darkness and the prairie

one of my all time favorite books ever is "letters to a young poet" by ranier maria rilke. last night, after i finished this piece, i was reading it, as i do from time to time, when i need to remind myself about certain aspects of an artist's life. he captures it so eloquently and so beautifully. i was shocked at how similar his sentiments were to the words i chose for this piece...

"all things consist of carrying to term and then giving birth. to allow the completion of every impression, every germ of a feeling deep within, in darkness, beyond words, in the realm of instinct unattainable by logic, to await humbly and patiently the hour of the descent of a new clarity: that alone is to live one's art, in the realm of understanding as in that of creativity."

"the desire to be creator, to give birth, to guide the growth process is nothing without its constant materialization in the world, nothing without the thousandfold consent of things and animals."

"...it is clear that we must embrace struggle. every living thing conforms to it. everything in nature grows and struggles in its' own way, establishing its' own identity, insisting on it at all cost, against all resistance. we can be sure of very little, but the need to court struggle is a surety that will not leave us. it is good to be lonely, for being alone is not easy. the fact that something is difficult must be one more reason to do it."

the back of this piece says, “without darkness, nothing comes to birth, as without light nothing flowers”, may sarton. on the front, resting atop a swirly vine, there is a beautiful robin's egg blue glass bead nestled in a sweet little flower, with two labradorite accents.

"The prairie in the distance looked as if clothed with rainbows that waved to and fro over its surface.” – Charles Sealsfield

i've always thought that prairies had the majestic grandeur of quiet anonymity. as much as you want to be yourself, to stand out, to mark your place in the world, don't you sometimes just want to blend in, to be anonymous for a bit, to be somewhere where nobody knows you?

this incredible cut of owyhee jasper looks exactly like a beautiful prairie field, with sheafs of wheat swaying in a gentle breeze, perhaps at dawn, or maybe dusk. it's just incredible, soothing, beautiful. to compliment this stone, for one side of the chain, i built a link chain with striking mookaite rondelle beads. the other side is a heavy, textured link chain.

the back of this piece says "on the prairie.