Ecology of the Unconscious — a series of mixed media artworks exploring the intriguing Salmon Forest concept, our relationship with Nature and with our own dreams. Art by Maureen Shaughnessy exhibted at 1+1=1Gallery in Helena, Montana.
Category: earth
Eating Dirt May Be Good For You
What can we, as teachers, parents, grandparents and friends of children, do — to make sure kids reap the benefits of unstructured time connecting with nature? Read this article for some ideas and background about “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Here’s an excerpt from “Last Child in the Woods:” As a child, I was unaware that my woods were ecologically connected with any other forests. Nobody in the 1950s talked about acid rain or holes in the ozone layer or global warming. But I knew my woods and my fields; I knew every bend in the creek and dip in the beaten dirt paths. I wandered those woods even in my dreams. A kid today can likely tell you about the Amazon rain forest—but not about the last time he or she explored the woods in solitude, or lay in a field listening to the wind and watching the clouds move.” Read more and find a list of ideas …
Good Art Fosters Good Connections
The ideal is to foster not isolation, but connectedness. Art of any kind must affirm human values. — Brett Busang
Wild Horses and our Naturally Wild Souls
We decided to gather for an evening of art making and camaraderie every month. Something artsy. Something to connect us. To each other. To our souls. To the Earth. Last night we made horses and gave some of them to Whitney, who is going to be giving birth any day now. Her little boy will be born in the Year of the Horse. He will have a herd wild horses to remind him of his naturally wild joy. With a mama like Whitney we know he’ll grow up snorting with laughter, jumping with glee and letting his wildness out into the world.
A Prairie Sunset that Fills Me with Peace
I love the soft gradients of some sunsets. This kind of sunset is a quiet counterpoint to the wild, heavily textured sunsets we sometimes have. I like both kinds. This kind fills me with peace.
These two skies were on either side of me. The top photo is looking east in the evening twilight … then I turned around and shot the photo below, facing directly west.
Earth Day, Earth Sculptures to Remind Us
Gaia: the divine goddess, the Earth Mother … she sleeps so peacefully, waiting to wake up, dreaming her dreams of the seasons, of growth and transformation, of life and light. She rests in the dark cool shadows of winter and early spring, rejuvenating internally and she will awaken with the sunlight, bird song and… Continue reading Earth Day, Earth Sculptures to Remind Us
Contemplative Art in the Garden
If we strive to deeply understand and perceive our world as inseparable from ourselves, then we will have empathy for every part of creation. We are an integral part of everything. Every one of the ten thousand things is, in the true sense, part of us. And everything is perfectly arranged!
This — whether we paint, draw, sing, pray, dance, cook,write code or write poetry — this empathy makes every one of us an artist and a spiritual being.
Today, go out into a “Garden,” no matter where it is and see your connection to nature as a work of art and as an act of prayer: in a wildlife refuge, in your back yard, on your balcony, in a city park, in a plant nursery or just in a clay pot on your kitchen windowsill.
Find your connection with nature: watch the unfolding of leaf buds and see not just a “plant” but also freedom, flight, wings, wind, the lightness of a heart.
April Calendar: Earth Day is this Month
Here’s the April 2007 Calendar … a little late. Please enjoy this and my other monthly calendars for your personal use — you can download these calendars to your computer by clicking on the image, left, then right-click to download.