grandmother moon just came up over the horizon

tonight for her alignment with mother earth, and grandfather sun.... visible as an "eclipse". ooooooooooooooooooo

ice bergs

big chunks of ice are floating by really fast this morning as the snow melting fills the river. the party has begun......there has been this ice extending out from the shore all along the river. driving across the ford on that much ice???? not feeling it to be something i want to do. so seeing these big chunks floating by, some of them 15' x 10' is pretty wonderful....i will drive out tomorrow : )

eagle

I saw the eagle again just now. WOW. He flew upstream then circled around and flew right back at me, maybe to get a good look at this one who disturbed his lunch again! Its been several weeks since I saw him the first time, is he living here? I remember now what it is I’m doing living here in this remote place where I’ve been snowed in since Sunday, and its going to rain and, who knows when I’ll be able to get back across the river….that nagging ego voice is silenced! I surrender with gratitude to the beauty of this life.

the river is coooooold

flowing downstream...big chunks of ice are churning over and over.... and frozen edges go out from the banks 10 feet into the river. wow. will this river freeze over tonight when it gets down below 10 degrees? these cold winters are amazing and new to me.

going to the BIG CRAFTY, sunday, december 5

My new creations are taking me out of the wild woods to the Big Crafty, this sunday,
December 5, 12-6pm
Park Place,
Downtown Asheville.

See you there! ; ) http://www.thebigcrafty.com/

eagle blessing

what a beautiful day..i went down to the river with 5 new owls to photograph for my etsy shop. what fun! i was chuckling to myself seeing these sweet owls looking so at home standing on a round river rock or perched on a tree branch...that really would have been enough to make me happy but then on the way back to the house i saw an eagle!!!!! wow! he was standing by the river hunting his lunch when he heard me and flew up spreading out those big black wings and fanning out those bright white tail feathers. he flew jsut a few feet above the water going downstream... i followed praying jsut to see hima again...he landed in a tree above a special spot where i sit sometimes...he flew again back up the river out of view....then i saw him again way up high circling... i remembered my camera!!! and got one tiny shot before he disappeared!!!!

Owl Person-----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO Singing

Singing her truth, sending out her heart energy connecting with all.

50 new pieces

......going into the kiln today, 50 owls, birds and horses with terra sigillata. ( 50, not counting the little owls. they look kind of cute on the sofa,,,,, owl family sitting around on the sofa, eating...uh well never mind)

this is the first firing that they will get. the terra sig goes on bone dry clay, then i buff it for a slight sheen.....ooooooooo. as soon as this thunderstorm weather passes on through i'll fire it up, for a couple of days, cool for one day so by saturday they will be ready to come out and get the underglaze......and then back into the fire.....

artist statement..... and my name, Blue Fire

bLUE FiRE
clay...fire...dreams

I work with clay, fire and dreams. for me, artwork is the practice of perceiving the sacred in the moment..
.....and honoring that truth... bringing sacred dreams from the mystery into the literal world.

......using clay and my hands i bring into form the dreams in my heart...holding my attention on that dream, i work with the clay, co-creating with the clay....watching and assisting the artwork as it emerges from the MYSTERY into being...this feels so exciting, this is what i love, this is what i live for....i leave the marks of this exciting process visible in the clay surface.... after the first firing, i brush colorful underglazes onto the clay, emphasizing the texture and shapes. the piece is fired again at least once. underglazes while permanent have a soft look allowing the texture of the clay and the forming process to remain visible.
.
.......... art is a sacred process for me....the hand-built clay artworks i create are expressions of my joyful relationship with beauty and the sacred dream of love and power...they are gifts from the Great Mystery, the energetic ocean of Creation...

............. beauty, the sacred made visible .............

bLue FiRE.......
............this name was given to me by my spiritual teacher about 12 years ago. it is the name that describes my sacredness, my truth, my heart. we are all sacred beings. my art work is one way that i remember myself, my sacred self.
....i've been working in various mediums since i began this lifetime. encouraged by my father, a professional modern art painter and teacher, i was introduced to art processes at an early age. over the years, a few of the mediums i've worked in are graphic design, photography, silk screening, drawing and painting. artwork is an essential part of my life. i'm grateful now to be working with clay. i've been making and selling my clay creations for 20 years.
... Before moving to Asheville in 2007, i lived full time for 2 years in the wilderness in the Nantahala National Forest where i forded a river to get home. my neighbors being trees, owls, bears, stars and the dream of love and power. Now I spend about half my time there being nurtured and inspired by that sweet sweet land and the other half of my time being with the amazing, creative and inspiring two legged humans who call Asheville home.

across the mountain and through the river into the wonder of creation

there's a whole lot of stomping, snorting and whooooting in the studio tonight

as everyone gets ready to GO.....

going to the Bakersville Creek Walk Arts Festival

this weekend, saturday, sept. 25th.

10am-5pm

Bakersville Creek Walk Art Show

making new work for the show Sept. 25th. its a one day show 10am to 5pm.
http://www.bakersvillefestival.com

new work is in the kiln right now. the bisque firing will finish tomorrow at 8pm. the glaze firing will finish hopefully around noon on wednesday, so photos after that.

crossing the river

put the truck in 4WD, say a little respectful prayer for permission to the river and drive on across the river, the Nantahala River, to my home on the other side. today its not raining and there hasn't been much rain for several weeks so the river is very very low. an easy crossing today.

sometimes the river is too high, just have to wait for the water to come back down. relationship. those are the days that i am "waterbound - way down in North Carolina".

owls going into the kiln today

ETSY=revolution in the ART world

There is this thing about ETSY.com that i really find very exciting. I see on ETSY the potential for a revolution in the art world that i feel is coming. Creativity comes in so many forms, is ordinary, amazing, common, beautiful and is human nature. One can see on Etsy examples of the wonderful variety of forms in which creativity emerges.

There is a playfulness to the energy that emerges when the old constraints* fall away. Creativity is FREE to be and to become and to come through anyone and everyone who chooses to open themselves to the flow of creative energy. Creativity is happening all the time, everywhere.

It is sacred, is energy and a process available to anyone to witness and/or to participate.

People are able to stand in the energy of something freshly created and feel that energy and do not require any background to assist them in their own direct experience of that creative experience.


* the old constraints - judgment ("good art" "not good enough art"), hierarchy of mediums ("fine art" vs "craft", etc.), past achievements bias ( education, degrees, shows, and various other sanctions by experts), gender bias, competitor abilities (awards) and all the other ways that the ego based, fear and pain world muddles in the creative energy of the sacred becoming.

Big Owl, whoooooooooooo

i'll be at the BIG CRAFTY, july 11th.

.....the sky people spoke to me (see feather below) and continue to speak to me energetically as i make a series of new owls for The Big Crafty show in downtown Asheville, July 11th.
I feel the energy of this special place (Rainbow Springs) touching me, supporting me as i embrace all of me. especially the wonderful deep dark rich shadows.....owls are so good at seeing, feeling, deftly unraveling deep dark power of shadows.

shamanic art thoughts..........


when i sit by the river here i feel the energy of this Beauty place so strongly. i know that this place and i are in relationship. it is a love relationship.....and something is growing from this connection......i'm being taught things.........i'm being taught about beauty... what is it about this place that is so beautiful ? when i look at the river bank i see beauty, the perfect arrangement of colors and shapes, the sounds and smells, all are perfect and beautiful. what i sense and call beauty is my awareness of the relationships of all the beings here living in balance with each other. the moss on the river bank feeds the grass, the grass feeds the dragonflys dancing with each other, the river flows laughing by and i am blessed to sit here among them feeling this peaceful beauty. this kind of beauty/order comes from being in relationship, living with integrity. its not something imposed upon the group by some "higher" being in charge and enforced by rule and punishment. its a more powerful and softer way of creating order. it is LOVE. it is the Dream of Love and the interconnectedness that Beauty beings know and respond to. It is natural. It is NATURE. It is Beauty. I love sitting here where the Natural workings of the Dream of Love are so obvious and undeniable. I am learning how to be and being lead along gently, softly held in Beauty. I am Dreaming Love into Being.

a message from the sky people

......found this in front of my studio door today.....

Moved my studio............

Blue Fire's studio in Rainbow Springs, NC.
I have moved my studio from Odyssey Center in
Asheville’s River Arts District to my own private studio in the wilds of the Nantahala National Forest

From my studio I hear the Nantahala River flowing by............owls calling to each other,

hawks, bears and bullfrogs, and the silence of all those sweet star people winking and smiling...............
............ahhhh, the DREAM of LOVE is all around me....yes, it is a very loving and supportive environment for my creativity.

an open studio art sale coming up in early fall….. details are incubating….

June art show announcement

Hello Friends,

You are invited to see my newest art works in the show "Shamanic Journey: 3 Women's Perspectives" showing now at Clingman Cafe in the River Arts District of Asheville.

In April i moved my studio from Asheville's river arts district to the quiet of my home in the woods just outside of Asheville. Since then my work has taken a very interesting turn; it has deepened and feels so good! I'm showing this new work at the show “Shamanic Journey: 3 Women’s Perspectives” along with the beautiful work of Lynn August and Tina Powell, a powerful shamanic artistic collaboration.

Showing now through the month of June at the Clingman Café.

Clingman Café, 234 Clingman Ave. , Asheville, NC 28801

Peace,

Blue Fire MacMahon

Shamanic Journey:

3 Women’s Perspectives

LYNN AUGUST / TINA POWELL

BLUE FIRE MACMAHON

Perception is everything ~ How do you perceive the natural world? The tree people are sacred and have things to tell us, and so does Brother Wind and Grandfather Sun. Are you listening? Do you remember how?

Three unique women artists, each with distinct styles of perceiving and expressing their Shamanic selves through Photography, Clay and Natural Assemblage. It is their sincere desire, that mirrored in their artwork, you will see your own sacredness.

working at home

i've been snow bound off and on since jan 29th. so i've set up a work space at home. it's been really nice working here by the wood stove ......

here's a birds nest made from bailing wire ....and some of my hardly working studio assistants...

winter of many snows

we've had a lot of snow here this winter and more is coming. i've been snowed in a LOT.

this is bringing up things for me to look at..breaking out of old patterns. It feels like a big opening up, a big healing event. everyday i go outside and take in the energy of Grandfather Sun, the standing tall ones (trees) and Mother Earth, Father Sky...can i drive down this mountain? connecting, talking, building relationship, love... my artwork is more and more an expression of that...what i've wanted all along. i will dance with them when the spring comes for sure.