TracyDove.com

Just a short hike up the mountain to this hidden, sacred place. What a magical experience. I really have no words for how beautiful it is.

Yesterday was the annual Mermaid Parade in New York ~ Coney Island~. How appropriate that Rose’s memorial/celebration of her life and art was held on the same date, as well as the eve of the summer solstice. The ceremony was elaborate and moving. The entire event was saturated with the spirit of Rose. So BEAUTIFUL. The mermaid parade was spectacular. The GORGEOUS Sirenas were at the heart of the ceremony. It will be etched in the hearts and minds of all that attended and participated.

The painting exhibition room was put together by Susan Sutton. The paintings and other artwork are on loan from the many collectors of Rose’s work. It will be up until June 27th, so there is still time to bask in her art. I am definitely going to go back, once or twice more, before the installment is taken down and the art is returned.

The mermaid procession was unforgettable. My camera was slow and stubborn, so I did my best at capturing as much as I could. But, I don’t feel that I was able to get as much as I wish that I could have. I am more than certain that my photos pale in comparison to the photos taken by all of the professional photographer’s there!

The procession began around a big pond filled with ink, that sits in the center of a huge room with no roof (the Cathedral room). They circled that many times, to the rhythm of a stick and hauntingly, eerie music played by two musicians who also walked in the procession with the mermaids. They paraded into another huge room (the silver room) and continued in the same fashion, circling the silver room several times to the rhythm and the music. Mermaid after mermaid, the love for Rose carried on through the altar room and out to the Memorial Rose Garden where a Buddhist monk was waiting to greet the beautiful sirenas. The kneeling mermaids sat at the base of a special tree that will be planted in her honor ( I was told the tree was shipped here from Hong Kong). The Monk preformed a blessing and the crowd dispersed after one last procession back from whence they came.

I’m loving all of the “angel orbs” in some of these photos!

The Tree dedicated to Rose. Because the season in which the tree will bloom has not arrived, paper, tissue flowers were placed on it for the dedication ceremony.

The altar room was built by Phoenix artist, Joe Willie Smith. A well known local artist. The room included art by Rose, as well as burning incense, sage, flowers, candles….everything you would place on an altar. Of course, I brought Nag Champa incense to burn.

There was also a room to create your own piece of art in memory of Rose. The finished pieces were hung on the wire wall,  with messages of love and goodbyes from Rose’s artist friends and family.

~ BEAUTIFUL ~

It is mermaid time tonight. Celebrating the life and art of Rose Johnson at The IceHouse ~

The IceHouse

429 west Jackson

Phoenix, Az

10:00 p.m. - 12 :00 a.m.

BYOB ~potluck

Bring flowers, incense, candles, etc. to place on the altar if you want.

Celebrating the life and art of Rose Johnson.

photos courtesy of Terry Wolf

photo courtesy of Tom Murray

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Photos of the Mercer Mortuary mural that Rose painted.

Rose in front of the mural, in progress

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a shrine and a ceremonial send off for Rose held by friends at the mural site

The Phoenix New Times did a BEAUTIFUL story on Rose Johnson that came out yesterday. I don’t think that there are enough WONDERFUL words to describe Rose, her art and her life. Thanks to all of the amazing people, artists and friends who have made her memorials and tributes possible during this difficult time. I am certain that the event at the IceHouse will be over the top and very fitting. There will also be a “Rose Show”, photography tribute at The Daughters of the Frozen North Gallery with the works of photographer and Rose’s long time friend, Marilyn Szabo. Don’t miss it! Photographs will be available for purchase.

photographs courtesy of photographer, Marilyn Szabo

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This is how I imagine Rose now.

~ Sleep in heavenly peace ~

The “MAGICAL MUSE NEWS” June 2009, is now available.

Contact me via email (tracy@tracydove.com) if you’d like me to email you a full sized copy.

~PEACE,LOVE and ART~

“coffee break”

“double shot”

“triple shot”

I ran across one of my many piles of pen and ink drawings that I saved from years ago. Pen and ink have always been my first love. I was reminded that I need to do more of them. I get completely lost in a dream world while drawing. It is the greatest high. I LOVE that! ~ So, of course, I gathered up my pen and ink supplies and started diving into that world again. I have discovered that it must be incorporated into my daily, creative routine.

I am working on a monthly art newsletter that will include the pen and ink with inspirations, positive affirmations, quotes, etc. I am calling it the ‘Magical Muse News’ ~ it is an exciting project. Besides incorporating them into my own art journey, I will offer them to Phoenix Body, Mind and Soul magazine.

In the meantime, I’m just drawing, painting, thinking, and making it all happen. There are so many things that I want to indulge in and there really are not enough hours in this lifetime to cover everything! ~ “One step at a time. Focus on the here and now. Pay attention to what is front of me.” ~ These are the things that I tell myself in an effort to stay grounded. If I think too far ahead of the moment, I tend to get scattered and cannot accomplish anything! Then I need a long nap!  Which leads to more dreaming, which leads to more art, which leads to more napping! A vicious creative process that is best to avoid.

Oh, Yah, I need to boil some water and get out the french press…..a HUGE cup of coffee should do the trick! The obvious really does often escape me.

So, now the coffee is steeping and I am on my way to another creatively full day. ~ That is, if I don’t start daydreaming my way into some grandiose scene and wear myself out! HA!

Note to self….choose paint colors that I have enough of to finish the job!  I tend to create challenges for myself that are unnecessary. I needed to paint in window shutters and a door frame. I have, at least, a couple hundred bottles of paint on hand at all times. So, you would think that I would choose a color that I have plenty of when I need to cover an area on the canvas. But, NOOOOOOO! I really, really wanted to use the peach color that is drying out and only has a tiny amount left in the bottle. I’m thinking, “what the hell?”. Actually, I wasn’t thinking at all!! After I began using the peach, I am now wondering if I will be able to scrape up enough to do a second or third coat. It would have been SO MUCH EASIER to just choose a different color that has an ample amount to work with. It was in that easy~breezy, artist moment that I realized how difficult I make things on myself sometimes. Probably more times than I recognize. I am bent on using the peach for the door frame and window shutters, so tomorrow the verdict will be in. I will know if there is enough without having to make a run to the art supply store.

Eye Yi Yi !!

Not very interesting news, just a moment in the mind of an ordinary artist.

This is one more reason why I LOVE the Arizona skies. We had scattered showers today. It felt like Hawaii to me, humid and a little warm. The kind of day that awakens all of your senses and sets your spirit free. I managed to get some gardening done in the perfect, almost-summer weather. And I imagined the fragrances of the rainforest in the air. This is actually a little rare treat for Phoenix, in June! This afternoon I captured this GORGEOUS sky. The photo has not been touched up ~ it is just amazing. A few minutes later everything turned pink and purple. It is going to be a Rainbow Summer, I can already tell!

So many people ask me if I make the coloring books myself, and the answer is YES. And I am not as organized as I could be (far from it, actually)! I make these from start to finish…binding and all.

Often I am shifting my attention between printing books and painting. It works out great since the paint has to dry. The trick is not to transfer paint onto the books! HA! Multi-tasking is not my forte.

This how my messy studio looks today.

I seem to always have several projects going at the same time. Unfinished art is everywhere. Notice that I only showed a few select areas of the studio!

I guess, nobody’s perfect.

Release the Fear is a sculpture made by artist, Robert J. Miley (and made possible by many contributors). It sits in the middle of Central Avenue and Roosevelt. It is made out of melted weapons that were used in violent crimes in Arizona. The details can be found on the website Release the Fear.org. Basically, it promotes non violence through creativity and art. It also appears to be rising from ashes like the Phoenix. It is a powerful piece with a powerful message.

On the sidewalk surrounding the sculpture are quotes that are stamped into the concrete. Since my camera could not capture an entire quote, I pieced together some of the words into a collage. So, they are not exact quotes.

I was not able to fit in the “we need men who” part.

We need men who can dream of things that never were.
~Author : John F Kennedy speech in Dublin Ireland June 28 1963

I have passed by this art for years and years and never took the time to actually stop and check it out up close. I am so glad that I finally did, there are so many surprises and pieces of the whole sculpture that you cannot see from a car, bus or train.

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as it says on the base…

“REALITY IS A PROJECTED THOUGHT”