Wk. 11, Book 11: Ordination Book

this week's book is dedicated to my ancestors, and it commemorates my ordination last Friday (Mar. 20) into interfaith ministry. i am certain that my ancestors had a hand in that milestone just as they had a hand--or two--in molding me into the woman I AM. 

the minister who ordained me, the Reverend Karen L. Watson of Oneness in Love Universal Ministry, gave me a pre-ordination assignment, to create a piece of art that represents my spiritual journey and the call to ministry. i made a special box book. each side of the box presents a metaphor for a milestone on my spiritual journey, beginning with 

• the pits of '89 (the nadir experience of my life) represented by a bulldozer digging up dirt
• being introduced in '89 to Conscious Life Design by my dear sista-friend and mentor Rev. Bernette L. Jones, which got me out of the pits represented by an ocean-side home 
• the Trail of Dreams walk of remembrance in 2000 led by my other sista-friend and vision keeper Audri Scott Williams represented by butterflies for transformation
• graduating from Ascend Spiritual Flight Academy in '07 under the mastery of my beloved teacher Ron Davis represented by horse (power)
• and becoming a teacher at Howard Community College in '09 represented by a bird with a diamond eye and words all over its body representing fulfillment and creativity

the inside of the box holds a story of the catalyst for the call to ministry and the moment i heard the call. this accordion fold flows from a peace symbol and the word LOVE-- the two spiritual principles from which all my actions/words/thoughts/intentions/desires flow.

Wk. 10, Book #10: Altar Book

the second book in this series is inspired by two pieces in William Rhodes's ancestor room, at the bottom of the central altar. something about those buttons and that bush comb triggered my memory.

so i went hunting through my treasure chest of family relics and found an autograph book that belonged to my mother. the first and earliest entry is from my grandmother, dated June 1953. she wrote:

Dear Lucy, 

God sends rain

God sends dew

May his blessing

Fall on you

Your mother, B. E. Johnson

the last entry is a name i don't recognize (probably a school mate), dated June 1955. 

the covers are made of  leathery paper. i added real buttons and stick-on button appliques, inspired by William's two textured pieces shown above, and reinforced the inside covers with a heavier paper stock. the inside cover page says:

"This book becomes

a treasure rare

If but a line

or more you'll spare."

this little treasure also allowed me to FINALLY do something with all these scriptural notes written on little pieces of paper i have found over the years in my mother's Bibles. there are just enough blank pages in the book to store her notes and any other scraps of her handwriting that i may discover in the future.

William, my dear, i am grateful for that conversation we had last month that is the catalyst for this shared experience in honoring our ancestors via our art. you are MAGICAL, indeed.

Wk. 9, Book 9: The Ancestors Book

i've been traveling and inundated with life lately, which is why this Wk. 9 post is way overdue, but it's here now. you know, sometimes it pays to move on Spirit's time rather than your own. i've been meaning to call the artist William Rhodes for a while now, ever since he posted that YouTube video on the making of his mouth-dropping piece "Cross Burning" (everybody's gotta gotta gotta check that out). but i kept putting that call off until one day a few weeks ago; something said CALL HIM NOW. so i did and juicy conversation made short, William suggested i dedicate this month to the ancestors as a thematic focus. i felt that inspiration down in my bones.

two ideas immediately came to mind, but this book-in-progress i've been fiddlin' with for nearly 11-12 years took priority. it's a repository of all the obituaries i've kept and inherited from my mother, who was also an obit collector. how fitting to begin with this one. the initial problem with the book was how to bind it with so many different sized obits??? i have settled on a 3-ring binder for now--that may change AGAIN, as have the covers, although i like the 12 little Kente cloth strips surrounding pics of my parents, now ancestors. i also like the simple Kente cloth-covered spine, which comes from Ghana. so the use of the Kente cloth represents my ancestral bloodline as a woman of African descent.    

this book has 5 different chapters: my mother's bloodline; father's bloodline; extended family; close friends; beloved teachers; and those i call "remembered ones."

i had no idea when i took this picture that it would come out sideways. anyway, this is the first chapter, beginning with my mother's bloodline and my grandmother Blanche Elizabeth Kea Johnson's obit. it's the only chapter that does not begin with the most recently departed person in that group. i like seeing my grandmother's face first whenever i go through the book.

then William sent me some pics of his ancestor room and the ideas really began to ricochet off that initial wave of inspiration. check out HIS ancestor room.

is that too fabulous or WHAT? i mean, his room is a LIVING BOOK in itself. i love his use of colors and images and different textures. i get to rise to this occasion of presencing our ancestors in such a rich and full and colorful way--in three more books. ask me am i pumped?!

Week 8, Book #8: Blue

i am late late late getting this post up and out this week, so this will be quick. i actually created the following book around the same time the snow book was born. it was inspired by granddaughter, Lotus, who brought some magnetic sand over for us to play with. i fell in love with that stuff, and of course i thought about how to use it to make a book. 

it brings to mind those amazing sand mandala's i have witnessed Buddhist monks create and dismantle. what an awesome meditation that is. working with sand is a serious meditation in itself. here's my little 3-page sand book, reading right to left, to show for it.