Farm Sabbatical
Last winter I took six weeks to rest and regroup from my life governed by the plant world. It was so rejuvenating! We camped on the beach in California for Christmas, visiting gardens along the coast and marveling at the forever blue of the ocean and sky. I encountered Bird of Paradise everywhere, a spirit that brings deep rest to the mind, and assists with creative energy flow and transformation. YES, thank you plants!
Bird of Paradise was speaking to me
I took my nephew, Will, who just graduated from high school and has never been to a foreign country, to Baja for a farm-to-table/beach adventure. We spent a lot of time watching the ocean waves swelling and growing like a leaf unfurls and curls on itself and finally crashes into the earth. We talked about life, and cooked and ate delicious food everywhere we went!
We stayed at an ecoglamping Airbnb called Espacio Amor hosted by two young Mexican herbalists and their Tio, where we slept in a shack built on stilts of palm trees, got our tarot cards read, and cooked in an outdoor kitchen with other travelers. We surfed, snorkeled and ate our way through southern Baja. We visited two farm-to-table restaurants, Yerba Buena Restaurante and Flora Farms. These places are not only farm-fresh culinary delights, but you literally walk through the garden to get to the table. The trip reminded me that traveling is such an adventure in humanity, and you can find this curiosity and experience everywhere as long as you are seeking. I hope his new passport will fill with stamps over the next 10 years!
Flora Farms is a magical place to enjoy farm-to-table meals all sourced from the property
Working on a mixed media collage
I also took time to nurture my creativity. My best friend, Karla and I spent a few days on a retreat together at one of my favorite places in the world, Marble Canyon. We have found this is our favorite way to reconnect; to escape to a remote location and work on creative projects. We support, encourage and cheerlead for each other and make plenty of time for walking, cooking and catching up on our lives.
This winter I started working on a new visual art series that charts my journey to a deeper, spiritual relationship with plants by listening to what they have to teach me for my own personal healing and for helping others.
Root Chakra I is the first piece in a series of works in which I will explore plants, landscapes and chakras
You can visit my new website that I created over the winter to see my artwork! This year I am manifesting an artist residency to have time and space to delve into my visual art dreams and design garden prayer flags.