Petra by Night

I have not done a blog for many months.  I have been recovering from an accident I had just after I visited Petra. The visit by night, by candlelight is something I will never forget but the visit the next day somehow freaked me out vibrationally, so I changed my plans and went to the desert. There, I was travelling with a Bedouin elder by camel when we were set upon by smugglers.  My camel spooked and threw me flying resulting in a broken back, severe concussion, from which I am still suffering effects and, a rather grim hospital stay in Jordan.

Before this however, I had a wonderful experience in Jordan due to Ibrahim, my driver, my friend and eventually, my saviour. He showed me magical places close to his heart, the most extraordinary of which was the trip into Petra at night.  The guide was a friend of Ibrahim’s and three of us plotted so that he and I ended up way out in front of the others  who had come to experience this special evening.  He insisted that no one talk and that the main body of the group stay about 200 meters behind us.  It felt like we were the only beings on earth as we made our way through the long passage of the siq in the candlelight heading towards the Treasury.  It was a trip to another time, if not another world.  Eventually, the square in front of Treasury filled up and the evening became even more ancient as the music from another era began. Very very magical.

 The Treasury by Night                                                                                                                                                           Waiting for the Music

 These are two paintings that came out of that long erie walk through the candle lit, Siq. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of deja vu, a profound feeling of love and of homecoming.The Magic, The Siq at Night.  oil on canvas with amethyst, clear quartz  32 x 38″The Power, the Love: Night Visit , The Siq, Petra  oil on canvas with rhodolite garnet, pyrite 18 x 24″

For those who have never seen the magic of the Siq, here is an image of that wonderous minute when suddenly one arrives at the Treasury.

ENERGETICS

ART  EXHIBIT:   ENERGETICS

Todmorden Mills     67 Pottery Rd, Toronto, M1A 1K3

tel:   416.396.2819

opening reception Oct 14-6.30-9

Wed-Fri  12-4.30, Sat-Sun  12-4

This collection of paintings represents a series of personal  journeys I have made, wherein I explore the energy which exists between ourselves and every other element of  creation.

It is my belief that when we differentiate ourselves from other beings and our sacred surroundings, we lose our connection with the divine. In my travels to such spiritually energized locations as Machu Pichu, the Sahara, and other remote yet sublime destinations, I found that meditation and contemplative practices helped me to rediscover this connection with the divine.

The discovery of this connection, between self and other, is eternal and lies beneath all forms of artistic expression through the ages.

I have found through my language of painting combined with the healing properties inherent in gemstones, a way for me to express the mystic “energetics” which break through the boundaries separating us from ourselves and others.  In this space the boundaries between being and self cease to exist.  This is a space “in between”, beyond language, where the vastness within ourselves can mirror the vastness without.

It is my hope that when viewers pause before my paintings, they will be moved by the resonance and vibrancy of the colours combined with the mystical properties of the gemstones.  They may then be able to step away from their over-stimulated lives by engaging their imagination and emotions to experience a brief yet profound moment of reconnection to the divine within their own sacred selves.

Florals and their Metaphysics

I am having an art exhibit on April 7-11 at McKay Art Centre, 197 Main Street, Unionville  10-5, Sunday 12-5

905.477.9511     www.varleygallery.ca

Come and see me there.

Calla Lilies enhance self-worth, help increase the connection to the earth and to creativity.  They help bring acceptance and clarity around sexual identity as well as helping to integrate masculine and feminine qualities.  Callas help heal wounds caused by cultural  gender bias.

FLORALS AND THEIR METAPHYSICS:

The study of metaphysics allows you to discover the essence or real nature of things. My creations give you the opportunity to see the essence or real nature of flowers translated on paper with paint.

Flowers have been used for healing since ancient Egypt, in India, and in fact, long before if one takes into account the civilizations of Lemuria and Atlantis. All shamanic traditions, even those continuing today, use plant spirit and plant teachings at the heart of their rituals and teachings.

All living cells in plants, animals and humans emit light. These rays or particles of light are known as bio-photons. Bio-photons have the ability to remain coherent which means that they maintain the light as a beam rather than it breaking apart. This beam radiates out and affects all that it comes in contact with. It is this light that carries intelligence and memory and is the foundation for the ability of plants and people to communicate with each other “at the speed of light”. This was discovered by the German biophysicist, Fritz Popp.

Flower essences were rediscovered by Dr. Edward Bach in England in the 1930’s. He found that flowers have particular qualities with exact equivalents in the human emotions, and he recognized the link between stress, emotions and illness. Correcting the emotional factors with flower essences can restore our vitality emotionally and mentally – eventually resolving physical ailments. Colour of the flower also plays a part in the healing quality of a particular flower.

My art portrays the essence of flowers directly and permanently on to paper which in turn has a lasting quality of resonance with the human heart – affecting the body, mind and spirit. The light, the colours, the shapes, the brush strokes, the imbedded crystals are my study of the metaphysics of flowers portrayed on paper. This is my heart-felt contribution to beauty, healing and wellness for all those who choose to see.

Florence and the Biennale

The Florence Biennale was a wonderful experience allowing me to meet and interact with 600 artists from around the world.  The quality and diversity of the work was astounding as were all the personalities that went with it.  Given that I am focusing on energy fields and gemstones in my present work, the series of lectures were extremely interesting since they were comparing art to various sciences including physics and chemistry. My paintings were very well received and resonated with many of the Italian viewers and commissions are pending.  All in all it was a very positive experience.

Getting through the day

with my Chinese friend Yhang He in front of his painting "Dragon"

Charles Billich hard at work...as usual

Paintings going to the Florence Biennale Dec 5-13, Florence, Italy.

I  am exhibiting two of my “Chakra Series” of paintings  at the Florence Biennale art fair, Florence Italy, Dec 5-13, 2009.  Look for me there.

YELLOW

SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA

oil on canvas with carnelian, yellow citrine, clear quartz

48 x 36”/122 x 91cm

The third or solar plexus chakra is the chakra of identity, power and force of will.

Carnelian brings a sense of the constant presence of the sun into one’s life with the knowledge that there is nothing to give except love. It helps repair DNA.

Yellow citrine, a prosperity stone, balances yin and yang, aids in concentration and endurance, and offers comfort and optimism.

TURQUOISE

THROAT CHAKRA

oil on canvas with copper, turquoise

44 x 54”/112 x135 cm

The light blue colour helps to raise the vibrational frequencies of the throat or 5th chakra, the chakra of communication.

Turquoise, a master healing stone has been embedded into the paint as it elevates and strengthens all the chakra centers. It promotes independence and helps ground one.

Copper emits a philosophic energy, one without bias, It stimulates diplomacy, optimism, and independence while providing a harmonic connection between the astral and the physical body. Copper helps increase circulation and blood flow.

New Paintings From Morocco

As usual, after a trip, I try to push the output of paintings before I have fully processed the experience.  I find this to be particularly true for abstract work.  In other words, there is still only a little to show from my desert trip.

Here is my friend Mimoune, one very smart camel whose favourite food was the wild flowers in full blossom during my visit.  She was light years ahead of Ali and Eider, her fellow beasts, both in intelligence and in charm.

Mimoune with the last flower for lunch

I missed her so much that my first painting was an acrylic portrait of her, on paper.  I have painted this to give to a very young friend of mine, aged 5, who loves camels.

Faithful Friend

I then started in on the abstracts, a process that goes slowly at present.  This oil on canvas, 32 x 42″/81 x 91 cm, has the gemstones sugalite, amethsyt and carnelian embedded into the paint.

Waking Up in the Dunes with the early winter light of dawn

Sugalite is a love stone that protects from negative forces as well as  helping to motivate in accomplishing whatever one has set out to do.  Amethyst, a stone of spirituality and meditation, offers protection from low level vibrations and helps promote peace and stability while repairing DNA.  Carnelian, a prosperity crystal, show us that “there is nothing to be but love ” while also repairing DNA.  As it turns out, these were the perfect gemstones to balance both my and my companions’ vibrational resonances at that time.  The gemstones to be included in a painting are shown to me during meditation and only afterwards do I realize just how perfect the symmetry turns out to be.

The next painting was done in the same mindset, thinking of the vastness in the dunes and the changing light as it warmed with the sun climbing into its day.

Changing Light in the Dunes as the sun climbs higher

This is painted in oil on canvas 36 x 24″/91 x 61 cm with carnelian, smokey quartz, and amethyst.  The only change in the gemstones from the previous work is the smokey quartz; this is a stone of protection from negative forces and pollution and it also enhances one’s creative powers.  I am always gratified and in awe to see the consistency of the “instructions” for the gemstone combinations which come to me.  Here they are very similar to the previous work and these were both painted at the same time with the theme deepening from one painting to the next.

Fun in the Dunes

This beautiful dune was too much to resist!  I wanted to have a few trips of racing down and struggling up ….just for the fun of it.   One of the Berber camel herders travelling with us, Said,  thought that  we could only be joking.  He clearly had never done anything like this ….. playing around in the sand for no other reason than pure pleasure.   Since we were at the top already, it was all too easy to begin! I was last to take the plunge so that I could take pictures but really, I ended up laughing so hard at Said that it is surprising that I managed at all.  He was doing fantastically well until about half way down where the sand, as I soon discovered for myself, got very deep, and that was that.   

Said became an explosion of sand and a great tumbling mass that kept on spinning.  He finally stopped at the bottom in a heap.  Once he caught his breath and  got over his shock, he became as keen as we were and went up and down time and again…a true convert to plain old- fashioned fun!  The way up was a different story where he had all the laughs; like a camel, he was sure footed and inexhaustible where I stumbled and drowned in the shifting sand.  That particular afternoon was very magical especially as it ended with a visitation from a hare and then, as we made our way down towards our camp, a red fox.  I have no doubt that from time to time Said will roll down a dune or two, remembering in his heart that afternoon when he learned to embrace the dunes with a laughter and a lightness that he had not before known.

Crystal Hunting in the Desert

I have just returned from the northern Sahara where I was on a camel trek with the Berber people. We were in an area rich in fossils and could easily find crystals at our feet.   I found quartz, amethyst and vanadinite. I was very pleased with the vanadinite because it is quite uncommon; this stone gives one the endurance, persistence, power and will to see big projects through to completion.  It stimulates one’s creativity and provides stamina and grounding for one’s intuitive work.  Vanadinite, being a direct link to Earth energies, increases one’s sensitivity to elemental forces.  I will use these, as well as the desert sand, in my new series of paintings which have been inspired by this trip.   

The Wedding Present

This is a painting that I created for a friend’s wedding present. This a fully channeled piece where I was shown the colours, gemstones, and symbols to use. Ultramarine is the vibration colour of the third eye or 6th chakra, the chakra of intuition. The symbol of the “8″ on its side is the Islamic representation of the moon and hence Allah; it is connected to the Archangel Mikael; it is the symbol of eternity and infinity and is one of two primary magnetic energy lines which flows across the face of the earth. The gemstones used were, pyrite, a stone of protection against negative forces, lapis lazuli, a stone of total awareness which stimulates the communicative facets of the self and amethyst, a stone of contentment and spirituality. Considering that my friend, Saira is Pakistani and that this is in celebration of her wedding, I can only marvel at the connectedness of the all. May this painting be a reflection of her new life– protected, spiritual, intuitive and eternally connected to the infinite.

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