recuerda mi corazon

snowflakes gone wild

snowflakes gone wild

lily's rose

i did not hesitate one moment 

to contribute to this years team genzyme runners and their auction supporting NORD.

how could i not embrace the chance

to use my passion, knowledge and abilities

to create something of merit.

after all,

the true reason i am still creating, teaching, sharing so vitally

comes from the very hope of NORD;

research culminating in therapies

for those who suffer the challenges of a rare disease.

 

how could i possibly know that while i searched for the perfect offering

someones thoughts where passing through the same current of hope,

to make a difference in the lives of others?

choosing a symbol became the more compelling task.

what would speak to the challenge of raising awareness and funds

to help others living with a rare disease?

what would honor the countless people who work so diligently

day after day at genzyme

  in a myriad of tasks that together create the therapy

that has returned me and countless others

to a life well lived, full of meaning and hope?

should i paint? mosaic? sculpt?

beautiful in each regard,  yet …everything pointed to stained glass.

 the ideal format for transparency,

bold living colour,

the intimacy of mouth blown glass,

a place to incorporate a faceted jewel in honor

of light passing through each of us

and our resolve to transmit beauty and purpose.

how could i know someone was searching for a gift of inspiration 

to place firmly in the life of  her grand daughter?

a touch stone of strength,  with the bright hope of planting a seed,

 to encourage her own passion to weather a stormy future?

i thought about the famous 13 century stained-glass rose windows

in many cathedrals and churches through out europe.

their perfect geometry was regarded as being similar to the eastern mandala,

a meditative symbol signifying the paths to enlightenment,

the human desire for wholeness.

it seemed a simple and profound fit.

a single red rose.

one of the most recognized and revered flowers.

a symbol of love, honor, sacrifice, and perfection.

passion red for matters of the heart,

conviction, purity, devotion, loyalty, compassion.

leaves. yes, genzyme green, after all, what could signify

vitality and life more than the bold green lettering of genzyme?

a rose…once rare,

transformed by the hands of knowledge,

the study of cultivating, the ability to strengthen, enhance and offer new life.

some will see a rose

others, i hope, will see their triumph,

their perfect offering to the lives of others,

the way i see each of the workers at genzyme

and the inextricable way we are all bound to each other in

 perfect concentric circles of energy and light.

how could i possible begin to image that as i created a window

in hopes of helping others who live with the challenges of

rare and debilitating diseases a door was opening

that would in return

flood my heart in impossibly profound ways?

 

Dear Rebecca,

 

I hope this email finds you well and that you had a wonderful Easter weekend.  My name is Erin.  Phillip Maderia was kind enough to provide your email address so that I can write you.  I work at Genzyme as a Quality Manager.  I have a beautiful 7 month old granddaughter named Lily who was diagnosed with Pompe just weeks after birth.  At age 6 months she was also diagnosed with another rare genetic disorder resulting in Hyper Cardiomyopathy.  What a special flower our Lily is!

I was introduced to NORD when I began working for Genzyme three years ago.  I have pledged every year because my heart goes to those with rare disorders, especially to those where there is not yet a diagnosis, therapy or cure.   This year really hit home for our family as I was wondering what I could possibly do not only for the organization but for my granddaughter as well.  

 “A Rose…” was then posted on the silent auction website.  Wiping the tears from my eyes I thought what perfect timing!  After I read what you wrote about this beautiful work of art I thought how wonderful, I can make a sizeable donation for a great cause at the same time procure a priceless treasure our Lily can hold dear in her life forever; a symbol of beauty, strength, courage, love and most importantly inspiration.  Encouragement to help her find her inner strength as she makes her way through life and inspiration so that no matter what challenges she faces she can create and succeed at anything she has a passion for.  This is exactly what her parents want for her. 

 Folks like you Rebecca will be Lily’s inspiration throughout her life.  Exposure to examples of your courage, strength and love for life will help her develop the emotional strength she will need to lead a happy healthy life.  I don’t know you but somehow it feels like I do because these attributes clearly are present in your glasswork and I thank you a million times over for that. 

 We hope you are doing well.  I would like to stay in contact with you if it’s OK, just to check up on one another as now you have touched our lives.  

On behalf of Lily and her extended family, I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your thoughtful creation, a lovely piece we will treasure for many years to come.  Her family now refers to this proudly displayed stained glass treasure as “Lily’s Rose.”  A one-of-a-kind lovingly crafted gem just like our Lily.  Our wish is that you can autograph the story you wrote about this piece and perhaps provide a photo of yourself so that Lily can have it as a keepsake and to share with others. 

 Wishing you well and warmest regards,

 

Erin

 

a rose.

the simple hope of helping others.

who could have imagined would align with the generosity of a 

loving grandmother

to flood my heart with a budding friendship and the arrival of  her magnificent

lily!

 

 

tomorrow recuerda mi corazon

will announce the opening of the shrine gallery of hope.

where artists from around the world come together annually,

in a virtual gallery 

with great hopes of offering a brighter future to the

poorest of the poor

served by 

oaxaca streetchildren grassroots.

imagine the doors that will be opened for young children

longing for an eduction.

imagine how their hearts will be lifted 

when they realize people they may never know

wanted their dreams to come true too.

imagine roses and lilies and

the flooding of more

hearts.

and the doors your giving will in return open in you.

day of hearts

 

may the beauty of each day flood our hearts.

may we know comfort reaching out to take us in.

may we live in peace,  act with kindness,

speak with compassion.  may 

we just simply be

love.

can you explain this meeting

of hearts and minds?

this ethereal world where extending ourselves

in honest words left as prayer flags

in the blog laps of others

transforms 

 separate into belonging?

words of witness, support, understanding, 

 compassion, 

simple gestures that defy

time, distance, separation.

 

for all those who take time

to tie your heart to the hearts of others..

hold each other up

in this turbulent dance of life,

thank you for your profound place in

this current of love.

for the countless who come and go

from one blog to the next,

hoping to join in...

perhaps wondering how 

to meld into a fabric

that seems so tightly woven.

i invite you to take a leap of faith.

each one of us found our place 

with the first comment.

today, valentines day

i invite you to leave a comment

on every blog

that has brightened your moment,

inspired, comforted, filled you with 

hope, laughter, kindness, regard.

for the contours of our hearts are never

fully realized until we land

in the arms of caring

for another.

snowflakes gone wild...

 

 

i have been in the studio all day

helping my students prep

SNOWFLAKES

just like people...

no two are the same

 

although it is cold

enough to snow 

these were first

to fall

i have  joyfully

taught at art unraveled

for years...

yet

nothing

comes close to 

inviting students into my studio.

sharing insights, tools, tricks,

 materials.

the gift of time,

inspiration,

beauty.

after a flurry of emails from 

out of town asking about 

classes..

i realized my mailing list is

falling short of reaching 

everyone interested.

just

click on 

"come away with me"

left column of my blog

under

anima burning in hell.

trust me...

you never know what you will

find there!

gathering heaven

  

winter's clouds have stacked themselves so close. So dark in their enormous pillars of expectation. Humanity scurries below. Some, head down and too preoccupied to notice.  While so many others, faces turned upward to the sky, in wonder, wait.  Such a mixture of thoughts gathering in the chill. Swirling like so many crystals of possibilities. A memory of maple syrup on the first bowl of snow collects on Adrian's eager tongue. His mother reels in sudden terror and delight remembering years ago, a speeding sled ride behind her now grown son.  Her husband groans under his breath, already shoveling Mount Everest in his mind, from winters sidewalks.  Our memories swirl and rise in the gathering cathedral of winter. Higher, higher they lift the very ceiling off the sky. I look at all the gathering darkness and marvel at how the quality and intensity of light grows as the sky swallows all visibility. The more darkness, the more brilliant our small diminishing light. 

Here in the northern hemisphere it is time to hunker down. Our cat has his winter coat on and is found most days curled in a spotted circle of his own sweet warmth. Children, I am convinced, wrapped in utter expectation cause our world to spin faster on it's axis. The days are flying off the calendar and I want to lasso the moon, sun and stars to slow down the pace. Yet life, as life will, moves ever onward like a giant graceful wheel. The short days and long nights of winter give us pause. A time to gather hope, renew our spirits, realign goals and count our blessings.

 

 Finally the snow is falling. Like a soft, pure tap on the shoulders of life to remember. To face each moment, all days, every season with faces turned upward in childlike wonder. This year more than any other I have been longing for the arrival of snow. My heart craves the purity of a white covered landscape relieving us from all the disparities in this complex world. I rely more than ever on the promise of bulbs gathering strength beneath the frozen ground. I look towards the smallest patches of light and find comfort. I gather heaven in each simple moment shared with family and friends. 

  
 

Here in the gathering cathedral of December, may your New Year be blessed with deeper meaning. It waits for us untouched and as pure as today's welcome snow. May we all spin gracefully through the seasons. Live straight from our hearts. Cherish the gift of family, friends and neighbors. Revel in life's simple pleasures.  Cultivate understanding and extend  kindness. Look for the common decent thread that ties our hearts to each moment, to each other, to the profound realization that we are all inextricably bound to one another. And like the most revered light in the overwhelming dark of winter, may we all manage to shine.

  
 

the perfect scent of pine

this year..... 

i want the "little" back in Christmas....

little crystal white lights strung together

 like a chain of softly uttered prayers 

offered humbly

over the top of this cluttered world. 

 just a simple white rosary of lights, 

that no one puts away when the holidays are over. 

little.......like the moment 

when all the crowded cost co isles slipped from view, 

as I heard an older couple 

singing a familiar Christmas carol on a karaoke machine. 

soft and reverent, their paper thin voices rained over the sound system 

as gently and fragile as an unexpected snow. 

suddenly i was five, sitting in church between my brother and parents,

as the voices of the elders broke my heart

in the way you want your heart to be broken. 

 

I want those long ago little footsteps of my son 

sneaking up the stairs way too early on Christmas morning, 

when the sheer delight of possibilities  

was enough to take his breath away. 

and that little note he left for Santa

beside a generous plate of just baked gingerbread cookies.  

Dear Santa, 

Please share the cookies with your reindeer. And could you please find

the missing key to my treasure chest and leave it under our Christmas 

tree so I know you are real?

Love, 

 

 

Adrian

 

i remember

when a tiny silver key 

hardly the size of the first snow flakes of winter 

could keep the magic of believing alive. 

i spent most of that night

desperately searching 

for a key that would open his treasure chest. 

and as fate would have it......i did!

i left it on the plate 

with a few less gingerbread cookies. 

in the morning it was adrian's first destination. 

he gripped that tiny key in relief and wonder.

 

i don't remember how many years past

until i knelt before that old trunk 

my grandmother had given to me

 when i was a child....

and more years later,

i to him. 

S l o w l y

i placed the familiar key in the old lock

and gave it a careful turn. 

it was a hot summer day

and what met me was the faint,  

perfect smell of Christmas. 

stacked to the top... 

silently waited

 a humble collection of frail little branches 

retrieved from each hallowed pine

 of all our holidays together. 

always the last vestige of Christmas

 to be taken down and

adrian's most difficult to release....

carefully 

without notice

he had kept a remnant of each beloved tree.

 

 

may the smallest most tender

 memories of Christmas 

tie our hearts to both seen and unseen miracles. 

may all the disparate shards of life knit themselves together 

under a pure silent blanket of snow. 

and just for a few white hours, 

before scads of new sleds and brightly bundled kids 

weave their spirited footsteps 

across the soft horizon 

let our world be transformed.

as my husband and countless others 

clammer for a little more time, 

as our seventeen year old son longs for different "little" things 

like a touch i pod, perhaps finally a cell phone, and announced just today...

 a little kitten

i hear that older couple singing....

have yourself a merry little christmas, 

let your heart be light..........

i smell the perfect scent of pine.

and send this simple hope...

that a soft snow will fall 

forgiving all our short comings 

and deliver us white

to the waiting new year.   

......that some small forgotten memory 

will fill each heart

 with a surge of love and wonder, 

that no one puts away when the holidays are over.