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Fledgling Rescued 12 y
A baby sparrow on the ground in my back yard was trembling in the cool of the morning. My neighbor knew what to do to save her.
June 11, 2012
This morning I found a baby bird sitting on the grass. I startled her and she startled me when I noisily wheeled the trash barrel full of backyard cuttings past her; she flew up from the grass, making a low-level flight down the side yard walkway ahead of the trash barrel, her little wings beating only inches above the concrete. What was that? A baby bird! The second one in two days.
I came across the first baby in the front yard bird-of-paradise shrub in the evening just before sunset two days ago. She stood stalk still and stared at me as the comparatively imm ... read more Art: "EggRoot" 12 y
More Eco Art; two are made from copies of my original watercolors
Eco Art: "EggRoot" by mayah (c)2012
Wooden frame is painted with biodegradable, non-toxic milk paint; flowers and "egg" (really photos of two stones cut out and shaped into an egg--the flowers sit inside a "pocket" made from the two stone photos) from an advertisement; silver ink pen
Eco Art: "Lizards X 4" by mayah (c)2012
Original "Lizard" watercolor by mayah. The beautiful sunset photo in the background is a kodak print by an unknown photographer; it came in the unpainted frame I bought a ... read more Spirit of Crow 12 y
Taking a walk around my neighborhood, I came across a dead crow. After taking her home and ritually burying her in my backyard, I found out the meaning of Crow as an animal totem. Spirit of Crow then told me a story.
Crow’s Grave 5-30-2012 photo by mayah
Crow Burial
May 30, 2012
I took a walk around the neighborhood tonight, just before sunset. I was walking on the easement grass, as usual, to ease the stress on my joints (no concrete walking for me) when I came upon a dead crow in the grass. I bent down over it, looking at if for a bit, and then walked on. About 10 yards past, I thought about a woman from Dare’ (1) and how she buries animals that have been killed by vehicles on the road. I stopped, turned around, and walked back to the crow. She was pretty desiccated, almost mummifi ... read more Original Eco Art 12 y
These two art pieces are made from small prints of my original drawings.
Eco Art by mayah "Tiger Spirit" (c)2012 Approximately 6" X 6"
Eco MaG by mayah "Rose" (c)2012 Approximately 5" X 6"
"Eco Art by mayah" is made with reused materials and eco-friendlier art supplies. "Eco MaG’s my mayah" are mini art works backed with magnets so they can hang on the ’frig. The tiger and rose are small prints of my original water color and ink work. They are mounted on reused: corrugated and other cardboard, candy bar wrappers, frame from Goodwill In ... read more Art:"Mayah's Mind" 12 y
Stayed up all night making art on this Memorial Day weekend. Listened to NPR public radio--Veterans telling their stories of war. Wishing peace to all on this day.
Eco MaG by mayah ”Inside Mayah’s Mind” (c)2012
Had a long talk with my spiritual mentor the other day about the questions I have asked for years yet are still unanswered: Where is God? What is God? Why are We Born? What is Our Purpose? Why Does Suffering Exist? What Happens After Death? What is the Nature of the Universe? Why...? What...? Where...? How...? When...?
Eco Art by mayah ”Joy” (c)2012
When I can shut off my mind and focus on my art, I feel content; yet the emotion of joy is elusive, rare, and fleeting, l ike thi ... read more Dream: Art/Nature/Divinity 12 y
Had a powerful dream today. It speaks about art, nature, and the Divine.
Dream: 5/23/2012
It is not clear whether I am a man or a woman in this dream; I look kind of androgynous. My hair is short and jet black and straight and my skin is of a light brown hue. I am standing in an enormous room with a woman of some kind of high rank, perhaps a high Priestess. She has the same skin and hair coloring that I do; there is something of ancient Egypt about the way we look and the setting we are in, yet it seems as though the civilization in which we live predates that of ancient Egypt.
I have committed some kind of transgression; it is not clear from the drea ... read more Chumash Medicine Woman Dies 12 y
The last Chumash Medicine woman, Cecilia Garcia, died at her home in Ensenada Tuesday May 14, 2012. She gifted me with the love of California native plants.
ADDENDUM: From a friend of Cecilia’s, posted May 27: "Cecilia received a traditional burial and all of her things were passed on in Chumash ceremony. She is buried in a beautiful place that she even mentioned that she would like to live. Everything worked out seamlessly. Pictures were said to capture the spirit in that moment, so none were taken of Cecilia or her burial. She was dressed in her native regalia from head to toe, laying on her side in the fetal position facing West and is cradling a sea turtle shell with eagle wings against her chest. Her favorite rattle, dancing ... read more Art:"North Meets South" 12 y
Eco MaG with a social conscience: Ice melting in Northern/Southern hemispheres threatens animal species and indigneous people's way of life.
”North Meets South” Eco MaG by mayah (c)2012 Original
”North Meets South” Eco MaG by mayah (c)2012 Revised posted 5/23/2012: I am discovering that some colors of paper don’t do well when exposed to the sun. This MaG was up on my refrigerator for a few days before the color of the orange-pink paper started to show signs of fading in spots, so I revised it by putting a layer of white photo paper scrap over it. Now the polar bear and the penguin chick are standing on a field of white, more apropos to the subject of sea ice. I think I like this version bette ... read more Art: "Vision" 12 y
Often I feel as though I am "channeling" my art--the inspiration seems to "come through" me without my thinking about it. This art piece is an example of what I call "shamanic art", when the energy of Spirit is felt very strongly and a message is given.
Eco Art by mayah ”Vision” mayah(c)2012 Approximately 7” X 7”
This young girl looks as though she is staring off into the future or into the inner realms.
Reused materials; frame from Goodwill Industries; paper scraps from other art projects; nontoxic glue
I liked the photo of the girl that came in a brochure from Doctors Without Borders --she’s from Central African Republic. I put her on reused cardboard backing to make her stand out from the background and look ”3-D”. Behind the girl is what looks like a plant--reminds me of bird-of-paradise-- but is reall ... read more HomeMade Art 12 y
Busy all Mother's Day weekend doing more Eco Art. Reframed an older art work and made some new ones. I buy my frames from Goodwill Industries--they are inexpensive and I like the idea of reusing frames rather than buying brand new ones. Some of the frames are a bit worn, adding "character" to them. Most of the frames are empty of art or have mass produced or commercially made art in them; if the latter, I try and reuse some of the components in new Eco Art works.
Now and then I find a frame that has original homemade art in it; I always feel sad that someone's art ended up at Goodwill and sometimes I "rescue" it--buy it and take it home, then wonder what to do with it.
Maybe my art will end up at Goodwill some day too; hopefully, someone will come along and reuse the frame and make something new out of the art work like I have!
”Textures” by mayah (c)2012
”Textures” was done in 2010, I think...? It has been in several frames before but I didn’t like any of them; I think I like this incarnation. I really Really REALLY like corrugated cardboard!!!! The design in the middle is made from scraps from other tissue paper projects; mounted on reused cardboard.
”Ocean” by mayah(c)2012
”Ocean”--this started out with a frame from Goodwill--an unpainted wooden frame with the sea shells glued on it--looks like something a school kid would make. I figured that Kid grew up, went t ... read more Art: Fall Leaves 12 y
Yeah, I know, it's Spring but these are two Eco Art pieces I worked on this Mother's Day weekend that recycle my own art! Happy Mother's Day, Mother Earth!!
Fall Leaves by mayah (c)2012
Fall Leaves framed
"Fall Leaves" was done in 2008 out of tissue paper on unbleached waxed paper, glued onto scrap cardboard (I was doing "Eco Art" back then but didn’t know it). I’ve messed around with it a lot since then and made a cardboard frame for it with the "leaves" sticking out over the edge of the frame; decided to put it in a dark brown frame that looks like tree bark; framed it off-kilter so the "leaves" would still show. Not sure I like it in the frame; may take it ou ... read more Joys of Spring 12 y
The past couple of days I have been weeding my long-neglected yard. This afternoon, I came home after running an errand to find six sparrows enjoying dirt baths, each small bird sitting in its own little depression of soil once inhabited by a weed. The birds vigorously flapped their wings and kicked up quite a dust cloud, chirping in joy as they did so. A seventh bird flew in to join the group, but tried to oust one of the bathers out of its bath. The two birds scuffled for a while, with wings beating frantically amidst loud chirping. The interloper was rebuffed, and found a dirt depression of its own. Peace was restored and the joyous bathing resumed.
Why Do Birds Take Dirt Baths?
http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2009/08/26/why-do-birds-take-dust-baths/
photo of a house sparrow taking a dust bath by Vishnevskiy Vasily via Shutterstock
"Someone asked me this question at the bus stop the other day. I’m not surprised it came up because the ubiquitous city birds - house sparrows – are champions of dust baths. They’re the ones who prompted the question.
House sparrows prefer very fine dust and will flap up a storm when they find a patch of it. They dig a hollow with their feet, push their bell ... read more Amazing Art from ocean trash! 12 y
"Washed Ashore Plastics, Sea Life & Art is the vision of artist and educator Angela Haseltine Pozzi. This community art project turned the ugly reality of ocean trash into" 15 massive, beautiful, "sculptures of the marine life we strive to save, inspiring us all to re-think our use of plastics and change our habits."
”The Washed Ashore project cleans up litter on Oregon beaches and transforms it into amazing sculptures of the marine life harmed by such debris. Sponsored by the Bandon, Ore.-based Artula Institute for Arts and Education, the Washed Ashore exhibit has set out on a global tour to raise awareness about the impacts of trash on marine mammals and the ocean”. ”Henry the fish is just one of the 18 giant sculptures built by Washed Ashore volunteers and lead artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi. To make each sculpture, a local high school class welds the recycled rebar structure, and then ... read more Art:Rain Forest Toucan 12 y
More Eco Art with a social conscience: Rainforest Alliance
Eco Art by mayah (c)2012 "Rain Forest Toucan" 7" x 9"
Toucans are found in South and Central American rainforests, and many of the 40 different species are threatened by loss of habitat due to deforestation. Capture for the commercial pet market is another threat.
"A common estimate is that over half of the species of animals live in the rain forests of the world. To say that many of these are threatened or endangered would be an understatement, especially in light of the many threats that rainforests as a whole face in t ... read more Art: "Gorilla Chocolate" 12 y
Eco Art with a social conscience: Fair Trade, Shade Grown, Organic Chocolate
"It Matters/Gorilla Chocolate" Eco MaG by mayah (c)2012
IT MATTERS: Why is there a gorilla on the front of this Eco MaG made from an empty chocolate bar package? Please notice that the wording on the packaging states “Fair for Life” and “Quality Assurance International Certified Organic”.
The next time we have a craving for that delicious confection, please consider the following:
--"Gorillas are the largest and most vulnerable of humankind’s three closest relatives, the African apes." One of the gravest t ... read more Art: Shaman's Journey 12 y
Shamans travel either into the "inner" or "higher" realms of existence; the vocabulary we use is inadequate except to say that the realms are not of this earth plane of existence.
Shaman’s Journey by mayah ©2012
This Eco Art piece represents the Shaman’s Journey. The shaman’s Spirit leaves the ordinary earth plane of existence, represented by the large circle in lower right with sticky dew drops on spider web; she temporarily sheds her ordinary physicality, represented by the feather left behind, and climbs up through (or down into) the higher or inner levels of existence, represented by the zigzag staircase of seed buttons. She utilizes the energies of the Four Directions-- represented by the green triangles—to fuel the j ... read more Art:Workings of Time 12 y
Assemblage art using an old broken wall clock. "Eco Art by mayah" utilizes reused materials and earth friendlier art supplies.
"The Inner Workings of Time" by mayah (c)2012
Another "Eco Art by mayah" with play-on-words, as the piece is made primarily from a broken wall clock with the inner workings revealed. It’s also a reference to "Time as an Illusion": http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=977044
The clock hands are set to 11:11 This is a reference to Kryon and the 11:11 --"We celebrate the 11:11, for it represents pure illumination." Whenever I see 11:11 on the clock, it is like receiving a wink and a nod and a r ... read more |