Flying Colors

IF • Theater

In this theater of man's life,
it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers-on.
Pythagoras

original painting - private collection - Clarksburg, WV - USA - "Serenata"
watercolor, wax, rice paper, quilted • 36"H x 72"W • © Lisa Rivas

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This whole creation is essentially subjective,
and the dream is the theater where the dreamer is at once:
scene, actor, prompter, stage manager, author, audience, and critic.
Carl Gustav Jung

The Sipper...

✿ - ✿ - ✿ - a cup of "Claret" for the "picaflor" or "colibrí" - ✿ - ✿ - ✿

 

A distinctive cactus species is the "Claret Cup Cactus" with attractive reddish and cup shaped flowers, it is considered a hummingbird cactus. This is because a wide range of hummingbird species nourish and "sip" on the Claret Cup Cactus flower's nectar and assists it in their pollination process.

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The Hummingbird's feathers have little true color,
instead they reflect the light and this makes them look so brilliant and colorful.
If we reflect light and joy in our life we too will turn the ordinary into the beautiful.

They represent joy, optimism and sweetness ; a messenger and stopper of time!

IF • impossibility

The only place where your dream becomes "impossible" is in your own thinking.
Robert H. Schuller

 

original painting - private collection - Memphis, TN - USA - "Bird's Eye View"
watercolor, wax, rice paper, quilted • 60"H x 45"W • © Lisa Rivas

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

O'Miss Linda...

This post is for
my friend "Linda"
to honor the
appearance of her
"First Buttercup"
up north,
in CANADA!

Last year I painted
O'Miss Daff Odile
a bright sunny face,
and paired her
with Wilton Warbler.

And, once Daff
got together
with Warb
it has been
"daffy down dilly"
around here!

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"Daffy Down Dilly"
• archival pigmented print
on canvas or paper
• 40" x 12"
Lisa Rivas © 2008

In fraganti...

Late one night last week I went into the studio,
and found the "Nopalitos" plant were huddled in a hush, hush!
Can you believe this ???

I wonder what they were up to? What do you think?

Nopales In Fraganti • photo - digital • Lisa Rivas © 2009

"In flagranti crimine" is a latin phrase meaning  "caught red handed in crime"

He who profits by a crime commits it.  ~ Seneca

IF • Fleeting

Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow. Bible

"Highway Storm"
• watercolor, wax, handmade paper and sewn! • 18"H x 13"W • © Lisa Rivas

There is a road, no simple highway,
between the dawn and the dark of night,
and if you go, no one may follow,
that path is for your steps alone.
Jerry Garcia

... a white token,

...from the day of Jesus' crucifixion,
the "Dogwood Tree" no longer grows as the tallest and strongest.
It now grows gracefully and blooms in Spring where there is joy in the renewing of life.

White is not really a color. It occurs when the whole spectrum of light is seen together.
Everything is present in white; nothing is hidden, secret or undifferentiated.

 
If you've never been thrilled
to the very edges of your soul
by a flower in spring bloom,
maybe your soul has never
been in bloom.
~Audra Foveo

 

... a "tribute to my mother" who left us five years ago today. She made it possible for me to buy this house where this Dogwood Tree blooms every year upon her anniversary.
Thank You ♥ Mom ♥

Agave ...gave it all!

Legend says the Century Plant takes "100 years" to bloom! However, century plants in cultivation may bloom much quicker, an average of 25 years. The flower spike, grows at the incredible rate of 5–6 inches per day and can reach heights of 30 to 35 feet. This bloom grows so fast that it saps all the resources of the plant, which then dies, leaving a tall wooden seed stalk. It blooms only once in its lifetime.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present. Albert Camus

 

Century Petals •  sketch - digital • Lisa Rivas © 2009

The Century Plant or the Maguey (Agave Americana) is a succulent, not a cacti. It is an important plant to indigenous people, being used for medicines, fiber, needles, and food. Also used commercially in Mexico to produce the liquors of pulque and mezcal.

• Tequila is made from another type of agave - (Agave Azul / Blue Agave.)

The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.
Albert Einstein

IF • Talisman

A Talisman is an object marked with "magic signs" and is believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.

Very often a talisman's symbol is created from a sacred geometry.

Sacred geometry may be understood as a worldview of pattern recognition, a complex system of religious symbols and structures involving space, time and form. It is used in the design of sacred architecture and sacred art. The basic belief is that geometry and mathematical ratios, harmonics and proportion are also found in music, light and cosmology. Sacred geometry is often referred to as a language of G-d.

"La Vida" (Life)
• digital collage • 10.5" x 10.5" print (limited edition) • Lisa Rivas © 2002

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The Tree of Life is one of the most familiar of the Sacred Geometry Symbols. The structure is represented in nature and relates to the "Flower of Life".

There are many spiritual beliefs associated with the Flower of Life; for example, depictions of the five Platonic Solids are found within the symbol of Metatron's Cube, which may be derived from the Flower of Life pattern. These platonic solids are geometrical forms which are said to act as a template from which all life springs.

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A fish is commonly used as a fertility amulet. It is also used as a talisman in some households to repel the Evil Eye. This originates from the Talmud - where it is stated that fish are immune from the evil eye because they are under water!