We arrived an hour before sunrise. 14°. Too cold to simply park and wait. Usually we don’t have so much time to spare. Usually we go park by the Observation Deck where always other cars are parked. There we stand by water’s edge, our hands thrust deep in our pockets,...
musings from the studio and beyond ~
dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .
bosque del apache
the grace of trivial projects
Snow has been falling for hours. And though there doesn't seem to be much accumulation — it's too warm — it's been beautiful to watch. Beyond quenching the earth and sogging the dirt roads, mostly the snow has served to bury my To Do List. There's so much I planned to...
celebrating grace ~ she paused to listen . . . .
As I write this, a gorgeous snow is falling in the soft grey light of dawn. This is the second of two snow storms to move across New Mexico this week: The first arrived mid-morning of the 26th blessing us with four inches of snow. This storm arrived last evening, and...
celebrating grace ~ their voices reach me and I ascend ~ crane painting, viii
This is a painting about joy. About uplift. About climbing out of a chaos, and finding clarity, finding your way. And then — and THEN! listening for your better angels, and spreading your wings. Remember Walking Into the Storm with Arms Open Wide? This is climbing out...
celebrating grace: their return brings song ~ crane painting, v
Their return brings song to my heart. Indeed. As you read this I’ll be packing up to return to the Bosque del Apache, to witness sunset tonight with the cranes and geese. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll return there a few hours later for...
walking into the storm with arms open wide ~ crane painting, iv
That thing you've been avoiding? That thing you've been putting off, 'been skirting around? That thing you don't want to do is the thing you have to do. That thing you fear? Time to face it. Do it. Do it now. Go walk into that storm with your arms open wide. ...
celebrating grace: their wings fill my heart with prayer ~ crane painting, iii
There are so many layers beneath this painting…. so many ways it came in and out of being. So many hidden shapes, hidden colors. But that spirit figure… see her? She remained throughout. She wouldn’t be hidden by the layers. Always she was there. Always she is...
new for you, each saturday morning ~ honoring grace
One of my great joys in recent years has been observing, learning about, and following Grus canadensis — the Sandhill cranes. I’ve written a good deal about these beautiful beings — here and here — and how I’ve come to love them. Some people feel a kinship to certain...
finding grounding in the new year
I never would have thought I'd find grounding in the sky; in flight. This new year loomed for me with a feeling of. . . . . . lack of focus? Imbalance? My birthday is lost in the week between Christmas and New Year’s—a weird time when I always feel kind of in...