Cyclone Gabrielle Over Aotearoa (Watercolor on paper)
Exploring Aotearoa, Māori for The Land of the Long White Cloud: We Explore the South and North Islands of Aotearea/New Zealand on Land and by Sea, in the Wake of Cyclone Gabrielle
The intricate patterns of carved wood and ocean current, the glint of abalone paua shell, fetched from jade-colored waters, the spume of a surfacing whale, swirl in my mind and pull on me, and lure me back to this land of the long white cloud. We set out on a journey, with certain expectations, yet the challenge of any journey is in embracing what is, not what might have been. We follow the contours of three islands; The demigod Maui’s canoe, its anchor, and the fish he pulled from the sea. We skirt the edges of islands that were born, and continue to be reshaped by earthshaking quakes, volcanoes, winds, waves, and rain. Now, when I look through the lens of the stories, myths, and wayfaring tales, I can better grasp that the beautiful swirls of carved wood, the translucent green stone, and glinting shell eyes are born from a fierce and resilient spirit of the Māori. It is experience and imagination woven into a fabric of sea and land and stars, that create a map that charts unique and powerful ways of being in this world.
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Washi Collage (Handmade Japanese Paper)
Washi Collage (Handmade Japanese Paper)
Washi Collage (Handmade Japanese Paper)
Washi Collage (Handmade Japanese Paper)
Washi Collage (Handmade Japanese Paper)
VISITING JAPAN’S ISLAND OF ART: Art and Nature Meet in the Seto Inland Sea
The Seto Inland Sea serves as a major waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Sea of Japan. As my husband Macduff Everton and myself explore the region, we immerse ourselves in its rich history, and growing contemporary art scene. Navigating Japan’s Art Islands revealed to us the rich diversity of Japanese culture, art, and gastronomy. Our travels are portrayed through my writing and Macduff Everton’s photography. -Read More- Included with the images is the series Screen for a 4 1/2 Mat Room, handmade Japanese paper collages by Mary Heebner.
BENEATH THE SURFACE: Exploring the Fjords of Patagonia
Patagonia is a land of the Unseen— so much of it lies beneath the surface. From the tip of an iceberg to the craggy top of a fjord, their underwater presence expands far and wide. It is not an easy place to get to, the ends of the Earth. Patagonia is an area shared by Chile and Argentina, a place where boundaries matter greatly to the human inhabitants, not so much the rest of biological life. Aboard the National Geographic Resolution, a photographer and an artist navigate this complex landscape. -Read More-
Tahiti: Gauguins’ Palette Comes To Life / An Artist Looks to the Land and Gauguin for Inspiration
I was in the midst of Tahiti’s rainforest, submerged in a sea-green universe. My eye began to discern the black-greens from the blue, lemon or viridian greens, and the landscape shimmered. This was a mixing room of colors, Paul Gauguin’s palette come alive. Everything was oxygen and green, raw energy. I could feel it through my pores. Quite suddenly, it answered one of the nattering questions I had asked myself, as a painter, before coming here: Why, if French Polynesia is known for its azure waters, turquoise lagoons, and blue skies, did Gauguin compose his paintings with eye-popping reds, greens and yellows set against infinitely dark shadows? -Read More-
on the making of of a book
Prayer Flag & A Tale of Longing
My book, Prayer Flags & A Tale of Longing comes in the midst of the COVID pandemic. This prolonged period of distress is also a time of reflection, perhaps of hope. Mother Earth is certainly taking a breather, as the non-human world contends with less human traffic. As we suffer our losses and envision how best to move forward, it becomes unavoidably clear that this whole world is connected, is one, and that there is no return to what we called ‘normal’ only a move forward, hopefully, with thought, empathy and a wider sense of community.Why cursive? Cursive script is a simple beauty: a single, hand-drawn, curvaceous line creates a word. It is becoming a lost art. Cursive writing is really a form of drawing—its lines are threads of connection between hand, mind, and subject. Writing in cursive allows time for the imagination to wander, to discover.
Why Cursive?
It is an intimate form used for jotting down ideas, composing love letters, writing journals or field notes. The hand, eye, and mind are brightly conjoined. I hope people take the time to read these handwritten pages. The book is limited to an edition of 20 copies that includes A Tale of Longing, plus a pouch containing the pulp painted, handmade paper strand of prayer flags held in a polished acrylic sleeve.
I offer this edition on the occasion of the 25th year of Simplemente Maria Press. 1995 – 2020.
AIR
You are motion, vibration, wind, and vapor. The scent of longing and possibility, blown onto the shore from the salty sea. Atmospheric gasses cloak the earth, making life possible. Fire depends on you to fuel itself. Water invigorates itself with oxygen. The branches of our lungs as we inhale and exhale reflexively, unconsciously, are also invigorated. Alveoli in the lungs fill up with air allowing oxygen to pass into our blood. Sound itself rides on your waves, creating music from reeds, trumpets, and language, kisses, arias, whistles, and sighs. Earth thrives beneath the precious envelope of atmosphere. The ozone layer in earth’s stratosphere shields us from sun’s ultraviolet rays —but, what are we doing to the air? Holes in the poles make us vulnerable to cancers and cataracts. Along with airborne pollen and spores and seeds, there are now micro-particulates of plastic, invisible to the eye, that litter the atmosphere. Industrial smog muddies the air. As the climate warms, tempestuous winds rage at hurricane force, trying to seek a balance, trying to cool down a feverous Mother Earth. Passion, unleashed as gale force wind, rips through islands, homes, pastures, coastlines, and the sailor battling open seas, massive water whipped up by warming oceans and high winds.
This is a prayer for Equanimity.
