Peace in our Hearts ... and ... Peace on our Earth

May we each find our inner light,
may our dreams become real for us,
in this time of year when friendships grow,
when darkness recedes and
light grows strong again ...

in this *Winter*season,
this Solstice Season of celebration and change,
I want to thank everyone
who has helped me grow as an artist, writer
and photographer -- but most especially, as a person --
through your kindnesses, your generosity
your friendship and your light.

May each of you be blessed with
the time to go inside, reflect on what
nourishes you, on what gives you
strength, on what makes you happy

May the light and peace of the Great Spirit always
shine in your hearts

Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year

PhotoFriday: Weather

Sparkle, originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

Montana Blog Awards

Fairyland, originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

Dear Blog Readers: I would like to inspire you to go over to A Chicken is not Pillage and vote for your favorite Montana blogs. Wulfgar has organized an annual blog-awards things at his blog, in order to promote Montana blogs -- both those that are well read and well known, and others, like mine, that may not have been "discovered" by the big-wide-world. Yet.

Land of Little Rain has been nominated for "Blog with the Best Photos" and Raven's Nest has been nominated for "Most Creative Blog" -- there are lots of other excellent blogs on the nominations list and you do not have to live in Montana to vote. If you have enjoyed reading my blogs and looking at the photos and my artwork, I would truly appreciate your vote. Thank you!

Of course, I would appreciate your votes for either of my blogs but there lots of other blogs on the list that also happen to be some of my favorite regular reads: Bitterroot and Bergamot is one -- most of my blog readers already visit her blog regularly, but in case you haven't, check it out -- she has an eye for capturing the beauty of Nature - from tiny details to wide open landscapes. Bitterroot was my first ever online friendship to result in an in-person meetup. We met up in Missoula for a really fun day of talking (of course!) playing in the autumn leaves and taking lots of photos.

Here is more information and detail, along with a list of nominated blogs, at my other blog, Raven's Nest.

UrbanLinesSkyLines

UrbanLinesSkyLines, originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

This is a metal sculpture made by my son, Gabe. I had to beg him to give it to me while he was paring down his possessions after graduating from university. There was almost a line of "customers" wanting this sculpture. It hangs on my office wall -- he knew i really wanted it ...

The powerline wires connect tiny glowing street lights like a connect-the-dots painting. I love the way this looks with the tiny lights on and the rest of the office dark.

here's another view of the sculpture:

Classified Ad: MicroOrganism Seeks to become MoreOrganized

Copyright 2006 by Maureen Shaughnessy

Diaphanous Ceiling

Diaphanous Ceiling, originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

A little Celtic tune by Joanie Madden, to accompany the verdance:

Wind Embodied by Beauty

Wind Embodied by Beauty, originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

Feathers allow birds to fly. They can fly, taking our prayers with them. Feathers remind me of life, of death, of hope, of lightness, of the light, the upper realm, the sky-realm, of spirit and my path. This feather, with it's pattern of black and white -- darkness and light -- especially reminds me that in each of us, there must be both: there must exist in our hearts the capacity to love others ... and to love ourselves.

Since I still do not have a camera or computer (of my own) I have recently been featuring photos from other folks I admire, or some of my older images that I've never blogged. Today I am posting a slideshow of some of my digital collages and Photoshop pieces, hoping that at least some of my newer blog readers will discover something they like, that they haven't already seen.

If you'd like to see any of these images in larger sizes, or individually, you can click on the photos during the slideshow and it should jump you right to that photo's page on my flickr account, or please head over to my flickr page and this album by clicking the album name: Alterations and Digital Collages

Thanks for visiting and reading my blogs.

Oh yeah, we'll be gone -- really gone -- for a few days, back early next week. I wish you all a great week.

Photo Friday: Stillness

Early Morning Frost Field, originally uploaded by MontanaRaven.

Early morning frost against first light gold aspens, between Helena and Garrison Junction in Montana