In transition...

Oh! And I was doing So Well with the more frequent blogging! :-P

Alas, I am in a Transitioning phase personally(all good...). But do not want to abandon my Blogging Progress, so a Brilliant quote for ye' then:


"..When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for."

-Clarissa Pinkola Estes

all the Best,
love,
Ayanna*

On Beauty....

So I've made these Delicious Little Vials of Magical Powder/Incense, called Invoke Beauty(which you may acquire Here).

A Blend of freshly ground dried Organic pink Rose petals, Sandalwood powder and Orris root- amongst other things. It has been charged and is ready for your Use.*

A note on Beauty then. And 'Invoking' it...

Here's the Thing- Beauty, along with Love, is ever present and the natural state of the Universe. And therefor of Us. :-)

So the Invocation to and of Beauty is more of a removing of any blocks and a Re- Alignment with all of our Natural states :-)

Need more Beauty in your life? Need more Love in it as well? ...Remember that both of these are who we all Inherently Are. So Breathe Deeply and Open all of your Self, in stillness, in quiet contemplation, to the true Beauty and Love that always has been, always is, and shall always be. Regardless.

Wishing you All sweet vials of Beauty, and Ships full of Love♥

xx
Ayanna*

Fay for Gabe

I had the Good sense to look up an old friend last summer upon returning to NY, and the Good Fortune to finally catch up with him in person a few weeks ago. Above is the west coast faery for Gabe, of the twin coast fay that I made.

Below are shots of the little vial of Love for him as well.. The vial has a glittered pic of a vintage style rose in it, along with organic pink rose petals, and a Sweet organic pink rosebud. Nestled amongst the Roses, are a faceted sunstone for Sunshine, a moonstone for Moonlight, and a lovely pearl for Wisdom.. The top of the cork is embedded with a faceted Rainbow moonstone briolette..

I'm also currently in love with my ship stamp, so every thing I make has been getting one. :-)

Happy Sailing everyone...
Wishing you All Loves that are ripe with Sunshine, Moonlight and Wisdom....

Peace,
-Ayanna*
xx

Happy Full Moon/Lunar Lughnasadh!!!

"hoof and horn
hoof and horn

all that dies
shall be reborn

corn and grain
corn and grain

all that Falls
Shall Rise Again"

"August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne"

...And so the Wheel continues to Turn..

Thank Goodness!!!

May all of You who are of this inclination, have a Blessed Full Moon and Lunar Lughnasadh. And in Honor of the Beginning Harvest Tides, here is a delightfull pic of a very Faerytale mushroom- which includes in the background of the pic, wee plushie versions of Arwen and Aragorn that I got from a lovely Etsyer:



And here is a Lunar Lughnasadh Blessing as well. From Me to You. :-)

And So It Is, We Come to Harvest Tide Again:

May the Grace of The Alfar Protect You

May You Know Peace and Beauty Upon Your Journey

May You Be Blessed With An Abundant Harvest

May You Reap Honesty and Truth, as True Wealth

May You Be A Hundred Times Blessed With Friendships That Are Fellowships

May You Reap The Bounty Of Identifying And Then Living Out, The True Joy That Is In Your Deepest Heart

May You Dream The Brightest Dream For Your Life,

And By The Same, May You Be Blessed With The Courage To Go Out And Live It

Walk In Beauty

Talk In Beauty

Be Beauty

And By Whichmever Road You Take,

Be It A Soft Country,

Or Thicket Lined Wood Of Faery,

Know That The Grace Of The Alfar Is Beside You,

If You So Seek It, And Give Them Koad

May The Grace Of The Vanir Protect You

And May You Seek Strength Over Complacency

And Be Duly Blessed This Harvest Tide


Brightest Blessings,
copyright 2007, 2008 -Ayanna H., aka A Luminous Spark*

New Things....! :-)

Ok. So I am a Crappy blogger.. :-P As in weeks fly by between my posts, and I'm barely even aware of it. In my defense this time around, I've had non stop daily issues with my net connection as of late. But more importantly(and Excitedly!!!...) I've been making and designing Lah-OADS of new preciouses :-)

I'm designing lingerie, cuffs/gauntlets, and corset type wears- all out of vintage lace. Some lace from the 70's, but most of the accents are from *Gorgeous* Victorian and Edwardian lace I've acquired. :-) I Love Lace!!!

I'm also making paper doll 'puppets'. As in paper dolls with movable parts. All Fay thus far. :-) Not shocking! Also wee little 'altars'/stories within wee corked glass vials, collage arts, and all kinds of Yummy Goodness. I present for your perusement a brief sampling of Almost Done creations from my workshop :-) :

Cause Brown faerys with Green Afros are all the rage :-) (She's getting her red brads replaced with antique copper ones, as well as getting Glitter-fied) :




A Lovely Wee Land within a Vial, depicting the Glories of Faery:



And one of my Fave new pieces, it's a collage about my relationship with the Scandinavian Sea God Njord, His son Freyr, and an ex! It's almost done... I'm still waiting on the Muse to decide if it's going in a shadow box theater, or a backed hanging with vintage fabrics and lace... It too(like most things...)is getting a wee bit of glitter. At least on the lower left hand corner altar to Njord :-)

Summer Time

...and the living is Easy.

At least I hope it is for all of You!

I've been buzzing about taking pictures of my new projects(lace, lace, and oh yeah- did I forgot to mention Lace?? ;-p), market finds, yummy dishes prepared, etc.. I simply haven't gotten around to posting any of them, along with descriptions!

Along with everything else, I also work as a Creative Arts and Herbs teacher in Brooklyn 3 days a week, and I am preparing right this second to go in for my adult class.

Today I'm doing a workshop on Organic, healthy drinks for the summer time!
So I'm leaving earlier than usual, so I can pop down to the Union Square GreenMarket(it's on 4 days a week...I can be found there at least 2 of those days per week ;-} )and get some fresh materials.

So in the class I'll go over the benefits of all the different ingredients I'll be using. Such as- organic lemon juice, agave nectar instead of sugar or honey, bundles of fresh, local and organic herbs, etc..

Drinks on tap to teach today:

-'plain' Organic Lemonade
-Strawberry Mint Lemonade
-Elderflower Cordial
-Lemon Verbena Sun Tea
-Hibiscus, Orange Peel & Ginger Iced Tea
-Herbal Ice Water
-Edible Flower Floral Ice Cubes
-Vanilla Lemonade

I'm sure that will soak up more than the full 2 hours! Yum Yum!

Are Ya thirsty yet??? ;-)

Oh! ...and A Blessed Full Moon, and Happy Freya/Freyr/Frigga's Day to Everybody :-)

-Ayanna* xx

In search of Duende

"In New York freedom looks like to many choices..." -U2

Well, I'd always rather too many choices, than none at all.



Duende is a term in Spanish that means a slightly elusive thing. It suggests, rather than defines. Duende is the possession of a kind of Magical Passion...and the ability to transmit that quality to others. It is a term often used en el mundo de Flamenco. But is easily applied(and used) in other contexts.

For many years, Flamenco has been at the kind or outskirts of My Life. Present and calling. But never pushy. Never demanded.

Several years ago, while living abroad, I finally decided to study La Danza (I have studied many dance forms since I was a child), and took classes with a woman from Spain. Who, though in the possession of a great many technical skill,was a pretty crappy teacher of Flamenco-no history, no rhythm, no vocabulary- and absolutely(in my humble opinion) sin Duende. Still. I showed up for class. Jumped from beginner to intermediate in the course of a day or so, and performed in the student presentation at the end of the semester. Always though, aware, that I was not being taught properly. That I needed to learn la lengua de la Danza Flamenco in general. And certainly from someone who knew that that was important, taught it, and themselves possessed un Duende Grande.

So here I am now, in the present time. And for the past few weeks(really, couple of months) I have been actively searching for some kind of exercise to participate in outside of my long park walks. Of course, I have wanted to study more dance. But what form?? Nothing was calling to me. I had decided early on, that though I now had access to many masters(I have always been of the opinion that if you are going to bother at all to learn from someone- you should always learn from The Best), Flamenco was out. Taconeo(the footwork) being much too much for my knees. And besides, I wanted flamenco upper body movements, but something more languid, fluid from the waist down. My sister suggested a new fusion on the scene that combines flamenco with 'bellydance'. So I scoured youtube(how great is the internet!!), watching clips of local teachers, and in every one that I saw, the Power and Structure of the Flamenco upper body was gone. No transmission.

So the more and more I watched, the more and more I thought 'knees be damned!'(not really..I will drink turmeric 3x a day, need be). And the more and more Flamenco seems to be calling me back. 'Middle eastern' dance as well(have you ever noticed how eurocentric geography is?? Surely the middle east is only middle east if you are what eurocentric cultures define as 'west').

So, for the past day, when at home, I have been looking up both styles of teachers in NYC(there are loads). Then finding videos of them to watch and look for Duende(again- how great is the internet?!). The search continues. But I have found a couple that I am going to at least go check out.

In the meantime, if your not at all familiar, and wondering what the heck I'm talking about with all this 'duende' stuff. I leave you with 2 videos, that I dare you to not be moved by. ;-)

Alegrias- make sure to watch the whole video. As beautifull as las senorinas are, it's la Vieja starting at about 2:32 that works the mojo, and has Duende literally-to me- dripping from her dancing soul:




And then, the incomparable Eva Yerbabuena, in my personal favorite(thus far)of her's. Que Bellisima! Ole!: