Hello dear sisters
Summer Wind
rocks the Moon in the Mesquite
Venus nods
in the Ash
Sing me to sleep
At 4:30am, we will still be dark here when the full moon lunar eclipse occurs, a fusion of energies and all will be different. Tonight it is just for the sisters, Wind, Venus and Moon.
When I was very young, I sat in dry grasses listening to my great-grandmother tell stories of the Manitou. On the the surface, these Algonquian tales are familiar to Europeans. They are stories about elves; little spirits, who live under rocks and along streambeds, energies capable of great magic or mischief.
But this is only the surface. Falling into the rhythm of her voice, I could see the “little spirits” in the light on the leaves and as patterns of colour shifting along the trunks of trees, I could hear the sound of the earth’s hearbeat beneath the buzzing grasses. Her story was much deeper than a simple fiction it was a transmission of great truth: all things are ensouled; trees, animals, even rocks. Each a of us is a piece of spirit. This is the meaning of the Manitou.
“Remember this, she told me, “we are of the Manitiw”
And those were her last words to me….
Manitou
L O D
Ma ni to
Gichi-manidoo the creator of all things
~~~
Am I not the grass whispers?
the wind, the sea sky
a pine needle, and
without an image of self
bobcat, deer, and they me?
In times long past the grandmothers of the Algonquian tribes made masquettes. They were simple faces shaped out of clay, helpers to tell a story. Over winter, the little spirits came into my hands, they formed themselves, it would seem, spontaneously out of clay.
Tamanawas is the name for Spirit Totems on the Salish reservation, where I was raised. They are carved in cedar. The Ashiwi (Zuni) are well known for their little spirits carved in stone. These are commonly called fetishes.
A fetish is defined as an “artificial” representation of something. I prefer to define this differently: Spirit Totems bring the formless into form. They are not analogies nor metaphors, but are directly tied to Spirit, they are simply another way to remember our selves.
Somehow these clay spirits draw from all these old creative styles and from my nordic ancestors as well.
Here is an example 
mother wolf
I have been taking them to the market, telling their stories, it’s been an adventure as people share back their own feelings and interpretations. I’m enjoying this sharing very much. As I get tseka rebuilt, I’ll post some here.
He comes with the sun
Sauntering up the hill
Greets me
Stops
Acknowledges Ulli Maki
It’s a pattern laid down by their mutual ancestors
They meet eyes
look away, meet again
We share the delights of the morning and the garden freshly watered.
And after an hour or so we each move into our separate days.
Today is the Eldi day - day of the Elder tree. The Elder tree was a portal faeries used to move freely between earth and magic realms.
Recent times have been strange for many, me included. Over the past few months I have been remembering the wisdom of my grandparents. They would say, “Walk in the direction your feet are pointing and don’t look back. What’s done is done and cannot be undone.”
“But remember, remember, always remember”
My grandmothers gifted me with many stories; stories of survival, stories celebrating the natural world and the world of elves and faeries.
Remembering them helps align my feet to the path.
Eldi refers not just to the Elder tree but to our elders whose wisdom can move freely through a magic portal. It seems a good day to re-open Tseka and begin again, with some new stories from my ancestors.
Image above is a 3″x3″ painting, part of the new project creating original collectible gift cards. I’ll be writing more about the project and where they can be purchased soon.
Wneewa is a Mahegin word. Simply translated it means, “I thank you.” The Mahegins are part of my Algonquin ancestors who I connect to through my mother and our Grandmothers. The Mahegins have mostly returned to dust and their language is almost forgotten, so, it pleases me to offer wneewa to the winds today, in gratitude. Wneewa is a “thought word” which conveys a sense of All that is NOT me; the Whole that contains You. You/I merge with thanks in a single thought; wneewa. This fills me with such satisfaction. Sometimes I imagine a world that my ancestors took for granted where in thanks we are inseparable. Could it be so simple?
This year we honor Raven
Arts Alive is an annual celebration of the arts and of artists. The whole town of La Conner participates. Artists come to demonstrate their craft.
I will be at Earthenworks Gallery, 713 First Street, La Conner, Washington, on November 8 from Noon to 4:00 pm.
Growing up on a Salish reservation, Raven was a prominent character in the stories of my youth. It was some years later that I stumbled onto the stories of my aboriginal Swedish ancestors. Remarkably the stories are very similar.
The town of La Conner is adjacent to the Swinomish Reservation so I will leave the telling of NW Coast stories in their able hands. What I will be sharing are stories of White Raven who flies in the skies around my home, and how in ancient time she rode on the left shoulder of Hel before the land went behind the ice. The myths say she is the harbinger of the new age when man will once again walk the path of harmony and beauty.
On Sunday November 8, we are unveiling my new projects at Earthenworks; Talismans of porcelain and stones joined with porcelain. These objects with the symbols of the past for healing, creativity and wholeness, have grown out of my interest in the myths and stories of my ancestors and are meant to be worn or set in a special spot.
There will be paintings too, of course.
In the “time outside of time” the treewomen were in a union with Raven.
And the Eldi, the Scandinavian Tree Women protected the light through the darkness.
White Raven & the Tree of Life: Porcelain & stone
Talismans and stones
Heaven’s Door : 20″ x 20″ framed Watercolour / Lacquer on paper, collage elements
Eldi : 44″ 41″ framed, Watercolour / Lacquer on paper, collage elements
click any image to enlarge
The artists of Joshua Tree once again throw open the doors to their studios and welcome the public. Over the years the event has mushroomed into something huge. The valley’s towns are filled with events; music, live theater and more, nearly everyone participates. 
This year two friends, exceptional artists, join me at my studio for both weekends. It’s bound to be fun. I hope some of you find your feet pointed in our direction.
~~~
October 24- October 25
October 31- November 1
Ellen Hill Painting & Porcelain Jewelry
Ellie Tyler Photography
Virginia Louise Akin (aka Dali Mama) Original Textiles and Design
Maps are available locally. My studio is very close to the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. Other inquiries? Leave a comment. Click any image to enlarge.
29 Palms Gallery
September 30 - October 26
Artist’s reception October 4 Noon - 3PM
What endures
what is blown away
becomes the Shape of time
Long lines of poetry
etched in pale canyons
twisting in the shadow walls
……………echo………..echo
Voices in the Rock
watercolour, lacquer on paper, collage elements, 44″ x 63″
There were languages
soft shuush shushs
lilts and low notes
Birdsong and bear voices
A merging of people
carrying several northern cultures
They unfolded precious hardanger, spread them out under the sun. They stretched hides between split alder.
Each as beautiful as the people, so different.
All embraced by firs, cedar, and the Pacific.
My childhood mind returns these sounds to me in odd moments. They seem to fall from the Ash branches or ride the back of the north wind. In a child’s mind the sounds were just people, the differences small, everything remains unsaid.
And this was the way also, all of us tuned our ears to the tsetseka wind as she boiled up into the fir tops, there was no mistaking her voice by people who live on the land, fish with the sea. Weather has her own language.
painting: Creeks Merge
watercolour, lacquer on Asian paper
11.5 x 11.5 inches (image)
*Hardanger is a Scandinavian needlecraft, threads are pulled from linen fabric and the open spaces create geometric designs turning the plain into beautiful and useful.
