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| "Sunny Day" Quilted Messenger Bag |
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| By Kelsey (Viollca) Byram |
Setting up shop on Etsy as ShatteredSkyQuilts too!
Yes, I've been busy. Also on Shattered Sky:
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| "My Meditation" Art Quilt, by Kelsey (Viollca) Byram |
Just the journal of a free spirit. Viollca (Kelsey Byram) of Tricks of the Light talking about her art, performance, and life.
Showing posts with label paganism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paganism. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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| Mother Earth Goddess Gown by Kelsey Byram |
I'm getting my Etsy shops going! ElementalWear Boutique has handmade clothing and costumes, inspired by the elements and by the OtherWorld, that place where dreams come from and past, present, and future exist together. My quilted goddess garment is the highlight of the shop!
Shattered Sky Quilts carries art quilts, functional quilts, and quilted accessories. "My Meditation" is currently listed, and I'm working on quilting purses and messenger bags to be listed too!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The lesson of lilies and lilacs
As a child, I squatted in the grass in amazement as evening primroses opened before my wide eyes, revealing their beauty only once the harsh sun had set. I played kickball and tag on the rolling expanses of lawn, imagined stories of pirates and adventurers with toys boats on the pond, and built empires in the sandbox. I hid in the open arms of the maple tree and sneaked raspberries before my mom could pick them.
As I grew older, the garden worked itself into all aspects of my life. It taught me hard work and joy. When I wanted to be a writer, I wrote prose and poetry about the miniature world full of tulips, evergreens, bees, and wind chimes. When I wanted to be a photographer, I took countless pictures of the carved stone and wood figures, the roses, the thorns, the silhouettes of the trees, the pond, in every stage of life - in beauty and in starkness. When I wanted to paint, I painted the luscious red lilies and the enchanting ochre sunflowers half melting into the shadows, half dappled by the sunlight. When I wanted to perform, I contact juggled and spun poi and danced on the grass, among birds singing and daffodils busily blooming.
The garden nourished my body as well as my soul. What little bit of sun touched my skin, did it in the garden. I made jam from the fruits of the garden. I ate cherries and mulberries from the boughs of the trees. I partied there, posed for prom pictures there, relaxed and rejuvenated all in the comfort and mystery of the garden. More sacred than a stone and mortar chapel, closer to the divine in its daily living and breathing and growing than silent statues, the garden is a touchstone in my spiritual journey. This is a journey that may have no destination, but the garden teaches me that it is still worthwhile to grow and bloom and revel in the sunlight day after day, and that perhaps it is exactly that day to day act of living that is the purpose.
As I grew older, the garden worked itself into all aspects of my life. It taught me hard work and joy. When I wanted to be a writer, I wrote prose and poetry about the miniature world full of tulips, evergreens, bees, and wind chimes. When I wanted to be a photographer, I took countless pictures of the carved stone and wood figures, the roses, the thorns, the silhouettes of the trees, the pond, in every stage of life - in beauty and in starkness. When I wanted to paint, I painted the luscious red lilies and the enchanting ochre sunflowers half melting into the shadows, half dappled by the sunlight. When I wanted to perform, I contact juggled and spun poi and danced on the grass, among birds singing and daffodils busily blooming.
The garden nourished my body as well as my soul. What little bit of sun touched my skin, did it in the garden. I made jam from the fruits of the garden. I ate cherries and mulberries from the boughs of the trees. I partied there, posed for prom pictures there, relaxed and rejuvenated all in the comfort and mystery of the garden. More sacred than a stone and mortar chapel, closer to the divine in its daily living and breathing and growing than silent statues, the garden is a touchstone in my spiritual journey. This is a journey that may have no destination, but the garden teaches me that it is still worthwhile to grow and bloom and revel in the sunlight day after day, and that perhaps it is exactly that day to day act of living that is the purpose.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Wheel of Fortune. The Magician. The World.
The Wheel of Fortune
There is so much past here, so much that has come before, so many unspoken thoughts and feelings. Chance and Fate have intervened to change my course drastically yet again. I have grown in the last 4 years beyond what I ever imagined was possible, and I think beyond what others imagined possible of me as well. Perhaps it has made them uncomfortable. It has made me feel caged in their expectations and beliefs, unable to be what I know I can be.
The Magician
I am a powerful woman now - the strength I need is within, not without. I am not afraid of this change, and I am fully capable of handling what is to come.
The World
I have changed my circumstances, I have shed what is dragging me down and I have embraced my own abilities. I have created my own happiness, despite all the difficulties I have encountered. No one else has the power to make me unhappy. I see clearly what I desire, and I acknowledge what is and is not a part of that world.
And with this contemplation, I include this mantra...
"With these cards and with this spell,
I summon powers of resilience and renewal.
I summon powers from within,
and powers from without.
I summon the power to help me face the world as it is,
and as it must of necessity be in the future.
I summon the power to help me make my own happiness
in spite of a new and difficult situation.
There is peace.
There is healing.
There is new understanding.
This do I will!
So will it be!"
~"Tarot Spells" by Janina Renee
There is so much past here, so much that has come before, so many unspoken thoughts and feelings. Chance and Fate have intervened to change my course drastically yet again. I have grown in the last 4 years beyond what I ever imagined was possible, and I think beyond what others imagined possible of me as well. Perhaps it has made them uncomfortable. It has made me feel caged in their expectations and beliefs, unable to be what I know I can be.
The Magician
I am a powerful woman now - the strength I need is within, not without. I am not afraid of this change, and I am fully capable of handling what is to come.
The World
I have changed my circumstances, I have shed what is dragging me down and I have embraced my own abilities. I have created my own happiness, despite all the difficulties I have encountered. No one else has the power to make me unhappy. I see clearly what I desire, and I acknowledge what is and is not a part of that world.
And with this contemplation, I include this mantra...
"With these cards and with this spell,
I summon powers of resilience and renewal.
I summon powers from within,
and powers from without.
I summon the power to help me face the world as it is,
and as it must of necessity be in the future.
I summon the power to help me make my own happiness
in spite of a new and difficult situation.
There is peace.
There is healing.
There is new understanding.
This do I will!
So will it be!"
~"Tarot Spells" by Janina Renee
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Story Begins
I am the vessel that carries the Otherworld into this world. My creations were conceived in another time, another place, but born in this world as prophets. Each piece carries the essence of an aspect of spirituality, without also carrying the established meaning of any specific religion. The warm glow of fire in darkness, chanting and music, ritualistic motions, processions and journeys, script and symbols - detached from proselytizing, these things carry individual meaning to us all.
My materials are intimately connected to the world that they are a part of. Leather, stone, wood, bone, and linen are children of the earth, and are reminders of the grass beneath your feet, the bark under your hands. Silk, glass, mirrors, and shimmer are children of the sky, and are reminders of the wind in your hair, the feeling of raindrops on your skin.
A costume is not complete until it is worn, a mask is not complete without the face concealed behind it. Empty of the bearer, the costume is still and silent like a relic in a museum. Someone once wore it, someone once knew its meaning, but its life is lived, its history condensed to a few short phrases tacked on the wall beside it. Time does not leave anything untouched, and its passage is recorded in accumulation and decay. Time binds us all together.
My materials are intimately connected to the world that they are a part of. Leather, stone, wood, bone, and linen are children of the earth, and are reminders of the grass beneath your feet, the bark under your hands. Silk, glass, mirrors, and shimmer are children of the sky, and are reminders of the wind in your hair, the feeling of raindrops on your skin.
A costume is not complete until it is worn, a mask is not complete without the face concealed behind it. Empty of the bearer, the costume is still and silent like a relic in a museum. Someone once wore it, someone once knew its meaning, but its life is lived, its history condensed to a few short phrases tacked on the wall beside it. Time does not leave anything untouched, and its passage is recorded in accumulation and decay. Time binds us all together.
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