HEMLOCK TREE 

The Hemlock tree ceremony was held inside a cavelike chamber with layers of needle-covered branches overhead and draping down along the sides. We entered the tight but not too cramped space by crawling on hands and knees through a particular gap. I felt like a child being invited into a hidden and little known secret meeting place that I was excited to see and explore. It was a Saturday morning. The ancient Haida tribe tale called Raven Steals the Light was read aloud. We started the meditative journey by envisioning a small unopened Hemlock cone positioned in our heads behind our eyes. The cone started to spin counterclockwise and slowly unfurl in a spiral fashion. Birds sang at seemingly key moments and a chipmunk walked around and around appearing and disappearing on different levels of the branches making subtle sound trails. Occasionally I opened my eyes to take in fragments of the enclosed yet broad surroundings while I felt the connections expanding. 

I sensed that Hemlock's magical properties resided in my brain and they are linked with my nervous system. When activated, they release energy throughout the body. Hemlock's message was: Focus on nervous system energy. Envision what is not physically in view. See it everywhere. My heart's affirmation was: Energy can be directed throughout. Energy moves and flows. Energy can nourish all things. 

To create an artwork to represent my Hemlock experience, I began by choosing an existing painting that I started a few days before the Kripalu retreat. I was developing brush techniques that had a forest vibe. I recall wanting to introduce a bird into the scene, hence the vertical shadow centered in the lower half of the elongated canvas. Later, after I returned home, I got the idea to depict a passage of the Raven Steals the Light tale over the existing painting. Unforturnately, I could see the raven painting was not representative of my Hemlock journey. It was more of an illustration of the ancient Haida tale which is very powerful and frightens me a bit, like many other tales do. 

I then found an unfinished light blue and gold landscape that was better suited to use as a base layer for the Hemlock piece. The larger canvas size appealed to me because I wanted more surface area to make bigger sweeping motions when painting. Similar to the creation of the Elm painting, the Hemlock painting (phase two) was completed swiftly, after waiting for the moment of inspiration and a mind body communication. Instead of roots connecting and transmitting, the pine cone in the brain radiates energy pathways outwards in all directions. Next tree...