House-sitting In Mendo

Above is my slightly pregnant Earthmother that I created in the desert outside of Tucson.  The tires around it give you an idea of the size, around 50-60 feet long.  I used a shovel and dug an 8 inch deep ditch around her, then raked the dirt outward.  I couldn't see what she looked like until I persuaded a pilot at the local airport to fly me over to see the "naked lady" I'd carved in the desert.  Ever since then I've wanted to create more Goddess land art.  My resolution in Hawaii was to begin spreading my giant land art Goddess Gardens around the world.  I think now is the perfect time for Goddess frequencies/energies to be reintroduced.

I intend to create giant land art wherever I go from now on. But, I have the same problem everywhere; how can I make something that can be seen from a satellite?  This piece is just an exercise, a practice piece.  First, I was going to dig the design out of the hill, then I decided to use old man's beard, a lichen that grows on oak trees in this area.  In the first photo, the oaks behind the falls are covered in the lichen.  Below that, is a close up of the long wind born "beard".

I decided to do the Celtic triple goddess symbol inside a circle because it fit right in to the area David gave me to work on (about 50 feet in diameter, near the road).  I ended up using the lichen because of all the ground squirrel holes (the white dots inside the design).  Then I had the bright idea of buying solar LED lights to outline at least part of the design.  What happened was the next photo.  Not what I expected, but I still like it.  I need more lights. What I really want to do is create giant gardens that can be seen from satellites.  I want them to be "painted" with the colors of the plants, vegetables and flowers and carry a powerful message through symbols and land drawings.

Below are the latest Goddess heads I've been creating.  I sculpt them out of plasticine, make plaster molds off of them, then make concrete faces from the molds.  These I'm collecting for a piece where they will appear around a city  They are to give the effect of ancient art/sculptures oozing out of the ground.  The whole will create a giant land art piece.  Once I make a plaster mold I can rework the faces any way I want, over and over.  I'm trying to make at least 10 different goddess faces/molds and I have four more to go.

I'm holding my first successful mold.  Lots of failures until Eureka!

This is the inside of a mold.  

Concrete Goddesses:  I'm going to start coloring these to match the soil in specific places.  The Goddesses below are meant for concrete in the city.

I swore I wasn't going to start another painting until I finished 6 others that are almost, but not quite, done.  Instead I found a picture of a little girl with a manatee and it took me about an hour to sketch and paint the initial cartoon.  Putting it up here will force me to work on it.  (This kind of  thinking explains why I will invite someone over to motivate myself to clean the house.)

Laura and I have decided to do still-lifes.  Below are my first examples, using jewelry I've been making since Hawaii.

Up to now I've been moving around housesitting since I got back from Hawaii, but now I'm back in my old cabin.  It hasn't been lived in for a while so I've been slowly cleaning it out.  Finally have a clear deck where I can sit and read and take photos.  I've turned the main room into my art studio and I've been having fun.  Laura has a large garden and pets that need taking care of when she travels.  When she's home we eat dinner together.  She provides the organic vegetables, I cut it all up, she cooks, I wash the dishes.  It works out perfect for both of us.  Lately she's been bringing me green smoothies for breakfast - yum.

Below is my morning hike, sped up with stop action.

On the weekends David, Laura and I go on excursions.  The ocean is a favorite, Clearlake in Lake County, little towns in the area, to redwood parks.  Oceans, beaches, mountains, lakes, redwoods, rolling vineyards - it's very beautiful around here.  Laura is an avid photographer so we constantly stop to take pictures and because of that I realize I have some to show too.

Sunbathing turtles and their reflections.

Laura works hard on her garden.  Everything is dry now but it still is stunning and peaceful.  We went to the local meeting of the photography group that Laura is a member of and the theme was "your backyard", so I took these photos of Laura's back yard to show.

Okay, so I live in the middle of the woods and with two ponds on the property frogs are inevitable.  This is the first time I've had one move into the toilet, literally.  If you look you will see his nose poking out from under the rim.  It's creepy and I can't rid of him.  I think he likes when I flush, it's a fun game.  I'm thinking of making a flush video so you can see how he usually manages to swim free - it's like going to a swim park for him.  There are no bugs or flies so that could be part of the allure.