Butterflies at the Hummingbird Pond by Cat VibertWatercolor Mixed Media
Upside down places
Where songs of butterflies glide
On wings and mirrors.
©2010 Catherine Vibert
Butterflies at the Hummingbird Pond by Cat VibertWatercolor Mixed Media
Three Graces Night and Day by Cat Vibert
20X24 oil on canvasDawn pierces through the dead of night
where light becomes shadow
then shadow to light
as pain sees beauty
when sorrow finds sight
seeking refuge in the deep.
See mountains beyond so steeped in blue
but when I climb them
there is only You
for that is the path
we climb anew
in spirals of our sleep.
Awake then friend, and see the dawn
for dark becomes light
when night has gone
The Graces will sing
their siren song
forever yours to keep.
@2010 Catherine Vibert
Dear friends, perhaps you remember a poetry contest a few months back in which Sarah Hina, Tom Hirons and Rachel Westfall were the winners? That contest featured the photo that inspired this painting. This painting represents a new turn for me in my painting, as I’ve just started in with a teacher and I’m loving the results. Can’t wait to get started on the newest effort!
Veiled Woman and Cat by Cat Vibert
“She was saving all her love for the divine manifestation of Krishna, so imagine her relief when she found Him in the body of a cat.”
Hello dear friends. Enjoying a very rich summer here, with visits from family and friends. My son Chris and I finally had a little break from all the outdoor fun to settle in for a lovely painting session. My cat Marlow was happily resting from the visit with *the dog* and very glad to have his house back. I wanted to practice draping technique and this image just popped into being.. 
Hope everyone is well.
Love to all!
Cat
PS, I’ve decided to start using watermarks on my images. I’ll be going into my galleries and updating them all soon, I hate to do it actually, but have recently discovered that it is a wise idea in this internet world we play in.
The First Crocus of Spring, by Cat Vibert
Available in Art Store
As winter lifts her blanket from the earth
The faeries stir in caves beneath the ground
Amidst the yawns are greetings filled with mirth
As laughter melts the ice in joyous sounds
There’s Oberon awake and standing tall
He stretches to shake off the last of sleep
To Titania, still cold, he lends his shawl
Then turns to build a fire in the keep
The other faeries start to sing and dance
They whirl and swirl inside that stinking cave
Until one peeps her head out to advance
No longer to be chained as winter’s slave
Her magic tricks to please in offering
The opening of hearts to wild Spring
©2010 Catherine Vibert
St. Claire meets the Dark Mother by Cat Vibert
Visions of Sister Moon Pt. 3
Click here to view series on one page.
Interlude
In solitude she walks under the moon
Yet prays to Francis’ God as she steps forth
She veils herself to keep from wanton swoon
And keeps her eyes downcast to avert mirth
Her visions have gone black as raven’s night
She sees but naught an answer to her prayers
She’s taken to the hills on dreams of flight
For to escape the mills of town nay-sayers
Yet there, upon the bluff, a woman sits
No face has she, but shines as dark as night
A child she holds to suckle at her teets
No doubt but sure this child is pure as light
The darkened mother’s mask disputes despair
Or so her light, as moon, appeared to Claire
@2010 Catherine Vibert
Moonlight on Snow by Cat Vibert
Oil on Canvas
Twas in the snowy moon I heard your call
As silent footsteps wandered down the path
I heard you and upon my knees did fall
And cried to you my heart’s unending wrath
I raised my arms as branches to the moon
And called to you to save me from this pain
The fairy stories woven in my looms
Have shrouded me in skeins of ices plain
But there in silent fields of snowy white
A sudden warmth came flooding through my soul
As seeds of Love will fly on wings of night
The mysteries of longing take their toll
As sure as night will rend its snowy hand
Love’s touch will melt the hour in the sand
©2010 Catherine Vibert
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I apologize for not getting around to blogs. Besides painting this week, I overdid the computer thing and have the dread computer arm thing going on, but I’ve been resting and am on the mend. I will be around soon to catch up.
Congratulations to Jozien for winning the print of the Golden Buddha. 
Thank you so much to all who participated. There are many excellent poems in the bunch, if you haven’t read through them, I recommend you take the time. Many of them left me in tears (of joy of course). Here is the link.
Finally, a reminder to vote for me today and everyday until 2/22 at the WNC On the Verge emerging artist competition.
Ice on Branches by Cat Vibert
wrapped in a sea of ice,
landscapes of solitude
prisons of thought
Love, universal, absolute
always flowing
m e l t s
armored cocoons
d r i p p i n g
nothing remains solid
in Love’s river©2010 Catherine Vibert
(Don’t forget to enter the drawing on the previous post! You have until February 13th at midnight to enter.)
Golden Buddha by Cat Vibert
Photography Collage
Available in Art Store
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I will meet you there. … Rumi
Friends and followers, February is the month of love. Love is a giving thing, and I am joining the many bloggers out there who are giving things away in honor of blog love. On Valentine’s Day, I will hold a drawing for a chance to win the above image. To enter, leave a comment on this post with a short poem about Stillness.
Spread the love, tell your friends. Tweet it, Facebook it, be creative, and let’s have some fun!
Love,
Cat
Added on Feb 3: Awesome entries so far everyone. Keep them coming, tell your friends. I’ll accept entries until midnight on February 13th. I will announce the winner on February 14th. Good luck everyone!
Sunrise Buddha by Cat Vibert
A Photo Collage from Headless Buddha Series
Available in Art StoreOh how you’ve got my thoughts derailed
“My lover, my secret, my one,”
Dancing and swirling on neuron tails
Far away from the light of the sun.
Just watch the stage from here above
The passion play of fire,
An artist painting flames of love
With cauldrons of desire.
Oh yes this play, this stage within
Leaves swaths of ash behind,
And still I would invite you in,
(As if your heart were mine).
But find me in another realm
A place where love flows kind,
Where we can dance and sing as One
Yet free from chains of mind.
Just follow
Me Here
Not there,
Yes, Here
Where hearts
Beat slow
At peace
With God
The Water
Our Secret
My Love
©2010 Catherine Vibert
Orchid Angel from Light Paintings Series. by Cat Vibert. (Not yet available for purchase). Light paintings are distorted photographs of objects shot using a strong but natural light source such as fire or candle, and then using the palette available from the image to paint out the images I see in the distortions.
Becoming the Ice Queen
She watches,
Shawl wrapped on cold shoulders,
Eves that once carried life
Remains of a nest
From some warmer season
Reminding her of days
Of freedom and wings
Of unabashed laughter
And holy connections
All gone now,
Hidden in the other realm
Banished, as pasts are,
From anything but thought.
She watches,
Stalactites drip, lengthen, curl
Daggers forming,
She plays with her breath
Exhaling warmth onto ice thoughts
As they slowly drip and freeze
A spiral Fibonacci perfection
The perfect cleaver
(For what? Thoughts?)
The temperature drops
Like fading laughter.
She watches,
Breathing,
Arms open
As if in some ritual
(Embrace the pain
Embrace the pain
Embrace the pain)
Her thoughts,
Fibonacci thoughts
Dripping down in spirals of ice.
She watches,
Heaving,
As a dagger breaks off
From the eves of past hope
Impaling her chest
Straight through her heart
The ice blade freezing rivers.
Once blood tsunamis
Pumped from the gates,
Now this heart,
This broken heart of ice
Breaks into pieces
And falls away.
She watches,
She breaks,
She steps on all that is holy,
No longer does she bleed.
©2010 Catherine Vibert ( PS. No, I have no intention of becoming the ice queen, thank you! I’m just really cold right now so it felt appropriate.)
Trapped Buddha by Cat Vibert. From Headless Buddha Series. Available in Art Store
Hidden in shadowsAnd tangled webs of light are
Stairways to heaven © 2010 Catherine Vibert
Three Graces in the Apricot Dawn, by Cat Vibert. Watercolor Digital Mixed Media.
Three Graces Series available in the Art Store
An Apricot dawn Graces greet the morning sun Their shadows dancing ©2009 Catherine Vibert
Girl in the Window, by Cat Vibert
From ‘Light Paintings’ series, (Coming to the Art Store in January)
*****
You pass, looking up at the window, as you usually do, noticing her eyes ev every e v e r y where. Today, she sees you looking at her looking at her eyes her eyes which are swords swords that pierce swords piercing through your encasement stabbing at your heart. Her eyes her green piercing eyes haunt you and you see her you see her everywhere ev every e v e r y where in your mind you bring her orchids orchids that never die color that goes on forever forever for e v e r In your mind you rescue her from her dingy apartment under the L train putting her in a penthouse looking over the lake where you can see her green eyes her piercing piercing green eyes every time ev every e v e r y time you wish.You beckon, she appears and she loves you and she wants you and no other for she is yours all yours and you touch her and you need her and you enter her again and again
while you stare stare into those eyes those piercing green eyes green eyes
that will not quiet
will
not
quiet
in your mind her eyes live
every where piercing
every time green eyes looking at you
you will make them your eyes
and you will hide her away the girl in the window
so no one else is pierced by her eyes only meant for you
who would keep her locked away if you could forever forever for
e v e r a n d e v e r ©2009 Catherine Vibert
Three Graces Getting Ready for Christmas
by Cat Vibert
God’s light descends and
fills your branches with color
Spread the light with loveMerry Christmas to all, and may Peace reign on Earth, with love, from Cat
Giclee Prints available in the Art Store
Layers are a watercolor technique in which a layer is placed on the paper and allowed to dry, and then an other layer added. These are monochrome landscape layers. I find it interesting to note how each color affects the paper differently.
I have also been using this technique to paint layers on faces in a series I call Masks. I will post those soon. They are a tad disturbing so I may wait until after the holidays. 
A little update on life around here: My father entered the hospital on Sunday with a ruptured appendix. He had surgery and is doing fine. They will be moving him out of ICU today. I’m proud of him for enduring such a traumatic ordeal at his age, and we are looking forward to a very meaningful holiday.
Love to all!
Cat
Three Graces hold an Autumn Ball
Oil on Canvas
Wear your finest gold
Winter is tomorrow’s game
Today, we shall dance!
Three Graces Under a Zebra Sky
Watercolor
Yes friends, there is more to life than Headless Buddhas. A person can’t stare at stillness forever! I have been a very busy bee lately. In addition to taking classes in InDesign and WordPress and Dreamweaver, etc. I’ve also embarked on a process to learn the business of becoming a professional artist. I can’t tell you how happy I am to sit down to paint with the knowledge that I am doing my job! So, I thank you again for your patience, my blogging friends are getting short shrifted as my schedule fills up, but I want you to know that you all have been SUCH an inspiration. Your support over this last year has been what has gotten me through a very difficult and introspective journey allowing me to come to this point. You people are just awesome and it is a blessing to know you.
The above painting is my view across the street. Those who have been following my blog for a while may remember The Three Graces, my beloved trees.
Gaze of Fire Woman
From Headless Buddha Series
Digitally Altered Watercolor
She stares at the stillness as her dreams fall away into the clouds of desert sand and pools of darkness somehow connect the colors of its countries rendering death and forever into a complex tapestry that she lives purging all perceived self definitions into the fire of wholly sacrificing every scrap from past destinations and stepping off the cliffs of nothing into love invisible and omnipresent reality.
Note: Nod to ee cummings; ‘the colors of its countries rendering death and forever’ borrowed from Somewhere I have Never Traveled
Headless Buddha with Birthday OrchidDigitally altered watercolor If only I were a statue
I would sit all day and watch the clouds
Until my head fell away.
Then, still, I would sit
With my hand in my lap
Knowing it is not me
That makes the orchid grow.
The water flows so perfectly
While I am still.
Moonlight on River
Oil on Canvas
If we could have a moment spent alone
Where I could whisper soft into your ear
Of forces that it seems we both have known
And yet can never speak of these, for fear
That speaking thus will cause the river’s edge
To overflow with secrets best submerged
The voicing of such thoughts would cause a wedge
A confluence of unity diverged
The loves we’ve wed would shatter with my voice
As if my whisper were to be a shout
And they would be the victims of our choice
The pain of this we can not bring about.
Oh waters, wash me clean of this despair
Let me not, of you, presume to care.
A note: This is not autobiographical, but is dedicated to a friend. Also, I apologize again for not being out there blogging so much. I’m really trying to focus on painting, and I can’t paint and be on the computer at the same time. I have to admit that painting has kind of taken over my life, and I’m really grateful for the consumption!
We crumble, we can not help this
Our dreams, thoughts and loves will all fade in time,
As beauty grows from the dust.
Blue Moon with Buddha and Orchid
From Headless Buddha series
Digitally altered watercolor collage
Reality
From Headless Buddha series
Watercolor on paper
From Headless Buddha series
Watercolor on paper
Dear friends, I will turn 49 on Saturday. That’s 7 squared, somehow that seems important for some esoteric reason of which I am clueless. For my birthday, please gift me with a short poem in the comment section that describes how this image relates to reality in your mind.
I am so very grateful for the many connections I’ve made over the last year via blogging and Facebook. It’s a strange place, this internet, but it has truly been amazing. I look forward to another year!
(Added 9/26)Thank you for these poems my dear friends. They are wonderful, and you are all precious.
Emergent
Emergent be your heart and soul
The splendor of each moment’s toll
The knowing grace of love now known
In joyous beauty ever shown
Your gift of life, a birth sublime
Celebrated now in your year 49.
–Rose Marie Raccioppi
Above It All
The effervescence of our life unfolds in loving attitudes
We witness blessings far and near
amid a world of war torn strife
Our love for nature carries us to places high above the sky
Peace carries us amid the clouds we’re lifted up, away we fly.
–Kathryn A. Curry
broken in the hole I dug for you
yellow on black
yellow for roots
but I will not sprinkle the dirt
or stomp down mud
reeking between my toes
take the little piece of sun
a fish for maize
I know my place
in the shade
–Jason Evans
Timeless echos near and far..
reaching out to stir the quiet unrest, becoming light and leaning
before our eager minds.
Only a concept that is time
Count the lifetime.. 49
–Mark
IMAGES OF REALITY
Lightening breaks the define
between the blue black seas
and the sun opening sky.
Witnessing with
attached detachment
of all that sails
within the sight
unseen with mere eyes.
I am yet bound by sight
to know the color
that forms the shapes
the shapes the images
the images the idea
and the idea the reason.
–The Walking Man
Sweet age dissolves the mind,
awareness
flows forth from the cerebral cave of inexperience and youth,
connecting through the ethereal,
assembled with the whole, experiencing
the self beyond physical form.
Peace in that there can never be death as we are confident in our legacy,
admit our imperfections
and grow with our thoughts in others.
For this is life, where chronology, at first a foe,
becomes friend. May the journey
be longer, much longer,
and when time beckons us to rest, so it shall be.
–Minister of the Masochistic Truth
Diverted into dreams
of naked illusions
floating in fragile bubbles
of golden stardust
bathing in sugar-coated
cotton candy sweetness
until reality strikes back
with it’s icy hand
demanding it’s rightful presence
in our headless minds
–Margaret
I’m not sure how
the bones fit together
so seamlessly along my spine
that year, rising and falling
like the swells in the Pacific.
But age did not determine
the…experience my ligaments
entertained holding me together
–Jill Zimmerman
Head in the clouds
Mind blown
Call it what you will
I call it reality
–Claudia Larson
Anger does not stick
to purple ashes rained on
and silent, sepia bones
drained of all lightning
Reality is a static song
filled with seconds
that cannot sustain themselves
and structures that fall
like hearts once did
Despair it
Or not
It does not care
–Sarah Hina
The egg split, transient
as a golden bubble blown
by a downy–headed child
with a wand and tube
of birthday soap.
The egg split, and out
came the sky, birthed
new and gleaming,
dreaming
of a chaos of feathered
wings and the patter
of triumphant storm.
Reality
Sun lights window on the heart
Etches a gold leaf on the breast
Bruised butterfly wings splay open
A thumb pokes upward behind a painted foot
A lazy alligator smiles, gazing contentedly
As the shadow of a unicorn softly shifts shape
Among blue crystals that
Fracture and float free
Act of violence carves rivulets of pain, prompting
The soul’s flight across a sky of islands aloft with grace
–A very dear friend who wishes to remain anonymous
Reality comes, goes.
Is coloured, is colourless.
There is dark
there is light
there is you
there is me
there is Buddha
in all his glory…
it’s all a gift
the pain and the beauty
and you are Beauty!
– Calli
a piece of her here
a piece of her there
love oh love she does
both one and the other
blinded by grace
to hurt no one
how long will her heart
be torn thus
one way
and the other
when will she find joy
in greaving one
and loving the other
– Jorc
I wish I had wished you,
If not before, then just in time.
I wish I had written for you
The sweetest of rhymes.
But reality can suck,
And I cant turn back time
Though if I could, I’d write a few lines
To thank you, praise you and bring you a smile
You have been a great inspiration
And such a sweet friend
Even close to the naughty fifty
You set the latest trends.
You’ve gifted us with many
Haiku, sonnets and proses
Also, your with the brush,
Beats anyday, a bunch of roses.
So forgive me, my friend
for I am late to thank
I cross my heart and swear
I’ve been totally frank
You most certainly are
You are a treasured one
Looking forward to your next 50
And hell loads of fun!
somehow this year
i forgot to think
about all the quiet
violets that crush
under my stinging tears
and forgot to see all
the shapeless birds
building nests of words
in trees of hope in
branches of faith
in a darkness that
bleeds to purple
Bounded by flesh
Yet not limited
Not even by the stars
Your soul soars
– Vesper
This abstract of reality
Speaks volume from a space empty
in shades of yellow and blue
depict life’s black and white hue
the lightening, awaken the truth
bringing wisdom with age to earth
know that you are blessed with age
as you see life’s truth like a sage!
There are some more sweet sentiments in the comments, but they felt more personally directed so I left them in the comments. I thank you all for your lovely sentiments, and I am floored by all the wonderful interpretations on the painting. They mean more to me than you can know! Thank you so much for participating!
She wore two faces
Her hair, spun in liquid gold
Tangled in dream threads
Her hair, spun in liquid gold
Tangled in dream threads
Duality
Digitally altered watercolor
Buddha and New Moon
Watercolor and Digital Collage
This image is a collage of two watercolor paintings that I altered and combined. The Buddha was inspired by the countless headless Buddhas that I saw while traveling in Thailand. Asian relics such as heads have been pillaged illegally throughout the last few hundred years in order to serve the desires of collectors and so on. I’m starting a painting series of headless Buddhas.
I greatly apologize not coming to your blog recently. I’ve been a little headless myself as of late. I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed by this health care fight, and am putting so much emotion into it that it is starting to make me crazy. What a vortex of insanity. Painting has been a wonderful way to escape news, computers, reality, whatever. Anyway, I will be around to your blogs very soon and I thank you for your continued visits to mine.
Oh, I can’t seem to think of a poem to go with the image, so please feel free to create one yourself in the comments!
On her wedding day
Annie sat with the angels,
Her toe dipped in tears.
In memory of Annie Le, a Yale Student who was to be married on Sunday September 13th. Instead of a wedding on that day, Annie’s senseless murder was confirmed. With deepest condolences to her family, fiance and friends, your pool of tears is felt by the world.
An Angel for Annie
Digitally Altered Watercolor
When the night descends
And faeries light their fires
Magic springs aglow
Glowing Stream
Digitally altered photo
Horse and Llama
Digitally altered photo
And faeries light their fires
Magic springs aglow
Glowing Stream
Digitally altered photo
Horse and Llama
Digitally altered photo
“What do you think that meant?”
“I don’t know, probably something political.”
“Oh yeah, most likely.”
“Have you seen the woman lately?”
“No, not sure where she is these days.”
“Probably on Facebook.”
“Either that or painting.”
“I heard she’s pissing her blogger friends off because she hasn’t been blogging much lately.”
“Whatever. She came over here the other day when you were off at the barn and started talking to me about health care.”
“Really? But you’re a llama!”
“And you’re a horse, what’s your problem? Anyway, we llamas are often sought out by the humans. You know, for our legendary wisdom.”
“That’s kind of ridiculous.”
“Thanks, thanks a lot. Anyway, she was telling me about this status update that went viral on Facebook the other day. She was kind of excited about it because everyone was posting it. She said it even spread to Twitter.”
“What did it say?”
“No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and nobody should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.”
“And it actually went viral?”
“Totally. First time that ever happened according to her. I’m surprised there isn’t more news about it. But you know the media. If there’s no yelling and screaming it likely won’t get much press.”
“Maybe humans really do care!”
“Well, being a llama, I told her to keep calling and writing her representatives in Washington to demand a public option. I mean, let’s be real here!”
Where shards of moon spill
Over night dreams gone astray,
Echoes sing your name.
____
Over night dreams gone astray,
Echoes sing your name.
____
Full Moon on Night Pond
Oil on canvas (3′ x 5′)
Dedicated to the memory of Senator Teddy Kennedy
“Health Care is a right, not a privilege”
Hello everyone, this is Cat of Arc. Yes, I’m still here and very much in possession of Cat’s blog and her body. She really doesn’t like to give up her blog for me, but I’m the one with the swords.
On the health care thing? Oh, yes, I am still very much working in this dimension to talk to people about what is going on out there, and the general consensus is that everyone is extremely confused and very pissed off. People on all sides of the coin have gone completely bonkers and the vision that is supposed to stand as the fulcrum is being tested with a force stronger than a Cat 5 storm. I can still see the vision however, and plead with you not to give up hope, and to keep talking to people from all sides. Listen to each other! Calling each other names is simply not going to leave room for open communication! And please folks, leave your guns at home, will ya? You may claim that your gun is your second amendment right and that’s why you’re carrying that semiautomatic weapon on your belt at the town hall meeting. However, you and I both know that you are just trying to intimidate and bully. A gun at a meeting about health care is, simply put, off topic.
Alright now, please take a deep breath and cool down for a bit while we look at some images:
Morning On the Dream FieldDigitally Altered Photo
The Llama’s RefugeOil on Canvas
Ok, break over. Here’s the thing, one of the big concerns I have over the health care system, is how completely inadequate it is to help people learn to actually keep themselves healthy. People don’t do it, they just eat what they want to eat even if it will kill them. On NPR there was a radio program on Talk of the Nation a few days ago, on the subject of health care. There was a call in guy who claimed to be a Libertarian. He was strongly of the opinion that before people depend on a government system for their health care, they need to take care of themselves. People need to claim personal responsibility. Although I DO think we need a government health care option (that is a choice and not forced upon one) I actually agree with him about health. I think people should stay healthy, and frankly, I think we’ve forgotten how because we made the silly mistake of letting the ‘free market’ determine how we eat. The industry panders to the lazy in us. I also think people should eat local produce because it makes sense to eat food that is grown down the road. However, that makes eating vegetables a very difficult thing to do in the winter when food isn’t to be found growing down the road that is covered in 4 feet of snow.
That is, unless you managed to save some of that summer bounty somehow.
Before I moved here to Asheville, I was visiting a friend and we went to see a traveling puppet show that was coming through town. The show had some anti-government messages, one of which I found to be truly delightful, “The Government won’t set you free. Chores will set you free!” Now, about having the choice between government health care and private insurance, you bet I want that choice. And I’ll sign right up for the public option, and then try hard as heck not to ever use it. To that end, I have taken on the chore of preserving my locally grown organic veggies, grown by my friends at a local CSA (Community Supported Ag), by lactic acid fermention. A process using salt and water, which not only preserves the qualities of the raw vegetables, but it turns out the organisms that congregate as a result of the process are gonna save your life! They eat all the bad stuff inside you and leave you only with good stuff. That way you won’t have to be a burden on that government health care system that we are asking for, no, demanding. So in this way, you could say I am ‘pro-life’, or ‘pro-microbe life’ otherwise known as ‘pro-biotics’. I’m sure you’ve heard the term? Preserving vegetables in this way, means you don’t have to take pro-biotic supplements.
So I came up with the motto “No Vegetable Left Behind”, (which I happen to think is terribly original), and now I have got several months worth of dinner breeding in my basement. It was hard work (only because of the sheer amount of veggies), but think how much is saved in money and time down the line! It’s an investment in your very near term future! I’m not going to tell you how to do the brining process itself, but will recommend two books at the bottom of this post if you want to learn how to do this incredibly simple and safe and healthy way to preserve raw food, using practices that go way back to Genghis Kahn. Think Sauerkraut, think KimChi. Think easy, healthy, sustainable, and delicious.
And now it’s time for some more images. The first one below is a picture of a fermenting jar, that I played with in Photoshop, keeping the vegetables as my inspiration. The second is the counter where the magic took place. Cat may get some time to play on her blog soon. I’m just wondering who is going to be the big cheese that will take it upon themselves to organize an ‘All Organisms Deserve Health Care’ march on Washington? (Said in jest, meant with all my heart.)
March to the Fermenting PotDigitally Altered Photo
Fermentation StationDigitally Altered Photo
Often I find myself wondering, damn, why can’t we talk to them, why can’t we make them listen! There is something wrong with the way things are; the way the rain falls all at once, the urgent feel of the wind, the pounding heat from the sun.
Something about that woman across the road is different. I think maybe she can hear me. I’m just going to sit here staring at her day after day, for weeks, even months, until she gets the message. I have to make her understand that only because she has speech and is not confined to the field, she has the power to change things.
What I wouldn’t give for power like that…
You might ask yourself what this painting and the crocuses that came before have in common. It turns out that this painting was also inspired by Jason’s crocus photograph. I was trying to do a study, and so I painted lines of cerulean blue against lines of cadmium yellow touched with a hint of alizarin crimson, just to see how the colors would fare next to each other. Then I put this aside and painted the crocuses. After the crocuses were finished and all y’all were busy creating brilliant haiku gems to go with the little tykes, I was upstairs in my painting room staring at the orange and blue lines until suddenly they became an ocean scene in my mind. And that’s when I started adding stuff. It kind of reminds me of somewhere near Little Girl Lost’s fateful crab pond.
(Shhh…don’t tell anyone that the birds were photoshopped in…;-)
Please don’t be afraid,
Won’t you please come out and play?
The snow is all gone!
Won’t you please come out and play?
The snow is all gone!
Your haiku creations are desired in the comment section. My only rule is 5-7-5 please. Have at it kids!
T’was on the distant mountain
Past the gate of The Three Graces
Where the wild forsythia blooms,
An old crone sat
On a green mossy stone
Contemplating the phase of the moon.
“Tis the time”, thought the crone,
As she reached for her spade,
“I will turn the ground now to prepare.”
And she went to the field
Sprouting green with new grass
And dug three holes with great care.
“In the hole to the North,”
Said the crone with much glee,
“The seeds of Earth’s Joy I shall plant”,
And she sang and she danced
As she banged on her drum
Thus infusing the seeds with intent.
In the holes to the South
She put seedlings of Charm
And next to that Beauty, you see?
The seedlings would grow
To be great spreading trees
Guarding gates of creativity.
The Three Graces are they,
A siren’s song
Three ships on a bonnie green sea,
Dancing bare in the snow
Or on moonlit bright nights
Unbridled they swing, they are free.
I can hear the crone’s laugh
Whistling up the through the hills
By the light of the Beltane Moon,
As The Graces they dance
To the May breeze call
And the peacock’s song echos the tune.
Thanks everyone for your wonderful creations!
Haiku
Not alone anymore,
Winter bids goodbye,
Springtime of youth.
–Aniket
Life is a secret
no longer, now that you have
found its true essence.
–Christopher
The three muses dance
when your eyes are turned away
twists and turns for you
–Sarah Hina
light passes over
cyclic slide north of center
making all things new
–Qualcosa di Bello
Lines From Underground Streams
I stood
On your decimated ground
And touched
The twisted plants
Where your rivers of lava
Cooled
–Jason
As she drew her pain
emerged in jagged lines
roughly stabbing ‘round
into the naked air
and so the ground lay bruised
and bled its deep torment
beneath a winter sky
which wailed a slow lament
a keening, barren wind
forgetful of the dawn
–RachelW
They danced in
rings of apostasy
until their breath bled
and cut through crust
and mantle and core.
The earth sponged up
a sea of crimson truth,
stain set,
and granted a
weary asylum
in a barren valley
once called Kalam.
–Jennifer
All things being equal,
I’ll take the spring,
leaving you the barren branches
and the melting into mud.
I’ll take the verdant mountains
and the fleece of clouds above
and leave you with a winter
for your cold and wanting love.
–Karen
Sunset falls on the last day of winter’s calling
The blue belly of the earth rumbles
Calling the blood of Spring forth
To feed the hungry roots of trees.
Naked and decimated, yes
But as surely as night becomes day
They will feed again,
They will breathe with their lungs
And they will dance with their verdant tresses flowing.
Like a whirling dervish twirls,
They will dance again and again
In the circle of life’s turning.
–Moi, your host.
And one final entry from my very own mother. It gave me a hearty laugh and she has allowed me to post it:
To the right the creeping, insidious, vegetative attack.
Beware oh leafless ones.
Our time has returned. If you don’t re-leaf we will cut you down and burn you in a great May Day celebration! –Ruth Sander
Thanks Mom! You know I love you much much much.
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that sometimes I just have to stop everything and paint. Last week my body was hurting so bad that I started thinking of my computing habits as akin to a heroin addiction. My therapy is painting. Today, in honor of the vernal equinox, I offer you this most recent painting as an image prompt, and request of you a few lines from your creative coffers. Have at it folks, and Happy Joyeous Spring Tidings!
I hear the murder calling as I paint
They’re mocking me from high upon their perch
Accusing me of my misguided fate
They warn me, “Watch, you haven’t got the merch!”
I tell you now to flee from my great trees
To fly and find some other place to chat
But leave the goldfinch here for me to see
And learn to paint as delicate as that.
Ah now, I keep The Graces in my gaze
The fog beyond with subtleties of breath
On softly shifting colors do I graze
My brush in varied hues of shadowed depth.
With patience then The Graces do appear
Soft paint on paper, wetted with a tear.
They’re mocking me from high upon their perch
Accusing me of my misguided fate
They warn me, “Watch, you haven’t got the merch!”
I tell you now to flee from my great trees
To fly and find some other place to chat
But leave the goldfinch here for me to see
And learn to paint as delicate as that.
Ah now, I keep The Graces in my gaze
The fog beyond with subtleties of breath
On softly shifting colors do I graze
My brush in varied hues of shadowed depth.
With patience then The Graces do appear
Soft paint on paper, wetted with a tear.
To K. and Sarah, It’s crow season! Thanks for the inspiration!
Photo: ‘The Witness’
For disembodied people that I love
Who wrap yourselves around me every day
That send yourselves upon the wings of doves
Into this magic place in which we play
You’ve catapulted me to higher spheres
To places I had no idea were there
Have challenged me in ways to face my fears
And look into the mirror if I dare
Your voices touching somber notes untrue
And softly coaxing honesty within
A transformation, seeing something new
New eyes and ears, a higher kind of yen.
My heart is open now in gratitude
For grace and beauty your hearts have imbued.
Who wrap yourselves around me every day
That send yourselves upon the wings of doves
Into this magic place in which we play
You’ve catapulted me to higher spheres
To places I had no idea were there
Have challenged me in ways to face my fears
And look into the mirror if I dare
Your voices touching somber notes untrue
And softly coaxing honesty within
A transformation, seeing something new
New eyes and ears, a higher kind of yen.
My heart is open now in gratitude
For grace and beauty your hearts have imbued.
With steps of a bear
I enter
Arboreal gates open
I walk, honored
By mycelium carpets
Laid under my feet
You breathe in my darkness
Through fallen leaves and branches
I rise upon your breath
And emerge
On the wings of a bird
____
Note on the painting: I have been trying out different techniques to mask out the trees while I paint the background. On the last painting, I used tape, whereas in this painting I used masking fluid. The result is different, and I’m not yet sure which effect I like better.
Sometimes I have to rebel from my blogging addiction because I start to get mouse arm. You know that one, right? My solution is to go and paint. You would think I wouldn’t be able to paint since it is the same arm after all, but amazingly enough, I can! In fact all the aching from too much computer use seems to be transformed as my mind and body slip into ‘painting mode’ which is really like an altered state of consciousness altogether. Merging with the creative force is excellent meditation…
Note to self: Paint daily.
It probably also helped, of course, that the day before painting this, I went out into the woods and walked, thereby inspiring the painting. In fact, now that I think about it, the exercise also might of helped my arm. Hmmm…
Note to self: Exercise daily.
I will need to consider and be mindful of my time on the computer, and balance it out with other things. In fact, I was just staring out at the future vegetable garden of my back yard today, and thinking that soon I will be planting, maybe getting a few chickens…
Note to self: Get out of doors regularly and tend to the land.
In fact, I think I will go outside now and sow the poppy seeds so that Spring will call me out of the house when she comes…
Note to bloggers: Cat is outside and will return some time in the near future.
A bitter wind blew through the land
And screams of rage could be heard
From every corner of the sky,
Echoing throughout all of the Earth.
The ground was red from the battle, the long and endless battle,
Where neither one side, nor the other
Was heard to profess an element of understanding,
And pleas screamed would only break on ears of stone,
As each claimed that their god would reign victorious.
And there were those who loved and simply watched,
Who could see beyond the shades of skin,
And the acclamations of divine intent,
And would weep helplessly,
As they watched the ebb and flow of the bleeding tides,
Cursing the shades and pointing to the color that all beings shared,
Spilled relentlessly on fields of intolerance and greed.
And the reddened brown mud dried and cracked over the earth,
And the land was parched with flame and ash,
And the waters became putrid so no one could drink,
And the air thickened, and was brown with smoke and dust,
And the food would not grow because the rains would not fall,
And all of the Earth settled into a deep despair.
Then, just when all of the world agreed that the end was near,
And that nothing could be done to reverse the turn,
A man with skin the color of coffee and milk
Stepped out onto the battlefield,
And with his eyes, ears and heart open wide,
He listened.
And he heard the cries of the people,
And he spoke to them of Hope,
And the hearts of the many who heard his words
Chose him above all others to be their voice,
And to speak the truth for them.
A fuse was ignited and all around the world,
Tall columns built on worm ridden pedestals
Began to crumble and collapse,
As the age of plenty built on shards of illusion
And the backs of slaves
Could not stand tall,
And cowered in the brilliant light of Hope
And words of Truth.
And all of the people fighting
In all of the lands,
Increased their battles,
Reaching farther into the darkness,
Looting whatever remained of anything precious.
They waged on in their wars, in the names of their gods,
Utilizing women and children, in the crimes of their greed,
And causing a great wave of grief throughout the world.
Then on the eve of the day before the man was to become
The voice of the people,
A great cloud filled the heavens and settled over the land,
And a long and quiet snow fell throughout the night,
Covering the fields stained red in the blood of slaves and soldiers
With a soft blanket of redemption.
And in the morning light,
As the sun shown on the fields of ice and snow,
The man the color of coffee and milk
Stood in front of all the world,
And spoke of Peace and the Promise of Humanity.
And all of the people from all four corners of the earth,
Heard the words,
And wept,
For the broken hearts of the many,
That had finally been redeemed.
And the trees, that had stood guard in watch of their fields,
Who witnessed the toils of the pickers and planters,
Those unlucky, who as children
Had been stolen from the arms of their mothers
And sent in the bottoms of ships, in sickness and shackles
To toil in the fields,
The trees who watched helplessly,
Bearing silent witness to the rape of young girls,
Who thought the dream was a fool’s folly
As the weight of somebody’s child
Swung heavily from their branches,
Though try as they might,
They could not release them,
The very trees whose limbs hung heavy in frozen tears,
Suddenly stood tall and reaching their naked branches to the sky,
They danced with their shadows in the fields of snowy white.
Filled with the blood of the ages they sounded in words heard clearly
In the hearts of the crying spirits of mothers and children of Africa,
“Hallelujah!” They sang.
“Behold, a brand new day!“
From ‘Masks’ Series, not yet for sale.
A Christmas Made in China
For Jennifer, because she wanted a peak at the masks.
It creeps in, the guilt. You don’t even know you’re aware of it and then you are aware of it and it has overtaken you and then it is all you can think about in every item that you buy because you don’t have a job but still you need to buy because we’re supposed to and that’s how it’s done because people don’t make things anymore because they had jobs and paid other people to make things for them because it was convenient and now they have forgotten how to make things and the bosses of the people who make things got them made cheaper in China and so the people who used to make things here don’t have jobs anymore because all the jobs are in China and the people in China have jobs but they don’t pay very well and the hours are long and the conditions are terrible and the things are made badly because the company doesn’t want to spend the money because nobody has any money but here you are standing at the checkout counter with your basketful of Christmas presents that you are buying at Target because you hate Walmart and won’t go in that store but it doesn’t matter because what you are buying at Target was made in the same place as what you are buying at Walmart because stores like Target and Walmart and every other corporate store (which happen to be the only places that are hiring) sell things cheaply enough that you can afford what you think will make your children happy because you think that buying them things makes them happy even though a little voice inside your head keeps telling you that it only gets them addicted to consumerism before they know yet how to think, but you buy anyway because you don’t want to be accused of being a Grinch and for some reason that makes no logical sense you still have a credit card and its Christmas time and even though you are no longer working and about to take a job at Walmart because you need to eat and you are starting to drop your standards and you use your credit card to spend money you don’t even have to buy presents made in China that keep corporate personalities like Target and Walmart in business and give you a job so you can eat and you are fucking lucky to have a job but it still doesn’t pay enough so you still have to use a credit card which they just jacked the interest rates up to the sky and it doesn’t matter that you have never had a late payment you will always owe and now you will pay for it with your children’s future and you will do it by purchasing badly made items from China that emanate slavery from the shiny packaging on the box that can’t be recycled and may last longer than the toaster which will join it there soon enough in the bottom of the landfill filled with toxic waste from the components of the computers and other dying electronics that were all made in China but that are allowing you to read this because your life is made in China and soon you may have to move to China because at least you can go to the doctor there because you can’t here because you don’t have a job and you can’t afford insurance and they wouldn’t give it to you anyway and now you may have to use your credit card to purchase insurance because the government will force you to buy it and you can’t afford it because you only work part time at Walmart even though you have a degree as an architect and are feeling Christmas will be bleak because last year you lived in a nice house that you had no business buying but the banks made it look easy and made you think you were rich when it was all fake money and then you lost your job and the house won’t sell and you just had to walk away from it and then the bank failed but the government put them back in business with money they borrowed from China so there would still be a bank but no house and now you live in a trailer with your family and things are bleak but you still have a credit card so you buy an aluminum tree and lights from the bargain table and with your employee discount it only comes to five dollars and you can’t afford the interest on the credit card but at least your children will be excited to see that you didn’t forget Christmas and you take the tree out of the shiny box stamped ‘Made in China’ and you put it together and hang ornaments that are very expensive because you bought them when you thought you had money and saved them in a box that used to have your computer in it because you are trying to recycle and the box has the word Dell crossed off and the word X-Mas marked on it with a Sharpie which you took out of your closet that was crammed with boxes that all say Made in China and you are now singing Christmas carols with your family and admiring the shiny colors on the tree and your children are still filled with wonder because everything is full of color and shiny and they are young and do not know yet about China.
©2009 Catherine Vibert