Messenger

This piece was woven on a warp of organic cotton-linen with a weft of raw silk that was all dyed with Cochineal. It measures 5.2 meters in length. Into the hand-twined fringe at the end are two Cowrie shells, a powerful and ancient symbol of bounty, fertility and abundance.

The painting on the wall behind the weaving is Prickly Pear Preserve by my partner, Kyle Cunningham. It is one of my recent favorites and is for sale both at our gallery, Truth or Consequences Contemporary, and online.

Messenger
by Marry Oliver

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. 

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work, 

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here, 

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.