a silver or gold crown with a red ruby on his forehead. He is sometimes shown with long flowing locks of hair. Upon reading this information, I was, once more, affirmed of how, when we allow ourselves to be guided by our intuition, we are more in touch with the interconnectedness of all things than we can imagine. Ganesha brings the gifts of wisdom and abundance and is said to both place obstacles before us to keep us on our right path and to also assist us to remove the obstacles from out paths. Many times in my life, I have been frustrated by challenges that I perceived as deterrents from what I wanted to be doing. Sometimes they were in the form of timing; Sometimes jobs or relationships, or lack of one of these, that created the challenge for me. As time passed, I would eventually unveil a greater gift that was woven into the guise of my challenge. These keys to awareness allowed me to see that I had skills I had not realized I possessed, or taught me how to stand stronger for myself, which ultimately led me to pursuits I would previously not have attempted.

When you look back over the challenges in your life that you resisted, what gifts did you eventually find within them? What challenges are facing you now that are waiting to be transformed into greater wisdom, truth or abundance for you?

Celebrating the Year of the Woman

2009-03-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

2009 is the Year of the Woman and Sunday was the International Day of the Woman. The art featured above, "Sharing the Dance," is a vibrant, but dream-like representation of the joyous power that occurs when women are united, sharing their gifts to accomplish great things, but at the same time, are able to maintain their individuality. In addition, it a symbolic depiction of the maturation phases of a woman's life.

This year, the Omaha YWCA has allowed me to re-introduce the "Sharing the Dance" print, which I originally created for their 100th anniversary, 15 years ago, to sell in a smaller poster size version. I am offering this to you in an 11" x 17" size, printed on 80# paper with a satin finish for only $30.00 + $8.00 shipping and handling if you need it sent to you.

Signed posters with a 12" x 18" image, printed on high quality photo paper with high quality photo inks can be purchased for $55.00.

8" x 10" copies of the segments of the picture ("Beginning the Dance"; "Nurturing the Dance"; "Honoring the Dance" & "Rejoicing in the Dance") are also available for sale for $20.00 each.

Signed copies of these pieces of art, printed on high quality photo paper with high quality photo inks can be purchased for $35.00 each.

If you order more than one poster, I will only add $1.00 extra above the $8.oo shipping charge $8.00 shipping charge/per each additional one for the shipping charges. (ex.: 2 "Sharing the Dance" posters = 2($30.00)+ $8.00+$1.00 = $69.00 Total

To purchase, contact me @ my email address kjjobe@gmail.com and tell me how many you want and I will let you know where to send your check or money order. Turn around time should be within a week after I receive your check. Art will be mailed to you in a mailing tube or mailing envelope.

To view all of these pieces and to read the narrative on these works, you can access my blog at this link . Be sure to begin @ the post at the top and read down to see all five entries.

Please Pass the link to this blog post along to anyone that you think would want to purchase one of these. They make great gifts: birthday; celebration; new mother; friendship; life passage event; etc.... for all the special women you know...young or old....they would make wonderful Easter or Mother's Day gifts

Love: A Rose Unfolding

2009-03-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

My seven year old granddaughter, Maddie, spent Friday and Saturday night with me. Her paternal grandfather unexpectedly passed away this week and, to allow her parents more time to spend with family and friends after the funeral luncheon was over, I asked her to spend some time with me. On the way to my house, we bought ice cream cones and ate them outside on a remarkably warm Friday afternoon. Later, we selected sympathy cards for her father and grandmother and then went out for Chinese food. On the way, we purchased stick-on faux fur moustaches that both of us wore while talking to each other in manly voices. Our conversations were minimal because Maddie kept having hysterical fits of laughter.

Without coming out and saying it directly, Maddie let me know that she needed my attention and needed to be close to me. At night when the lights were out and she was cuddled next to me in bed, she would sometimes talk about what had happened that week. She wanted to know if I had cried at all at the funeral and when I affirmed that I had, Maddie told me that she had cried some at school that week when she thought about her grandfather. After we talked we played what she calls, "The Bird Game," which involves listening to peaceful music with our eyes closed, while we take turns telling each other what bird we are seeing. The game never fails to rapidly relax her and put her to sleep.This evening we saw a white crane, a small songbird, an eagle, a golden oriole, a golden fox, a brown bear and a Pegasus.

Together, we planned and prepared a menu of hamburgers, chips and fresh fruit in yogurt to serve on Saturday night. Maddie sat the table with celedon green plates and cobalt blue water glasses and entertained herself, as well as me and our dinner guest, my sister, by telling lively stories and making up jokes that were truly, very funny. After dinner Maddie began creating mandalas. She drew the one above, a free-form spiral, with chalk pastels on paper, selecting the colors by herself and carefully blending them until they merged together. She made a mandala for her paternal grandmother and a stunning crosshatched turtle mandala that she collaged onto black paper with a silver metallic paper heart. She drew mandalas with angels on them and she cut out a little paper heart for her aunt. It's message, very simply, but poignantly filled with love, said, "Why are you so sad? I love you."

Maddie is not consciously aware that making mandalas can assist with others healing, but she very clearly knows that sharing her heart is important when the people she loves are sad or in pain. She instinctively knows that creating art and finding ways to make her laugh will help her to feel good when she needs grounding. Like most children, Maddie may not always be able to succinctly express her feelings with words, but sometimes, words are not necessary. When love is present, it is enough.

Is there someone on your life that needs the simplicity of your love and compassion?

Pomegranate Dreams

2009-02-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

"Pomegranate Dreams"
Kate Jobe 2/27/2009

Starlight thunders
Hope
within the forest
of the Snowy Egret.
Heralding a symphony…
that begins the beguine
…dreams dance
to the pulse…rubies
glistening
upon a pomegranate
shrine…holy womb
of hearts desires.
Passion’s music frees
the captive moon
and warms
a waning sun.
Magenta. Carmine. Fuchsia.
Red. Amid the sunset’s blazing
fire Beguine departs
and Venus
frees her heart to love.

A Phoenix rising.

Pomegranates are fruits that have fascinated me since the first time I saw them. I love their shape, their many hued and slightly rough outer skin and the unique presentation of their fruit….multitudes of tiny ruby red seeds, or Aril, pocketed within their fibrous interior walls like jewels encrusted upon the walls of a cavern. There is so much symbolic reference to the pomegranate in almost all major religions and cultures that I could write several posts on this fruit, alone. The qualities of fertility, birth and eternal life, abundance and the foretelling of your hearts desires are among some of its symbolic reference.

The entire time that I was creating this mandala, the phrase, “Pomegranate Dreams,” kept repeating in my mind. The mandala began while I was at work facilitating a relaxation group for the girls in the cottage of the treatment facility where I work. On this evening they were creating mandalas. I sat with them and intuitively drew this design, while focusing upon the collective energy of the girls . Several days later, I added it's colors and after scanning it, as part of my continuing experiment of looking at my art from different perspectives, I flipped and rotated it until I felt a strong charge . I then meditated upon the art, asking for its message. Various images revealed to me how blocks can be created in our lives by the action of building “shrines” within our hearts for people or situations that will never manifest for us. This action may be so deep seated that we may not even be aware that it is still alive within our hearts. Truly, the symbols that were personally relevant for me, were somewhat surprising. Our vigilant tending of these shrines eliminates the possibility for other, more rewarding situations to manifest for us. This mandala was created as a symbol for teen-aged girls in a treatment facility, but its message can relate to anyone or any group or community of people.

When I flipped the mandala back to it’s original alignment, I felt its radiance and positive energy glowing back at me and immediately began writing the poem. Unexpected words kept popping into my head and each time I felt compelled to research their definitions I was even further assured of the necessity to pay attention to the words and thoughts that come to us randomly. Each time this happens, write them down, research them and see how they apply to your current circumstances. For instance. The word "beguine." I knew that it was a dance, much like a rumba, but while researching it, discovered that a Beguine was also a woman living a loose, semi-monastic life that involved poverty and chastity, but without taking irrevocable, formal vows. I loved the way the duplicity of definitions added a new depth to this poem.

What shrines are you holding vigil for within your heart that you need to disconnect from to allow more exciting possibilities to manifest in your life? What pomegranate dreams are glimmering for you to see?

And the Award Goes To...

2009-02-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

Today I was gifted with a blog award from my very talented friend Sue of Sacred Circle Mandalas. Sue is also a visionary artist who creates amazing luminous digital mandalas, as well as beautiful art that she calls doodling, but over the year that I have known Sue, her doodles have evolved into elaborate and whimsical motifs that stand on their own as unique artistic designs.

As the recipient of this award I am supposed to share seven things about myself and then pass the award on to other deserving people whose blogs I love...and so, moving on to the business of the award:

1-I have always wanted to be a detective & also a midwife. They seem like very different professions but, in some ways, my soul healing work combines the skills needed for these two professions.

2-I am fascinated with the beauty of the night sky and love "star-watching."
3-I once lived next to a river and was gifted one day when I opened the front door of my house and saw the stunning sight of the end of a huge rainbow arching down into the middle of the river, not far from my porch.
4-I like doing research. While attending college I was employed as a Crop Physiology Lab Assistant and a Research Room Library Assistant and I enjoyed both jobs.
5-I am a HORRID typist if I do not have the benefit of Spellcheck and have created many new and hilarious words from my typos and then created definitions for them.
6-Much to the aggravation of many people, I am not a joke person and laugh at jokes only when they unpredictably conjure up visuals that are entertaining to me..I am far more entertained by people telling me stories of their lives.
7- I rarely sing Karaoke, with the exception of singing Old Motown with groups of people, but once sang a Karaoke song with my brother-in-law when we ad libbed the words and then began laughing so hard over them that we could barely breath or stand up and had to hold each other up on the stage.

I pay the award forward to:

Ilah is focusing some of her abundant talent upon creating beauty from the unexpected sources of trash cans. Check out her incredible digital mandalas and contemplate that beauty is all around you.

I only met Jim recently through the internet mandala group that I belong to but his blog is unique and beautifully written. His journey stones are reflective of his connection with the earth.

Patti is talented in many areas, but her blog From The Inside Out features mandalas whose colors and motifs of complex simplicity are as powerful as the inspirational affirmations that she includes with each of her art entries.

Another mandala artist, Stacy, does extremely detailed work that radiates with a multi-cultural beauty. She is also a gifted inspirational poet and writer. One of Stacy's most current projects has been her involvement in transforming a hubcap into a mandala that has to be seen to be believed for an art for environmental awareness project http://www.landfillart.org/

Found wood is Tim's medium for creating. He collects driftwood and transforms it into unique one-of-a-kind mirrors and picture frames. Tim is an exacting technician as well as an artist & photographer. His latest creation is a custom made Adirondack chair that he made from old skis. Make sure and check out his link that features his faux finishing photos.

As a footnote, I want to thank everyone who has left comments on any of my blog posts. I love reading them and always feel gifted and honored when I read one of them. Your comments enforce to me that all inspiration comes through us, not just for us, but because we are a conduit to receive inspiration to share with others. Many cultures believe that dreams are given to people to share with their community for awareness and for healing. Receiving creative inspiration is a form of dreaming. When we create our inspirations into some tangible form, we are gifted with healing energy for ourselves and our community.

Creating a Foundation of Strength

2009-02-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

"All One Nation / All One Tribe"
Kate Jobe 2/2009

Before I was married and mature enough to raise a child responsibly, I became pregnant with my first child. To provide him with the quality of of life that I felt that he should have, I chose to release him from my life and to give him up for adoption. About 15 years ago, a powerful predictory dream announced that he would return into my life with the driving force of a Mac truck. A month later, I spoke to my son, Nathan, on the phone for the first time.

At the time that we re-connected, I was designing and creating art-to-wear clothing and, in a stunning similarity, he was an amazingly gifted fashion photographer. As we journeyed through the process of creating and strengthening our relationship, we discovered many similarities between us. As an example, before he was age 5, he was drawing pictures, which were identical to ones that I drew at the very same chronological age. Nathan and I both knew, at the same time, when the family created by him, myself and my other two children was woven into alignment. From that moment on there has been contentment that precludes the need for us to connect on a constant basis. We intuitively know when it is time to contact the other, or if one of us is troubled and needing support. Beyond genetics, we are connected by the same spiritual blood.

He was fortunate to have his adoptive parents assist him to locate his birth father and to also form a relationship with him. Recently, Nathan told me that that his birth father has been focusing upon embracing creativity, merged with spirituality and incorporating it into the workplace to empower people and to support community healing. Ironically, I and his father, different now than we were when Nathan was conceived, are responding to a calling composed from a very similar melody. In this realization, I gained a new level of awareness of how each of us impacts upon others with whom we come into contact; of how we are drawn to people for a reason and of how many times we are more similar to the people that circulate around us than we know. Together, we are all one nation..all one tribe... and when we support the unique individuality of each other, we create a foundation of strength that evolves into unlimited and expansive possibilities.

How can you add to the strength of the tribe of your family? Of your community? What similarities are you discovering that flow between you and the people you know, as well as those you have not seen for a long time?

Women With Wings

2009-02-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

Orchid Woman

comes walking.

Shimmering

softness

illuminated

by the light

of the setting sun...

Opening

to the Honey Bee.

We, and everything around us, are so much more than what appears on the surface, or in physical reality. What appears to be small may actually have an immense impact upon us, or the rest of the world. Conversely, what appears to be large and important may leave an effect that is barely negligible. The Honey Bee is small. but mighty. It''s presence, en mass, or lack thereof, has been proven to be extremely relevant to the balance of the environment. Almost all cultures view the bee as a mythical symbol. The bee, with a body that is too large for its delicate wings, is symbolic of accomplishing large quests against all odds...and the Queen Bee, powerful, but dedicated to the future of her hive, symbolizes the power that is activated when a woman embraces her feminine energy.

Several days ago I created a mandala that I titled, 'Woman Emerging". To view it on another level, I adapted its colors and cropped and enlarged a segment of it, creating the art depicted above. The poem posted below the art was written by me at least five years ago. Its words flowed into my mind while I was meditating. Today, as I examined the visual art, I realized that the mandala and the poem are representations of each other. Each of them is mystical and feminine; powerful but delicate; ancient but filled with radiant innocence. They both speak to me of the promise of things to come and of spiritual awakenings. The orchid-like motif very much appears to be a stylized bee, with her gossamer wings beginning to unfold. The web that has been holding her securely within her cell-like cocoon is loosening its hold and she is preparing to emerge. She is the Honey Bee, but she is also Orchid Woman.

I believe that Orchid Woman is a symbol for the energy of Original Peace. I also believe that Orchid Woman is a symbol for all women, collectively preparing to spread their wings and fly to a higher level of awareness, uniting their energy to create a better world. I am reminded of the words of a chant, whose author is not known, that is hauntingly beautiful when sung in rounds, acapella, by a roomful of women: "There's a river of birds in migration...A nation...of women with wings!" The time is now. 2009 is The Year of the Woman. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

The Stillness of Original Peace

2009-02-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

"Woman Emerging"

Kate Jobe 2/16/09

My astrological sign is Aries, which is ruled by the head, and thinking is my birthright. I never stop thinking: about art, about programs to develop, about home decorating, about garden designs, about something to write. I think…and I dream…complex, symbolism laden dreams that speak to me and give me even more ideas to think about.

One of my most profound gifts is that of being a prolific creative thinker. Ironically, the act of not thinking is one of the most powerful gifts I can bestow upon myself. Prayer is when we talk to God and meditation is when we step aside and let God talk to us. The moments when I create art are among the times when I can step aside from my thoughts and allow the universal flow of energy to lead me to the peaceful stillness of just being…and trusting. These are the moments when I give myself over to expressing the embodiment of myself as pure creative energy.

Our thinking can get in the way of our ability to just BE. Many of the children with whom I interact at the treatment center where I work are unnerved with feeling the peacefulness of a meditative state. It is unfamiliar to them. Unfamiliar is equated as feeling weird and so they repel it, gravitating to the comfort of the familiarity of obsessive thinking and its subsequent impact upon them of emotional imbalance. They, like many adults, are not yet aware that the beauty perceived in the midst of the stillness of being centered is the true birthright of each of us. It is our inner guidance from the essence of Original Peace that began blooming within us the instant we were conceived.

Are you afraid of stillness? How does the essence of Original Peace speak to you? What actions allow you to step aside from your thinking and let God talk to you? What creative actions empower you? How are you emerging?

Silver Linings

2009-02-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

I featured a cropped and rotated detail from the work I posted yesterday. These details change the essence of the work. Not only is it a square format, but only a portion of it is shown within the square and it is an entirely different angle.

When we examine a portion of our lives, and delve into it from different angles, we begin to see new perspectives of it that we had previously missed. Viewed from this perspective this art does not reveal the interconnectedness of the view shown in the previous post. Instead, it reflects more of a sense of balloons drifting through the cosmos, illustrating the concept of serendipity: floating about, connecting at times with like minded individuals, disconnecting with others. Some experiences leave us feeling deflated with pain and others lighten our hearts. In some instances we feel that we have missed some chances that we wish we had grabbed onto more tightly to see where that ride would have taken us. At times, our lives take us into new and untethered territory, beautiful but unnerving. In these moments, we have to re-assess our priorities and belief systems to learn, once more, how to navigate confidently to prevent ourselves from being burned, like Icarus, and come crashing to the ground.

If we focus too much upon one facet of our lives, we get can get lost in it, giving ourselves over to be personified within the memory, living it over and over and over. Day to day life passes us by while we are stuck in the past, examining it, repeatedly, trying to detect some small detail of what we could have done differently to have changed its outcome to create a better future for ourselves. While immersed in living in the past, we are unable to see and appreciate the beauty of the big picture. We are unable to own the power of the person that we have become because we are still nurturing the person that "should have been" or "could have been". We lose altitude, diminishing our momentum within the present and become diconnected form the fullness of our lives.

Like the hearts in this picture, each moment of our lives, regardless of its content, has a silver lining. Each experience has a gift, though sometimes not evident at first. The gift may be that of discernment to prevent us from seeking similar experiences again. It may be a smile, or a supportive word or phrase said to us that we will carry with us forever, to retrieve from our memory bank from time to time to elevate us when our resolve is dwindling. The gift may be, quite simply, but quite profoundly, love, in some form that we fail to recognize.

Look around your life. Where has love abounded? Where does it abound now? What silver linings have graced your life? Are you living in the present or waiting for your past to catch up with you? What lives are reaching out to touch you that you may have ignored? What cords can you cut and allow to float free from you?

The Glue That Holds Us Together

2009-02-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

"My Heart Begins Where It Ends"

Kate Jobe 2/13/2009

The past two weeks I have been meeting with my granddaughters and making Valentines. We gathered together pages of shiny heart stickers, magazines to cut pictures from; glue sticks and rubber cement to collage everything together and glitter glue pens to write magical sentiments on our finished products. White paper lace doilies were high on my list of necessary supplies, but I was unable to find them in the store where I shopped...a minor impediment solved by folding paper and cutting it into “snowflake” hearts. When all the heart stickers were used to embellish two Valentine cards, I used the sticky paper surrounding them to cut out more and amazed them with my ability to produce hearts where there had been none.

In addition to sharing this joyful experience with my granddaughters, this Valentines Day has brought me another special gift of shared memories. Within the same time frame that I have been making Valentines I also connected with an old friend on Facebook who gave me the phone number for her sister, who is a dear friend of mine that I haven’t seen for at least 20 years. Our shared memories began before my divorce; before the birth of my children and even before I was married. My daughter, Annie, shares the same name of this woman, given to her to honor the bond of my friendship with her namesake.

Years ago, my friend Annie and I spent countless hours doing what a lot of young women who are friends do. We talked about life, our futures, men and music we liked. But more than this, we spent countless hours laughing. Memories of laughter shared with good friends fortify me and burrow deep within my heart. Tonight I spoke with Annie on the phone. Many happy memories came rushing to the surface of my soul as we talked. Most of them were things I had not even thought about for years. Talking about who I was then manifested a panorama of people, places and sounds from that time frame that surrounded me and has stayed with me throughout the evening. I hadn’t realized how merging with my past would bring such clarity to the person to whom I have grown to become. To many people I am many different things and am even known to them by somewhat different names. At work I am Miss Kate, to my mother I am Kathleen, I am Mom to my children and Nana to their children. My current friends call me Kate. To Annie, I will always be Katie. I like that.

What memories have you recalled recently that help you to understand more deeply who you are at this time? How does who you were in the past give strength and joy to your present lifetime? Are there old friends with whom you are feeling compelled to seek out?

Sharing Warmth

2009-02-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

On cold winter days I have enjoyed the comfort of wrapping myself in a soft blanket while drinking steaming mugs of chai tea or hot cocoa. Regardless of the crispness of the air outside my home or the chill imparted by brilliant white snowflakes drifting past the windows, I am warmed by blankets enveloping me that have been crocheted by my mother. She has created them for my siblings, our children and grandchildren, picking colors that enhanced the decor of our homes. We have photographs of all of us grouped together, wrapped in afghans that we all received from her on Christmas morning, six years ago. Her crocheting has brought warmth to her and many others.

In 2004, After my father passed on from an extended illness, Mom, then 78, decided that she wanted to do something to give back to others. Mom started by offering her time to schedule musical events for her elder living facility. Soon after, she joined a choir that sings in community events and at elder care facilities. In her pursuit to bring happiness and healing to others, Mom became a member of the prayer shawl ministry in her church. The group members knit or crochet shawls that they present to babies being baptized, new mothers, individuals who are ill or struggling with emotional challenges, and terminally ill prisoners. Before gifting the shawls they pray over them together, adding their prayers for peace and healing to the loving attention that went into every stitch while it was being created.

Mom purchases skeins of yarn whenever they are on sale. Incomplete ones that have been given to her are added as stripes, harmoniously blended with the dominant color of the shawl. Mom has been legally blind with macular degeneration for at least 30 years. Despite her eyesight becoming progressively compensated, and with the additional challenge of cataracts, Mom crochets prayer shawls, constantly, in her free time. Each time I visit her, Mom shows me her newest creations: soft Aryan shawls; shawls created from golden yellow yarns that are reminiscent of sunshine; shawls that float over her lap in Grecian blues. It amazes me that she can consistently, and beautifully, produce such perfectly executed needlework when she has only limited peripheral vision. Although Mom doesn’t talk about it, she can now barely see a few inches in front of her face. Regardless, In 2008, Mom, with her extremely limited vision and diligent persistence, added to the warmth and healing of others, by crocheting a total of one hundred prayer shawls during the year.

In what way can you challenge yourself to reach beyond what you or others may perceive as a limitation? What gifts or skills can you share or express more fully? How can you bring more warmth into the world?

Crying For A Vision

2009-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

"Fire Hawk" Kate Jobe 2/2/2009

The appearance of Hawk is symbolic of a messenger that assists us to look within the find the balance we need to gain clarity and walk upon our path of heart. Hawk's powerful, piercing cry is said to take the prayers of the people to spirit, crying out for us to receive the guidance we need to understand what has heart and meaning in our lives. Hawks presence reminds us to look for new ways of doing things and to be aware that new opportunities are being made available to us if we allow ourselves to see them and respond to them.

"Crying for A Vision" is a term associated with the act of a Vision Quest. Many Native American cultures use the Vision Quest as a rite of passage that requires one to go into the wilderness, under structured spiritual guidance, for the purpose of retrieving information regarding ones gifts, purpose in life and their path of heart.

Sometimes our lives propel us into a type of Vision Quest that evolves when we least expect it. We find ourselves crying out for visions in less defined settings, but feeling as though we are in the wilderness, nonetheless...crying out for truth, even when we do not realize we are sending out this cry. In these times, when the very core of our being feels as though it is screeching outward from us, we relinquish our desire to control the outcome of our lives and reach out to spirit to ask to be shown the awareness we need to feel grounded again.

In this act of raw awareness, we begin to see...and hear...and feel...and know...things we forgot...things we had never known before...things that we know, without a doubt, are true. Truth comes to us in words spoken to us purposefully, as well as, randomly by people we know or do not know; in sleeping dreams; in words we write but forget to read; in illnesses and pains within our bodies...truth speaks to us, but we have to hear.

What vision are you seeking? What prayers have you asked Hawk to cry out for you? What messages are trying to reach you that you are not accepting?

Peaceful Transitions

2008-12-24T12:03:00.001-08:00

Wishing you a new year filled with unbounding

Peace, Joy & Love

Today is Christmas Eve and as we enter into Christmas and approach the coming new year, many of us are contemplating the changes that 2009 will bring to our lives. On a daily basis we are bombarded with foreboding announcements of severe recession and unemployment and some of you may already be dramatically experiencing this. Regardless of the dynamics of any local, national or global circumstances that have infiltrated our lives, we can fortify ourselves by choosing to believe that the very best will be present in our lives. Amid the frenzy and often fearful predictions, when we ground ourselves in the strength of spirit we release our attachment to owning the drama that is being presented to us. We can then become the change that we are seeking and allow ourselves to rise into the space where we are capable of manifesting only peace, love and joy in our lives.

Aligning
latent energies
my inner light
rises now
from the depths
of the
Canyon of Fear.
A radiant zephyr
unfurling
straining wingtips
to soar
forever upward
in bold brilliance
toward
it’s undeniable
Call of Love

Kate Jobe

The Body Electric

2008-12-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

During 2008 I have been busy creating new projects that I had hoped would require less time to complete. Despite any delays I encountered, I am aware that all the time they have required is exactly the time they needed to be created. All things occur in the time they are supposed to occur and all things are related to timing. The perfect time for something to manifest in our lives can sometimes be different than any pre-determined sequence we have calculated for its arrival. When our time lines edge past us or appear to be far in the future and beyond our reach, we are sometimes being called to adapt and look for the gifts presented to us by this unexpected change in our plans. In other instances, when it seems that we are consistently so out of synchrony with our timing that our dreams are always beyond our reach, we are being alerted to make changes in our lives. Releasing energy blocks formed by outdated life scripts that no longer serve us can help jump start our timing. When we release blocked energy, we become better equipped to understand the language of our intuition. Feeling safe in trusting our intuition provides us with a tool that can guide us to make empowering choices and decisions. When we have a clear understanding of what we truly want to manifest in our lives, we can create powerful intents that radiate out from us with the energy of intensified electricity, assisting us to become magnets for attracting success.

How have you gifted yourself this year by re-wiring your body electric? How have you worked co-creatively with the universe to make changes in your life? What stale life scripts have you released during the previous twelve months? In what ways have you learned to listen more deeply to your intuition and how has this supported you this year? What intent/s did you make this year that gifted you in a powerful way?

Sharing the Dance

2008-11-13T23:32:00.001-08:00

One evening during the summer of 1993 I awoke from my sleep with the images from my dream still present within the room. The dream had been of women of all ages and cultural backgrounds, in ceremonial dress, joyously dancing together. While they were interconnected, they also were respectful of each others boundaries. Their presence was so compelling that I got out of bed and began to sketch what I was seeing and write notes of the details if the images.

Two days later, an interior designer who sometimes commissioned me to create art for her clients called me and told me get her some sketches of women of all ages and cultural backgrounds, in ceremonial dress interacting together interdependently in a shared space. She was not able to tell me why she needed these drawings but conveyed that it was for an important project. Over time, I have grown to not be surprised by my dreams but, in this case, both she and I were stunned by the fact that I already had the rough drawing that she needed. I submitted the work to her and several months later, I was informed that my concept had been unanimously chosen by the Omaha YWCA Board of Directors to be recreated to commemorate their 100th anniversary.

It was both and honor and a joy to create "Sharing the Dance." As is the case in all of my major work, it became a part of me during the time that it was flowing from my mind and hands and taking form as colors, shapes and lines upon paper. "Sharing the Dance" felt like it was inspired, through me, by spirit. I continued to dream about it throughout the time that I was engrossed in its birthing and each woman that I drew spoke to me and became a manifestation of healing and awareness for the part of me that related to them. The majority of their clothing were adaptations of garments that I had designed and painted on silk fabrics, but two of the garments are embellished with motifs that are symbolic of the logo of the YWCA.

The completed work, a large mixed media drawing, hangs in the Omaha YWCA and it was reproduced and sold as a signed and numbered limited edition print. My most profound wish was that whomever saw the work would be able to experience the power of what I had felt while creating it. Later that year, the work was displayed at a large women's conference and the theme of the drawing was incorporated into a closing presentation. After the conference had ended, a young woman tearfully approached me and said that she wanted me to know the healing power she had felt while observing the picture and said that she had never before realized the significance of the support and community shared by women. Her words not only validated my work, but filled my heart with joy. My journey upon the path of artful healing for the human spirit had begun.

Honoring the Dance

2008-11-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

As a woman matures and enters into the phase of her life when she is considered elderly, her energy often turns to contemplating upon the legacy that she has created with her life. This part of her life reflects the qualities of the north on the medicine wheel. The north is focused upon wisdom, generosity of spirit and the path of right action.

In the energetic realm of the magnanimity of ones achievements being proportionate to their impact upon the world, the quality of size is nebulous. Seemingly small actions can have an immense impact that is far-reaching and enduring, while the flamboyance of what appears to be a massive achievement can project a minimal impact of little significance.

If she is wise, the elderly woman understands that her legacy is not an accumulation of wealth in the form of money, but in the wealth of her knowledge gained throughout life. Her legacy is the quality of love and compassion that she has received from and extended toward others. Her legacy is the wealth of her stories that can be shared with others that provide insight into the historical and cultural content of her life and that illustrate parallels of her behaviors and thought to those individuals who are younger than her.

The elderly woman draws upon all of the phases of her dance in this life to honor its complexity and totality. When she pursues life with a balanced and healthy perspective, she has the opportunity to nurture herself while honoring her needs on a deeper level and to rejoice more profoundly in the reverence of living. When she also extends her nurturing and wisdom to those who are beginning their dance, assisting them to honor themselves and to approach the dance with joy, the elderly woman stands in her true power.

A woman's legacy, in the end, is the invaluable asset of the gift of her Self and her willingness to be part of the dance.

Rejoicing in the Dance

2008-11-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

This post is the third in the series of vignettes from "Sharing the Dance", the drawing I created for the YWCA in 1993. I call this segment, "Rejoicing in the Dance." It is representative of the time in a woman's life and in the maturity level of her energy, when she can experience the gifts available to her during midlife.

At this time, much contemplation is often experienced, assessing where she has come from, reviewing what she has accomplished and discerning what she now wants to achieve in her life from this point on. With her children raised, she may experience the empty nest syndrome, yearning for a way to express her nurturing. In response to this yearning, dreams she had tucked away and put on hold will begin calling to her. When she directs her creative energy toward this calling and channels it into joyfully embracing the fullness that this period of life has to offer she will remember dance steps she had forgotten, adapt old ones and construct new ones.

This is a time for self-actualization, when she stands strong in her style and the way she presents herself to the world, regardless of what current trends may dictate to the public. Through the passing of time and the many things she has experienced in life, she has earned the knowledge of what works for her and what does not. A woman within this time of her life does not feel intimidated by going against the grain. If purple is not the popular choice for current fashion, she will wear it anyway and with glorious aplomb.

This can be a time of freedom on many levels. The symbolic quality of the years when the sun is setting can provide her spirit with a brilliant panorama of warmth and illumination. She is in the symbolic time of autumn when change and transformation are occurring. Regardless of challenges that may be presented to her at this time, rather than being a time of midlife crisis, this time in a woman's life can be a time of new awareness's and new beginnings. These are the years when, more than ever, a woman can attain a deeper quality of comfort with change and a rich sense of embracing the minutes available in each day to learn more, experience more, love more, laugh more...and to rejoice more in being part of the dance of life.

Nurturing the Dance

2008-11-04T00:41:00.000-08:00

All women are creators. They are born with the ability to carry and birth new life. It is female energy that allows both men and women to birth life into the inspiration of creative new ideas that become projects of all kinds: visual art, music, homes, gardens and businesses. All creative ideas are like our children and, like children, thrive and can become strong and independent when love and nurturing are directed toward them. Their energy eventually withers and dissipates when they are in an environment of anger or are forced to mature with an excessive focus upon power and control.

The female aspect of nurturing energy assists to provide open, heart centered communication and emotional support that can achieve rapid growth and positive change. The quality of nurturing adds the component of safety to the dance of life. Safety encourages freedom...freedom to walk our walk and talk our talk...and freedom to feel safe enough to adapt the steps in our dance of life when the way we were no longer works with what we have been presented in life. Life changes...always...and so the dance must change. If we are afraid to change, and subsequently feel out of alignment, our personal power withers and dissipates and we ultimately become angry. Our fear flourishes.

The nurturing essence of healthy female energy is like a soft warm blanket that encircles you. It fills you and surrounds you with love, for yourself, and for the people with who you interact. The dance of life, when directed by compassion and nurturing, glides and flows easily with joy and harmony.

Are you feeling in need of nurturing? Do you have new ideas, projects or employees that need you to direct your nurturing energy upon them? Are you needing to reaffirm the creative, nurturing aspect of your female energy? Focus upon this aspect of yourself and ask what dance steps this energy can assist you to inject into your life.

Beginning the Dance

2008-11-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Each of us is composed of both male and female energies. Each of these energies has its own unique gifts and challenges. Regardless if an individual is a male or a female, both of these energies are needed, in a balanced and healthy form, to allow them to act upon their intuition, to think creatively and to move forward and act upon these ideas systematically and consistently...to manifest their creative thoughts. Balanced male and female energy allows us to express our feelings, while at the same time, maintaining healthy boundaries.

The art above is one of four segments of a mixed media drawing, entitled, "Sharing the Dance," that I created in 1993 for the Omaha Nebraska YWCA. The complete work will be featured in a blog entry after all four of the segments are featured and discussed. Because the work was created for a woman's organization, it is about women. It is a journey through the growth of a woman, and symbolically, through the maturation of female energy.

This segment is about the invincible quality of youthful female energy. It assists us to remember that all things are possible when approached with joy and vitality. It reminds us that life is a dance...a dance that can be learned and a dance that we can create from our own personal rhythm. This level of female energy possesses both innocence and passion that can bring strength and healing when expressed from a place of balance. When out of balance these qualities can evolve into a victim mentality or excessive drama.

Do you feel like you need an injection of hopefulness? Are you missing the quality of playfulness in your life? Meditate upon the innocence and youthfulness of this facet of female energy, ask what is needed from you to remember this part of yourself...or think back upon a time when this quality was present in your life...remember it with as much clarity as you can and then breathe this awareness into you and allow it fill you up, nudging you to remember parts of the dance of life you have forgotten.

Passion & Peace (Mandalas for Peace Series)

2008-10-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

The wellspring of peace lives within everything on earth, but it cannot flow freely when it is tended with apathy, rather than passion. Apathy causes us to detach from our passion and forget who we are; forget what we stand for…and, as I recently heard someone say, ”If you stand for nothing, you can‘t stand at all.” The indifference of apathy quenches the fires of passion.

Passion and peace….two dynamics that are seemingly very different and yet, peace cannot fully exist without the presence of passion. Passion is often thought if in relationship to fire and tumultuous intensity. Passion, in its true form, is the ability to live life fully; it is the quality of embracing life with joy; it is being fully present for each moment that is experienced; it is the quality of being committed to walking your walk and talking your talk. Passion does not have to be expressed loudly. It can be a continuous but slow burning fire that burns brightly, with occasional bursts of flames that can be seen more vividly.

Like the unending ripples formed from the action of throwing a pebble into a pond, your personal commitment to living your life with passion will activate an awakening within your soul, creating a deeper level of peace within you. The energy of your inner peace will ripple outward and into every aspect of your life and will impact upon the people with whom you interact. When you stand with passion and peace, you stand strong.

Seeds of Love (Mandalas for Peace series)

2008-10-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, while checking out links on the web related to creative expression, I came across Cheryl Finley’s blog, Mandala Oasis ( http://www.mandalaoasis.blogspot.com/ ), which led me to her yahoo group site of the same name. I joined the group and have been repeatedly enriched by this connection. The group is comprised of predominantly women, but also include a few very creative men and everyone, male or female, is welcome. Over the months, I have found all of the members to be supportive of each other, incredibly creative and overflowing with stimulating suggestions for books to read , art techniques, supply resources and mandala prompts. The art presented for viewing in this group often takes my breath away.

Currently, many members of the group are involved in the creation of two Mandalas for Peace projects. One of the these is a card deck that 9 women have committed to produce. Each woman will create 9 cards that are symbolic representations of 9 themes: (Birthing/Transformation; Body/Mind/Spirit; Community; Creativity; Family; Ancestors; Nature; Right-Livelihood; Womanhood/Women/Woman) and the work will be completed in increments of 9 week cycles with a re-evaluation of the project occurring at the end of each cycle.

Yesterday, while facilitating a mandala group with six teen-agers in the residential treatment facility where I work part-time, I began to create the mandala pictured above. I find that when I create my own work with this group, it assists them to stay centered and focused upon what they are in the process of creating. My focus upon creating art that focuses upon going within to my center reflects back to them. The mandala, titled, “Peace Grows from Seeds of Love” reflects the birthing of peace and new possibilities that grow from a heart centered approach to life.

Love creates fertile soil for effective communication. Allowing seeds of love to take root in your life promotes the appearance of silver linings. When nurtured, seeds of love flourish to create a web of peace and strength that expands out from you and to everyone with whom you interact.

Papercuts

2008-10-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

The other day I found a large colored pencil and graphite drawing I had done of my son, Jesse and my daughter, Annie, when they were ages three and 6 months, respectively. Because it was so large I had never framed it and it had become badly torn in places. I had always loved the drawing and felt that throwing it out was not an option. After getting past the sacrilege of thinking I should cut it up and create new, smaller and re-designed pieces from it, I picked up my scissors and cut. Once I started there was no option but to finish what I had started.

As I cut and pasted and altered the existing colors of the work, I thought of how each child had changed over the years and of how alike they still were from the way I had depicted them at that time. I contemplated, how my approach to creating art had changed since then. Tender thoughts of that time in my life flooded over me. The scent of baby lotion and talcum powder wafted up to me and I remembered the incredible softness of their skin at that age. As each thought emerged, I was shifted back in time, standing by the bed where they lay, sleeping, watching them with as much overflowing love as I had felt when I had originally been inspired to create the picture. I felt myself brushing back the dampness of their hair and listening to their gentle breathing as they slept.

The process of reinventing their portraits was validating and healing. It filled me with joy and re-connected me with a precious time frame I had forgotten. With each piece of the drawing that I cut and evaluated new placement and then glued into place, I felt a deep satisfaction at the significance of these changes: filling in some of the negative spaces with warmth and brightness; honoring and appreciating the details that created us as a family and re-designing old ways of interacting with each other to construct a new way to express the fabric of our lives.

The Essence of Details

2008-09-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Japanese Geisha Moth shown above, is a large embroidered motif I created for the back of the silk Georgette kimono serape shown on the right. This garment was created for Opera Omaha's spring 2006 benefit auction that correlated with their production of Madama Butterfly. The exquisite sets and costumes for this opera were designed by artist Jun Kaneko and I wanted to honor my appreciation for his artistic excellence through the authenticity of the details of this garment. Based upon a serape style, it combined eastern and western styles, reflecting the lead character's beauty and angst. Butterfly, a geisha, desperately wanted to marry an American sailor with whom she had fallen in love, and to then move to America and merge with the western culture.

Although I do not usually invest this much time in creating a garment, over 100 hours were spent researching Japanese motifs and the story of this opera; hand dying the fabrics; carving linoleum block stamps; strategically block printing the motifs to create a more Western design influence in the front and an Eastern one on the back; embroidering the 8"x5" moth motif with delicate silk and metallic threads and sewing on tiny beads. Each stitch that I put into this project was a process of a mindful meditation. It created peace and happiness within me as I created it. Whatever we do with love radiates with the energy of love. Whatever beauty we create with a mindful intent shines that much brighter with a positive quality. Small details, although perhaps not always seen, will always be present in the overall essence of what we do.

Moths and butterflies symboliize transformation. As we enter Autumn, we are entering the time on the Medicine Wheel to go within and seek answers. We are preparing for spiritual hibernation and, like the butterfly, to cocoon some facet of ourselves. What thoughts and behaviors of yours are needing to be cocooned with love and given adequate time for their details to gestate and be changed into a new form that can take wings and fly?

Changing Paradigms

2008-09-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

Creating art can be so stimulating and engrossing to me that it becomes difficult to stop when I am in the midst of a project. This jacket was one of the most exciting, as well as one of the most challenging art-to-wear garments that I have created. It involved color blocking...piecing together different colored segments of fabric to form the overall fabric from which the item is constructed. Some of the pieces had been painted months prior to the inspiration and some were painted specifically to add to the harmony of the design. This jacket, with its front lapels, buttons and numerous seams, was created in a manner that was a change from the rest of my art-to-wear collection at that time. The majority of them were less complex in their actual construction, requiring only a few seams and pieces to create them.

Painting upon silk fabric was a vehicle that assisted me to be fearless about finding ways to correct mistakes. The completed "corrected" designs were always among the more dynamic ones. I have accepted and adapted to many changes in life, some more easily than others. My life has been a series of several different lifetimes that overlap and merge together to flow into the totality of who I am..a woman passionate about life...an artist, a mother, a Nana, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a seeker of knowledge...a human being that continues to change and be transformed, releasing some things, embracing others and re-affirming involvements that I had left for awhile.

Some segments of life require us to utilize many of our skills to accomplish the opportunities and challenges that are presented to us. Life is a creative process during which we can become so mesmerized by what we are focused upon that we are unable to extract ourselves from the object of our intent. We can then become addicted to the manifestations of our creations, whether they are an expression of an art form, relationships or behaviors.

When we leave something that causes us to feel drained, irritable or unfulfilled it frees up our energy for something better to come into our lives. At other times, change barrels down upon us, leaving us stunned and wounded. It is painful to be forced into leaving something that we felt was perfect for us or that we had worked hard to attain. Even these situations will some day, perhaps some day many years into the future, reveal gifts and/or wisdom that we could only receive by letting go. There are cataclysmic changes, brought on by trauma that changes our lives forever and that causes us to grieve for the past...and even then...we heal when we let go of wishing that the past was stll the present and are able to accept the change of moving into the future.

The Power of Intent

2008-09-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

The mandala with the fish that I recently featured in the "Harvest Moon" post prompted me to include the photo of this hand painted silk kimono that I designed and created upon silk crepe de chine several years ago. Koi fish are a classic motif for silk kimonos but, for this garment, I wanted to combine the fish with unexpected design elements to create the juxtaposition of classic with contemporary themes. My fabric design inspirations come from many places. In this case, the golden lines that run diagonally across the fabric began formulating in my mind after I saw some advertisements that featured computer components and time release photographs of lights on cars as they drove through the night on busy city streets.

My foray into wearable art began 22 years ago when I moved to Florida for five years. it reflects the manifestation of the seed of a dream I had planted in my consciousness ten years before it grew into fruition. The journey from Iowa to Florida was born from listening to my inner voice. In 1976 I purchased a publication that featured an article on silk painting. The kimonos shown in the photographs made me feel like a small child yearning for a beautiful new doll in a toy shop window. I was transfixed by the content of this article and told myself that I was going to do that form of art some day.

Nine years passed. Thanksgiving morning in 1984 I was awakened from a dream by a message repeatedly telling me to move to Florida. After six months of contemplating this directive and finally deciding that moving there would somehow jump start my art career to a new level, I sold as much of my belongings as possible, packed up the car and drove with my son, and daughter, then ages 8 and 5, to take up residence in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Within a few weeks I came across a tiny ad in the miscellaneous section of the "Help Wanted" newspaper ads asking for someone skilled in sewing on silk who could do occasional fashion illustrations. I was experienced in both of these areas. The next day I drove a half hour to be interviewed for the position and was immediately hired. By fall, the owner of the shop, Wanda Baxter of http://www.silks.com/ , offered me her studio to explore silk painting techniques and to see if I had an affinity for it. From the moment I put dye on my brush and swept it across an expanse of two yards of silk crepe de chine stretched upon a frame, I began a love affair with painting upon silk with fiber reactive dyes. It literally took my breath away and lifted my spirit into another level of consciousness. I cannot even begin to describe the sense of ecstasy I felt while engrossed in creating with this medium. Exquisite might come close. My work relationship with Wanda continued for 15 years, continuing on a long distance basis when I returned to the Midwest in 1989, where my experience as a silk fabrications designer provided me with the opportunity to work with several prominent Omaha, Nebraska interior designers. The skill I had acquired in Florida truly did fulfill my intent for moving there by elevating my art career to a new level.

The Magic of Innocence

2008-09-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

The little girls in this mixed media drawing are two of my five grandchildren. The art, itself, was created by me a few years ago for a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation http://www.wish.org./ The intent of the art was to portray that all things are possible...wishes and dreams can come true when they are sent out into the universe with a loving intent that is as strong and pure as the innocence of a child.

I include this art with this post because today is the 7th birthday of the granddaughter portrayed on the right. Her wisdom, sweetness and generosity of spirit sometimes overwhelm me. Among the presents that she received today were three play make-up kits, each given to her by different individuals. Rather than comment that the gifts were duplicate ones, she responded with thrilled appreciation as she opened each one and then, later, gifted two of them to two of her cousins.

One beautiful autumn afternoon five years ago, when she was staying with me, and the day was unfolding with complications, she took my hand and indicated that she wanted to go outside. We walked, hand in hand, and she led me to an area under a tree, where the sunlight flickered through the branches. She said she wanted us to lay on the ground, which was blanketed by crisp autumn leaves. We lay on the leaves, breathed in their scent and watched streams of leaves blow past us in dips and whirls. The sky, viewed through the tree branches, was a patchwork collage of intense blue. I will never forget the magic of that afternoon and the wisdom of a two year old child leading me to ground myself upon the earth.

My grandchildren are part of my Heart Song. I love being "Nana", as they refer to me. I have been privileged to be present at all of their births and to assist in joyfully welcoming them to their life on this planet. Part of my appreciation of them is that they reflect to me a time when I was more innocent, when I was a young mother and fervently believed that I would be married to my husband my entire life. The advent of their presence in my life reaffirmed to me a deeper awareness of love and the possibility of it.

Like most children, my grandchildren believe in all things magical. They delight in the wonder of fireflies blinking through the sky on a warm summers night. They are mesmerized by the delicate beauty of rainbow hued soap bubbles that float gently from bubble wands, like opalescent pearls. They find wonder in nature. They appreciate the simple pleasures of a good book, a funny movie, laughing, creating art with crayons and paper, hugs and the loving presence of their families and good friends.

Have you forgotten the innocence of the child within you or do you embrace it with warmth and joy? Do you still believe in magic? Have you forgotten how to embrace life and find beauty and wonder in every moment? Set you intent, chart your course and wish upon a star, magic does happen...but you have to believe.

Storyteller

2008-09-19T12:49:00.002-07:00

For close to two years, from Summer 2006 through Spring of this year, as part of the Successful Aging for Women Program (PWSA) provided by University of Nebraska at Omaha, I taught "Writing Your Life Legacy" to a group of six women, residents of an elder adult complex, whose ages ranged from 68 to 98. These women met with me every other week, filled with enthusiasm and commitment, to create the stories of their lives. Their writing skills evolved, as did their courage and willingness to explore new ways to express themselves in this manner.

The months progressed and we formed a bond with each other, forged from trust and openness. We laughed and cried together. The group became more than a vehicle for them to write their stories. It became a support group of women who had traveled through successes and disappointments. All of them had struggled through the challenges of living on low incomes. They had known the joys and pains of falling in, and out, of love. They were mothers and grandmothers. Some had experienced the sorrow of the death of a child. One was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was reaching out from her heart to remember her stories before she forgot them. Another was legally blind. Some were divorced and some were widows. Together, we created new memories from the re-creation of their previous memories. I am honored to have known them and to have had the gift of being allowed to see into the richness of their lives.

During this time I was able to see, first hand, how important it is for people to tell their stories and to record them. Our stories are legacies that provide credibility to our existence. Our stories honor our experiences, both positive and challenging, and assist us to remember the beauty of the passage of time in which we live on this planet. Our stories can lead us to retrieving memories of love, joy and tenderness we have tucked away into our hearts and have then forgotten where we left them. Our stories sometimes help us to acknowledge memories of sadness that lurk in our consciousness, evolving into disproportionate shame and anger. When we face these memories as words written upon paper and then read them aloud to others in a nurturing environment, they can sometimes be absolved and released. Our stories, recorded from the notes of our Soul Song, are part of the most significant legacy we leave for our families. They illustrate to them, and generations to come, the depth and complexity of who we, and they, are as individuals.

Harvest Moon

2008-09-18T08:37:00.001-07:00

The recent full moon was the "Harvest Moon", as well as a Pisces moon, and although I didn't know it when I created this mandala, on Saturday the astrological energies of mercury and the Sun merged, creating an auspicious moment that added transmutation to the gifts of this moon.

The creation of the art was intuitive, and yet it reflects the serendipitous message of transmutation. The snake, a symbol of transmutation, symbolized by the golden spiral, sheds its old skin to reveal a new one. When we shed our old skins, and welcome new ways of being into our consciousness, we are able to harvest gifts that we had previously been unable to receive.

We refrain from fully expressing the beauty of what we have to offer the world because we are afraid. Afraid of of being hurt; Afraid of being rejected; Afraid of not being good enough; Afraid of being judged by others. We refrain from fully expressing ourselves because we have allowed our vulnerabilities to become more significant than our strengths. Pisces, represented by the fish, reminds us that balancing the ability to be vulnerable enough to share ourselves with others, while at the same time, setting healthy boundaries, allows us to swim deeper into the bounty of life.

Staying centered in the expansive protection of spirit, represented by the central motif of the cluster of seven dodecahedron's, allows us to remain in the flow of life. With spirit as our guide, we can release ownership of trying to control our lives and of being directed by the complex navigation whispered to us by our egos. We harvest love when we give love and when we allow ourselves to be loved, whether it is given or received in the form of relationships, financial abundance, creative expression or appreciation for our lives and the world in which we live.

Tribute

2008-09-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Last night while driving home, a myriad of fireworks were shooting up into the sky in front of me. They were part of a ceremony that paid tribute to the victims of 9/11. When I walked into the house I looked at the face of the clock. The digital numbers indicated that it was 9:11. Throughout the day I had been thinking about the events of 9/11 and how they had impacted upon everyone in the United States and, also, around the world. These events prompted me to let this mandala create itself through me. I did not reach a stopping point until 4:00am. Today when I looked at it I knew that there was nothing more to add. It's message had been spoken.

To me, there is heaviness about it, as well as hopefulness ...the silver and gold butterfly, representing the spirits of the individuals who passed over as rising upward but, also, hovering over us as guardians. The eye is watchful, but aware. The segmented pieces of the radiating bands indicate how everything has changed since then but, created from the color blue, they indicate the potential for positive creative change: the opening for more of us to talk our talk and walk our walk.

I think that most of us made decisions at that time, regarding what changes we wanted to make in our lives, and set intents that were born of the shock, fear, sense of mortality and/or sense of loss that radiated through us after that day. We banded closer together in support and comfort. We expressed a deeper appreciation for those we love. We re-connected or deepened our associations with spiritual expression. We sought healing: from each other; from a Higher Power; from a release of what was lacking in our lives.

We were all changed forever by this day. Our cells were rearranged. Our energy was shifted. The intents that we made then to make positive changes for ourselves, our families, our communities and for the world should remain as freshly imprinted within our hearts and souls as they were when they initially took form within our minds. The impact of the actions of 9/11 were magnanimous and each of us, in tribute of those who left this planet as a result of that day, have the opportunity to collectively make magnanimous and powerful positive changes. One person can make a difference. The notes of your Soul Song are yearning to be expressed.

And Love Rushes In

2008-09-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

This August I had the honor of participating in a six week mandala healing teleconference with Judith Cornell, based upon her Mandala Healing Kit. During this time I experienced profound shifts of awareness and an increase in my depth of perception of the subtle energies around me. These shifts occurred, largely, because even over the telephone or via an mp3 format, Judith's presence projects with immense radiance and compassion. I highly recommend connecting with her through any form of her workshops or seminars. If this is not possible, her Mandala Healing Kit is a complete course designed for your personal healing and transformation and includes a workbook, stencils, a CD of music and meditations and art supplies. You can read more about Judith Cornell and her Mandala Healing Kit here: http://mandala-universe.com/

The mandala shown above was created during this teleconference. I was focusing upon the intent of sending love and acceptance to every cell of my body throughout the time that I was working on it. The symbols that came to me during the meditation that preceded doing the art were an eight pointed star, a crystal dodecahedron and a waterfall of blue light. I had intended to also place the waterfalls on the right and left sides of the composition. When I viewed this mandala as it is now, I was struck by how it resembled the right and left hemispheres of the brain with the blue "waterfalls" forming the bridge between them and the eight pointed star appearing to be radiating from its center. My intuition told me it was perfect and complete in this format and I followed that guidance.

Homage to Pele

2008-09-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Creating mandalas is a powerful way to see a visual representation of what changes you have recently experienced, what you are presently feeling, or even about to experience. They can be a way to honor a specific occasion, such as a birthday, wedding, or the passing of someone or something significant from your life. The beauty of creating this form of art is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. A mandala can be as abstract or as structured as you feel compelled to construct it. It can be colorful or completely black and white. Each one that you create will be different because you are different every moment that you exist.

I started a mandala the other day while I focused upon the intent of "letting go" and was strongly guided to create it with a predominance of red. At the time I wondered why this was such prevelant urging. I put the mandala aside and then attended the Hawaiian ancestral workshop I discussed in my last post. Yesterday, I began working on the mandala again and immediately recognized the influence of Pele and her ability to assist in the letting go process...burning through your inhibitions to bestow renewed passion for life...assisting you to dance to the rhythms of your Soul Song. You can read more about Pele Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pele_(mythology) and here: http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/hawaiian-goddess-pele.htm

As I added the colors of red, orange and metallic gold to this mandala, I could feel Pele's warmth around me. The star points are embellished to make them appear to reach outward like flames. Continual movement and renewed energy is indicated by the golden spiral in the center. The presence of spirit is symbolized by the series of eight sacred geometry shapes of the dodecahedron that also somewhat resemble faceted pieces of lava rock. Basalt, or lava rock, has the spiritual healing properties of helping you to feel grounded during times of change and of dissipating anger, transforming it into positive modifications.

flickering in the dark…
stalking
stolen dreams.
relentless
brilliant flames
burning…breathing
steaming
heat.
Pele.
applauding
the return of fire
and thunder…purifying
passions rhythms.
empowering
a new beginning.

- Kate Jobe 9/10/08

Gifts of the Ancestors

2008-09-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended a workshop that focused upon the Hawaiian perception of our ancestors and how we are connected to them. I will give you the link to this, along with information on the facilitator, in a later post. It is a powerful feeling to really grasp the magnanimity of the infinite mass of ancestral wisdom and strength that stands behind us, reaching out toward us in love and sharing their gifts through us. Two months ago, I created the mandala shown above that reflects this connection and also reflects the words of the poem below that I was inspired to write after I came home from the workshop. Ironically, I remembered the mandala after I had written the poem and was struck by how it truly was a pictorial of the words. Synchronicity.

The sun smiles
and the moon beams
throughout infinite
journeys…
cycles of life
shining through the stars
of our bones …
revealing ancestral bridges
paved In love
that applauds us.
holy blessings.
gifts of light.
we are the substance
of our ancestors
and they…
ever after…are us.

Kate Jobe 9/8/2008

The Body Beautiful

2008-09-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

Are you perplexed as to why I would include figurative drawings in a blog that is supposed to be focused upon artful healing? I have always felt that the human body was beautiful. It is a study in perfection. Every part of it has a purpose that works together, when cared for, in harmony with the rest of it. When you view the body as you would a landscape, recreating the map of its curves and slopes, you are viewing its true essence. Creating this series of drawings of nude models was a personal healing experience.

When I began going to the classes, which are held at the Hot Shops in Omaha, NE, I cancelled my enrollment in a meditation class that I loved and had been going to for many years but met on the same night. The weekly Life Drawing classes became a series of mindful meditations for me that was a profound and transforming experience for me. You can check out the Hot Shops, its galleries and artists, the Life Drawing class, and all of its other classes here: http://www.hotshopsartcenter.com/classes/index.html

I became so engrossed in the work I was creating that sometimes, after the model had finished the timed pose, and I had stepped back from whatever I was drawing, I would wonder how I had created it. While drawing, I observed the model with an intuitive vision and saw their bodies in the format of colors and shapes and negative space. When the session stopped I dissolved my connection to the work I was creating and was able to objectively see how the design components had come together. It was exciting to me to view what had been created by me in a short period of time and to consider how rapidly I could do something when I focused my attention upon it so completely. I was not trying to create something of beauty, but was allowing beauty to create itself. Odd as it may sound, it was actually humbling to feel and see this occurring during each session.

Observing the models I was drawing, many of whom did not have perfect bodies by fashion magazine standards, pose with ease and pride in front of a room full of artists, allowed me to re-consider my inhibitions about my own body. Regardless of whatever changes I wanted to make for my body, I could love it and appreciate it in the process. Beauty is what we project outwardly from within us. We are able to view beauty when we make it our intent to see it...and that becomes an artful expression that is healing, both for ourselves, and for those with whom we interact.

Beyond Her Blue Horizon

2008-09-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite figurative drawings and it was one of the most challenging. When the model changed poses I was presented with some odd angles and difficult foreshortening of the body that definitely made the model's backside stand out more than anything else! I contemplated moving to another location in the room but opted to work with it and exaggerated parts of the body that would emphasize the pose even more. Everything from the waist on down became more rounded and sturdy in appearance. Her facial features are vague, allowing the viewer to focus more upon the representation of the body. The hair flows outward from her...brilliant blue strands that glow ethereally against the black background.

"Beyond her blue horizon"...how does this phrase speak to you? One definition of the word, horizon, found here http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/celestial+horizon is the limit of a person's range of perception, capabilities, or experience. Blue, which is related to the area of the throat, can represent creativity, walking your walk and talking your talk. It is also the color associated with the conception of new life. Blue, when partnered with the word, horizon, speaks to me of the time period when we are gestating new ideas and preparing to expand our horizons. I also see this work as a representation of the spirit of Mother Earth, the landscape of her body bathed in the light of peaceful serenity; her hair forming a blue horizon that flows into a waterfall tumbling onto the lush green land that surrounds her.

The Brilliance of Change

2008-09-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Both Horse & Whales, the subject matter in my previous post, have been going through evolutions for millions of years. The earliest species of horse, "eohippus", lived about 52 million years ago in the Eocene period. Ancestral species of Equus, our present day horses, are thought to have appeared 630,000 to 320,000 years ago. Eohippus went through many changes in appearance and body structure to become Equus. Prehistoric whale species are believed to have had the capability of walking on land. You can read an in-depth history of the evolution of horse and whale at these links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_horse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_Cetaceans

Above is one of my adaptations of a painted pony that I created as part of a figurative drawing series. In the beginning of the creation of this series, I was using white paper and I was focusing upon a more realistic representation of the model. During the process, I ran out of sheets of white paper and only had colored ones with me. When I put the vividly colored paper on my drawing board, I had the desire to go all out with color and create the drawing in a manner that was somewhat similar to the way that I had painted fabric. When I stepped back from the finished product, I loved the way the colors contrasted and vibrated with each other. Previous figurative drawings, executed many years before this series, had been more precise and traditional: charcoal, conte crayon and pencils on paper. Through the years, my training and experience doing soul healing work, had adapted my vision to allow me to open up to another level of seeing a way to create.

Change is necessary and can be exciting. The art you create... and the life you create... will change as you evolve spiritually, emotionally and mentally. Just as Eohippus adapted to the environment of its ancestral time frame and evolved to its present day characteristics of Equus, creative inspiration and the techniques you use to create them will evolve and become more refined over the years. Being rigid in your perception of the way you should do things may inhibit an incredible work of art from being birthed from your consciousness. Be true to who you are in your expressiveness but stay open to allowing your intuition to guide you to adapt when you are feeling the urge to do so.

You can always revert to your tried and true way of doing things, but you may discover that the insistent whisper suggesting that you change or a series of "mistakes" that happen that force you to change, may be an executions of brilliance that will give more meaning to your life or bring more depth and excitement to your work.

Horses & Whales

2008-09-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

My most recent art endeavor is one that combines several mediums and is an entry in Music & Masterpieces, an art event presented by The Omaha Symphony Guild and hosted by Rockbrook Village in Omaha, Nebraska. More information on this event can be viewed here: http://www.musicandmasterpieces.com/ My entry, a hand crafted 5' wide x 5' high wooden room screen with handpainted silk panels, entitled, "Going Home", was inspired by Dvorak’s 2nd Movement, Largo, from his New World Symphony, also known as “Going Home”. You can listen to this beautiful music here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fryuQVAuASs . The New World that Dvorak was referring to when he composed this music was actually that of the America's during the time of Hiawatha. To me, the music speaks of the timeless new world that continues to unveil itself to us: The massive untapped new world of the universe.

To create this as visual art I was drawn to the inspiration I have received from another piece of music. Since January of this year, I have been mesmerized by the music from the sound track of “Whale Rider”, composed by Lisa Gerrard . Each time I listen to it, I am not only visited by dreams of majestic whales, leading me to knowledge of changes that I need to make in my life, but also of horses. These horses run on land, as well as swim in water, taking me to the very depths of the ocean floor. The content of the dreams they have brought to me are both ethereal and powerful. You can listen to the opening music of this sound track here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rTQm2vvhuM

From time to time, I will be writing more about the symbolism of whales and horses and how they have created an impact upon my life. If you are in the Omaha area between now and September 18, stop in at Heller Art Images in Rockbrook Village to see this room screen, as well as all of the other fabulous pieces of art that are on display at the gallery.

What is Artful Healing?

2008-09-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

Within this blog I will display examples of my art and poetry and share with you the process of inspiration that occurred during their creative process. I will sometimes discuss symbolic meanings of some of their design components. From time to time, I will include comments about artistic techniques, reviews of resource materials that might assist you in your own inspirational process, interviews with people whose presence has assisted me in my own artful healing process and announcements regarding offerings of classes and services that might benefit you.

With that being said...what is your perception...is art just visual..an object of beauty..or can it truly heal? Any artistic image that you display in your personal space has an energy that either elevates your energy in a positive way or creates a negative or displeasing emotion within you. This reaction occurs not only by your response to the subject matter of the item, but also by the combination of the colors and symbols used in it. Everything that forms its composition also creates its overall energy that will. in turn, impact upon your overall energy.

Our brains, like the memory chips in computers, store massive amounts of information related to the symbolism of everything. Each of has, at some time, no doubt said the phrase, "I don't know why, but that touched me very deeply." We truly may not be consciously aware of why we respond to something, but our brains do and they transmit this information to all the cells of our bodies.

Art that is healing creates a sense of awareness regarding yourself. It may create a more expanded awareness of the world around you, or a recognition of a palpable shift in your energy or in one of your belief systems. It may, in some way, validate the truth of who you are on a very deep level. The shift may be perceived by you as subtle or profound. The shift may occur in an unexplainable manner that becomes noticeable after having viewed a particular piece of art many times over a span of several weeks or months.