PEGI EYERS
My new passion for Ekphrastic Writing, as applied to my own painting entitled "Curandera." Enjoy~!
"Curandera" oil on board by Pegi Eyers
Curandera
oil on board by Pegi Eyers
She is at one with the spirit of the cactus, and like old friends they support one another. Over time the wise Saguaro has given the curandera knowledge and plant spirit medicine. The desert is immense and stretches off into infinity. The air is still as the heat-baked earth holds memories of a thousand years. The curandera is listening. In a deep trance her body is content to know the land like her own being. She is in partnership with the elements of the desert, and the spirit of the Iguana. The Iguana is opening his mouth to speak. The desert is a circular dome and magic is brewing. Like a trail or ridge, the Iguana’s tail points the way into the distance, to guideposts of myth and memory. The sky is luminous with the colours of the sea, and smoke rises from the mesa like the afterthought of an ancient volcano. Around that bright fire, far off on the horizon, women join in a healing circle. The curandera holds the key to the mysteries on a chain of clay beads around her neck. Her traditional huipil blouse and turquoise earrings are expressions of her cultural traditions. Her skirt is lovingly sewn with cotton and lace by the women of her village. She holds the stories of the sun and knows the magic of the moon. In front of her, shards are left from an egg that has hatched a primordial being. In the space of no-place and no-time, the curandera is able to divine from the shards, as she seeks good health and good fortune for her friends and family. All beings, including the animals and ancestral spirits, are her relatives. Resting at the feet of the curandera - like a mirage – is a beautiful shell, so far from the ocean. The shell holds the secrets of the universe, and the beings of the desert are patiently waiting.
 Curandera ~ digital giclée print on archival paperLimited edition archival-quality giclée print - edition of 175, signed and numbered, ready-to-frame. Image size 5.5x5.5, presentation package 8x10. Price includes shipping in Canada/USA. |
SYNCHRONICITY
I came across this passage in a matrifocal book a number of years after finishing my painting entitled "Curandura."
CACTUS GRANDMOTHER
The Tewa-speaking Pueblos of Southwestern America are an ancient culture rooted deeply in the traditions, spiritual practices, and experiences of their ancestors. They look to ritual and ceremony as means of forging unity in the family and the village, as well as in the hearts and minds of each member of the community. Cactus Grandmother, or Gives of Herself, figures prominently in the Winter Kiva ceremonies. She represents deep-seated wisdom. The Hopi people were a matrilineal society in which women played significant leadership roles. Circling the sacred fire, this traditional Tewa song would be accompanied by drumbeats and sung by the elder women of the collective.
We bring you the gifts you love.
Then weave for us a garment of brightness.
May the warp be the white light of morning,
May the weft be the red light of evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness,
That we may walk fittingly where the grass is green.
"Goddess Days: 365 Meditations" by Nancy Blair
I came across this passage in a matrifocal book a number of years after finishing my painting entitled "Curandura."
CACTUS GRANDMOTHER
The Tewa-speaking Pueblos of Southwestern America are an ancient culture rooted deeply in the traditions, spiritual practices, and experiences of their ancestors. They look to ritual and ceremony as means of forging unity in the family and the village, as well as in the hearts and minds of each member of the community. Cactus Grandmother, or Gives of Herself, figures prominently in the Winter Kiva ceremonies. She represents deep-seated wisdom. The Hopi people were a matrilineal society in which women played significant leadership roles. Circling the sacred fire, this traditional Tewa song would be accompanied by drumbeats and sung by the elder women of the collective.
We bring you the gifts you love.
Then weave for us a garment of brightness.
May the warp be the white light of morning,
May the weft be the red light of evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness,
That we may walk fittingly where the grass is green.
"Goddess Days: 365 Meditations" by Nancy Blair
| Pegi Eyers is also the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores social justice, nature spirituality, the ancestral arts, and resilience in times of massive change. www.stonecirclepress.com |
