watercolor 4/2020
There is a traditional Lakota story. It is told that a beautiful woman appeared and gave the tribes profound teachings. She gave them seven sacred ceremonies to protect Mother Earth and the ceremonial pipe. After imparting the wisdom she transformed into a white buffalo calf. To this day the white buffalo remains a symbol of that mystical appearance of ‘White Buffalo Calf Woman.’
watercolor aceo 8/2015
I created this painting based on one of my previous watercolors ‘Spirit of the Unicorn’ and a vision from Mijanou who is one of the women making possible the gathering of the grandmothers. Below are some of the steps in the creating process.
You will see that I changed the legs in the actual painting.
I like to stretch my paper with a staple gun because I use so much water that taped paper comes unglued. It is a little tricky removing the staples but I have never yet slipped and ruined a painting. In addition buyers like to see the staple holes along the edges. It’s a glimpse into the process.
I lapsed a bit and didn’t scan any more of the progress or at least I can’t find the shots. Too bad because there is a lot that happened before the final painting emerged.
The shield was a last minute thought. The painting needed to be balanced. I just keep adding color until it feels done. Of course with watercolor it is important not to mess around too much. Once the paint is down it’s permanent but there are corrective measures that one can take such as over glazing. I really like to finish without taking corrective measures. It is better to go with the flow rather have a fixed idea in your mind of how the painting should look. It is more fun that way. Please no square pegs into round holes. I love it at the last when you add darks that make the painting pop.
watercolor 8×10 c11/2013
‘When one sits in the hoop of the People, one must be responsible because all of creation is related and the hurt of one is the hurt of all and the honor of one is the honor of all.’
‘White Buffalo Calf Woman’
THE MOMENT IS NOW
“When the council of original seed issued by the Mother called upon the four elements ~ air, water, earth and fire ~ to Unity ~ life came to be on planet Earth. Now today, the Mother is calling humanity ~ to Unity.” ~ Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa, Kankuamo, the four peoples of Gonawindwa, Columbia
We, the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, affirm our relationship to Mother Earth and our responsibility to future generations to raise our voices to speak for the protection of the lands and water.
We, represent a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for our Mother Earth, all her inhabitants, all the children, and for the next seven generations to come. We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth and the destruction of indigenous ways of life. We look to further our vision through the realization of projects that protect our diverse cultures: lands, medicines, language and ceremonial ways of prayer and through projects that educate and nurture our children.
We hereby join and are in full support of the humble movement of the Original People of the world. This movement initiated by the Kogi Elders of La Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, is bringing together in ceremony all the indigenous elders from ancient lineages with unification ceremonies uniting South America to North America and then bridging to Africa and beyond.
We recognize that these gatherings of the elders to have dialogue is
a basic fulfillment of agreements that have been passed down for generations and wisdom that is now ready to be shared. For, it is through the gatherings the hidden wisdom that Original People have protected for millennia is now being brought forth for the benefit of all life.
Furthermore, we support the aim of the gatherings to empower the Indigenous spiritual people to engage in an unprecedented collective action towards the realization of the Original Instructions which is to bring a spirit of inspiration, collaboration, compassion and hope into existing networks and planned international events focused on preservation of life on Mother Earth.
Finally, the Grandmothers support the call to come together in the spirit of cooperation for the greater good of humanity to pool our resources and create the vessel for these sacred gatherings to occur. This is a journey we are all a part of and will continue to unfold for many years to come.
For This We Pray,
International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers
Contact: Grandmother Mona Polacca, Secretariat mpolacca@gmail.com Phone: 602.810.5823 grandmotherscouncil.org
Donations are greatly needed.
watercolor aceo 10/2013
The Sacred White Buffalo brought the peace pipe to the tribes and offered her teachings.
original watercolor aceo 3.5 2.5 c3/2011
Spirit white buffalo…the Mother of Life….brought us the sacred bundle and the pipe to help teach us peace and understanding. This according to Lakota legend was passed down by word of mouth to each succeeding generation.
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