As Above, So Below

Finished a new Reiki Wall piece today.  As I look at it, it makes me think of the night time sky with the constellations of stars....the path of the milky way....and yet the stars are star fish and the the clouds are Nautilus shells so it is as if the skies are a reflection of the deep deep sea.....as above, so below.

Under the tempered glass are images of butterflies, rising with the path of star shine. Antique french letters and sheet music complete the piece, with a hidden Reiki Blessing symbol.

Until I decide to send it to the Chalk Farm Gallery,  I have hung it in my studio, above my Buddha head .

My thoughts now turn to our departure next week and the return to the mainland.  It's always a little hard to let go....

Falling in love....

"The Spirit Within"  32" x  17"
    I have said this before...but I'm always in wonder of the process of creating art....For me, it feels like falling in love.  That is understandable because the energy used in creating, and in falling in love comes through a completely opened heart chakra and when you're open and the energy flows so easily, one just feels blissful.  :) This piece completely has taken my heart. I place the piece in front of me, when I'm done working on it and I listen to what it tells me.  This piece speaks to me of opening the door to the sacred space of our spirit.  The door is always there to enter and the key to entering is our willingness.  I love the mystery of this piece.  It looks very old like it has been in some ancient castle, hidden from the world until now.

There is a small antique box that opens to reveal an antique key with little Swaroski rhinestones.  Under the box is a opened hand....open and beckoning with trust and promise.

Here is the box closed.  I love when one has to participate with art.  The photo doesn't show it well, but there is a triangle shape of iridescent glass in a beautiful shimmering blue bordering the top and bottom of the glass.

Here is a closeup of the door handle...a beautiful filigree metal piece that I discovered in an antique store.

This is my favorite part!  I have created what looks like drips from a candle on the piece and I attached in the upper left hand corner a wonderful really old melted candle that was in an antique candelabra that I have and it looks like it is dripping all over the piece.

Here you can see the iridescent glass triangle a bit better. The piece is in colors of deep black brown, ivory and gold and so the iridescent blue glass is the only spot of color....and also the cathar cross above the box that has a tiny petrified nautilus shell in the middle.

The focal point of the piece is an image of a Shrine that I created. It is covered with a sheet of the wonderful bronze colored mineral mica.....around the mica is tempered glass and all of this is in a art nouveau frame.  Antique French journal pages 1882, hand written vintage music sheets, handmade paper,  tempered glass, antique box, antique key, metal hand, image of artist created Shrine, antique art nouveau frame, cobalt blue crystal orb, very old melted candle, dark grout, Swarovski rhinestones. 
    Reiki Blessing:  Dai Ko Myo     My intention is that the energy of this symbol radiate from this piece to bless those around it.This is the most powerful symbol in the Reiki group.  This symbol is used to heal the soul.  It is defined as "the treasure house of the great beaming light” and is considered a Zen expression for one's own true nature or Buddha-nature.  This symbol helps to provide enlightenment and peace. With practice this symbol brings profound life changes.  $1500. 
 

"The Soul of Sunrise"

"The Soul of Sunrise"   A new Reiki piece.  I love the colors inspired by a beautiful sea shell which Nature paints just as it is shown. The hand carved wooden pieces on both ends are sunflowers and are antique pieces that I collected years ago. They seemed just right for this piece. Available for sale: $ 1200.

 

Hidden within...The Reiki Blessing "Dai Ko Myo": This is the most powerful symbol in the Reiki group. 
                 This symbol is used to heal the soul.  It helps to provide enlightenment and peace.

"Butterfly Minuet"

I am obsessed with creating these wall pieces.  In a good way. :)  I think this is my favorite, so far.  I was able to come across some hand written sheet music with the word "Minuet by Beethoven" created for the mandolin.... delicately written on the top. I believe that this paper holds the high vibration, not only of the music but of the intention of the composer.  When writing, composing, dwelling in the place of creating music, as with art, I believe one has to be in a place of inspiration and I believe that inspiration is contained and held in this piece of music....I placed this sheet music, along with my French journal pages onto the wood board, and placed images of butterflies over that.  The Reiki blessing symbols were added and then hidden under the tempered glass.  The shell is a 1/2 Nauitilus shell and the butterfly on it is created with pieces of glass that I found in my treasure stash.  The round circles are abalone disks.

"Butterfly Minuet"  Available for purchase: $1200.

"Portal Within"  I love this one too.  I love how her face beckons one to enter a secret realm.  I painted a face on canvas and then mounted it on the wooden background.  Onto the face I laid a beautiful thick glass disk and around that I placed antique gold metallic lace.  The Reiki Blessing is secure under her image and the wood has been painted in beautiful colors of greens and blues and reds and golds and collaged with my handwritten French letters from 1880...all muted with an antique crackle glaze. Abalone shard points surround the face highlighted with Swarovski rhinestones.  Available for purchase: $800.

"Portal Within"

Details before the mud........

More pieces....ready to add grout tomorrow.  It's a risk, covering everything with mud, but I usually love the results.....we shall see tomorrow.....then it sits for a couple of days and then I will had a tinted glaze, which makes a big difference too.  At this stage  the handwritten French journal pages, & the music sheets have been applied, a crackle glaze has been added....antiquing has been done, the reiki symbols have been placed.....the nautilas shell and rusted metal leaves have been attached and finally the tempered glass has been applied.  And the Reiki blessing has been done.  Then...it gets covered in mud.

Here's another one in the same stage...pre-mud.  This one has a large Reiki symbol under the tempered glass and over the beautiful French journal pages from 1881

And also this one.....there is a shell of a coconut holding a metal piece framing an iron top from an old iron fence probably.  Found in a Paris flea market....I've added some tarnished silver antique metallic netting to this piece and I'm interested to see how that will show up with the grout added.

Studio table....cleaned up and ready for tomorrow's grouting session.

New Reiki piece........"The Key"

"Nest"

close up of "Nest"....found bird nest wrapped in vintage netting with Hawaiian seeds as eggs.

"Alter"

worked on my second Angel painting....

close up of "Blaize's Angel"

angels watching over me.....

Studio.....

new reiki piece.....face painted on canvas with hidden reiki symbols under tempered glass mosaic....with hawaiian blessings.  Rusted metal leaves, red good luck seeds, fan coral around her face.

just started a new angel painting.  I've decided to do an angel painting for each grand daughter.  This one is for Blaize.  So there will be 7 angel paintings.

I think I'm finished with Aidan's Angel.  I think....maybe.....

Painting, mosaic work, tempered glass, sculpting...oh my!

I opened her eyes today.....not loving this, but it is improving.....maybe it's time to stop and start another one.....

Grouted my latest Reiki wall piece....

Here's a close up of the key and wings....

Working on a new piece....metal vintage lantern piece...painted chinese red with gold leaf, put netting in window openings, tempered glass mosaic on the interior walls....

This will be the back piece...French letter from 1870, gold leaf with antique metallic netting over it....

and now I'm sculpting ceramic hands with a Reiki Blessing symbol carved into the palms and these will be placed inside of the wall lantern...somehow.......

New Reiki wall pieces.....

"Heart Blessings"

"The Ebb and Flow of Time"

close up of large scarb on clock face, surrounded by shells and tempered glass

Working on new pieces....

After much time setting up the studio.....getting supplies....settling into my new space...I'm back to creating.   These are three small wood  pieces from a cut up old door that I have painted on Reiki symbols and then hidden them beneath the tempered glass mosaic and images of the madonna's face and hands.  I"ve grouted the glass and am waiting to put the colored sealer on.

                                  

Blue Madonna.......

New Reiki wall pieces are ready to ship to Santa Fe.
This first one is called "Blue Madonna"

This is called "Grasshopper Guidance"


And this one is called "Buddah Blessings"