Author Archives: Jo Ann Brown-Scott

That Which Stirs My Soul

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

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I had an experience last weekend that sent chills down my entire body for almost 48 hours straight….and then left me with a life-long memory of a spectacular cultural event that stirred my artistic soul like few others I have ever experienced. You see, I love Native Americans; I am fascinated and moved by everything to do with Indians. I have read many books, collected picture books, taken photos myself, purchased rugs and jewelry and baskets as evidenced in my home where it all combines quite well with my own contemporary abstract paintings and my African collection. I am a mix and match, ecclectic decorator.

My generous daughter booked us for the Native American Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque for the weekend, then an extra night in Santa Fe before we each flew out to our respective homes – she to Vancouver and I to Denver. I was thrilled, to put it mildly. I had been to several small pow wows through the years but nothing approaching this magnitude. Nothing with the pageantry of this.

During the opening ceremony, 2800 Indian men and women representing dozens of tribal nations in full dress filed into the arena to an almost deafening beating of drums and singing coming from several points on the arena floor. It was thunderous – it was chilling – it was visually stunning! The variety of regalia was magnificent! The fine artistry of it all was evident in the feathers, the fancy beaded garments and moccasins, the jewelry, the headdresses, the belts and accessories – all were fascinating and endless in their variations. My first photo above was the very beginning of just one row of Indians – they came from all corners of the arena, marching down the stairs between the seats to the floor below. I had never before seen such a huge gathering of tribes – Navajo, Cree, Seminole, Crow…the list went on and on. There were Indian names I had never heard. The energy was palpable; the history was right there before us and the language lives. I was told by a Navajo gentleman sitting next to me that the secret parts of tribal dances are never performed in public; they are kept only for private ceremonies in their own communities. But there was enough revealed in both song and dance to keep us enthralled for hours on end.

For the next two full days and evenings, then well into the wee hours of Sunday morning the dancing and the chanting and the drumming continued. There are many dances! The rain dance, the grizzly bear dance, the fancy dancers, the jingle dancers, the chicken dancers, the southern dancers, the summer dances and the grass dance – it goes on and on. The toddler dances, the under 5 dances,  the teenage girl and boy dances – then the young maiden dances and the Indian Princess dances followed by the bachelor dances. Prizes were awarded to the winners in all ages, from under five years to elders over seventy in all categories. Traditional gifts of thanks in the form of blankets, quilts, baskets and such are given to the extended family and supporters of the contest winners, as is the Indian custom. Winners are given gifts also, and cash prizes, and the great honor of being recognized by their peers.

I am filled with wonder and gratitude that I was given this experience. But then, if you knew my daughter you would not be surprised. She is extraordinarily insightful and generous; a believer in the priceless value of incomparable experiences, a world traveler, a fine travel photographer and a graphic artist. Her name is Kelly K. Heapy. Follow her blog at  http://www.compassandcamera.com and here on WordPress and you will certainly see her professional photographs of the Pow Wow event.You can also find her photography on Instagram and Twitter, as is mine which pales by comparison…..

Jo Ann Brown-Scott, artist and author

BOOKS – http://joannbrownscottauthor.com     http://www.acanaryfliesthecanyon.com

Your Life’s Collage

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

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Mixed Media Collage by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

I have always enjoyed mixing it up. I find it nearly impossible to swallow things whole without tweaking some little aspect here or there to achieve a unique recipe that appeals to my own particular sense of intellectual or aesthetic “rightness”. And we are not talking about food here folks.

I am hardly 100% anything.

My religion, if you can call it that, is a spiritual soup of many doctrines and beliefs. I am not strongly spouting off any hard and fast doctrines – there are aspects of Christianity, Buddhism, the Jewish faith and several others that when combined into one whole all work together quite nicely for me. I am a child of the universe. I believe the earth is alive – our hostess – breathing and in need of constant nurturing. We serve at the pleasure of the planet. And we are so disrespectful.

My art (my life-long passion) and the art of living my life are a collage of experiences which I stitch together as I go, adding new pieces of knowledge to the whole. Whenever a new snippet is added to the fabric I am weaving, everything that has gone before is slightly moved and adjusted and changed by the arrival of new information. Edges of things, sometimes cut and sometimes torn,  are overlapped and meticulously arranged; texture here – color there – lines naturally formed with paths of information and achievement and failure and loss and joy and wonder and discovery take my attention forward to the next thing. Texture, pattern and color are my  life’s manifestation of events – whether those events be happy, sad or somewhere in between. I see my experiences  in those artistic tactile dimensions.

Every single thing is of value to me. I do not miss much. I notice, I am aware. And I am often, daily and hourly and even minute by minute – AMAZED. Life is an ever-evolving tapestry – a blanket of layers – a textile of humankind. I am but one, but I am mighty.

Your life is the same. We all question things. Most of us  live in the space between the extremes of knowing absolutely and not knowing. I truly doubt that you are 100% anything at all, unless it is human. But there is great value in simply that.

Here is a quote from me, found at the PREFACE in my new novel A CANARY FLIES THE CANYON, available on Amazon and Kindle.  http://www.acanaryfliesthecanyon.com

 

Mankind is on an eternal march;

a trail of humanity driven by instinct

and perhaps divine inspiration.

Although we are at time directionless,

straying randomly from the path

an internal compass guides our way

and we are actually at one with the stars,

purposely aligned and aware

of our place in the universe.

book

 

Artistic Expression

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

 photo courtesy of nationmultimedia.com

Ai Weiwei's latest installation has 14,000 life vests tied to the columns of a Berlin concert house.photo courtesy of CNN

“Are you jealous of the ocean’s generosity? Why would you refuse to give this joy to anyone?”

Quote by  RUMI, born 1207 in Afghanistan, whose family fled the threat of the Mongol armies and emigrated to Turkey between 1215 and 1220.

The relevance of artistic expression in today’s world is seldom more explicitly displayed than in this recent installation by the most prominent of Chinese dissident artists, Al Weiwei, on the pillars of the Konzerthaus Concert Hall in Berlin.

This artist has wrapped 14,000 life jackets around the pillars of this landmark building to bring attention to the urgency of the tide of refugees arriving on the shores of  European nations and around the world. These particular life jackets were worn by  migrants who braved the seas in flight from the Island of Lesbos in Greece.

With thanks to this artist and others who feel the pain and misery of the refugee population, who at this very moment are enduring all manner of human suffering in their attempt to simply find a better life for their children, I humbly and simply post this blog.

Have You Found Your Place?

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

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Not to get all philosophical or anything heavy like that, but I would like to ask you one simple question.

Have you found your place? A place that fits you as securely and tightly and perfectly as that small round stone in the larger lava rock pictured above.

Not necessarily your place in life….you might call it your place in the universe; a place where you can go to feel whole. The place that feeds your soul, yes, with healthy soul food. The place that feeds your imagination, your sense of wonder, your artistic visions, your comfort, your need for adventure, your peaceful spiritual wanderings and your core beliefs about wanting what the good life here on Planet Earth has to offer.

If you have discovered the place or places that can do this for you then you are indeed fortunate to be blessed with a sanctuary. A priceless place of renewal and safety where you can go for spiritual reward. Hopefully you can visit it often – and maybe it is a place in your own backyard….I hope it is close enough so that you can be there as often as you might like. Perhaps you have a selection of places; a handful would be awesome.

Here are mine:

  • The Big Sur coastline of California, ending with a visit to NEPENTHE, perched at the top of the world, where you know. You just know things… For new awakenings.
  • The Big Island of Hawaii, on a selection of beaches along the Kona coast of my Specific Ocean. The vastness of it all. The sanctuary of the waves.
  • The Rocky Mountains, and a particular weekend retreat of renewal and refuge from the hectic life, located in the Conifer-Evergreen woods and canyons, elevation about 8300 ft. for the height and breadth and depth of it all.
  • St. Paul’s Cathedral in London for the enormous sense of time and faith it offers. Dust particles dancing in the sunlight, high up; having been there for centuries.
  • Santa Croce in Rome, housing the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and other remarkable men, for respect of those who knew so much about life.
  • Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia for its sense of wonder and mystery. How could it have been undiscovered for so long? What was life there like?
  • The Buddha Tooth Temple in Singapore because it is one of the most fascinating peaceful places I have ever been.

I love to talk to people who have found their places. They are usually people anchored in knowing. They see things differently; more deeply. They are not necessarily religious, but they are wise in the ways of the universe. They know their way around and they know how to find serenity when they need it.

I hope you are one of those who knows.

New Novel – http://www.acanaryfliesthecanyon.com

Google Chrome – http://joannbrownscottauthor.com

Art – http://joann-brown-scott.fineartamerica.com

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Since I’ve Been Gone

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

IMG_5697 The BIG ISLAND

I thank all of you who have recently discovered this Blog in my absence and you loyal followers who have continued to read, substituting my Archives for the regular Blog entries, since I have been gone…..it is very gratifying to know that the Blog lives and breathes without my assistance. It did not even need life support, almost having more views than when I was home and writing more often. Hmmm…that makes me wonder.

I have been in Hawaii, on the Big Island, specifically 1000 feet above Kona on the west coast, for about six weeks. I will not rub it in; simply put I had a spectacular time. As with any extended vacation, one’s life changes, adapts and settles down to a new routine even within just 6 short weeks, and soon you realize you do not care anymore what happens beyond your days and nights in the paradise that has become your temporary norm. You hear all the news back home – the political crap and every other ridiculous media report back where your people are, but you pay it little attention and it sort of slides off of your consciousness like jello off a plate.

The more profound issues stay with you however and you gain greater clarity about them, including a dearly beloved family member who is battling cancer. With the sunsets and sea you do gain a degree of calm…just a bit more enlightenment…and your faith renews. Then just as you nestle deeply into that faith, really deeply, and you are sleeping every night  like a well-fed baby, hoping and believing again that all is actually going to be well in the world it is time to fly home on the red-eye and you are rather miserable to be returning to reality. You attempt to carry the good vibes with you. You want to believe. You want your faith to stay strong, back where it is still winter.

I have so many stories to tell. Wish we could sit and have a glass of wine and talk. Some are X rated and hilarious and there were other happenings I will never ever forget, standing out from everything else and those will be flashing memories in my mind like bright lights at a dive bar at 1 am for years to come. Crazy funny stuff, a scary thing or two (like nearly tripping over the huge, black coarse-haired, sharp-tusked, bloody, totally severed head of a wild pig on my happy little mindless walk one morning) to important spiritual stuff and everything in between. I am in love with the island and in love with the important reason I go there.

We went to new beaches I had never before seen in my past five years, painting on a different one every Friday morning with the West Hawaii Plein Air Painters, organized by http://Richard Rochkovsky.com  and then some afternoons from 3-6 pm with the sunset painters group of Peter and Lily Jefferson. Every beach has a personality; gorgeous & benevolent, rocky & dramatic, and the black sand beaches are especially startling next to Prussian Blue and emerald green water. Giant, cruise-ship sized waves (those beautiful burly thugs come roaring in this time every spring) once again crashed the coast on several of the islands including parts of the Kona coast and we were spectators to a Mother Nature show that never disappoints.

And now I am home again to the west Denver area, literally just at the base of the Rocky Mountains, only about 5 minutes from my favorite canyon and it is snowing cottonballs outside my windows and although it is magical, I long for sea breezes and salt air. I do have the perfect combo of a mountain and sea life. When I am here or there, I love the scenery I am sitting in, I soak it up, and either parting is bittersweet.

Thanks to all the new friends I met this trip! You were so hospitable and fun! See you again, same time next year. I am thankful for such a lovely visit!

Jo Ann Brown-Scott, Author and Artist

Books – New novel,  A CANARY FLIES THE CANYON available on Kindle, and THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY, both available on Amazon.com

Web – http://www.acanaryfliesthecanyon.com

On Google Chrome  http://www.joannbrownscottauthor.com

Art – http://joann-brown-scott.fineartamerica.com

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Within Eleven Days

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

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18 x 24 Mixed Media acrylic painting by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

The week started out rotten as a two week old peach left out in the rain – things looked bleak on all fronts with no solutions in sight to a number of problems. Usually I might comfort myself in the knowledge that none of my pathetic little issues are life or death situations but in this case there were several major situations and one of them was indeed a life or death struggle for a person I love…..and as I hung on, white knuckled and melting down with every passing silent hour while the phone did not ring and the texts were all too infrequent…..I tried to deal with the other situations that also required my (diluted) attention.

It seems ridiculous under those kinds of circumstances, but life does go on. The world does not stand frozen as you wait and wonder and agonize for news. Every tiny mundane task you must perform, every thought in your head, every meal you do not eat, every waking hour and every sleepless night spent twisting and turning in the belly of the darkness you continue to wait for the slightest news that things are improving. For days on end nothing much changes.

I would imagine most of you have been to that hollow terrifying place. If you have not, you are extremely fortunate, but know that some day it will visit you. No one escapes.

But then, after seven moons plus four, there is a turn for the better and I wake up to sun. The slightest baby steps have been taken and taken and taken, the news is more hopeful, the big picture seems to be improving and the world outside your mind gains color and noise and aromas once again. There has been a sea change of the utmost proportions.

Was it your prayers? Was it your faith? Was it sheer determination and a personal will to live? Did the universe intervene at your request? Does group prayer make a difference? Have you witnessed a miracle?

All of the above.

 

Excerpt – A Canary Flies the Canyon

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

CanaryFliesTheCanyonFrontCover 

New Novel by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

I am proud to announce that my new novel, pictured above, will be released on KINDLE on February 15th! Many of you have requested just that – and so I am providing it. After traveling with thick, cumbersome books and spending ridiculous sums of money on books through the years that appeal only to me, leaving them wasted on my shelf after one reading, I do agree that KINDLE is the modern answer to building a library of adventures at low cost.

This book was a labor of love for me; it flowed and unfolded almost beyond my control, as do many of my paintings. The story is both timeless and timely – a young girl’s quest to establish herself as an artist with her life’s calling, complicated with loss, love and  three particular men, which is why it qualifies as a love story as well as a coming of age accounting.

Here is an except from the very beginning of Chapter 34, when my heroine Annie decides to mend an important fence after flying into Denver from California….each chapter is the book is preceded by a bit of my own verse…..

BEYOND the TALK

The winds are full of anger,

blowing the rubbish of our argument around.

I come to you with peace on my mind

not knowing how it will be received.

For a while I became you

putting myself in your place

to better understand.

If you have done the same for me

perhaps we will meet in the middle

and find our love again.

 

“Hi it’s me. The canary has landed,” I said on the phone.

“Hey canary. Are you free this afternoon?” he said in his baritone voice.

“Yes I am…”

“Well fly on up the canyon then…see ya soon.”

As I flew the canyon to his home I was more nervous with each passing mile and yet I had no feelings of foreboding. It was a different kind of nervous, born of anticipation and yearning. I wanted to make things right again. I understood him this time.

I began to climb his long and winding driveway, wondering where he’d be and how I would be received. It was comforting to be there again among the pines. The meadow was lush green and all confetti-ed with yellow and lavender wildflowers. I saw a deer with a new fawn; I drove slowly past the guest house, the old outhouse and then the big boulders rolled nicely into place along the creek in another ancient time.

As I parked in the wide circular driveway I noticed his familiar vehicles. The birds were vocal, as always when I arrived and I parked and walked to the kitchen door. I knocked. No answer.

I opened it and said, “Hans I’m here!”

No answer. I knew where he was. His safe place. His studio.

I climbed the wooden stairs, reached the loft, looked over to see if he was sitting behind his large rolltop desk. He was not, so I continued around to the left up a couple more stairs and turned left again into the billiard room where he stored a lot of his art, stacked against the walls, blocking the opening to the fireplace, in piles on top of the pool table and spreading out across the large space. I walked quietly through it to his studio door and saw him at his easel, working, with his back to me. I knew that he had seen me coming up the driveway, pulling to a stop; I suspected he had seen me get out of the car, even heard me call his name as I entered the kitchen and then heard me climbing the wooden stairs, but he had not moved.

I walked to him, put my arms around his waist, and hugged him from behind. He turned around and we kissed a long slow passionate kiss.

Then he looked at me and said, “Well that was a friendly hello!”

“Yeah. I can’t be mad at you anymore. I can’t hang onto anger. I was wrong to break up without a talk. I missed you.”

 

A CANARY FLIES THE CANYON by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

Available on Amazon.com and KINDLE, February 15th – pre-orders taken on the KINDLE STORE on this Amazon  LINK – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AIVV8DI?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660

http://www.acanaryfliesthecanyon.com

Google Chrome – http://www.joannbrownscottauthor.com

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January 6-The Day of Epiphany

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

 

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Several years ago after my success of writing a book about creativity and the epiphanies that had inspired 18 people to choose which of many available creative paths might give them their greatest fulfillment, I began this blog.

For many years I have written about just what an epiphany really is, how I define the contemporary meaning of it, in what circumstances and forms they come to us, how to listen for them and hear their messages over and over again, and how they have changed people’s lives for the better with the enlightenment they provide. My book is still available on Amazon.com under the title THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY, and my WordPress blog archives will provide additional information, including the historical meaning of the Day of Epiphany.

Epiphanies are essentially messages from our souls; they deliver truth; the only simple, pure agenda they have is to inform us and guide us. The epiphany will never steer us in the wrong direction. The voice we hear will start out as subtle messages that might whisper a suggestion or as helpful bits of new information that help us solve a problem and if we pay no attention at all the messages will repeat and repeat, becoming louder and stronger and more commanding until we truly pay attention and acknowledge them and alter our actions accordingly. Because you see if you ignore a message from your soul, you have a great deal to lose in life.

Most of you have had an experience where your better judgment, your conscience, your intuition, YOUR SOUL told you NOT to do something. Or perhaps it told you that you MUST do something. That inner voice is sending you a clue. It is giving you help. It is guiding you. It is from your soul and therefor it is sent to you as surely as if you had a pipeline to the universe where all the wisdom of the eons and the ages is stored….

I could wish nothing better for you than to experience a life-altering epiphany in this new year. If you are floundering and searching for some answers, you need one. And if you are just fine, you certainly want to stay that way. Meditation will facilitate your inner soul voice and clear a path for information and new viewpoints to percolate up through your layers of thought to the surface where they can be heard. But you must LIVE IN THE NOW, refusing to allow the clutter of prior disappointments to cloud your mind; you must BE QUIET and AWARE for a focused part of every day. Then you must LISTEN.  And you must ASK.

The Creative Epiphany – Amazon.com  by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

http://www.acanaryfliesthecanyon.com

My new novel – A CANARY FLIES the CANYON – Amazon.com

Facebook – Jo Ann Rossiter Brown-Scott

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Welcome 2016, I think…

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

 

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Happy New Year!

I ran across a memorable quote the other day, from Yogi Berra, the all-time great baseball player and coach. It seems that every single thing that came out of his mouth was funny and wise, in a goofy kind of way. He is the one who said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” (We are indeed at a fork in the road in this country.)

But his quote I love the most, I believe is this one:

“We’re lost, but we’re making good time.”

I thought to myself – that about sums it all up, does it not? The world is such a monumental mess but we seem to be making good time. One day it might feel that our world population is making measurable progress in various areas and with various issues here on the big blue marble – Planet Earth – and other days we take so many steps backward, and so quickly, that we trip and stumble over our own feet and fall down. Will we ever get ahead and stay there? Not just the United States, but globally?

I do not have the post-holiday energy required to dive into a lengthy essay on the state of the world right now….but I will just say that I am more embarrassed than I have ever been about the image our country is projecting…..mostly politically.

What in the hell are we thinking? 

Have we not learn from history? From experience? Think WW II.

Do we want a dictatorship or a Democracy?

And more recently  – we have made such an impact in our schools and our communities in attempting to define BULLYING and shut it down, so that the weak no longer have to suffer at the hands of aggressive, rowdy, loud-mouthed, insensitive, dictatorial, usually uneducated, emotionally immature, frighteningly  sociopathic bullies.

And now we have one of those types running for the position of President of the United States! I repeat, what in the hell are we thinking?

Are you really ready for 2016? I hope we are all up for the challenge, because I predict there is going to be a battle of epic proportions this year. We have only the NOW. Anything we plan to do later may be too late.

 

Merry Christmas

Posted on by Jo Ann Brown-Scott

children

My photo was taken in the countryside around Siem Reap, Cambodia; where clean water is scarce and children have peace on their minds. 2015

This is a call to the living,
to those who refuse to make peace with evil
with the suffering and waste of the world.
This is a call to the human, not the perfect,
to those who know their own prejudices,
but who have no intention of becoming prisoners of their own limitations.
This is a call to those who remember the dreams of their youth,
who know what it means to share food and shelter,
who care for children and those who are troubled,
to reach beyond barriers of the past
bringing people to communion.
This is a call to the never ending spirit
of the common man, his essential decency and integrity,
his unending capacity to suffer and endure,
to face death and destruction and to rise again
and build from the ruins of life.
This is the greatest call of all
the call to a faith in people.
Algernon D. Black, former senior leader, The New York Society for Ethical Culture