“Year of the Rat” Medicine Necklace | Honoring Our Changing Times
Rat Skull, Turquoise, Antique Silver from Nepal
Twelve years ago today (also the Year of the Rat), I was burglarized and lost my entire office and all my clients, after two years of business. To top it all off, I also realized my abusive husband at the time plunged us into $34k in credit card debit. No minimum or modest wage job could get me out of that situation. My pride was my job and my “appeared” wealth, but in a moment, I was humbled and everything seemed lost. It would be a fight to pay off the debit, to buy the equipment, and to get my business back. And you know what, I did a year later, but I made some sacrifices that still follow my reputation today… hmmm today… I have no work, except home schooling my daughter. I don’t know how bills will be paid, or if I have enough food or toilet paper, but my pride is not in my things or my job or my persona as an artist or writer. I surrender to love. I surrender to doing the next kind act. I surrender to generosity… to listening to Mother Nature’s cry for help… to conservation and clean-up… to only focusing on this moment. The universe will provide only what I need, and all we need is less out there, and more inside, and in our time that we are limited to the outside, stay in, and go deeper. Stay in and re-evaluate if you’re decisions or thoughts are focused on love or fear. The news will shackle you in fear, but your spirit will always point you back to love – stay there. We are birthing a new human existence where this practice is essential, where Mother Nature and the collective bare more weight on decisions than self needs and greed. It’s the year of the warrior, the time to align your values & fight – with every choice, every thought, every intention.
The necklace. I was gifted this rat skull while buying frames for my art show. I didn’t know what to do with it, but then, this year arrived, The Year of the Rat. I knew I had to embody a warrior spirit to guide me beyond tough times back to a life of abundance, so I honored this year by making this necklace. It’s a reminder of resiliency. We will get thru this.
Moments in the Medium: Medicine & Meditation
THE MEDICINE IS IN THE MAKING
Illustrations & Oil Painting
MEDITATIONS ON DEEPER LESSONS
The medicine is in the making, but sometimes, I need to sit with the message further to move past it. Originally a photo composit from my series Without Fear and Full of Love, “Bloodline” is about grief of the loss of pregancy, which I’ve experience more times than I want to admit. It is a bloodline, severed. A channeling of a soul cut off from this life’s karma, or one to return to life in another way. I have these connections with bees, clinging to me, often on hikes, or really, all kinds of places. They are friendly and quite stubborn to stay by my side, which makes me wonder sometimes, “Is this you, the soul I’m grieving over?” I have no answers, but I’m still not over it, which is why I decided to continue the art medicine further into this detailed illustration, which I finished on Dia de los Muertos 2019.
This is my second illustration in this style, which I’m currently painting now. I have to say, I feel most content in this medium pairing. Its flow comes naturally. I feel the intensity of the message as I focus into each shadow and curve. It brings me such joy to express myself on canvas, or in this case, on wood.
More to come on my progress in this medium.
