The Double Entendre´

The phrase,"Your Spirit Rocks" can be taken a couple of ways . When the emphasis is on the first person singular, it means that it is addressing your Spirit, or personality as it were. When the emphasis is on the word "Rocks" it can mean two things... It can mean that you have some items in your possession that are called " Spirit Rocks."but it can also mean that Your Spirit literally Rocks! Which in today's vernacular, means that you have a very lively spirit! I love that interpretation. 

    When someone purchases the gift of a Spirit Rock, I like to thank them by saying, "Your Spirit Rocks!" to which many of them reply, " No, YOUR Spirit Rocks!" which I am grateful for the exchange.Over the years, so many collectors of these rocks, tell me how these items have contributed to their overall well being. Some say that they have them on the nightstand so that they can observe the glow when the lights are out. Others have them on the desk to hold down important papers. Others like to place them in the fish tank or outside in the garden where they will usually hold up because of the resin coating ( which, by the way, is non-toxic to fish when hardened ).

    Over the years, youngsters have taken to painting rocks themselves and hiding them in obscure places to later be discovered by hikers along the beach or in a forest. Sometimes, they will be planted in not-so-obvious places like behind a fence post, etc. Parents and adults have even taken to placing a sticker that reads on the backside " You found me!" now take a picture and post me on Facebook 😉. What a novel idea that is. Lastly, some people will even use the rock for a meditation object which will serve in grounding the individual so that they have some physical object to focus their attention on.

    When a rock is purchased, it is placed in a gift bag which usually includes a keychain UV blacklight which will highlight the colors when viewed in the pitch darkness.It will also activate the phosphors in the puff paint that is used to decorate the rock itself. Also included is an affirmation sheet which contains a few affirmations that when used frequently during meditation, are designed to bring about prosperity, joy and abundance. These were composed by Shakti Gawain in her popular book, "Creative Visualisation".

    Although I usually feature a "Rock of the Week" on this blog, today I've included and ornament, which symbolises the alternating power of the Sun and the Moon. I hope you like it. Perhaps next week I will feature another "Rock of the Week" and not just be content in showing you my other creations.

So Blessed...

     Living in Calistoga is like being in a summer camp year round. I really love it here, and never plan to leave. It kind of reminds me of that old 60's T.V. show, " Andy of Mayberry"  with Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knots,et al. One can get to know all the characters here by going to Cal Mart for groceries, and probably get to know half the town in less than a week.

    Calistoga used to be considered rather "Funky". A lot of the locals remember those days. Being at the north end of the Napa Valley, people coming up for the first time will have already visited many tourist spots travelling only as far as St. Helena on Hwy 29.

     Calistoga is now considered the Crown Jewel of the Napa Valley. Migrant farmworkers have lived here from the beginning, and the winery owners were usually living in St. Helena.That being said, for years people would mistakenly confuse the whole Napa Valley with the City of Napa. Back then, we Napakins (which includes everyone both up valley and down), were used to associating the area with what were three popular industries...Wine, Steel and Mental Health. Thanks in part to the State Hospital, and a hand full of Alcohol treatment centers.Kaiser Steel has since moved on. Some think of Napa Valley as a kind of Disneyland for adults. Others cringe at the thought.

    Having lived here now for over thirty years, I've witnessed the transformation of an iconic, small town "T.V. concept" grow to a sizeable population of people, longing for as a place they can return to; that treasures the past but refuses to live in it. Today, it's rather "Chi-chi", and sort of like a little Carmel,CA.

    We have the galleries,wine bars and Michelin- starred restaurants. Along with several upscale resorts with pools, spas, and of course the mud baths...which the locals call the "Calistoga Baptism". There is plenty to see and do, both inside and outside.

    The good news is that people are really friendly here, and the crime rate is near zilch. The bad news is that our main streets have become stomping grounds for the well-to-do,and the price points that goes with them. Hospitality and Tourism has superceded some of the other more rural industries like wine farming.

    That being said, we are all aware that there is always big changes afoot. Multiple renovations and new facililaties are popping up at a alarming rate. New additions to the high school, several new housing developments, repaved roads, a new power plant, a new entertainment center, more bed and breakfast domiciles, a vine trail for cyclists, and the list goes on. 

    Do we have the time and a reason to celebrate? You bet we do! Check out the recent free concert that happened at Pioneer Park this past week.

A great time was had by all, and in spite of everything going south these days, it's good to get away to a place like this.💖 God willing,  the fires will be kept at bay.

If it works, don't fix it

 Sometimes it is hard to leave well enough alone. All in the name of multi-tasking, what is truly complete, finished, or done ? It was undoubtely an artist who made the statement, "An artist is never satisfied".Was it Mick Jagger?

No, it wasn't Mick. He just couldn't get no satisfaction. Either way, letting go of that we cannot change has been a lifelong struggle. This is the main reason why I am taking a break and composing this blog. Besides, distraction will constantly convince me that there is still time for other tasks.

Today, going through my rock collection, I stopped to see which rocks could be "gussied" up to sell. What a dumb idea, but what the heck... let's do it.

Half way through I see the rocks that aren't exactly calling me to do anything with them anymore. Then there are the others that need to be put aside as sale items. I would rather have people take these rocks and offer a donation, if they wanted to offer one. Besides, I deplore having to keep track of my expenses and tax obligations.Sometimes I feel as though I am numerically dyslexic, and have trouble with simple addition. If i hadn't memorised the times tables from the back of a Pee Chee in sixth grade, I doubt that I would have ever made it to high school.

Thankfully, I had skills in other areas, and made use of them to the best of my ability. Today, I am seeking guidance and direction for the future of these creative pursuits. Everyone was born with a gift of some sort. Many have gifts that are undeveloped and don't discover them until later on in life. That being said, having something to offer that world, is what we bring to the world. It is not always the thing that we take from it. Talents and skills are often passed on from one generation to the next.

So, in conclusion, I am going to step away from the computer and begin another drawing which will be posted below when it is complete. 

So there.

The Rock of the Week Thang

Okay, I haven't kept up with this "Rock of the Week" post. This is because I am currently in "transition". What i mean is that I am painting and drawing more, and the rocks have taken second fiddle. There, I said it. The rocks have been keeping me afloat for a long time now, and it is time to move forward. This doesn't mean that there will be no more posts on this blog; Far from it. It means that the posts will be more about my spiritual journey through art and creativity, not just about painting rocks or some such.

Paintings that I've been working on will be showcased here. Just as much as the twists and turns that I face in the world of Art. I still want to acknowledge all the Rock Stars that have collected the Spirit Rocks over the years. May they continue to bring good fortune into your lives. People have brought me rocks from Russia, Hawaii, New Zealand and other parts of the world to have me paint. What's not to love about this.

It just so happens that a bigger canvas is needed which will not be the size that I'm used to painting on, but will have much more content (and paint, of course ) than the sizes that have been provided to me in the past.

Enjoying Camp Calistoga

    I think we are truly blessed to be living in such a wonderful community. It's like summer camp year round here. However beautiful it may be here, we are in constant vigilance with regard to what is happening in what is now our Global Village ( most especially the devastating floods in Texas and other points south ).

     Taking life one day at a time is what seems to be working for most of us now. Getting the exercise and rest needed is what seems to be bringing tourists here to this area from all parts...State wide and country wide.

    Admittedly, I have not ventured too far from home this summer, not only because of the price of gas, but because there has been other ways to stay busy under my own roof.

    Latley, getting back into watercolors and uploading some of them to Chat GPT is a new and curious pursuit ( there, I admitted it ) Not being particularly apologetic about the results produced;The technology is at least making me appreciate the rendering quality and interpretation of what I ask it to do before uploading one of my sketches. 

    The image they composed below mine is absolutely mind boggling.This scene existed only in my mind before I sat down and put it on paper. The medium(s) I used were watercolor, prismacolor pencils, graphite and black ink. Just pushing colors and lines around on paper, later to be scanned and saved as a .jpg 

    My request was to have the image look more uniform and to have the colors more accurately displayed. The result speaks for itself. Their painting is in my opinion, museum quality. Yet being a novice with this observation ,I can hardly say that I know what I am talking about.

    Now, taking this final composition it has been pretty easy to arrange and resize the prints on my computer and then output the file on the Epson printer, to create stunning gift cards that are now being sold at the Farmer's market along with my rocks.

Rock Solid

 Yesterday, at the Farmer's Market here in Calistoga I had the great pleasure of meeting a group of women known as "The Rock Solids". It was/is my guess that they all went to high school together and have remained close friends throughout the years. Kat mentioned that they all were from Denver, Colorado to which I had to ask if they felt a nice boost of energy being down here at ( almost ) Sea Level. They concurred and began to explain the origin of their meeting. It was brought to my attention that one of the women was having her birthday, which I remarked, " Happy 29th !" To which they chuckled at the suggestion. In fact, it was more likely that they were middle-age, but were like teenagers as they giggled at the absurdity. It was a true joy spending a little time with them, and I had to give them one of my favourite gag rocks that read, " Turn me over" to which the other side also reads the same thing. It was my sneaky way of keeping them around for a while... and don't you know, they ended up purchasing some of my favourite rocks! Oh joy! My hope is that they will make this an annual getaway so that we can share some more smiles together. Best wishes to them all,

... and the Birthday girl

It's what I do

     Painting and selling gift rocks is what I've been doing for the past fifteen years.Many childeren and adults have purchased them to give to others or to keep for themselves.I am honored and blessed to have such a following.The rocks are called "Spirit Rocks" mostly because they glow in the dark, and to which some will cradle in their hands for "focusing" in their meditation practice.

    The rocks alone make unique, one-of-a-kind presents. They are heirlooms that have been passed on to subsequent generations.The rocks are mostly from California beaches. They are particularly smooth, flat and round. Preferably a size suitable to carry, like what has been called a "Worry stone" that some will hold when doing a public speaking engagement for instance. 

    Others are small enough and light enough for making keychains,pendants and even earrings. Refrigerator magnets and bottle stoppers have also been added to this list of creations.These rocks offer a lot to one's imagination.However beautiful, they are not to be confused with gemstones which have their own precious qualities. 

    The large rocks have been coated with resin so that they can be placed in a garden pond or even a fish tank because they are not only water proof, but non-toxic after they've been hardened.These rocks make great desk ornaments, door stops, place markers and last-minute reminders.

   When a rock gets sold, I usually offer a pretty bag and an Ultra Violet (UV) blacklight with an important and informational/ affirmation sheet.The colors get activated under any kind of light, except infrared. The glow on the rock usually fades in under five seconds, but will continue to glow in the pitch darkness.The UV blacklight will make flourescent (i.e. super bright, Dayglow) colors really pop out. However, these same colors will NOT glow in the dark without a UV blacklight. Some will recall the Jimi Hendrix or Chesire Cat posters back in the day.

    If you scroll back to the main page, you will see a list on the right of all the posts since I began doing this in 2010. The first one tells the story of how this all began. I encourage you to read it. Since then, I've enjoyed visiting the beach to collect rocks.In a sense, they have chosen me to embellish them with metallic acrylic and puff paint to add texture. I've even played with glitter gel and invisible ink to enter secret symbols and messages on the back.

    Other artists like to use dotting tools to create mandalas on rocks they've used for these purposes. I respect and admire their work. Although I've had my hand at this, It's just not my particular style.

    Lastly, I've taken to hiding rocks from time to time in places like knot holes in trees,behind buildings or other enclosed spaces. Occasionally  I'll add on the back a bar code that when scanned will enable you to arrive at this web site. It's fun to have youngsters discover a rock when out hiking with their parents. Below is a picture of two such winners. It took awhile to have them calm down a bit...Their excitement is contageous!

    

Experimentation

 Hi there, 

As I've been alluding to in the past I'm expanding to include paintings on a generally small format, just to get back to painting on a 2D surface.The substrate I've chosen are round discs about a foot across that are plywood and very smooth. I would have chosen masonite, but these suit me just fine.

    The medium remains the same...a metallic acrylic, preferably Jacquard™ which makes the best as far as I can tell. The experiment is about painting a black background, an adding a little interference acrylic and some Color Shift paint by Folk Art™ to add a little variation. Then using a gold puff paint to build the floral/grass design which stems ( no pun intended ) from my furtile imagination.

    I will probably get back to painting rocks sometime soon, but then again, the supply has been dwindling to it's time to hit the beach or garden supply shops to stock up.

    Here''s hoping that all is well in your world and that you continue to "Follow your bliss" as Joseph Campbell might have said. In any event just know that...

Your Spirit Rocks!

Stones that Shout

 The rock appeared drab and gray, indistinquisable from a thousand others. But then my teacher turned on an ultraviolet light. Immediately, that boring rock burst into vivid technicolor.Blues, greens yellows, and oranges shone forth. It contained a class of minerals that become luminous under UV lighting. Without the aid of those special rays however, you'd walk by this rock without a second thought. 

    This morning, the whole world gazes upon a gray chunk of rock. Under normal lighting, it's just a rough cavity in the ground--a sheer vacancy- -with a stone lid rolled to the side. There's not much to see, and UV rays won't help here. But some who ponder this rugged cavity leave fundamentally changed, as if this rocky tomb burned with the light of heaven.

     And indeed it does. In the darkness of Easter night, Jesus Christ flipped the switch from death to life and changed this cavern of despair into the only source of real hope. John, seeing the scene lit by the vivid light of faith saw, and believed, and it was as if color shone forth in a gray world.

     Now, even when we disciples of Jesus falter in our proclamation of the Gospel God has enlisted the roughest matter to proclaim his glory. As Jesus propheseised, I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out ! ( Lk 19:40) On Easter morning, we hear that cry of joy.

Reflection based on John 20:1-9 

Father Philip Nolan O.P.