View from the Top

--Top of the mast, that is! Sometimes a woman has to do what a woman has to do; in this case, go up to the top of the mast of my Catalina 27 to see what kind of hardware manages the halyards, so that I can replace them.  That's Jim below, pulling me up in the bosun's chair with the jib halyard. Jim was my boat partner on another boat.

So how does a woman handle all this? I'm sole owner of an older sailboat in need of maintenance, developing my business as an artist, creating a new committed relationship with a true hearted man (Rifaat), and trying to be available for an aging parent and injured brother. How DOES one manage all this? Darned if I know. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Solstice Visit with an Owl

Appocolypsis, says Michael Mead, embodies both the breaking down of the old and the birth of the new--simultaneously. I think I'm still in the breaking down stage, with pieces of hope here and there. Or breaking open.

Last night I celebrated "the end of the world" with a family whose grief spiraled into such negativity that I felt completely broken open. I was shaking by the time I left. I felt devastated! Walking out onto the city street at night, I HAD to have some nature. I clung to the nearest green leaves on someone's fence trying to bring some life back into myself.

My Love took me to his prayer place, a place of 5 cedars. As we stood under the boughs trying to make sense of the experience, an owl landed just above us. I always feel so honored when wild folk come near!

After a bit, we moved on to another tree--and the owl followed!  We moved again, and the owl called, "Hoo  Hoo-hoo-hooo! ("Who cooks for you?")  It was a Bard (Barred) Owl!  I answered him, echoing his accent and pauses as well as I could. Three times we spoke this way, then the owl came to sit above us again. What joy!! The owl washed away my emotional exhaustion and renewed my spirit!

I have since learned that the Bard (Barred) owl is the most vocal of owls, and the might symbolize using one's voice more. All over the world, owls are connected with wisdom, intuition, seeing that which is hidden, knowing the Truth. Perhaps the owl is asking me to speak my truth more openly?

This visit with the owl made me feel honored, and connected to Life/Spirit in a new and deeper way.

Why do I paint? I am pretty darn value driven, and if I don't feel I am doing someone some good with what I am doing, I lose interest pretty fast. So why do I paint, and why on silk?

I paint because I am in love with this island, where the orca play, where purple starfish cling to the rocks at low tide, and where one might stumble across an octopus, or a red jellyfish as big as a platter, while walking on the beach.
I'm in love with the the way the evening sun lights up the orange/gold madrona trees, on this island where the great blue heron waits patiently for his supper to swim by at the tides edge, where the black bear visits in autumn, where eagles circle and seals come to watch us doing qi gung on the sand. I paint because I want to capture this magic.

I paint on silk because the luscious shine, the fluid colors, and soft feel best express the wonder and joy I feel when I walk on the beach or in the woods,  or sail over the waves.

I open my studio for the Studio Tour and I show up for Saturday Market because I want to share this magic with you!  Tomorrow is the last day of the Vashon Island Artist Studio Tour; my studio will be open from 11:30 until 4:00 pm. Next Saturday, December 15th,  I plan to be at Saturday Market at McMurry Middle School on Vashon.

If you have a request for a scarf, pillow, or curtain in particular colors or an image for a loved one, I can take orders through October 15th and have it finished for you by Friday Dec 20th.

Contact me at leigh.suzanna@gmail.com
206 463 5255

Our Bodies

I love this video by Melanie Wiedner:




Her art is amazing, and her spirit feels like a sister to mine.