Totems

Traditionally totems are thought of in terms of their spirit.
Guiding us with their unique personalities through this life.

A raven's slyness.
An orca's wisdom.
A bison's strength.

But the biologist in me wonders about their physical form.
Why and how they came to be.

This Earth, the ultimate sculpturist, carving these animals.
Shaping their bodies.
Making each species unique and special allowing them to find a small space in which for them to belong.
Forming them to fit just perfectly within a small niche.
A crack of space on this crowded planet.

The pressure, uncomfortable, but necessary.
Pushing and pulling them until their forms are just right, and as soon as the niche changes or moves, reshaping them.
Never tiring of perfecting their bodies.

The ocean waves undulating over the whale.
Smoothing it's skin.
The current stretching and elongating it's body and forming fins powerful enough to resist it.

The strong winds, blowing through the bones of the raven.
Hollowing them and allowing the bird to take flight.
Creating space for itself amongst the clouds.

I imagine the plains where the bison roams carving a body strong and robust.
Built for endurance and survival.
Shaping a head harder than the limestone grounds in which it travels.

I think about our journey through this life.
The uncomfortable, but also necessary pressures that we experience.

No longer subject to evolution, our bodies are precise yet clumsy.
Instead these pressures, if we are open to receiving them, shape our heart and mind.
The parts of us that are still malleable.
Soft like putty.
Changing daily.

Instead of the land shaping us it's our experiences, our perception and our reactions.

I've come to be a unique being because of these experiences. Similar to my peers, yet different enough to be myself.
Just like Darwin's finches, I fit a particular niche, a place in this world just for me.

I don't know about you, but that my friends in comforting.

So I will sit in my space that is meant for no one else,
and I will be.

♥ Carin

Pieces available here on Wednesday at 11:30 am Pacific Time until sold here.

And So It Goes

Just as I'm feeling down.

Just as I feel as though I have nothing left to give. 

Just as I'm ready to give up.

My eyes shoot open. Acutely aware of my surroundings. 

My senses grow keener. 

My ideas snap into focus and are no longer clouded by the haze of self doubt. 

And once again, I find myself stumbling out of bed in the middle of the night. 

Drowsy, but too excited to sleep. 

Again, I pull on warm clothes while half running down our dark hallway. 

I have to create. The urge is here. 

I have to take advantage of it. 

As the house sleeps, I work. 

Saw

Bend

Solder

Polish

Set

Finish

And she is born.

This one of a kind piece can be found in my here.

________________________

On a side note, I've been working diligently for the past few months on my photography. 

You  may have noticed my product photography change.

New skills bring new inspiration.

I have lots of plans for this other wonderful work in the future, but for now, I've created a way to share it with you! 

I've created a Flickr page where you'll find some sick shots I've taken here and there, and I've sprinkled in a few bits of my metal work too. 

I've also created easier ways to get there in that column over there ---->>>>

You'll now find a Flickr button AND a button to my YouTube stop action video. 

Enjoy! 

♥  Carin

Under the Same Moon //

We rise up from this Earth, from ashes which meld together. They combine effortlessly as they have done so many times before. Dancing and intertwining, the molecules bond with one another fitting like puzzle pieces. Eventually taking the physical shape of our human selves. We are all all made from the same dust. Those that have come before us, and those that are still to come. We are all particles of the same stars that exploded long ago. 

What makes us unique is how we live our days on this Earth. Our spiritual selves, our souls, our minds. What we think and how we feel. How we interact, and how we impact those around us. 

Our spiritual selves allow us to become more than just our bodies. We become sons and daughters, friends and lovers, parents and grandparents. We are now capable of feeling emotions. Hope and despair, courage and bravery.

But the biggest of all is love, and therefore loss. 

All of us have felt it. Maybe it's a soul gone away briefly. 

Maybe it's someone you've lost forever.

For me, I find peace in knowing that all the special souls that have impacted my life over the years, each and everyone of them, are still with me today. 

We will always and forever be on this Earth. We will always look up at the same moon at night. Wish upon the same stars. And, when our souls leave our bodies our physical form will return to the dust from which it came. The energy released to something else. 

Will will always be here. Always be together. United forever UNDER THE SAME MOON. 

Items available for purchase until sold here.

♥ Carin