Odyssey

 My 6th grade English teacher spent half the year having us read the Odyssey aloud. As we learned Greek and Roman mythology, I never realized it would be such a big part of every aspect of my life. From the names of planets, cities, and cars(!) to psychology... and archetypes and references in literature, movies and real life. When our Odyssey recitation was done, we wrote and acted out one story of the poem. My role was Athena, goddess of wisdom, handicraft and war. Looking back all those 50+ years, it seems to be a role I am comfortable with. Drawn to words, craft, and sometimes a bit bellicose.. this artist is also fascinated with the idea of life as one long Odyssey. 

Odyssey in some Wonderland...

My nightmares are always a variation of being on some endless labyrinth:  hallways, pathways, tracks, avenues, streets, railways, doorways, mazes, twists and turns, an endless moving forward in one direction or another.. never able to backtrack, or retrace the steps.. because they change with each moment. In 2015,  I spent one year making (and posting on this blog) a book-a-week based on the word "map". The books are about labyrinths, pathways, tracks, avenues, streets, railways, doorways, mazes, twists and turns. I realized mid-way through the year the theme was also challenging for me personally as those nightmares were revisited in many of my books. Yet, I still love the prospect of journey, travel, and returning to familiar places but with a whole new experience ahead.

Looking through the green tunnel at Le Pin...

This past May I returned to Gray Bear Lodge in Hohenwald, TN (graybear.org) to teach a books and box class titled "A Book is a Space." The title is taken from a poem I wrote about my perception of what is a book.

A book is a space…

the container

in which lives

a narration

a lesson

an image

an idea

a feeling

a communing with

You

The five days were spent on a 300-acre woods in rural southwest Tennessee. Giant beech, oaks, maples, poplars and pines towered above; while ferns, moss and a million tiny wildflowers carpeted the landscape.  The peace and beauty of Gray Bear is like some Eden on earth.

Prayer Flags across the road to Gray Bear

Each morning we took the board path through the woods for yoga practice in the skylit chapel-like yoga room. Then the 40 or so of us silently trekked back through the mist to breakfast.  

Path of Light

Then it was no holes barred as we donned our aprons, cranked up the music, and began our book arts class of pastepaper, box-making, and book making in our makeshift studio in the toolshed!

Showing off my paste paper and my nearly finished box

Enveloped in the art we were making, the world receded and we were in a Wonderland of book art creativity...

Checking that our handmade books fit in their newly made boxes..

But art isn't always just crafting objects. It can be just experiencing life. At Gray Bear we had delicious meals, beautiful surroundings, healing body work, and an incredible community of friends.

The Eden-like pool for Adam's Wasu Massage

My favorite of several waterfalls at Gray Bear

The outdoor sink ...for when we dined outside

This odyssey of time was an unbelievable gift to each of us who were able to be there in those moments at Gray Bear. So many wondrous things happened... to retell in a book or photo is impossible. 

You just had to be there.

Sunset over Gray Bear