Contest Question # 5 & 6

Midnight tomorrow I will announce the winner: the one who posts the answers to 5 &6 first on the blog and has correctly answered all the previous questions.  

Here are the last two questions:

A.  Good mojo, I say she has it! Who is she and what item features her?

B.  This pendant, I describe that it looks like cherry candy.  Odd of me to say that, better check to make sure I'm right.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! Wish you all could win...Hope it's been fun/

We'll have to do this again soon.

Contest Clue # 4

You deserve a medal for getting this far.  So does she; and while you're at it, pick up some roses.

Who is she?

Question # 3

Did you answer #2?  What was the item that might be used to turn over a new leaf, or as an affirmation for hurtful memories?

Okay, question #3 is as follows:

The birthstone for January...which item did I design around a 1930's glass bead?

Happy day to you!

Tuesday's Clue and Question #3

Time to turn over a new leaf.  This item might be worn as an affirmation to heal hurtful memories...

Lonely Hearts Clue and Question #2

Cheap wine, a favorite on Skid Row, had a little jingle vintage 1960's: "How's it sold/Good and cold/What's the jive?/Bird's Alive." It's between 13 & 18% alcohol by volume, made by Gallo, and is responsible for a lot of public drunkenness.  Sadly, this wine's name name was taken from the great totems of Native American origin.

What's the wine called?  And which item features this totem? There's an extra clue if you read the first line of this post very carefully. Post your answers to the question on this post and the one below.  If you are the first one to post the correct answer to the last question and have posted the answer to each day's question you're the winner!

Good luck!

Lonely Hearts Scavenger Hunt Begins Now!

You could win the lonely valentine heart necklace above, if you can find the answers to each day's question in my Etsy Store.  It's a scavenger hunt of sorts, but not too hard.  Here's how it works.  

1. There will be six questions, one per day; the last one's on Friday.  The clues refer to descriptions of items in my Etsy Store.  You can find the answers in the descriptions. Remember to check both pages of the store.
   
2. Each of the questions have a clue as to which posting might include the answer. 
   
3. Each evening until Friday, I will be posting a question and--you can leave the answer in the comments to that posting on this blog.
4.  On Saturday I will be selecting a winner from whomever comments first with the answer to the very last question (provided he or she also gave the right answers to the other questions). 
   
5. GOOD LUCK. If you have any questions, post them today as comments.  If two people comment simultaneously I will look back to see who commented first on previous postings.
6. FIRST QUESTION: This one is easy. I'm leaving a clue.  A clue: in spring a little bird paints hers bright sky blue.  This item is sadly unhearted and I can't understand why.  It is classic and timeless and would look as good with a little black dress as it would with a sweater and jeans. Which item is it?
7. <-----There's  a link to my Etsy Store on this blog...Happy hunting!

Heartspace Lonely Hearts' Contest

Dear Friends of Heart*Space:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  I hope your heart is happy, and that your rose looks better than the one my cat gnawed on (see right.)

I want you to be the first to hear about my Lonely Hearts' Contest.  In my store there are some lonely hearts that didn't sell for Valentine's Day.  You could be the lucky winner of one of them.

Tomorrow I will be posting the clues to a scavenger hunt throughout my Etsy Store.  Those who visit my store and search through the postings will find the clues in the item descriptions in various listings of artisan jewelry or custom altars.  I won't tell you which, but I will drop some clues on postings this week! I will be offering one of my Valentine necklace's as a prize for the potential Queen or King of Hearts, who through expert scavenging, is able to deduct the most answers to questions by the deadline.  I will be posting the contest deadline, directions and clues Monday at 12 noon Pacific Time.  

Be sure to check this blog daily for updates.

Visit the Treasury?

Hi Dear Friends who Follow this Blog,

Just a quick note. One of my vintage items has the honor of being featured in the Etsy Treasury of the Spanglish Team.  It's a beautiful springy treasury. The other artists are so cool, I feel honored, even though I didn't make what is featured.  It may help lead some buyers to my Etsy Store, or so I hope. 

Here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=43049

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

PS. After writing this, I  discovered I'm in another treasury! Another vintage item, which is a good start. Here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=43030

Thank you for looking!

Blessed Kateri

This week I want to introduce you to Blessed Kateri, Lily of the Mohawks.  I have made a necklace with her image to celebrate this Native American saint who awaits canonization.  I have been drawn to her image in the garden surrounding Saint Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe, New Mexico, loving her story, which is seems so sad and is probably completely misunderstood. 

That Kateri was a deeply spiritual woman attracted to the story of the wounded, rejected Christ and His grieving mother is not for me to dispute.  Yet, the reasons for her rejection by her Mohawk peers when she became a Christian do not ring true to me. I believe the pain caused by the Missionaries, colonists and the White Man in general is the reason Kateri was ridiculed and marginalized by her people.  How could one who knew the pain and sickness brought from Europe worship their God?

I believe Kateri's vision of Christ was in accord with her innate knowledge of The Holy that preceded her conversion.  I believe there is "that of God in each one" and Blessed Kateri's gift was compassion and love not only for her own people, but for the conquerors who had so misunderstood Christ's teaching  as to justify the destruction of an entire culture, a civilization with values and truth as viable as their own.

To wear this necklace if you're Native American is to celebrate the life of a great and compassionate ancestor Skin.  If you are not Native American, perhaps it would serve as a reminder of the great souls that trod this Holy Ground before your ancestors came.  May you walk softly, spread light and love and treasure the beauty all around you.  Here, in honor of Kateri and her People is a reverent Mohawk Prayer:

Oh Great Spirit, Creator of all things;

Human Beings, trees, grass, berries.

Help us, be kind to us.

Let us be happy on earth.

Let us lead our children

To a good life and old age.

These our people; give them good minds

to love one another.

Oh Great Spirit,

Be kind to us.

Give these people the favor

to see green trees,

green grass, flowers and berries

This next spring;

So we all meet again

Oh Great Spirit,

We ask of you.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

I have a special love for Our Lady of Guadalupe and her story.  I love the synergy of Native American and Old World; and the fact that Mary appeared to someone the Europeans in Colonial Mexico thought of little importance. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to a poor Indian whom the padres had renamed Juan Diego; his birth name was Cuauhtlatohuac.  On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was on his way to attend a Mass in honor of The Virgin Mary.  As he passed a hill, a sacred place to the Aztecs, called Tepeyac, he heard beautiful music like the song of summer birds.  A radiant cloud appeared before Juan Diego, and within it, there was a little brown-skinned maiden so like Juan Diego's people, but dressed as an Aztec Princess.  She spoke to him in his own language, not Spanish, and asked him to approach the Bishop of Mexico on Her behalf.  He must ask the Bishop to build a chapel to Mary in the very place where she now appeared before him.

With much difficulty, Juan Diego finally gained the audience of Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, who received him with some skepticism, requiring that Juan Diego ask The Lady for a sign.  Juan Diego, returned home to find his uncle lay dying, and avoided the hill of Tepeyac, in order to care for the old man in peace.

Our Lady of Guadalupe found Juan Diego in his uncle's home, assuring him that the old man would recover, that he should go about getting her the chapel.  Juan Diego repeated to her the Bishop's request for a sign.  Our Lady asked for Juan Diego's cape or tilma, and filled it with roses for him to carry to the bishop.  Again, Juan Diego, an old man himself at 57, trod the long road to Mexico City and the palace of the Bishop.

When Juan Diego opened the tilma, the roses fell to the Bishop's feet.  Bishop Juan Zumarraga sunk to his knees, but it was not to gather the roses, but rather in reverence.  On the tilma, like a photograph, was the image of Mary as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac: a maiden of brown skin, dressed as an Aztec Princess.  This anniversary of this date: December 12, 1531, has been celebrated throughout the Americas ever since.  In the 477 years since this miracle, the image on Juan Diego's tilma had not faded.  The image of is on display in the chapel built on the hill as Our Lady requested.

In honor of Juan Diego's tilma full of roses, I have made the Virgin Guadalupe Rose Necklace. May you also know the beauty of roses in the dead of winter, the hope that springs eternal. To see more of this necklace, and my other work, please click on this link.

www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20438690

Saint Valentine's Day

St. Valentine certainly existed in Imperial Rome during the days of the Christian martyrs, but no one knows exactly why he's the namesake of the February holiday, other than his martyrdom on February 14.  

Long having lost its association with the saint, Valentines Day bears little trace of this Christian martyr, beyond the traditional depiction of of the Valentine heart with an arrow through it.  He may have been martyred by a piercing of the heart!  Before his death, matters of the heart were a major concern for Valentine.

The story is that St. Valentine married Christian couples at a time when the Romans forbid this.  This may have something to do with him being the partron saint of engaged couples, lovers, and happy marriages.  

While awaiting his execution in Rome, St. Valentine is storied to have befriended his jailer's blind daughter, and finally restoring her sight.  Legend has it, he penned her a note on the eve of his death, saying, "Farewell, from your Valentine."

I can find no connection with St. Valentine's story and the fact that he is the patron saint of beekeepers.  Maybe that's the source of the tradition of Valentine's Day sweets?

If you wish to celebrate St. Valentine's Day with a gift of a heart, please visit my Heartspace Etsy. I will be thrilled to assist your gift with wrapping, etc.  Go to Heartspace:

http://heartspace.etsy.com/ 

and check out the Valentines Section.  Most items are less than twenty dollars with postage!

Wishing you love and every happiness,

Clarita

Welcome, Dear Readers!

I hope you'll read about  my late sister, Diane Vivell Delevett, below.  In honor of the recent triumph of Barack Obama, to continue to celebrate Martin Luther King Junior and usher in the coming of Black History Month in February, I've written about her work for Civil Rights during the Freedom Summers in Mississippi.  While you're here, I'd love you to click on gadget at left to become a follower of this blog. Please check out my amazing rose-eating cat on this blog:

http://saltlighttomatoes.blogspot.com/

Wishing you every happiness,

Clarita

Happy MLK Day: Remembering an Unknown Saint

We are all grateful for saintly men, like Martin Luther King Junior, because of their passion, courage and willingness to serve.  We can never repay these heroes enough for the sacrifices they make for us. Though unknown to most, my sister, Diane, who died in 1997 of cancer, was a saint  in my life and quite a few others.  Considering her devotion to Martin Luther King Jr.'s cause, I can't help but wonder if she's turning somersaults in heaven on the eve of this historic Inauguration Day.  She was always profoundly political and deeply aware of injustice.

Twelve years my senior and, as they say, a hard act to follow: Diane was as beautiful an inward person as she was outwardly (at only 12 years she was offered a screen test to play Elizabeth Taylor as a child!)  But she was not just a hero to me, she was a mini hero in the early Civil Rights Movement, one of the many college students who went summer after summer to Mississippi in the early 60's to participate in non-violent struggle for justice inspired, largely, by Martin Luther King Junior and other African Americans in leadership.  

She and several of her friends were given the task of riding into small Mississippi towns, dressed in their Sunday best: hats and white gloves were not optional.  They would rent a highly visible car and park in front of African American churches, where they would attend for worship.  What's so courageous about that, you might ask?

My sister and her student friends associated closely with African Americans who were known to be Civil Right's workers, according to the Klan enough of an offense to compel them to kill three male student Civil Rights Workers just months before.  And three little girls were murdered in a church bombing, just prior to Diane's arrival in Mississippi.  

No one knew if young white women attending a black church would be a deterrent to more bombings, but my sister and her cohorts were willing to take the chance that they could help their African American brothers and sisters worship in relative security.  When I see photos or documentaries about the Freedom Summers my sister participated in, I see no college women dressed in hats and gloves on their way to church.  

The young white people I see are famous icons such as Joan Baez or Bob Dylan, who spent comparatively little time in the south, but must have garnered much needed publicity for the cause when they joined marches and protests.  Women walking into church arm in arm with their black cohorts are hardly as interesting as Bobbie and Joanie leading everyone in singing "We Shall Overcome" as police aim the fire hoses at protesters.  The behind-the-scenes heroes go forgotten and many have died or are reaching old age.

Now we celebrate new heroes, especially a new one, who is largely untested and yet is riding on the hopes and dreams of our troubled country. We are on the eve of the Inauguration of Barack Obama!  My sister, alas, is not alive to see this milestone, for which she is indirectly responsible by way of her small but not too small acts of heroism.  

There are so many unsung heroes in the struggle for human rights all over the world and Martin Luther King Day is a wonderful day to thank them by some act of service, however small, especially if it might even slip by the radar unnoticed.  But on any given day these small acts accumulate to tip the balance toward hope and reconciliation in this country and worldwide.  A small act will not only change your world; it might change your life.

My sister went on to become an attorney and worked for justice behind the scenes for The Equal Rights Amendment, and for rural poor and farm workers through California Rural Legal Assistance.  She once had the dubious honor of debating Conservative activist Phyllis Schafly over the Equal Rights Amendment in Saint Louis, Missouri. 

But above all, Diane was an angel to me: an encourager, a wise friend, an advocate for my best interests and a person of great joie de vivre. I believe she was as imperfect as the rest of us, just as Martin Luther King was, and Barack Obama  most probably is.  The difference between the average person and a hero or saint -- is not perfection, but the willingness to act in courageous love before perfection is achieved.  All this for the higher good. . .

I will celebrate this day by bringing food and warm clothing to my local Neighborhood House, a resource for people in need.  Have you an idea to celebrate MLK Day?

(All creative content copyright by Claire Nail 2009)

Who are Your Saints and Sages?

There is something mysterious about those who've gone before and blazed the trail for us. My Native American brothers and sisters call them the Grandfathers and Grandmothers, the Elders who now walk the Sky Road. The Native peoples of Tamasklit say that when one dies, his stories die also. This mystery is one that attracts and intrigues me. I want to know the old stories before they are lost.

We remember the stories of the saints and sages and retell them. The stories of those who came before have power for us. Sometimes, simply hearing the story of a saint's travail and triumph will empower us to overcome. For example, think of the icon Martin Luther King Junior has become for all who strive for a Dream against great odds.

In the form of an altar or a piece of jewelry worn close to the heart, the images of saints and sages remind us that we are following in the footsteps of the great ones who have experienced much the same hardships, joys and sorrows as we have. The reason these saints and sages are remembered and revered is because they bore the hardships, celebrated the joys and grieved the sorrows with remarkable grace and intention. Some promised to pray for us even after death.

Who are the saints and sages that inspire you? They don't have to be official canonized saints. I for one, am among the devout admirers of the late Fred Rogers, creator of the beloved misterogers show for young children. Each one of us know persons who inspired us as young people and still do. To commemorate such a person I made the altar of the old woman, in the photos above. It is very hard to photograph these, but I think you can imagine that they're better in person. (Like so many of us)

This little box is about the size of a book and my friend who owns it can carry it with her. She mostly keeps it in her art studio, where she paints beautiful pictures of flowers, remembering the lively friend of her grandmother who took her on nature walks in New England.

This is the most gratifying thing I've ever done, to help others commemorate the wonderful people and archetypes that have shaped their lives. And in making the altar pieces I get to be present with the stories my clients tell me, which is a very beautiful experience of which I never tire.

In Need of a Small Miracle. . .and Some Patience

Today my husband Jim lost his job.  It would be easier if I had work, because they suddenly fired him today, and he hadn't a chance to go looking to bridge the gap more gracefully.  Yes, it's the same old story that is being told all over the country.  I don't suppose it's even interesting enough to get people to follow my blog to find out what's next for us.

I'm confident that we can get through this, because we are graced with wonderful family, friends and as I mentioned in my other blog, a dear little cat who is presently chewing on the knobs of Jim's stereo.  (See her picture above: her name is Xochi.)

It's precisely her mischief that relieves my stress somewhat.  She is so unconcerned, so innocent of the big change in our material situation.  As far as she knows, everything is as it was, and so it may be, in the bigger picture.  We are alive and still under a warm roof.  Today we had omelets and toast for dinner: delicious.  There is one more paycheck and a little money in the bank

Like our country and our world, we're in need of miracles and patience to ride out this storm.  I will continue to post in my Etsy store and make more and more economies, as we try to make the savings stretch over the time till new work comes our way.  I may end up making these postings from the public library if we need to cancel internet...so keep reading.  It means so much to me to write.

I do pray that some of you, the ones who like pretty little things might take a look at my Etsy store and if you see something you need, give me your business.  It will feel like a sign that all shall be well in time.  In the meantime, I am learning to be patient.

Why I Make the Altars

As a teenager I lived in Spain and visited the cathedrals and churches. It was there that my love of religious iconography was born. I especially loved the niches that held beautiful images of Mary, as a maiden and as a grieving mother.  

At Easter time in Seville I stood transfixed as a beautiful Madonna was carried down the street as the culmination of a Good Friday parade.  To signify tears, someone had applied pearls to her cheeks, the bodice of her blue gown and her skirts.  To add to the splendor, through the rod iron bars of a monastery window, a young woman about to become a nun sang Mary's ancient song of mourning.  What a spectacle!

All too Baroque, maybe -- Gothic, certainly, but all the same the scene of the figures in purple robes and hoods carrying their Madonna and the unearthly soprano of the young nun are etched in my memory.  I can remember that I felt as if I had risen from the ground, it was all so stunning.  From then on, I began to study religious imagery in earnest.  But I never dreamed I would every become an iconographer of sorts.

It wasn't till a recent trip to New Mexico that I began to wonder if I might make such images of my own. I am not an artist with a capital "A"but I love to make art.  I would never presume to think I could capture anything living up to the spectacles in Seville. But the rough innocence of the Spanish Colonial religious icons there helped me see that one did not need to be a Murillo, Velasquez or Dali to create heartfelt pieces celebrating the HOLY.  I came home with an itch to make some santos of my own.

My first piece was a flash of inspiration after breaking a lovely Ukrainian Easter Egg that a dear friend had brought me after a journey to Eastern Europe.  I had only had it a few hours and as I made my way to put it away, dropped it and smashed it.  There seemed to be nothing to do but to throw it away.  I couldn't bring myself to do this, though.  I was very angry at myself and thought about how so many things (tangible and intangible) I had lost in life through foolish, clumsy mistakes.  

No longer able to live with the self scolding, I said a prayer of asking: how can I redeem this poor little egg? I thought, "If only there were an Angel of Broken Things." Then I decided to create this angel with the pieces of broken egg.  I will post a photo of this first altar, not because it's particularly good, but because it was such fun to have transformed a broken bit of disappointment into art.  

That is why I make the altars, to create sacred space and transform objects into stories that mean far more than the images look at first glance.  Not great art, not masterpieces, but heartfelt and healing.  What is broken in your life?  Ask the Angel of Broken Things to inspire you to transform and heal.

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN. . .

It's not easy being green.  This little heart pendant sat in my bead box ignored, until I thought about how important being green has finally become to the populace.  At last, we finally realize that the way we treat the earth has an affect on everything else.  This little heart could be a reminder to do one thing each hour that TAKES CARE OF THE GREEN PLANET. Ideas:

1. Use a real mug instead of a disposable cup at work?
   
2. Reuse that envelope to write a grocery list or phone message?
   
3. Walk or take the bus somewhere instead of the car? Then you don't need the gym membership...

Send a Valentine to the Earth: reuse magazines, etc to collage a personal valentine to your friend or lover, and recycle the paper you don't use.

And when you're thinking of buying a Valentine gift, maybe bypass the mall and check out all the starving artists' work on etsy. I'd be honored if you checked out mine. There's a link on this page. THANKYOU.

(Please, scroll down to read about custom made altars.)

WELCOME!

(Updated January 1, 2009)

I am exploring the sacred in the every day, in the lives of those who commission the pieces, the mysterious universe, and my own relationship to form and spirit. 

The slide show, which I will be improving in time, features a few of my creations.  Above right is a close up of an image of Santa Marta, commissioned by Peg Edera, who will be adding her review to the comments here. If you want to see my etsy store, please clink on the sidebar link.  

I have made altars honoring such diverse characters as Frida Kahlo, The Virgin of Guadalupe, Emma Goldman, The Spirit of Crater Lake, Four Winds Woman, The Angel of Broken Things and Our Lady of the Fragile Earth. 

Please contact me if you want to know more about the stories of saints, who might be your patron saint or sage and why that is helpful to know.  I will be delighted to reply.

ALL CREATED CONTENT IS COPYRIGHTED & remains the sole property of the artist:

Claire Germain Nail 2009.