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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Sketchbook Writings

~ From my sketchbook writings, December 10th ~
Up on Rattlesnake Ridge
Up on Rattlesnake Ridge (King of the Castle)
The fog makes times stand still.  There is no back, no forward, there is hardly even up or down.  I no longer remember when I woke or when I should bed.  There is only now and the ticking of dew rolling down curls.
Three bald eagles in two days.  This land has swallowed me in exchange for raptors.  I puff along like a bright red steam engine, collecting speed, collecting shapes, lines, curves, textures, like a greedy architect.  I'll use some later, and what ever else is left rattling in my mind and [too shallow] pockets will be tipped out of those checkered panes and given to the ravens.  They'll take it all.  They always do.
Up on the ridge the trees, not expecting company through the long winter, have slipped out of their summer finery and grown shaggy green coats.  We're all a little rough around the edges but this is how I know we're old friends.  There is no need for pretense here, just a swinging gait, green scent of rot, and mud caked on boots.
* * *

I spent yesterday on Rattlesnake Ridge.  Days like that give me few words, halting descriptions, like trying to explain the scent of freshly baked bread to a newborn.  So I use my hands to tell the story.  And as ever, they are far more eloquent than my tongue.
Land Tribute
 
Land Tribute: A Mountain Narrative Necklace
(sterling silver and a small pebble plucked from the Eel River in Northern California)
* * *
Stay warm friends; I'm off to pick up a hot bowl of soup and run to the post; calendars are fluttering to homes across the globe and I can not thank you enough!

13 comments:

veee said...

holy smokes...both your pup's jowls and your bedecked neck are scrumptious in all kinda' ways

UmberDove said...

Those jowlies... heaven help me! If they weren't so often slobbery, I spend all my days kissing on them.

MrsLittleJeans said...

"We're all a little rough around the edges but this is how I know we're old friends. "...love this...I know what you meant by the stillness of time xx

Cat said...



as always

love and light

Beth said...

gorgeous- the writing and the necklace

prairiegirl said...

The detail in your hammering and the bird hanging from a leaf. Even a pretty stone from your beloved Cali. This necklace says so much. How you describe your day, your discoveries, your 'tree friends' in fog. Reading this, seeing that image of you walking in the forest, gives me a peaceful feeling. Thank you for sharing your day with us. xo

UmberDove said...

Ladies, thank YOU!

pencilfox said...

there's NEVER any need for pretense: i love you just as you are, as the trees and the ferns and the mud all see you and love you.
xx

artist in the arctic said...

Gorgeous Kelly. Your new work is so lovely. xx

Farm and Field said...

Oh, that necklace...
Wonderful work lady.

Hollie said...

So beautiful as always. Nature sings in your work, I just adore it all.

M+ said...

wow-wow! gorgeous necklace.
crazy amazing.
your soup looks delish & have been craving a bowl ever since i read your post!!!
i have to make some. xo

Jenna said...

Speaks with her hands, in a silver tongue.

I hear you.