Sacred Spirit

"Sacred Spirit," 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas panel

What is "sacred"?

Historically from the Middle Ages, it's linked in Latin and other languages with sanctification, saint; it implies connection with the divine. The meaning has changed over the years, its application broadening. 

A better question is "What is sacred to you?" It belongs to no one religious or cultural belief, and symbolizes many things. It probably varies with every person, even without religious or spiritual meanings.

The more I read of Native American beliefs and cultures, the more impressed I am. If there is a symbol of the heritage of those people, to me it is the bison, the American buffalo.

Foremost in their spiritual heritage is the white buffalo, and their beliefs hold meaning we need today in this chaotic time. Only about one in ten million buffalo will be born white, according to science.

What is more impressive to me is what the Lakota and others believe, from stories almost 2,000 years old. I found this on the American Indian College Fund blog:

"The Lakota and other tribes believed that a white buffalo is the most sacred living thing on earth... .

"The American buffalo or bison is a symbol of abundance and manifestation... The birth of a sacred white buffalo is a sign of hope and an indication of good times to come. For many American Indians, the birth of a white buffalo calf is the most significant of prophetic signs... ."

The Lakota term for the white buffalo is "tatanka," and sacred or divine-- "Wakan Tanka."

That's the spirit and inspiration behind today's acrylic painting. In the middle of these political, biological and environmental turmoil, we need some good omens of good times to come.

Art collector?

When you grow up in the home of an artist, you don't think much about collecting art.

I've gone to art shows for years, and always compared work with that of my Dad's. His work still hangs in our house, so it's an ever present standard of quality. So you pass up collecting art for three reasons. I'm pretty critical of what I consider quality. The really good work as at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Prix de West for example, I can't afford. And as I've begun to paint in these last few years, there's simply not much room in the house for art. I even have some work hanging on the walls of the garage.

But in the past few years I've bought just a few pieces in New Mexico and here primarily because I liked them or they were watercolors or things I could afford. I don't consider them investments. I consider them inspiration and stories.

As I was thinking about this, I started taking photos of them, and actually, we're a bit overwhelmed by art in our house--Dad's, Mike's,  others, mine and Susan's. So what was going to be a short post will have to several.

I have three favorite pieces--and it's interesting that two of them are sculptures.

The first I bought at the Palace of the Governors five years ago was from a Sioux named Earl Eder, http://secretwindowgallery.com/earl-eder-bio ironically who had been one of my uncle Mike's students at the Institute of American Indian Arts http://www.iaia.edu/ years ago. It's a beautifully carved red hawk from red cedar and he incorporated the grain of the wood to enhance the foot-tall sculpture, so the bird looks almost alive. He's added two drops of turquoise ad a Native American symbol to the art.

Unframed watercolor of the Palace of the Governors pinned to my studio wall, 9 by 22,  300 pound d'Arches paper
Where I bought Earl Eder's red tailed hawk.

http://www.palaceofthegovernors.org/index.php Everyday I look at the hawk and travel miles and years in imagination. Every time I go to Santa Fe, I walk the long porch at the Palace of the Governors and see the jewelry and other art sale. The last time I was there Earl's wife (a Navajo, I think) was tending his and her art, and he had more sculptures. I also noticed that the prices had gone up, so I guess I'm investing in art after all.

But more importantly, the art invests in me. Our collection has pieces from coast to coast, and from overseas. More stories to come.