Jenny Mendes

"We have all hurt someone tremendously, whether by intent or accident. We have all loved someone tremendously, whether by intent or accident. It is an intrinsic human trait, and a deep responsibility, I think, to be an organ and a blade. But, learning to forgive ourselves and others because we have not chosen wisely is what makes us most human. We make horrible mistakes. It’s how we learn. We breathe love. It’s how we learn. And it is inevitable." —Nayyirah Waheed "I’ve been  hurt so bad and I still love so hard. I admire my heart for that." —Alexandra Elle, Words from a Wanderer "Answer Me" glazed stoneware 17in(w) x 24in(h) x 7in(d)

I always thought of Christmas as a birthday party because for us it was a shared birthday, that of my two grandmother's who were both born this day, and me, the day before on the 24th.  I miss you both..... John Lennon - So This is Christmas from HarvestLights on Vimeo .

It's my birthday today!  Missing all of the people I can't celebrate with in person today, especially my two grandmothers who were born on Christmas day and who I always shared my birthday with!  Gone but always in my heart!  It is such a beautiful day today, 54 degrees and sunny and so lovely.  I hope you are having a beautiful day.  I always loved James Taylor.... A sweet song for the day!

What forgiveness is?  Sufi replied... It's the fragrance which flowers give when they are crushed.  ~ 

Inspired by Ann Wood & Dean Lucker's glass ornament collection   Afloat but not adrift..... Saw this on the street yesterday while driving home....

Mistletoe Salesmen, Paris, 1928

Mindful Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for - to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world - to instruct myself over and over in joy, and acclamation. Nor am I talking about the exceptional, the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant - but of the ordinary, the common, the very drab, the daily presentations. Oh, good scholar, I say to myself, how can you help but grow wise with such teachings as these - the untrimmable light of the world, the ocean's shine, the prayers that are made out of grass? ~ Mary Oliver ~

Friendship by David Whyte (READ) "…no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend or sustaining a long close relationship with another, the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone."

"There is in everyone of us, even those who seem to be most moderate, a type of desire that is uncanny, wild, and lawless" ~ Plato

Here is some work from the past few days.  A few of the images are ideas I had done in another format redone as a plate by request.  I don't quite feel in the zone - except for the middle image which is peaceful and reproduced nicely on a smaller format.  I'll will try again today, and hope to get closer to something that feels more right.... it doesn't always work the way you want it to, but its part of the process.  Best not to over think it :)

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