Recently on Whisperings
Post-vaccination Pondering (in Limerick form)
April 10, 2021
What are you planning to keep or toss once you can venture out into the world? Here are four limericks I've written responding to that question.read more
Sweet Spot
March 11, 2021
“Sweet spot” popped up in my reading several times last week. Bothered by a feeling that the expression had become weak from overuse, I spent a few minutes pondering what “sweet spot” meant to me. Here is the result. What are your sweet spots?read more
A Trail Through the Murk
February 10, 2021
I’m feeling murky. Both listless and restless, and emotionally flat. Not bored—my days are full—but blank: uninspired and uninspiring. Wordless. So this month I offer to you what has amused me today. Feeling pale and dry, I am revisiting some old intuitive paintings of mine (all from 2014), undersea scenes full of color. Their weirdness is cheering me up and bringing a little relief to my shapelessness.read more
The Crone and the Master Speak
January 12, 2021
National events distracted me today from my usual blog subject matter. So I sought guidance from the tarot. Specifically, I wanted to hear from the Tarot of the Crone, because the Crone’s voice feels ancient, female, earthy-- a no-nonsense truth-teller. And from the Master’s voice of the Osho Zen Tarot, full of breath, reminding me of wider forces, the bigger picture. Here are their responses, as interpreted by my intuition.read more
Embracing Solstice
December 14, 2020
Winter Solstice is tugging at me this year, perhaps because so much of this long year has been about pause, and full of death and the unknown. I yearn for new life. How might I come to trust that new life is growing amidst all that is broken and unknown in my life (and in the life of the country)?read more
A Visual Stroll
November 14, 2020
A visual journey: using art to describe the current days, including suggestions about how to cope. What soul food is helping you stay balanced amidst the chaos?read more
Fruit and Death
October 16, 2020
Fruit and death. The scent of autumn, and what comes to mind as I clear out the house we’ve lived in for nearly 30 years. Finding things long forgotten, savoring the memories, letting so many treasures go. Filled with grief for the passing and gratitude for the abundance. Mother Nature provides a respite for me from all this emotion, jumping in the leaves. And a drawing suggests that life may be more complex and multilayered than we expect.read more
Regarding Baskets
September 17, 2020
I’ve always loved baskets, ever since I was a kid. Over the years my appreciation has grown. In this blog I consider why, and state firmly that it is NOT trivial to create little slices of beauty, to infuse love into “ordinary” things and places.read more
Remembering August 22, 1970
August 17, 2020
Fifty years ago this week my mom nearly died in a terrorist bombing in St. Paul. Just weeks before my senior year in high school. I want to tell the story, to mark the anniversary, to make sense of it after so many years. But I’m not sure I can make sense of it.read more
In the Stream Together
July 18, 2020
I’ve been remembering my friend who died last July, just after her 66th birthday. Our connection was an uncanny one, with twists and turns. In this blog I talk about our 2 years in high school, 40 years apart and then reconnecting 8 years before she died.read more
Brain Jam, Spilled Emotion and a Butterfly
June 22, 2020
My mind is clogged with words and ideas: news reports and commentary; essays and articles about policing, racism and white privilege; related podcasts and seminars; lists of resources; urgent calls for action. When I look up from the computer to try to clear my overstuffed head, feelings of anxiety, anger and powerlessness remain. That’s when I turn to artmaking. Or to the wonder of nature.read more
Advice from the Cards
May 20, 2020
A tarot reading for these times, as we begin the third month after the pandemic was declared.read more
A Question to Ponder on Earth Day in a Pandemic
April 21, 2020
This "Mrs. God Poem" by Connie Wanek holds a question to ponder on this 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in a pandemic.read more
An Art Path In a Pandemic
March 23, 2020
An experiential walk through some paintings during this pandemic.read more
Ode to a Sweatshirt
February 21, 2020
As I reached happily for my well worn hooded sweatshirt again this morning, I wondered suddenly why I feel such affection for it, and for all those I’ve ever had, why I am always on the lookout for new ones to replace those that wear out, and why I am so excited when I find one. I’m a little sheepish to discover all the energy and meaning that I associate with my hooded sweatshirts.read more
Painting With My Dead Friend
January 23, 2020
Holly, a dear friend of mine, died last summer. She was a writer and a creative soul in many ways, including artmaking of all kinds. She unfailingly encouraged all my artistic efforts, at the same time subtly jostling me out of my comfort zones and into new creative territory. I have discovered that even after death Holly continues to inspire and challenge me well beyond what I had imagined.read more
Buzzing Bees
November 25, 2019
In numerous cultures around the world bees were sacred, associated with the Divine Feminine. Archeologists have found images of bees, bee priestesses and bee goddesses dating back millennia. I wrote this poem in fun, in honor of our group, but also for all the Bee Priestesses across time and space, and for all women.read more
Respite from the Mind
October 29, 2019
am not willing to abandon this place of embodied enchantment. Life swirls around me, and it will continue to do so, making demands, throwing at me welcome and unwelcome surprises. Yet I believe I can remain response-able to the outer world, while also holding enough space and silence within to feel that I belong to a rich, wondrous and many-layered universe. So instead of more words I share a few seasonal photos, some from my time up north. May they provide a little pause in your day, a little beauty, a little humor, perhaps, or a little magic.read more
Images of Insecurity
September 27, 2019
Inner voices told me who I was and how I was living were inadequate... I had the sudden impulse to draw these thoughts somehow, to get them out on paper without words. I felt relief at pouring these thoughts out in images. Emotionally detached from what I was hearing. Already I felt lighter. Curious about what would evolve on the paper, it began to be fun.read more
Welcome to Whisperings
“There is a place where words are born of silence,
A place where the whispers of the heart arise.”
— Rumi
I will ponder here what whispers to me in the silence. I’d love for you to whisper back; maybe we will all get clearer—or maybe, like in the old kids’ game of “telephone” we will end up somewhere else entirely (which would be fun too)
Recently on Whisperings
Sweet Spot
03/11/2021
A Trail Through the Murk
02/10/2021
The Crone and the Master Speak
01/12/2021
Embracing Solstice
12/14/2020
A Visual Stroll
11/14/2020