"Dreaming Earth's Body": A Long-term Collaboration

At long last the collaborative work of poet, Carol Alena Aronoff, and Creation/Migration artist, Betsie Miller-Kusz, has become a published reality. Dreaming Earth's Body, described by poet Bill
Brown as a "luminous collection of poems and paintings" has been in the making since Betsie and Carol came together many years ago in San Francisco. They found an immediate affinity to one others' work while involved in the Braided Lives project.

Rarely has a book title been more appropriate. Meeting in that realm between earth and spirit, the poems and images come together with the force of birthing and slide into the golden liquid of regeneration. It is a place words and images do not inhabit, and yet Carol has found the words and Betsie the guardian figure to guide the senses in interpreting the mysteries of transformation.  Two examples follow.

Rain Dance

              Savoring the still after storm,                 

The only sounds: raindrops on stone,

a few peeps from plovers

sheltering under wing.

Above, the clouds release their gloom

in fragrant downpour, leave tentatvie 

smiles to cover sun, moist

folds in verdant pasture.

The stillness will not last

nor will the musky scent of soil--

air fresh as orange blossoms; soon,

day's symphony will start again,

willows weeping softly while wind

bows her head to nudge dead leaves

along the way of wary travelers.

Air grimaces at the return of dust,

the smoke and rot of daily living.

Algae grow anew in tide pools,

sunflower faces wizened

by the heat of unmuzzled sun.

Dry riverbeds creak their warning

to dying fish; it is time to pray for rain.

Metamorphosis

Slight as the whisper of chrysalis

on cloud branch, she is painted

with the black brush of underworld, 

trailing wings of lambent white past

raven sky. She faces east to sun's

 rising, awash in creation's fire.

Guardian of all that is changeless,

she carries the promise of morning 

to yesterday's children, transluscent

vessel dispelling fear. With darkness

her mentor, she dances

to the music of temporal reality.

Floating beyond time, 

she will listen to your night terrors,

heal your inner stories.

Her wisdon, forged in temple rites,

will protect those in childbirth

then help them cross Stygian waters. 

Both Carol and Betsie were present for the recent well-attended readings in Taos, which were especially well received at the SOMOS bookstore.

The many years of  work and collaboration shine through in the finished work of art that is this stunning new book.

Dreaming Earth's Body is available through Blue Dolphin at  http://www.bluedolphinpublishing.com/Dreaming.html

 

Carol Aronoff, Ph.D, is a psychologist, teacher and author of many books, including a chapbook of Native American/Hawaiian poems, Cornsilk, published by Indian Heritage Council in 2004. and an illustrated poetry book, The Nature of Music, published by Pelican Pond/Blue Dolphin Publishing in 2005, as well as Her Soup Made the Moon Weep, in 2007 and Blessings From an Unseen World in 2013. Currently Dr. Aronoff lives in Hawaii, working her land, meditating in nature and writing.

Betsie Miller-Kusz lived and painted in San Francisco for over thirty years and has exhibited widely in the San Francisco area, as well as New York, Santa Fe, and numerous international locations. She now lives in  New Mexico, where she owns a small rancho and studio, drawing continual inspiration from her surroundings in the beautiful Jemez Valley. Dreaming Earth’s Body is her first literary collaboration.

Faces of Personal "Herstory": A Collaboration

During much of this summer (2013) the Creation/Migration project has exhibited a shared art piece that lends itself well to the discussion of process in the development of collaborative artworks. The exhibit has been at the Esther Bone Library Gallery in Rio Rancho, NM. During the planning phases we knew we would be presenting the exhibit in a library setting.



In consideration of the tradition of historic figures being seen in libraries in the format of cast busts on pedestals, we decided to repeat the essence of this idea.  Each of the four artists in our group created a personage that is representative of some part of her Creation/Migration story.  Besides being thematically tied together, that connection was enhanced by having each persona also represent one of the ancient elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

In the above photograph, on the far left in the grouping, is Harriette Tsosie's piece, "A Secret".  The cat has multiple meanings for Harriette as evidenced by the CAT symbols in her life, from Harriette's love of cats, to her love of a very particular CAT, and, by the way, note the catty expression on Harriette's cast face!

The simulated bronze finish is created through the expression of FIRE, as are the cast bronze figures of tradition.  Harriette's medium of encaustic paint utilizes the heat-melted wax to produce her surface effects and coloration, bringing the transformative affect of fire to each piece.

The WATER element (second from left) is brought to life in Belinda Edward's depiction of her ancestral figure. This woman speaks of the essence of her long journey from Africa. Her skin is reminiscent of underwater ripples, of whale or seal hide, of fishing nets; covered with shells and barnacles and clothing that seems more like delicate translucent jelly fish or kelp flowers, bringing the true essence of the ancient wisdom of the ocean's secrets.

And more secrets are held in the shell-studded medicine bag that dangles from her neck and the wand of life-giving messages from the nestings of sea birds, as though carried on the winds of the sea.

Perchta of the Alpine Forest (third from left) is Donna Caulton's tribute to her ancestry and to the EARTH element. Although her bearing is regal as the pagan goddess she represents, she is  revered and feared and as earthy as a goddess can be.

Donna has many Berthas in her German matrilineal line, but the namesake is unknown.  Perchta (an ancient name from which Bertha was derived), then, became Caulton's chosen namesake to represent the earth elements of her female ancestry.

Perchta has many faces, but the one depicted here is the goddess of weaving and guardian of the beasts. She was known to wander through the winter forests, always with spindle in hand, always watchful of the safety of the herd animals (and little children).  People were careful to leave food out for her on the cold winter nights, staying in her good graces, never willing to risk her fearful dark side, one that all pagan gods and goddesses were known to possess.

On the far right is Betsie Miller-
Kusz representation of her far matrilineal roots in Ethiopa and her near self in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico.  Both are grounded in and born of earth, but carried into the present on the AIR; a seed landing here, taking root; landing there, taking root; finding herself on the path of the true sojourner.

It is a rare month that goes by that does not find Betsie in an airplane, making a landing  at one of her many points of transformation.



Each artist in this project is strongly grounded in the EARTH element.  Each of the four, however, has varying depths in the other three ancient elements; fire, water and air. Perhaps it is the earth element that allows this group to function so well within the collaborative process?

Please join us as we explore this question, among others, as panel presenters at the 2013 EncaustiCon conference this November (2013) in Santa Fe, NM.
http://www.encausticon.com/presenters

Albuquerque Welcomes CREATION/MIGRATION Exhibit 1

On opening night, November 2, 2012, the first exhibit of CREATION/MIGRATION: Stories of the Journey opened at Freestyle Gallery in Albuquerque.  There was a warm welcome from friends, art lovers, artists and the Albuquerque press.  The exhibit sparked enthusiasm as well as thoughtful contemplation for the journey we are making, our collaboration, our processes and our stories. 

The Sojourner Basket tied together so much of our process. During the creation of it, it seemed to have its own speaking voice and the stories we gave to it no longer belong to four separate artists, but to the basket and to the creation of myth.  During the opening, the viewing audience was receptive to the processes and the ideas inherent in this collaboration.

A Day of the Dead alter was an integral part of the exhibit through which we honored the journeys of our ancestors. Its intent grew in scope as Hurricane Sandy battered the east coast including many sites familiar to our families' stories. 

Travel  with us through some of our exhibit:

Creation Migration: Stories of the Journey, Exhibit 1 Opens November 2

 

CREATION/MIGRATION: STORIES OF THE JOURNEY

First Exhibit Opens November 2, 2012, Day of the Dead

Freestyle Gallery, 1114 Central Ave SW, Albuquerque

November 2 until December 14, 2012

Please join us at the opening reception November 2, 5 til 7 PM

The above image, Sojourner Basket, is a collaborative piece: the work of all four artists.  The making of this and the other works of this exhibit have been transformative for us.  We look forward to sharing them with you.

In the days ahead, on this site, each of us will tell our own story of the making of this basket to include what we have learned and what parts of our lives are intertwined in the making of it. We will also share thoughts about meaning and trust we have gained in our collaborative relationship through the development of this project. Thank you for joining us.