New Piece – “The Language of Trees”
32” x 32” (with frame)
Available
This is a collaborative piece created in honor of the intuitive language that humans share with trees (and the non-human world).
It is the first of a series of collaborative pieces between myself and my very gifted soul-brother, Nathan Sharples, from www.TempleWorks.Studio.
For the past several months, Nathan and I have been brainstorming pieces that combine his woodworking/stained-glass art, with my paintings. And this piece is one of the results. Nathan created this beautiful frame, made of poplar wood embroidered with purple stained-glass (see the figures in the frame).
To give you a little backstory on my connection with Nathan – I lived on his family’s land in a cabin that he built in Mendocino before I lived in Taos.
When I first moved to Mendocino a few years ago, I was magically led to Nathan’s majestic and whimsical little shaman cabin tucked back in the redwoods on his family’s property. It had open windows on all sides, which looked into a lush green kingdom of towering ancient trees. The cabin felt like a cross between something out of the fairy worlds of Middle Earth, and the underworlds of ancient shamanism.
I nested there for about 3 years, developing my art, writing, and speaking while Nathan lived in Oregon developing his practice as a cranial sacral healer.
As I would create my art, I would hang my paintings on the walls of his cabin, and it just became more and more apparent how well our artistic styles blended together.
When Covid hit, Nathan moved back to his family’s land, and we had the opportunity to connect more deeply. Getting the chance to spend more time together, it became clear how well we vibed, both artistically and spiritually.
Then one day, as I was walking along the ocean in a contemplative state, I got struck with the download of Nathan and I collaborating – I saw beautiful clairvoyant visions of wooden frames with stained-glass in Nathan’s style of woodworking, blended with my paintings.
I excitedly brought the idea to Nathan, and he agreed to do one test frame to see how it turned out.
Upon creating the first experimental “prototype” of combining our crafts, I put it online and within 3 days it sold for a few grand. So, we took this as the “green light” from Spirit to move forward with the collaboration.
So, Nathan got a CNC wood working machine, and we’ve been creating our first series of works together.
I must say, I am beyond excited for this collaboration, and I feel incredibly blessed to be working alongside such a gifted and soulful craftsman.
To speak to another dimension of the piece – it is called “The Language of Trees”, in honor of the deeper intuitive language that humans share with trees.
I feel very passionate about interspecies communication between humans and the non-human world, and I feel a strong calling to use my art to bring greater awareness to this deeper intuitive wavelength of communication.
From my own personal experience, I have had deeply profound experiences communicating with trees and other plants, which has completely altered my sense of self and reality.
I know to many, this might sound “out-there” or “woo-woo”, but to ancient indigenous and tribal cultures around the world, this deeper listening and communion was paramount to their survival and knowledge of how to use different plants.
Even today, I have many friends that have taken classes in herbalism. And in these herbal studies, the students are often encouraged to intuitively listen to the plant for receiving knowledge about its medicinal properties, rather than just looking it up in a textbook. The ability to listen with sensitivity and intuition is key.
I truly believe that the precipice of our collective healing rests on our ability to listen.
In my opinion, humanity’s greatest mistake is that it assumes that it “knows”.
When we let go of what we assume we know, then we open ourselves to the mystical and dream-like realms of nature. And in this space, our minds become receptacles for a deeper language, one that exists beyond the layers of conditioning that are fed through trauma and addiction, and we touch an aspect of the true reality that we inhabit.
I have been an educator of intuitive development for the past several years, and I have a passion for helping others connect with their intuition. And for me, it’s not about teaching people to become “psychic”, or whatever you want to call it. It’s about helping people learn how to listen.
Because that’s what humanity needs more than anything – to learn how to listen.
To listen more deeply to others.
To listen more deeply to the natural world.
To listen more deeply to our own hearts and souls.
In the painting, you can see two beings praising the tree in the center. These two beings dawn a blue halo around their heads from which a tree is rising. This represents their intuitive connection to the tree, and the “oneness” that they share with the consciousness of the tree.
The colorful branches of the tree represent stained-glass, which symbolize the tree as a cathedral, and a portal of worship and connection to Spirit.
The golden beings behind the two green central figures represent our guides and angels, and the divine support that assists us in re-establishing our connection to the natural world.
At the bottom, we see six golden beings giving praise to the sun, honoring the source of light that gives rise to all of life. This simultaneously symbolizes both the physical sun, as well as the inner spiritual sun that illuminates our minds and hearts with Holy vision.
The symbolism of the piece extends into the frame, with the rows of people composed of stained-glass standing on either side of the wood-carved trees on all four sides. This represents communities of people coming together to build societies around a more conscious connection to nature.
This piece was created as a symbol, as a reminder, of the deeper reality that we are forever a part of, and in honor of the intuitive language that we share with all of life.
May we remember how to listen.
And may we remember how to pray.
Not just for ourselves, but because this is what the world needs the most.
I would like to extend my gratitude for getting the opportunity to collaborate with the very talented Nathan Sharples on this project. Nathan is an incredible woodworker, architect, writer, artist, and healer, so please be sure to check out more of Nathan’s work at:
Thank you all for being a part of my journey.
May you each be blessed beyond comprehension.