SPALENKA EYE

Memory of a Cosmic Heart is getting closer to graphic novel glory! I have learned so much while crafting this story. Stay tuned for the writer collaboration I am weaving together. 

I use Birthdays as opportunities to turn back the clock and review what my journey has looked like. I reflect upon what have I accomplished, what I have done well, where did I fall short, what have I added to this world that is worth while?

How did my words and actions serve or inspire, or did they have the opposite affect?

Did my compassion grow or did I lock down my heart in specific moments? How did I handle uncomfortable challenges and fears?

Was I courageous and brave or did I back away and hide?

When I throw off this mortal coil, what if anything will be remembered of me?

I look at this life as a cycle of many, born and reborn, on and on. Each year is like chapter in a book. I wonder how many books I have in that cosmic library and what genres they represent?

The Divine Nature Oracle deck is finished! Expected delivery from the printer is the end of 2022. This deck is in collaboration with Angi Sullins and Silas Toball of Duirwaigh Studios and US Games. Angi wrote all the wisdom filled text. This special deck is a fusion of new and classic pieces of my art. I will be sharing more about it in the coming months, but wanted to give you a little taste.

I will also be offering limited edition packages of these decks. Stay tuned for the celebration.

Divine Nature III, 2022 Calendar

Only a few copies left! Go HERE to watch an unveiling of the entire calendar!

GO HERE TO ORDER

This edition has a mix of new and classic pieces of my art. Celebrates concepts of the Goddess and the Divine Nature within all of us. Orders will start shipping second week in December. Christmas delivery is guaranteed within the US for orders placed by December 18th. 

All calendars are beautifully printed in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

• 8.5″ x 11″ wall calendar (11″ x 17″ open)
• High-quality printing on premium paper stock
• Saddle-stitched
• 28 pages total
• Contains legal holidays, phases of the moon, special quotes, and other important observances

I created the cover and several illustrations for Danaë Vlasse's Grammy winning album, MYTHOLOGIES. This classical vocal album showcases award winning musicians and vocalists including Hila Plitmann, and Sangeeta Kaur Teresa Mai, whose last two albums I worked on. Jeff Burne added his amazing graphic design expertise making a truly spectacular package. Go to danaevlasse.com to learn more about Danaë and her beautiful music. 

The Three Graces in Greek mythology represent goddesses of charm, beauty, and creativity. Daughters of Zeus —  Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia — who were said to represent youth/beauty (Thalia), mirth (Euphrosyne), and elegance (Aglaea).  

This art represents the song Euterpe's Lament. Each muse was responsible for safeguarding major cultural elements, including History and all the arts. This song represents the faith these muses represent despite the recent unprecedented worldwide closure of concert halls, museums and cultural venues.

Danaë, Hila Plittman, and Sangeeta Kaur Teresa Mai posed for this art. All images are mixed media and digital. 

Penelope. One of the best known female figures from Homer’s Odyssey is Queen Penelope of Ithaca, wife of King Odysseus, who employs astute strategies to fend off her suitors' advances while loyally awaiting her husband's return.

Penelope is a strong example of female independence in her era. She epitomizes loyalty to her own heart, trust in her choices, and a perceptive understanding of how to navigate social expectations while maintaining her power and defining her destiny.

Danaë posed as Penelope for this art.

Sirens. Sirens are perhaps the best known and most enduring element of Greek mythology. Their songs were reputed to be irresistibly alluring, but famously caused the demise of all who heard them. These myths have inspired every art form – filling the world with iconography of mermaids for millennia.

Danaë, Hila, and Sangeeta posed as the beckoning mermaids.

Below is a poem I wrote inspired by the Sirens song.

Sirens

Lusty storms of promise
desires of ancient lore

Sirens whisper songs of love
Beckon sailors to their door

Death and longing
intertwined
on rocks of distant shore

Enticing waves soon become
a shipwreck’s dying roar

The 2021 Divine Nature II Calendar is looking beautiful.

It has been over a decade since my first calendar was produced with Amber Lotus and Duirwaigh. I felt sharing some art highlights of the last ten years celebrating the Goddess, Nature, and the Divine in all of us would be inspiring and uplifting. Every month has an image to remind us of the beauty in our life. In addition to the art with explanations of their meaning and symbolism, there are thoughtful quotes, and even a lesson on meditation! Did you know I have been a devoted meditator for 30 years?

I am printing these with Graphic Sky, my local printer in Santa Fe. They print all my museum quality giclees and are doing a stellar job with this calendar. Order by December 14th to receive yours by Christmas and before they sell out.

Only $19.95. Buy Now.

• 8.5″ x 11″ wall calendar (11″ x 17″ open)
• High-quality printing on premium paper stock
• Saddle-stitched
• 28 pages total
• Contains legal holidays, phases of the moon, special quotes, and other important observances

Also for Narnia Fans: request the limited edition signed Aslan postcard in the comment box when placing your order.

On the 8th day of the 8th month, the Lions Gate opens. Metaphysically this is a powerful day for transformation and visualization. There is a scene I worked on for the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" motion picture which encapsulates this concept. Go Here.

One of the characters, Eustice has been turned into a dragon through a greedy activity. He is in danger of being slain because no one knows that this is not his real form. After realizing his error he asks for forgiveness and Aslan, the sacred lion turns him back into his human form... with some intense dramatics.

This scene symbolically represents the dragon of our lower nature, and the power of transformation using right thoughts, and right actions. The animatic shows our dragon/boy floating up from the ocean (his subconscious) as a sand bar pushes him above the water.

When he opens his eyes (waking the portals of perception) he sees the sun rising which turns into Aslan standing on the water. Aslan roars and rushes the waking dragon (the wind of realization). He tears him open with his claws (removing the ego) and the transformation begins from lower nature to higher being. 

The changing consciousness is washed over by a huge wave (infinite love), setting in motion a rebirth. Meditation, Contemplation, Prayer and Visualization are tools that help us calm the mind and open the portals of perception. May the perception of truth be yours.

Music- "Creation" by Honk and "Pulsar" from the "Memory of a Cosmic Heart" album.

Artist Alley table SDCC 2019

In the machinations of our reality, we are bombarded by a worlds opposites of right and wrong, dark and light, good or bad. The more extreme the drama of life the more interesting the story becomes. We see it today most prevalent in the news media who know how to manipulate and stretch the truth to extreme degrees. As an illustrator I came across these discrepancies all the time. It was difficult because I wanted to reflect the truth of an article but was asked to shift the image in a way that would be aligned with the publication's policies and agenda. They did not want to upset their readers or more importantly the advertisers.

Now with social media any event can be stretched to the farthest ends of the opinion spectrum. What is a fact and what is imaginary? One person's science is someone's conspiracy theory. 

It has been my experience that the truth is generally somewhere in the middle of an issue. It lives not so much in the black and white but somewhere in the grey area. I surmise this is where God resides... neutral, in the center, as the observer. Not all the way to the right, nor all the way to the left, neither up nor down, instead firmly in between all these extremes, pulling them together like lines of thought in a tug of war battle that is going nowhere.

Perception is an act of creation, until you know better.

There is a practice which comes from Buddhism called observing in “Equanimity,”  where we experience life in a nonjudgemental state of mind. This does not mean you approve or disapprove of what is happening in any specific scenario, but reaffirms that nothing outside of you creates your reality. It is an inside job. 

A neutral mindset can help keep our emotions calmer, but is there a way to reconcile the opposites in our life? Yes, that is with Love. 

Love is actually the synthesis and synchronicity of all complementary opposites. Only when we see both sides in perfect balance at once, will we experience the profoundness of the saying ‘and the truth (of love) shall set you free’. 

Love, is God in the middle.

Chakra Goddess, mixed media.