Moonlight Beach Gathering

"Moonlight Beach with Gulls," pastel, Stephanie Rose Bird, 2015

Gathering with family, being with friends and loved ones--what could be better? My in-laws are getting on in age. My mother-in-law just turned 85. I had the pleasure of celebrating her birthday with her, a bit early but still, along with the rest of the family. There is a gentleness and knowing that comes with age, at least in her case. It's very touching. I hope to get there.

In addition to celebrating with her, I also spent time with my husband's father, brothers and my sisters-in-law. His older brother and our sister-in-law came all the way over from England. We had fun reconnecting. All of my children, apart from one who is working on the film "Chirag," were able to join. It was wonderful to be together without time, distance and work constraints.

Bird Birthday Gathering of 10, at lovely Pacific Grill in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA

We were in the coastal region of northern San Diego county. While there, we visited the place where my husband and I were married. I spent time there drawing the torrey pines, overlooking the sea, on the numerous cliffs there. I don't think I'd ever drawn cacti in the field. It was challenging!

Torrey Pines 2015, Pastel, Stephanie Rose Bird

I also visited with Yemaya-Olokun, the orisha I often talk about. In case you are unfamiliar, these orisha are of the upper and lower depths of the sea. Revered in Santeria, they encapsulate all the power, mystery and beauty of the ocean and seas.

(Liam after surfing)

This time around, I felt more compelled to capture the movements, the flickering of light and motion of the waves, than to swim. I did this observation work in pastel. Painting the sea is incredibly difficult. I enjoyed the challenge. Every day, in different light conditions, I went down to the beach called Moonlight Beach, and rendered what I could catch. Here is some of my work. I consider these sketches and hope to turn them into more in-depth paintings soon.

"Big Splash" pastel, Stephanie Rose Bird, 2015

"Moonlight Beach in the Morning" pastel, Stephanie Rose Bird, 2015

Gran Bwa

Gran Bwa is a lwa that helps you connect to ancestral roots or the spiritual home of Vodou. A friend of mine, who is an expert on Haitian Vodou, who has spent a lot of time in Haiti with the artists there, told me I had painted Gran Bwa when I made this spontaneous work out of walnut ink and sumi-ink on handmade paper. I had considered this painting a self-portrait. She now holds this piece in her private collection: Quite a few people are afraid of Vodou but it is an awe-inspiring tradition of bringing together plant energy with divinity, spiritual and personal energy. My friend who is very involved with Vodou, especially the art that surrounds it, is from European ancestry. She is light in spirit and bubbly, with a close relationship to nature and her garden. Vodou affirms the relationships between cycles of life, trees of knowledge and spirit. The Vodou vision of lwa , understands them as the intelligence of energy present in humans, nature and thoughts. Mysteries ca

Xochitl--Flower

(Winter Poinsettia by Stephanie Rose Bird, oil on wood) One of my Facebook friends does daily posts and shares called "I love Flowers." I love flowers too, in real life, in my garden, in paintings and as they are related to the gods and goddesses, in healing, as well as their use in folklore like Hoodoo. Not long ago I posted about Xochipelli (Sho-CHEE-pee-lee) prince of flowers and Xochiquetzal (Sho-CHEE-ket-zul) goddess of flowers in anticipation of April's blooming season. The Goddess and Prince of Flowers post is here. Today, I want to focus in on the root word of their names and it's symbolism. This word is Xochitl (Show-CHEE-tul) in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. This word means flower. ( Frida Kahlo "Self Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser) In many different belief systems there are nature gods and goddesses connected with flowers. Flowers possess symbolism,

Follow Fest Interview and Sharing

When I first became a blogger it was difficult to know if I had readers and visitors coming to my blog. I’d post and be met by the sounds of crickets. Then, I branched out into the world of the blogosphere, a world I didn't know really existed. From my ventures, I met a lot of interesting bloggers. I've started following and commenting on numerous blogs, for you see, prior to my outings, I too was out among the crickets. Lurking about but seldom saying anything. A fellow blogger I've met through my journeys around the blogosphere is Melissa Maygrove . She had the brilliant idea to have a Follow Fest , where we share about who we are, what we do and most importantly, how you can connect with us further. It is my intention through joining Follow Fest, that I’ll connect with many more readers and people interested enough in what I do to want to learn more by following. So, here goes my entry for the fest. Name: Stephanie Rose Bird Fiction or

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