Blue Corn

Elote

pen and ink drawing

by Rosa Phoenix

The Hopi people have a story, that when all the races of people were created, each were allowed to choose their own food. The Hopi waited until the end, to make their choice, and chose the smallest ear of corn. The Creator told them that they had chosen wisely, for they had chosen the "true food." 

The Hopi still plant and grow corn on their land in Arizona today. The blue corn they cultivate is more nutritious than other varieties of corn.

A page in my sketchbook. 

When you draw, you learn to see how beautiful and miraculous the simplest things are.

Sketchbook: Phoenix

Rosson House, Phoenix, AZ

crayon drawing by Rosa Phoenix

Hey! There's a Victorian house in Phoenix!

This is the Rosson House Museum in downtown Phoenix. It was built in 1895 for an early Mayor of Phoenix. It reminds me of the beautiful Victorian houses of San Francisco.

LINKS

Rosson House Museum

Earth Day 2012: The World Mother's Story

I'm wishing you a peaceful Earth Day 2012.

To me, Earth Day is a sacred day. It's a day to celebrate all the beautiful experiences we have living on Earth.

My painting, World Mother, is my expression of my love of the Earth, and my desire to honor all Life.

I have never told my story of the World Mother and how she appeared to me. Rather, I have wanted each person to find the meaning in this image for himself or herself.

On this Earth Day 2012, I would like to share the story of how this image came to be created.

sketch of World Mother, 2006

This is the World Mother's first appearance in my sketchbook. 

This was a time of darkness, illness and grieving. I was physically sick and exhausted from fighting a battle with autoimmune disease, that had been going on for years. My father and grandfather had recently died.

I was sick of death, violence, disease. Wars were raging all over the world, horrific terrorist attacks were rampant, and the 2004 tsunami in Asia had killed hundreds of thousands of people in mere minutes.

I was also becoming more aware of great changes that were happening to the Earth: climate change brought on by pollutants, caused by industry; the destruction of forests and habitats; the poisoning of our water, air and soil.

I felt powerless to do anything, and sick that I was part of this chain of destruction.

On July 10, 2006, I had just heard a story in the news. It was a report of a gang of U.S. soldiers in Iraq who had committed a heinous crime on an Iraqi family. They had gone to a home, raped a girl living there, killed her and every single person in the house, including a baby, then set the house on fire. This attack had been planned out in advance.

This story made me cry. It made me feel that life in such a world is not even worth living. 

The World Mother appeared to me in a vision. This woman, this mother figure, appeared in my sketchbook as I was drawing, with the title "Weeping for the World."

She is weeping for all her children, cradling the Earth in her arms. She has created beautiful life, and yet her children cruelly destroy and ravage each other and everything on Earth.

 

The image of the World Mother has evolved. Her tears are gone and she watches over the Earth with serene and peaceful blessings. 

I know that she was created out of pain and darkness. I have made her into a healing and hopeful image, because I choose to shine a light in dark times. I want to show the potential of peace.

 

CD cover for Cyclub 

I am amazed by the responses I receive from people, when they see the World Mother.  They are seeing something that they recognize in their own heart.

Since I have painted the World Mother, I have made many connections with people, all over the world. This image, that I re-created to show Japan, is now the cover for Cyclub's CD, "Shining in Da Sun." The music on this CD was inspired by, and created for, Japan, after 2011's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

The World Mother has truly changed me. Her appearance in my life was a true turning point that led me out of that dark place, into a path of hope. Since I painted this image, I have discovered that she is an archetype of Gaia, Mother Earth. I see her in images of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadelupe and works by many other artists.

My own personal World Mother continues to travel across the Earth and inspire people to cherish and hold sacred everything that is important to us.

I wish you and your family many, many blessings on this Earth Day 2012!

LINKS

Cyclub's Official Website

Food for Thought: Blog Action Day 2011

Carlos Candelario was born without arms and legs. 

His mother had been exposed to a cocktail of toxic pesticides 

whilst harvesting tomatoes (photographer unknown)

click on the link to see this story

Today is World Food Day, and it is also Blog Action Day. This year's topic is food. 

We all have different experiences with food and we all need food for life.

As I've been working on being a more conscious consumer, I have questions about food, and what it means to all of us.

Please feel free to respond in the comments!

Questions for you!

 

Where does your food come from?

Is your food a world traveller? Did it come from an exotic locale? Did it fly on a plane, sail on a boat, ride on a truck?

Or is your food a native, or a local? Did it come from a nearby farm? Or your garden?

Nopales cactus

at Mexican market in Phoenix, AZ

How long is its life cycle?

Who grew or raised your food?

What is it? Animal? Vegetable? Fruit? Fungus? Spice?

What's in your food? Is it GMO (genetically modified organism)? Was it raised with pesticides or chemical fertilizers?

Right 2 Know March

to Washington, D.C.

is a group of concerned people

who want GMO foods to be labeled

How does the food you eat affect your body?

Does your food cause disease? Does it lead to sickness and early death? Do you eat the "Standard American Diet (SAD)"?

 

Does food give you life energy? Does food heal you?

Do you have a favorite market?

Do you like to try new things?

Or do you like to stick to what you know?

What's your favorite food?

What attracts you to food? Color? Smell? Presentation? Package? Price?

This is my 100th blog post!

I'd like to celebrate with you, by sharing some recipes I like.

Enjoy in good health!

Hummus

1 small can chickpeas, with 1/2 of the liquid 

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

salt and pepper if desired

Blend ingredients in a blender. Serve with warm pita bread and raw vegetables like carrot, celery, tomato and spinach

Massaged Kale Salad

Wash kale and remove the stems. Tear it into small pieces and put into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and squeeze lemon juice on top. With clean hands, "massage" the kale by squeezing and pressing it. Do this for a couple of minutes and the kale leaves will start to wilt and turn dark green in color. It will release a beautiful floral fragrance!

Enjoy the kale like that, or you can add raw, cut-up vegetables and salad dressing, to make it into a mixed salad.

Green Zinger Smoothie

1 apple, cut and peeled

1 banana

1 celery stalk

1 slice of melon

1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut

handful of baby spinach leaves

small piece of ginger root, peeled and cut

coconut water or filtered water

(these ingredients are suggestions, use whatever you have available)

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. If the mixture is too thick, add water or coconut water. Drink immediately.

LINKS

Blog Action Day 2011

World Food Day

Right 2 Know March


#bad11

The Human Heart

 

Into the Deep

collage by Rosa Phoenix

The tragedy in Japan brings worry, despair, a sense of uncertainty and powerlessness. 

A reminder of how close we are to death, at every moment.

At the same time, it shows us how all people, and all life, are inter-connected.

I didn't learn about the earthquake and tsunami from the TV or Internet news. A woman I met only once sent me a text message, asking if I have family or friends in Japan. Her text message read: "we are all related as a human family."

I was touched that this woman, who I barely know, reached out to show her concern and caring.

I have friends in Japan. They are safe and alive, and for that I am thankful.

How much can change in an instant. 

Tragedies like this can make us feel closer than ever. The truth is that we need each other. In suffering, in times of difficulty, we bond and grow closer. Our ties grow stronger. We reach out for help and comfort one another.

Here is something my father wrote, after an earthquake in Taiwan in 1999:

With the reminiscence of all the disastrous events, natural or otherwise, that happened in the world in the past and present, I cannot help but think that even as advanced as the science and technology of today, we are still very vulnerable to all kinds of destructions.

On the other hand, we, the humans, have survived all those disastrous events for millions of years without any knowledge of modern science and technology. Why? Because we are the humans and have the HEART OF HUMANS.

From this very humans' heart, mutual assistance, sympathy and sacrifice for others were generated and converted into insurmountable forces and energy that kept humans surviving throughout all kinds of catastrophes.

I therefore come to the conclusion that we, the humans, have been and will be suffering from, but will not be destroyed by any extraneous forces.

However, we can destroy ourselves once this very existing humans' heart is lost.

- Dr. John T.K. Wang

The power of the heart, of our compassion and desire to help others, is our greatest strength. I hope that we will keep developing this power. 

Reach out in love, make the bonds stronger and the world smaller. Nothing else matters.

South Mountain Petroglyphs

Dobbins Lookout view from South Mountain

all photos by Rosa Phoenix

Here are some views from South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona.  

South Mountain is a nice place to hike, bike, drive, or ride a horse.

Here you can see the desert landscape and views of the city of Phoenix.

Recently I hiked the Holbert Trail, which features many ancient petroglyphs, made by the Hohokam people.

 rock art

The Hohokam people settled and farmed this area in ancient times.

According to local oral tradition, the Hohokam may be the ancestors of the historic Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham peoples in Southern Arizona. (Wikipedia)

The city of Phoenix was named to acknowledge these original settlers, because a new civilization rises from the ruins of the ancient civilization.

rock art

Is that a whale or fish on the rock below the spiraling snake?

To me it looks like a whale.

Where would these desert dwelling people have seen such a creature?

Maybe someone had traveled from the California coast.

This desert was once an ancient sea . . . how things change!

 another human figure

or maybe a bird?

 the four directions

the cross

the Saguaro cactus,

native to the Sonoran desert

All photos were taken on my iPhone using the Camera+ app.

LINKS

South Mountain Park

Hohokam people on Wikipedia

Analog Girl in a Digital World

 Phoenix Fire

digital image by Rosa Phoenix

I grew up in a mostly analog world. 

I was born around the time that the first personal computers were coming onto the scene, although most people didn't have one at that time. 

My family's first computer was a Commodore Vic 20. You couldn't do much with it, except play some primitive video games like Frogger. I learned how to type on a manual typewriter in my dad's medical office.

When I was a kid, I learned BASIC programming. My brother used it to create a picture of the space shuttle, programming it line by line, pixel by pixel, a slow and arduous process.

In high school I created a zine. I printed out the text on the computer, in columns, and literally cut and pasted them into my pages, and I used the photocopy machine to produce some blurry copies.

I learned photography with real film, and we processed the film in a darkroom, with chemicals. You wouldn't see your image until you saw it emerge in the chemical bath, under the eerie red light of the darkroom.

I moved to New York in the 1990's. When I was 18, I took a summer film class and we filmed with 16 mm black and white film. We edited by literally cutting the film with a blade, and splicing the cuts together with tape.

"When we go to digital, everything will change" the instructors were always saying. 

Everyone in the film industry was looking forward to this magical future age, when everything could be changed with the push of a button.

BookBook MacBook case

by Twelve South

I worked for a publishing house for a little while. 

The people there, editors and publishers, also spoke of the coming digital age. 

They weren't looking forward to it. Publishing was already a dying industry. 

They knew these were the last days of print, that e-books would kill the publishing business. They didn't know how much time they had left, but they knew that it wouldn't be long. Soon their jobs would be obsolete.

Everything about the publishing house was agonizingly slow. Stacks of manuscripts were marked with red pencils, and then they were typed all over again with the corrections. Paper was everywhere. 

Going from manuscript, to galley, to published book, to distribution, could take a year.

Unsolicited submissions came in the mail in big mailbags and bins, and were promptly thrown in the garbage.  

These wanna-be authors didn't know how to get their novel in front of the editors. 

They didn't have an agent, they didn't know the editors, they didn't have the right connections. 

No one had the time to read their words and stories.

digital collage by Rosa Phoenix

Now the digital world is here. Our whole world is changing fast.

There is nostalgia, there are things that I love about analog. 

I prefer the tactile pleasures of painting with paint and brush, to making digital art on the computer. 

But I love my computer too. I love the creative programs like PhotoShop and Illustrator, with its layers, the Undo button, changes that can be made with the click of a button. To me it's magic.

I love books and print, but I don't miss the cultural gatekeepers who determined which stories would be told and shared with the world, and which would never see the light of day.

fire girl image by MISHA
digital collage by Rosa Phoenix

I love self-publishing on my blog and my website.  

I love the democratization of expression that the digital age makes possible. 

 I love reaching people all around the world, who I would never get to meet in person, and share my art and ideas with them. 

I love not having to go through the middlemen--the agents, the editors, the cultural gatekeepers, who have to look out for the bottom line and ask the question "will it sell?" 

That isn't a concern that I have.

I know now that I've been waiting for this day to come, all my life.  

I was born in an analog world, and I am also a part of the digital revolution. 

I love to use my hands and heart to create, and I also love my computer, which is another creative tool, that also allows me to reach the wider world.

P.S. the title of this blog post comes from a song by the fabulous Erykah Badu, who has embraced digital media.

Jim Marshall RIP

Jimi Hendrix
photo by Jim Marshall

from www.sfgate.com

I saw this story in the news today. If you like rock and roll you should check out the photos of Jim Marshall.

LINK

Rock Photographer Jim Marshall Dies - San Francisco Chronicle

The Red Book by Carl Jung

image from the Red Book, courtesy of amazon.com

Here is a book that has a legendary past: psychologist Carl Jung's personal record of his visions, documented in calligraphic text and color illustrations, called the Red Book.  

Jung's family has kept this private volume locked up for decades, and finally it is being published.

The original is now on view at the Rubin Museum of Art (one of my favorite museums in New York, a mysterious treasure box of ancient Himalayan art). 

The museum is posting pictures of the pages on its website, as each page is turned.

This is a good thing because this is an expensive book with a list price of $195! Amazon has it at a discounted price of $114.07.

The Red Book at Rubin Museum of Art

The Red Book on Amazon.com

Carl Jung on Wikipedia

Thanksgiving Portrait Sketch

pencil and crayon on paper 

Happy Thanksgiving!  

A turkey is the traditional symbol of Thanksgiving. 

Instead, here is a drawing I did a few years ago that I feel represents this All-American holiday.

This is my portrait of my sweetheart, who has mixed Native American and European ancestry. In his family tree is the story of this country. He is wearing colorful feathers in his hair.

I'm sending my best wishes across the world wide web. 

I'm very thankful to be alive and well and surrounded by beautiful friends and family.

How I Became an Artist and Environmentalist: Blog Action Day 2009

 

Into the Deep  

collage by Rosa Phoenix 

(click on image to see a larger version)

Is it just me, or have the times been tumultuous since 2000?

My own life seems to follow the ups and downs of the USA.  

Moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000 at the height of the dot com boom. Bumped from one short term housing situation to another. Lost my job like so many others when the dot com bubble burst, shortly after 9/11/2001. 

9/11 was personal for me because I'd just moved from NYC a few months earlier. My friends and I had worked near the Twin Towers, and my brother lived in that area. No one I knew was killed. But I was devastated that New York was attacked, and that 2,752 New Yorkers simply vanished that way.

memorial tile for 9/11
unknown artist

War, paranoia, fascism, fear overtook the nation. 

Illness took over my body, disabling me. 

I went through a time of depression as my family experienced difficulties, then my grandfather and father died. 

2004 - 2005 was a time of the Tsunami, of Hurricane Katrina, of landslides, mudslides, earthquakes, death on a huge scale. Personal and global tragedy. 

Hurricane Katrina was personal for me because of the time I'd spent in New Orleans. I was haunted by the faces of the people I met there, as I watched this beloved city sink like Atlantis beneath the water.

pages from What's Next? altered collage book by Rosa Phoenix

That's when it hit home for me, Climate Change.

I felt powerless to do anything. I mourned for my lost loved ones, for the villages buried by earthquakes and mudslides, for those who were swept into the sea and for those who drowned in their own homes. I mourned for those I did not know, whose homes were being bombed in our war, and for those who were fighting overseas, sacrificing their own lives for those of us living in comfort at home.

interior views of Social Dress New Orleans - 730 Days After 

by Takashi Horisaki

Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, 2007

(installation based on a New Orleans house abandoned after Hurricane Katrina) 

 

I donated money to the Red Cross to help the victims of disaster and the refugees of war, but I felt hopeless about our collective future. 

In the news were reports of the rapid destruction of ecosystems and habitats, species dying, polar ice caps melting, rivers and oceans poisoned, mutations in animals, drugs in our water supply and wars raging all around the world.

pages from What's Next? altered collage book by Rosa Phoenix

What was horrifying was feeling complicit in this chain of destruction. 

Just by living the life of a modern person in America, I feel that I am contributing to this. 

It is like being a cog in a machine.  

What can I do to reverse this? I asked myself in despair.

  
pages from What's Next? altered collage book by Rosa Phoenix

I made changes to my lifestyle. 

I donated my car to Habitat for Humanity. (Luckily I live in San Francisco, where I don't need to drive.) 

I limit the waste I create by not buying many new things, and recycling and composting whenever possible. 

Our household buys organic food from farmers' markets, and we buy in bulk to reduce packaging whenever possible. We limit our energy usage with compact fluorescent bulbs, and by not turning on the heat.

I feel lucky to be able to make these choices. Does it help? I think every little bit helps. I'm sure there is always room to improve. The first step is awareness.

In 2007, I learned about Trees for the Future. This organization helps people plant trees in deforested areas all over the world.

I also returned to making art.  Art helped me to recover from illness. Now my art and my life have a clear purpose. I base my art in symbols of the Earth, like the Tree of Life, and Gaia, Mother Earth.

I use my art to show that Life is sacred, and that we are part of something bigger.

In 2008 I organized "Love Our Mother" Earth Day Art Show + Benefit for Trees for the Future. I showed my painting "World Mother" at the art show.

We raised money for Trees for the Future's project in Senegal, Africa, to plant 1,000 trees.  

While I was researching Senegal, I learned that this country has experienced grave problems related to climate change. 

Like the U.S. Gulf Coast, Senegal has had severe flooding on its coast, in addition to a drought that has lasted decades. 

Decades of monoculture (peanut crop) have depleted the soil of nutrients.

This would seem like a hopeless situation, but trees are helping to change that.

Trees have so many benefits.  

They exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. 

They filter pollutants and clean the air. 

They bring groundwater up to the surface level with their root systems. 

Their roots also hold the soil together, preventing soil erosion and landslides. 

Their wood, fruits, leaves and sap can be harvested for food, fuel and other uses. 

Their fallen leaves and twigs create compost, enriching the soil and making land fertile for farming and gardening. 

Trees provide habitat for animals and cooling shade in hot areas.  

Trees are a renewable resource. 

Too many forests have been destroyed. 

It's time to replenish the Earth with trees. 

A wonderful thing is happening in Africa. 

A green belt of trees is being planted across the continent.  

Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement, Trees for the Future, the United Nations, the Peace Corps, governments and other organizations are working with local people to plant trees across Africa.

I'm pleased that my art is connected to this great undertaking. 

My art is an affirmation of hope, expression of love, and act of peace.

The human family tree includes all people, all over the world. 

I use the symbol of the Tree of Life to show that all Life is interconnected.

Please take part in re-planting the Earth!

Trees for the Future

Green Belt Movement Website

Green Belt Movement on Wikipedia

UN's Billion Tree Campaign Hits Its Seven Billion Goal

Learn more about how climate change has impacted Senegal:

Trees for the Future Senegal Project

Senegal's climate change ruins homes, livelihoods

Climate change destroys a nomadic life

Climate change reduces fish stocks in Senegal

I'm pleased to join thousands of bloggers around the world, 
by blogging about climate change for Blog Action Day 2009. 

Learn more about Blog Action Day 2009!

Mannahatta Project

Inwood Hill Park

photomontage by Rosa Phoenix

 The Mannahatta Project poses this question:

"When Henry Hudson first looked on Manhattan in 1609, what did he see?"

The Mannahatta Project at the Wildlife Conservation Society attempts to re-create the island of Manhattan before it was settled by Europeans. 

For those familiar with modern-day, urban Manhattan, it also provides points of reference to the city as it is now.

The Mannahatta Project superimposes two maps together, using Google Maps interface to navigate between them.  

Two layers of Manhattan merge together: the 1609 version was re-created according to historical maps, and the modern-day version comes from Google Maps.

Use the slider at the bottom to move in between the maps, or click on the 1609 map to see what's there today. You can also enter a Manhattan address, or search for a landmark. For example, on the 1609 map, I click on what looks like a marshy wetland in upper Manhattan.

What is now the city block of 93rd and 94th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue was once a very different place.  

When I click on the link "what this place was like in 1609" I get a listing of all the wildlife, plants and animals that would have inhabited this area at that time. I'm surprised that the original inhabitants of the island included mountain lions, bears and foxes.  

The 1609 map layer also shows the villages and trails of the native people who lived there at that time.

Check it out for yourself here:

http://themannahattaproject.org/explore/mannahatta-map/

The Mannahatta Project is also featured in the September 2009 National Geographic.

Click here to learn about Inwood Hill Park, site of Manhattan's sole remaining native forest.