Choose To Live Healthy

Didn't need no welfare states. Everybody pulled his weight. Gee our old Lasalle ran great. Those were the days. We're gonna do it. On your mark get set and go now. Got a dream and we just know now we're gonna make our dream come true. Come and dance on our floor. Take a step that is new. We've a loveable space that needs your face threes company too.

All of them had hair of gold like their mother the youngest one in curls!" It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight. Straightnin' the curves. Flatnin' the hills Someday the mountain might get ‘em but the law never will. Today still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. So this is the tale of our castaways they're here for a long long time. They'll have to make the best of things its an uphill climb.

Goodbye gray sky hello blue. There's nothing can hold me when I hold you. Feels so right it cant be wrong. Rockin' and rollin' all week long. He's gainin' on you so you better look alive. He busy revin' up his Powerful Mach 5. Fish don't fry in the kitchen and beans don't burn on the grill. Took a whole lotta tryin' just to get up that hill. The weather started getting rough - the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost. the Minnow would be lost. The Love Boat soon will be making another run. The Love Boat promises something for everyone. Goodbye gray sky hello blue. There's nothing can hold me when I hold you. Feels so right it cant be wrong. Rockin' and rollin' all week long. Doin' it our way. Nothin's gonna turn us back now. Straight ahead and on the track now. We're gonna make our dreams come true. Then one day he was shootin' at some food and up through the ground came a bubblin' crude. Oil that is. Well we're movin' on up to the east side to a deluxe apartment in the sky?

Double Exposure Photography

Didn't need no welfare states. Everybody pulled his weight. Gee our old Lasalle ran great. Those were the days. We're gonna do it. On your mark get set and go now. Got a dream and we just know now we're gonna make our dream come true. Come and dance on our floor. Take a step that is new. We've a loveable space that needs your face threes company too.

All of them had hair of gold like their mother the youngest one in curls!" It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight. Straightnin' the curves. Flatnin' the hills Someday the mountain might get ‘em but the law never will. Today still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. So this is the tale of our castaways they're here for a long long time. They'll have to make the best of things its an uphill climb.

Goodbye gray sky hello blue. There's nothing can hold me when I hold you. Feels so right it cant be wrong. Rockin' and rollin' all week long. He's gainin' on you so you better look alive. He busy revin' up his Powerful Mach 5. Fish don't fry in the kitchen and beans don't burn on the grill. Took a whole lotta tryin' just to get up that hill. The weather started getting rough - the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost. the Minnow would be lost. The Love Boat soon will be making another run. The Love Boat promises something for everyone. Goodbye gray sky hello blue. There's nothing can hold me when I hold you. Feels so right it cant be wrong. Rockin' and rollin' all week long. Doin' it our way. Nothin's gonna turn us back now. Straight ahead and on the track now. We're gonna make our dreams come true. Then one day he was shootin' at some food and up through the ground came a bubblin' crude. Oil that is. Well we're movin' on up to the east side to a deluxe apartment in the sky?

drawing

I have been making time to draw.  Too much desk time munches away at my soul.  I have been busy in the business part of art.  I must pave a path for the latest sculpture series and then a whole new realm for me to rally the funds needed to place the bison bench sculpture at the airport (more about that later). Frankly, I get downright grumpy if I am not creating or adventuring.  Squeezing in studio time gives me a glimmer of freedom to create and shines a beam of light as I forge forward through the trudging part of the journey as an artist.  Every adventure has trudge and drudge not-so-exciting and often miserably painful moments.  The adventure could be a summit, a relationship or a career – things that involve passion, purpose and intent.  No matter how exciting the peak or how rewarding the journey, often much time is spent in non-glorious actions.  Ah – but a whiff of the vision – a glimpse of beauty, a hug, or a tiny victory can keep me going like the Energizer Bunny.  A wee bit of studio time is a promise to myself of a future with MORE studio time once again.

So each day I stand in front of my easel to face the tantalizing fear and promise of blank paper; seductive and frightening.  For a few moments or hours I slurp color onto paper, grinding it impossibly dark under my nails as a powdered rainbow of color falls at my feet below the easel.  I find myself buoyed between the kind of light-hearted-full-of-possibilities kind of laughter and the soul-wrenching swarm of sadness-near-to-tears emotion as I draw.  Open.  I search and feel through color.  A bit lost.  A bit found.  Klutzy.  But no matter how I feel during the process of drawing, afterward I feel somehow better.  Renewed, not unlike the feeling after a grueling workout when progress cannot be instantly seen but felt somehow.  I enter my office with the post-workout feeing of progress which fuels the uphill moments while working the business part of art – which in turn will create the financial freedom to sculpt once again the zillion ideas dancing and stomping loudly in my soul.

december morning

blessed thanksgiving memories

I have eaten fresh crabs caught in a cave while ship-wrecked on a Mexican island, climbed frozen waterfalls in sub-zero temps, shared thanks and 3 picnic tables full of potluck dinner in Redrocks campground with climbers and their children from all over the world, skied and soaked in hotsprings, ate chicken pasta in a small family owned restaurant in Rome while traveling Europe alone at 17, dined with fine china while sharing tradition with family and friends, and yesterday I tagged a summit - all ways of giving thanks, sharing place, peace, adventure, love, play and simple abundance during Thanksgiving Day. FULL-to-overflowing with gratitude.

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from sandy beach to winter's frost...

Bounced down the mountain in the dark for 6am spin class this morning.  Half way through the class and still before the sun came up it dawned on me that one week ago today I was leisurely biking on the beach in California.  I meant to blog last week about the excellent (too short) trip to LA but I pack my days from pre-dawn to the middle of the night – just where do I squeeze in my blog time?

I need a “wee me” blogging leprechaun who could eloquently translate my rambling thoughts and good blogging intentions into reality.

Jeffery took me to LA for a Nerium convention. Highlights included hearing Jack Canfeld and Shawn Achor speak plus the peeps that Nerium attracts are over-the-top GOOD people - purpose driven, passionate and kind – just what you would expect from a company that launched the Happiness Movement.  I will have to write a WHOLE post on that!

So yesterday afternoon we were ski touring up Mill Creek - definitely a change in scenery from the beach but inspiring!

never promised you a rose garden

 

Photo taken by John Zumpano

blunt-ness

The last few sips of hot tea-turned-luke-warm are simply not enough comfort for the stinging rawness of the chapter I just read in Judy Blunt's book "Breaking Clean."  Left me both numb and the polar opposite - which is what?  Fine hair-raising hyper sensitive....tingly.  Feelings similar to those at the top of climbing a frozen waterfall - awe and relief at the beauty and luck of being alive, fingers and toes frozen, lungs pumping, cheeks stinging, humbled and triumphant. 

Deep breath….heart stretched…

"The Year of the Horse" - the hair on my arm stands up when I think of that chapter.  My heart hurts for the porcupine, the wadded up and bloodied pj's hidden under her bed and that ridiculously white suitcase with pink lining (for me it was the unwelcome gift of a small plasticky white microwave with pink lettering that looked like it belonged in a Barbie Doll house and certainly not in the two-room Main Street apartment without a bathroom where the kitchen was more of a studio than a place to sit and eat).  I didn’t even believe in microwaves – and of course my parents knew that.

I want to brew another cup of tea, top it with a Sunday morning indulgent dollop of Bailey's, bake some brownies, turn off the cell phone and write.  Not because I'm any good at it - but because Judy Blunt is SO good at it.  I can't read the next chapter - full-to-overflowing from the last one.  I feel like the lumbering klutzy porcupine - stunned after the first unwarranted blow, curled around my tender belly.  Exposed.  Yet the desire to wield a thick branch like a club and momentarily master my fears by whatever means is woven into the fabric of my being.  Survive.  Thrive.

A friend recommended the book over tea one morning last month.  I went straight to Elk River Books to purchase a used copy.  I haven't gotten to the chapter she mentioned that morning (about ranch families coming out to light the road so that a young husband could get his pregnant wife through the fog and bog to the doctor).  Since spring I have carved out time to read – finding a familiar part of myself lost in the struggle to survive financially.  My return to reading feeds inspiration and bolsters belief in my purpose.  The idea of "survive" has a clinging and clawing feel to it.  A shift in attitude, a deep breath and "survival" turns simply into "challenge" - something like a frozen waterfall worth the effort and pain of getting my feet off the ground and scaring myself on the journey to the top.  I felt a big shift in so many things last month.  After HATCH, after several encounters with passionate people, after increasing synchronicities; I am aware of support.  A community has come out on a cold blizzard night with headlights and flashlights beaming to help keep me on the path of my calling - to birth the next sculpture series (and the next after that).

I highly recommend the book.

jesus rays

Autumn light greets me with the welcome familiarity of a dear old friend.  My awareness of how little time we have together enhances our bond.  I revel in the attention of the warmth on my shoulders, sun caressing hilltops and peaks lit theatrically in the distance.  My urge is to cling, hug, stare and simply ooze love on this dear precious friend of mine.

Our time romping together was intensely short this year. Momma Nature has been switching her tunes like a DJ at a school dance with a preference for harsh cold music punctuated with wind, snow and rain. October began with a dump of a foot and a half of snow at my place but instead of the usual early snowstorm followed by an “Indian Summer” – we got more snow, rain and snow.  Not until the final week of the month did Momma Nature play more languid warm-fuzzy slow songs.  The glory of autumn’s rich golden yellow and red tapestry was at last unrolled beneath the snow-topped peaks- time to shed some clothes and dance in the autumn light! 

I worked for hours before the sun came up each day and into the afternoon before grabbing a bike or running shoes but always my dog and heading out to grin and spin on the plush vibrant rug.  I soaked up the sideways sunrays and caught an occasional misplaced sliver of moon in the middle of the afternoon hangdogging above my head.

Mostly I mountain biked so that all the lush aroma and crisp raw beauty could be experienced up close and personal.  We actually mountain biked up Lewis and Clark the first weekend of November (possibly the first time I have mountain biked in Montana that late in the season).  Three days of 10 degree weather and snow blowing sideways happened between the last two rides – the DJ zealously mixing up the music.  Yesterday I realized the gift revealed after the super short prime autumn weather is that it forced me to take a FULL day off each of the last two weekends.  Something I forget to do and realize (once again) the importance of a WHOLE day – outside of my studio and my office.  Reinvigorated – I return to the studio and swear I can feel the Jesus rays inside.

sharp beauty

The barbwire is a hundred years old, pulled from the bottom of fences on local ranches when replaced with antelope-friendly wire along corridors where the graceful creatures migrate.  My dear friend Joe Joe was working on the antelope project and told me about the barbwire.  Much of what I have collected actually came from the ranch along the Yellowstone at Tom Minor Basin, which is managed by another dear friend Vern (I introduced the two).  The barbwire is beautiful, potent and perfect for the “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” series.  Multi-layered meanings, powerful energy plus connections through dear friends and special places are woven into this wire.

The gold leaf…well…I have recently become infatuated with the stuff!!  I love the soft subtle beauty of wood grain showing through the super thin metal leaf.  The gentle glow becomes more hardened and harsh in photos.  Trust me - photos don’t do the magical stuff justice.  But - can I just say…”mmmmm…..?!”

Finally – there is another delicate detail that remains elusive in most photos (this one included).  All three sculptures in this series have a slightly metallic surface to the carved wood background on the face.  Layers and layers of stain are coupled with a process I am perfecting to produce a slight unexpected sheen to the surface.  One sculpture’s background looks like pewter, another is copper and this sculpture has a golden hue – less yellow than the photo and more richly enticing.

New ventures with mediums – so many possibilities…

stuck moments

The guidebook said “a skinny person” could fit through the small hole at the top of the chimney on the second pitch of “Skyline Buttress” – otherwise the pitch could be completed by traversing out of the chimney onto the face of the tower.  Marylee and I are girls so obviously we wanted to be officially classified as “skinny” – thus the hole drew us in.

The five-pitch climb is a classic in Gallatin Canyon.  We were intent to squeeze out one more adventure together on rock before winter set in.  We hiked with Zaydee along the Gallatin River, through golden trees and up the slope through snowy patches to the base of the tower.  We warmed our hands and began the climb (and then warmed our hands again and again).  Sun warmed the rock above us and beckoned through that enticing wee hole at the top of the chimney.  Marylee led the pitch, poked through the hole and got super stuck.  I offered calm encouragement from below.  She squirmed and struggled for over 10 minutes saying over and over – “I’m seriously stuck” but laughing between grunts.  Fluffy down feathers floated drunkenly across the blue sky above the hole – the tight squeeze had ripped her down jacket – a gift from Lynn Hill.

While I waited, watched and encouraged Marylee, I plotted.  Marylee had shoes hanging from her harness for the walk off the top – definitely a disadvantage in the small hole.  My shoes were in the backpack I carried.  Once Marylee made it through the hole and built an anchor, I clipped the pack to my harness so that it would dangle below me while I navigated the chimney and started to climb.  Just below the hole I tied the pack to the rope and had Marylee pull it through the triangle shaped opening above my head.  Now it was my turn.

I got stuck.

I didn’t have the same amount of gear on my harness as Marylee but I do have some rather serious “booty” which did NOT want to fit through the tight space.  My feet dangled in air while I tried to slither my way through.  The dangling feet, stuck butt and awkward situation made for a super DORK moment.  Actually I experience similar moments in the studio – stuck – exposed – dangling precariously.  Mostly my life isn’t on the line in the studio but my vision and creation is – and of course it is my duty to push the boundaries beyond my comfort zone while creating.  The business part of art creates constricting super dork moments as well.  Dangling awkwardly between my vision and the means to make it happen; I humbly realize the need for support, partnership and encouragement during those moments. Good humor helps.  Gratitude fills me.

i never promised you a rose garden series complete

Three sculptures.  A trinity.  Complete.

How do I know when a series is complete?  What about all the pages full of sketches with multiple other sculptures in this series that haven’t been created?   While I honestly didn’t know when I embarked on this series just how many sculptures would happen – I knew it would be at least three but thought it would most likely be five.  My first reliquary series had five sculptures – enough to feel like a forest when installed in a museum gallery or a corporate lobby.  I thought five might be necessary to feel like a “garden” for the “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” series.  But three is – well – perfect (for multiple reasons).

The unexplored sketches might morph into the next series or they may lie forever dormant.  The pages (and pages) of sketches for this series in my sketchbook are part of the process.  I have my ideas – the logs have their own.  We work together; compromise and surprise each other.  Each unexplored sketch is part of the journey and gets me to the final sculptures.

Part of the story behind this series was shared on stage during my TEDx talk.  I plan to share more.  Stay tuned...

(photo by John Zumpano)

me on a billboard...?

The phone call came early this spring telling me about a project the local committee for tourism planned to launch featuring local “characters.”  My first guess was they wanted me to paint or sculpt some local character(s) and I wondered how I would find the time.  But as I listened, it became apparent they considered ME a local character and wanted to feature me on a billboard.

Hmmmm…..

Self-employed people like me are suppose to welcome any and all publicity.  But a billboard….?!!!  Me?!!!  The photo shoot was sweet, friendly and fun.  Artist Brad Bunkers and photographer Lynn Donaldson were in charge of the images.  Luckily I had one carving that would fit up the stairs and in the makeshift studio – which seemed more like a place for rats, spiders and ghosts than a fancy photo shoot.  Meaningfully – the sculpture was created as a tribute to dear Freeman and Daisy Butts.  Daisy had just passed away so it gives me “warm-fuzzies” to have their energy on the billboard.  I also like the idea that an artist is next to a champion bull rider – that there is equal value and attraction to the two as “celebrities.”  How cool is that for the art world?

final piece in the latest series...

HATCHfest

I have been beautifully buried in HATCH.

What is HATCH? HATCH is a meeting of the minds and hearts of soulful people. Part summit/part retreat - one hundred people are selected from various disciplines and invited to Montana to spark, fuel, support, mentor, share and inspire each other during a four-day intensive with the intention to “HATCH a better world.” Check out their video here:

Two days “off the grid” at a resort ranch near Big Sky and two days “on the grid” in the heart of Bozeman – we shared mentoring sessions, panel discussions, soulful lightning speeches, film screenings, jam sessions and artful food with Emmy award winning musicians, inspired producers, CEO’s, corporate consultants, NY Times Bestselling authors, top social media experts, industry hackers, innovators, inventors and TED speakers. Three of my Reliquary sculptures graced the ranch retreat during the gathering. I have been HATCHed wide open. My heart stretched, my imagination was turbo-charged and my soul tickled. I am invigorated, challenged, inspired (Lordy sooooo inspired) and….exhausted!!! What a gift of an experience!  I barely have my feet back on the ground and am hardly caught up on sleep. I feel like I do after a BIG mountaineering endeavor; tuckered to my core and totally infused and inspired at the same time - and - well - validated.

I am rolling in the moonbeams, earth tremors and soul sunshine of HATCH

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