Mask and amazing children...

A few years back...My Blue dog students in Folsom...Showing
off their amazing talents!! By Judith Parsons

For two years, before my divorce, when I still had money….I worked on my Master degree in Special Education. It was the only masters degree within driving distance. I took the challenge, I discovered a magnificent magical lost layer of society.

It was a journey that was heart breaking. I messaged my professors many times, asking how on earth they managed what they did.

As I dived deep into the silent realm of challenged students…I was also teaching art to fifth graders. I got the higher end, the extra special stellar ones that were above average…and I got the challenged students. That I felt were floating upon the surface of education.

There was one young girl who stood out in my mind, her linguistic skills were suffering. I could not understand her for the life of me, it was as if her tongue was swollen. Her friends translated for me most of the time. 

I will never forget, I was teaching the children how to use plaster strips. It was a messy fun job. The 5 children are ready to apply their plaster strips upon their cardboard frames, when one of the young boys- decides- he just can NOT do it. It is way way way took messy for him.

The young girl who I mentioned before- the one who had language challenges took his art project and did his work and her work—-BOTH at the same time. She moved like lightning.

I watched her in awe. She WAS in her element!!

The young boy whom was not getting near the plaster also was in awe. We watched as she moved faster than any of the other students.

I wonder what happened to her..if she ever found her voice…

Education is an incredible thing to watch…step back..let art take over. Be amazed!!!

Invitation to adventure

Graphic created by Judith Parsons
Excerpt from Paul and Ester Jenkins, eds., Observations of Michel Tapi'e
(New York: George Wittenborn, 1956) 15-16. By permission
of Paul Jenkins

The words jumped from the book beside my bed. I let the words speak for themselves.

You know how I feel about this:
Art reflects life- life reflects art:

Enjoy!

Michel Tapie’ 

AN Other Art (1952)

Everything has been called into question once more since the cascade of revolution going from Impressionism to Dada and Surrealism: we are beginning to realize what that means, and at which point this total review has caused the epoch in which we live to be especially thrilling. 

After centuries, if not a millennium, during which conditions evolved so slowly that in the normal rhythm of life, chance could not be perceived, and in which artistic problems (even ethnic-aesthetic ones) were safe,…and entire system of certainty has collapsed. The ossified and ossifying false order made room for the more fertile and intoxicating anarchy, which in its heightened fits if enthusiasm marches toward a new order, a new system of idea about the range of our potential becoming. It is, after all, shocking to know one is going to the unknown (it must always be like this for the creators, but it has never been so explicitly evident), and at this point we still find St. John of the Cross to give us the most pertinent advice: “ In order to go to a place where you have not been, you must take an unfamiliar route.” The academy has died, has it not?

The problems do not  consist of replacing  a figurative theme with an absence of theme, which is called abstract, non-figurative or non-objective, but really to create a work, with or without a theme, in front of which—be its aggressiveness, banality or sheer physical contact— one perceives gradually that one’s customary hold on the situations been lost, one is…called to enter [into either] ecstasy or madness for one’s traditional criteria, one after the other, have been abandoned. Nevertheless such a work carries with it an invitation to adventure—in the true sense of the word “adventure”—that is to say something not known, where it is really impossible to predict how things will go, where it will be the spectator who is left to move to the next station which may be of infinitesimal or astounding violence…

* Michel Tapi’e, excerpt from Paul and Esther Jenkins, meds., Observations of Michel Tapi’e (New York: George Wittenborn, 1956), 15-16. By permission of Paul Jenkins.

Sailing canvas!

The canvas takes me away--the dream--it carries me.
Art created by Judith Parsons.
(Image from google images) I will take photos tomorrow!
I promise!

Soon- I will be free! Aw-w-w-w- the song of Christopher Cross. He sings as I write this.

I have to cut in and do a family annoucement. Even though, we are not together anymore. I want Rost, Margaret, David-- to go to the you-tube songs and listen and  rest for a minute. Think back on all those glorious sailing moments. I miss you all--even you Rost..and love the hell out of you!

Now, back to the present!

There is much to Love about mentoring young ones. First, I admitted to the little Captains that I was 54 years old. I was old enough to be their grandma.

Think about the energy that weaves around them, as they contemplate—“Whoa- that crazy woman just told us she is old as the hills.”

Let it sink in.

Let the waters clear, let the silt of that statement settle. Then- look up into the sky, smile and let all the labels fall away. 

Becoming stronger everyday is about you looking in the mirror, feeling stronger.

Stronger. That is the world. Not- it isn’t a typo, not word…but “world” …Ooooo - love that the letter “L” is that one special letter…between word and world.
(grinning) No one but you...can make you stronger. Period.

It is simple. 

You do it...or you don't.

Don't come crying to me when at 90 years old- I am running up a mountain and you are in a wheelchair. I want to slide into the next realm doing wonderfully exciting activities! (wink)

I desire to become stronger so I can lift the sail boats upon the deck, and some of them leak. So yeah, my back was screaming at me..and yeah- I am on a heating pad. However, tomorrow, I will be back at it...Letting the wind take me. 

Smiling...happy.

Today, halfway into our program, the lovely Captains took a 20 minute break. I asked them about their fears, most worried about going over board, and capsizing. I nodded and assessed their worries, we talked about letting the wind loose…if you fear you are going too fast, let the “main sheet out”..Loosen the grip, let the sail luff.

Just go into neutral for a wee bit. Just relax. Let go...Relax...just flow!

Gather the sheets back in, s-l-o-w-ly…I blink away the tears as I write about today-there was a moment when I said: “God’s breath blows us along the water…it is magical. Listen to the water against the hull.”

Silence.

Pure perfect divine silence.

Everyone was taking those words in…I felt it—we all felt it. Talk about a miracle moment!!

I “wooooohooooed” and we went out for round 2 on the water….God knows those children are amazing!

I live a charmed life!!

Woooooohoooooo!!!

Port and Starboard

Original one of a kind glass art,
 created by Judith Parsons. (2015)

This week was an amazing week! I casted my first glass art at Bullseye glass. Here you see my latest and greatest pieces of art from my graduate studies in San Francisco. 

 It has been a long time coming, this desire to cast glass. 15 years ago I fell head over heels in love with glass, working under Mary White at San Jose State University. She forever changed me!  (((Mary White, if you see this—please I would love to thank you and buy you dinner!)))

It has taken time to build upon my skills, to relearn the multifaceted aspects of glass. I finally have the images all coming together to create my mid-point thesis. 

Patience is an incredible friend to have while creating art. Art does not come to me in one big picture. Or if it does I change that picture a millions times before creating the art. 

Art asked to be done in puzzle pieces. It is if the highest part of me, hears the whispers of God, do this one piece, then this next piece, and then in a year they all come together in a sculpture.

Ms. Patience and Mr. Time sit upon either side of me, we are in the rocking chairs of the future. The wind blows the gray moss hanging in the southern trees.

Patience, She is an elegant woman, with high cheek bones, her eyes sparkle and her smile melts me. She pats my hand and tells me I have done well by her.

Time, He chuckles, he is handsome in his suit for the next realm. He winks at me, we all have white hair and he says: “You have never cared for numbers, yet, you do the most incredible Sacred geometry. I will never figure you out.”

We all laugh.

I stand and hold out my hands to both of them. “Would you care to dance?”

Then, we do. Life is incredible! Find your passion!!

If you can see it, then you can believe in it…then the miracles start happening!!

Wooooohoooooo!!

Catching dreams!

Graphic image created especially for this blog
By Judith Parsons Art 2015

I saw this image of a dream catcher and was immediately transported into the family car, with my children driving down the highway. We spent tremendous amounts of time driving in that car. 

The dream catcher we made, it hung from the rear-view mirror.  I bought little kits from Tandy leather and my children and I made them when they were very young.

The medicine card lessons were a big part of my self help awareness as a young parent. The children would see an animal cross their path and they’d run in asking what it meant. I would pull out David Carson and Jamie Sans book, Medicine Cards, and we would look up the animal.

In Louisiana there were lots of rabbits (fear), lizards (the dreamer), snakes (transformation), deer (gentleness) and herons (reflections) that crossed our paths. There were a few black birds, (I was never certain if it was a raven or a crow) that would talk to me regularly. In one pine tree, right outside my front door. I would say good morning and he would sing back his cawing reply. 

I would respond: “Is that so?” and I would get a few notes back. And then I would bid him farewell. He seemed to know it was time to go. And he would fly and I would return to the task at hand.

My children are sensitive to animals now. Last winter, a deer kept crossing my sons path. I was thrilled the morning he called asking me again what it's lesson was. Last year my daughter told me about a great white owl crossing her path and her friends and her were stunned into silence as it flew by. She called all excited to tell me and to discuss the meanings.

From a life time of being around me with those lessons, they know what animals mean what. Everything really is a lesson waiting to be learned. 

The red tail hawk is my personal favorite. It seems to show up exactly when I need an omen to keep going and keep soaring!

Rambling about nothing…about catching dreams…always driving toward them. It is time to let them catch up to me. I will sit still and breathe. 

I expect miracles. 

Today is going to be a fabulous day!!!

Soar sweet Luvs!! We got this! We are making dreams come true! 

We are art!

The female sketch is from google art. Thank you google!!

I just moved it about in photoshop.
Judith Parsons Art 2015

Tonight’s blog brought to you with the assist of wine. Yep. School is out of session and I admit, I have been enjoying the vino. No deadlines….life is easy now. 

I met a woman at lunch, she was having her wine with her meal, as I was. And we talked about the pleasure of wine. She grew up on a vineyard, it was her families business. It was a part of every meal, the nuances were apart of her life. I needed to meet her. I needed to find some objectivity in the whole drinking thing.

Maybe it is me- I believe we are such a polarized world now. It is all or nothing. The pendulum swings frantically from one end to the other. Slow it down folks and let it just  s-l-o-w down to a medium consumption of life.

Stop being so: Upside down and backwards. Just be.

I read: “Women who run with the wolves.” by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, ages ago. It was my bible on passion. SHE is a woman who understands passion and family and life and hiding from it or running toward it. I read her and understood— I needed to make up for lost time. I hope to meet this fine woman- one day!

I needed to find my lost soul. I needed to find my ART TRIBE. Finding like souls who have the same passion, finding people who are tired of talking about “living their best life” and are ready to LIVE it.

Connecting to the source of higher—but is also a light river. Realizing I can only be the best I can do for me, I have to put my all into the light  that I soar in and the river that I swim in!

Realizing LOVE is everywhere, we are ALL hungry to be loved passionately!! We want “do-ers” beside us!!  There is enough talking and blah-blah-blah. We want people plugged into life just as much as we are!!

I spent Thursday surrounded by tools in a glorious garage of metal and gadgets and TOOLS. It was heaven on earth. I listen to public radio and sighed and smiled and relaxed like I was 10 years old. It was a similar feeling, a deca-vu —sitting at a tool bench with 20 different type of pliers in front of me. It was like I was at home, fooling around at my dads bench. Amazing moment of realization.

Finding a friend (Robert- waving at you) who is compelled to make art, like I am, is important.  We feel connected to that current of electric passion, it IS who we are. We are crazied artist jumping about planning the next big wall sculpture.

I have always dreamed of having a safe haven, a place where we could learn and teach skills. A commune of sorts, pods that are connected to gardens and large living areas. It will come. Who knows where it will be. 

WE are as strong as we are connected to one another. I now have friends ALL over the earth.

So…all in all we are the dots and the dashes…just connecting…Art…the making of art …the teaching of art… ART MAKES one stronger.

Life is art.

Life is being creative. Life is creating. Art is life. 

Life is art. We are art.

Woooohoooooo!!!

Please don't forget me.

Diane, a fabulous soul sister posted a video that made me cry.  

I have lived through much in my 54 years upon this planet. I have fiercely loved with ALL of my being. I have made friends with many many loves, moving over and over again. Hating each move. WISHING that I could KEEP you close to me.

There are a few people who KNOW intense passion, you know who you are in my life. 

We have looked deep into one another and found a transcendent enlightenment in our love. I watched the video and gulped the tears.

Here are some of the lyrics:

There she was like a picture- she was just herself...She had not forgotten his name.

Thinking back to last time...tried his best to forget her. 

She looked up and there the man she LOVED intensely many moons ago was sitting in front of her. They both knew, you can see it in their eyes. THEY knew they messed up horribly. They walked away from a LOVE that WAS heaven upon earth.
It was a sacred divine love.

That, at that time, neither one knew how to carry for one another.

I wished I knew then what I know now.

I have been talking with a girl friend who is trying to learn a new love. She wants passion. She wants a fierce love. I listen to her and gulp. She is wondering, how much should she invest into a love that already she is crazy about? Yet, it isn’t everything she wants it to be. She doesn’t want the negativity, or the drama or the pain. Yet….yet…something about this relationship makes her stay. 

She wonders, if she will destroy the love, because she will try to make it what she wants it to be. And we all know -that never works. If I only knew all this—back then. 

Freedom. We all want a love that is F-R-E-E. Yet we want a safe place to rest, a nest that is cradled between branches. Where the winds of life won’t  harm us. I understand completely where my friend is. It is funny, because her story is the same an another girl friends.

We want more for our love, we want them to BE more. We don’t ever want to feel we are “settling”. It is a glorious word, because with that whole “settling” we become grounded. With settling we grow roots. With settling we are safe to soar in our FREEDOM because we know—they will be waiting with magnificent open arms and cradling bosoms.

Yes, You know who you are. (sighing) We could have been so incredible. We weren’t ready to carry that intense love for one another.

We grow. We change. We love…and keep loving..and hope they never forget our name.

Ascend-Choose Life!

Ascend logo design by Judith Parsons

Metal sculpture is art by Richard Stainthorpe
Photo found on google images

I have realized exactly how amazing life is. What you think- what you project- what you do is al linked and woven together . WE really do become what we think, we are ALL woven together in this great new world of love and light and connected energy. 

From signing up for support to become stronger to just finish watching a documentary on Hubert Shelby. We all want to “Ascend” to be better and be more.

A week ago I went to a life coaching gym and the name of this incredible place: “Ascend”.

I love everything about the word “Ascend”. It shows how I feel about life. Keep stepping up, keep moving forward and higher. Eventually one moves past the mundane and is able to rise and transcend above the clouds. When I am doing my art, I am happiest: “ I SOAR!”

I created the logo because I love the people at the gym! They are fabulous! I admit, after the first Friday work-out, I was afraid I would never be able to sit upon a toilet seat again. My thighs and rear end were screaming at me. What in the world had I done to my body? I am happy to report, I am much better after a day of rest, and can sit properly now. (Whew!)

The woman sculpture on the composition is a sculpture my friend KayMarie posted on Facebook. The artist is Richard Stainthorp and Art People Gallery supports his work. That woman, made of metal is where my mind is.

I am becoming stronger, as a 54 year old woman it is imperative we work on our core stamina. No one else can do it for you. It is a struggle that has been with man forever. The man against self in an internal struggle we all deal with. Hubert Selby dealt with his own conflicts and his words reflect where I am now:

“I was sitting at home and had a profound experience. I experienced, in all of my Being, that someday I was going to die, and it wouldn't be like it had been happening, almost dying but somehow staying alive, but I would just die! And two things would happen right before I died: I would regret my entire life; I would want to live it over again. This terrified me. The thought that I would live my entire life, look at it and realize I blew it forced me to do something with my life.”

To Acend higher is to love myself. It is a total body, mind and spirit place to be. I have always been incredibly hard on my body and thank the good Lord my physical bones and muscle have remained strong and have rejuvenated over the years.

“Do something with your life.” May you inspire others, may you be the model of behavior that when you glance back at your life, you can say:

 “I ran a good race and

I finished in style. 

Wow! I did all that?”