My lost paintings have been found!

This is a rambling post because I am *so* excited!

The paintings (all oil on canvas) that were stolen from me by the Mexican government and 5 years later auctioned off.....................have been found!! 

was contacted by the collector a few years ago, he was at first concerned because he knew they had been stolen, I am grateful he had the moral compass to contact me. We chatted via FaceBook and he assured me he would have the paintings exhibited throughout Mexico.

Sadly, he passed away soon after contacting me... may you rest in peace Omar....Thank you!

All I knew of him was his kindness and that he was a young man. It was very sad. I waited before posting on his *In Memoriam FB wall*....
I didn't want to be disrespectful to all those grieving. I posted again a year later, and so it has gone until TODAY, when I finally received a response from his sister about these pieces that I LOVE so much; she now owns the paintings.

These two were part of the seven and are part of a series I painted entitled "The Soul Keeper."

The one above measures about 20" x 20"
and the one below measures about 3 x 4 feet. Each painting has poetry by one of my two favorite poets (Khalil Gibran and Pablo Neruda) that goes with it.

The US Embassy, the Mexican Embassy..not even the State Department could help me.... I prayed so much for them to come back to me, I imagined them in the same HUGE wooden box I built for them to be shipped there, just leaning outside our little home-I imagined it all with great Faith and prayer and *Quantum physics* imaginings too!

But they never arrived at my doorstep.

The box I shipped them in was so big, I had to enlist the help of 2 friends to carry it on top of a van, I remember driving through snowy streets to ship them down to Mexico...
The last time I saw them....

 *wow* It is very, very AWEsome to know where they are. 

I am not like this with all my work....I have collectors all over the world, many whom I have never met... but this group... (not the first to be stolen either, I had 3 paintings stolen from GALA theater in Washington DC many years ago-I have no documentation of those as I made them especially for the exhibit)- these were my favorite pieces at the time; sent down there for my first Museum show, in my *adopted country* -where my father lived for 8 years as a UN diplomat, where I spent many, many happy vacations....  where now I have not only the connection with my art there, but my Mexican partner in love & life -whom I met during that trip, who has never seen those pieces in person....

The heart's affections are divided like the branches of the cedar tree; if the tree loses one strong branch; it will suffer but it does not die; it will pour all its vitality into the next branch so that it will grow and fill the empty place.

Kahlil Gibran 

This is a small canvas,  I sent three of these they measure 9" x 12" and were part of my "Visual Poetry" series.

This one to the right is super meaningful as I painted it the first time that my son went on a full week's vacation with the ex husband.... I was so worried and concerned, it was my prayer for Sacred care while he was away.
This is a piece that was bathed in tears as I painted it during that week,
lots of rum and cokes and m&m's ..... a time where everything was so new to me. I married so young, that being a divorcee opened up a world of so many things.... dating and dancing and paying bills and worries as a student/working single mom.... but my son was my *all* (still is!).... I pray he is always protected and cared for my *All that Is*.

Love is the only freedom in the world because it so elevates the spirit that the laws of humanity and the phenomena of nature do not alter its course.

Kahlil Gibran

I also sent them some of my favorite "Abstracted figurative" pieces 
This piece measurees 2 x 3 feet (or larger)

These were pieces about love and desire. About broken pieces of humanity coming together to form an "us"

When I painted them, I was going through relationships in the style of the Surrealists: "serial dating"....
I was very interested in the concept of 'soulmates' and unions... sex was for the first time "in mind" and enjoyable (my first marriage is one I was forced into by my mother, it was love-less and sex was a chore).
I discovered so much about myself... a time of shedding and great personal growth.

See the wings? :

God has given you a spirit with wings on which to soar into the spacious firmament of Love and Freedom. Is it not pitiful than that you cut your wings with your own hands and suffer your soul to crawl like an insect upon the earth?

Kahlil Gibran

This piece measures about 2 x 3 feet.

I could go on and on... and in the past I have... before Sergio accidentally crashed my website two years ago, I had documented all my contacts with Mexican and USA authorities to try to get my work back. There, I had letters from Mexico lying about the fact that they had my work... a letter from the Mexican cultural attache, washing his hands off of the whole "affair" (as he put it)- admitting, yet back pedaling re: his knowledge of the theft....  etc. etc.
BUT, I don't want to focus on all the negativity... I am excited to know where these pieces are, and will hopefully someday be able to better document them via good photos or scans.

Spiritual awakening is the most essential thing in man's life, and it is the sole purpose of being. Is not civilization, in all its tragic forms, a supreme motive for spiritual awakening?

Kahlil Gibran

Oracle cards a gift of guidance from the Divine/God/ALL that IS

*Mirmagical* messages come through in many ways......

Goddess: Green Tara

Some of you may know that I have been working on a Goddess series since January.
My aim was to create 35 small paintings for our Annual Open Studio on December 7 and later create an oracle deck with them.

However, in June-after we returned from our health trip to Mexico... I began to "lose steam"... instead of taking 7 to 10 days, my Goddesses were taking 20 to 30 days to get finished and I knew I would not meet my goal.

I struggled through my summer Goddesses ... but the fact was undeniable that every time I "pulled" a card from my deck to figure out which Goddess to draw next... there seemed to be a message tailored made for me. Sergio was amazed at how accurate the cards were, how appropriate for each life situation/moment we were in....

Sergio asked me if he could pull cards out of the deck and so began the messages for both of us.

Now, I have spent the last two weeks working on a Goddess that just did not seem to "work". So I finally decided that with the end of summer.... I was going to take a "break" from the Goddesses. I gave myself permission to just draw anything...

I envisioned something like this one pictured here, done in pen and ink or abstracted figures .... instead, I found myself drawing a fairy.


We have been watching a TV show on Netflix about Fairy tales called: "Once Upon a Time"...we are both loving it-and I thought *that* was where my fairy was coming from. At the same time, I have not been as keen on painting as I have been on watching the show...most times it is the other way around and Sergio has to spend time catching me up on all that I miss from having my nose stuck in my painting.... but, not lately.

You see, lately, I have been feeling restless....
Sergio is beginning another school year as a teacher's assistant. This year he did not even bother to apply for teaching jobs- our artistic lives are busy enough and we are doing "ok" financially with his assistant's salary plus all our art income...BUT of course...we DREAM about him not having to do

exhibit booth in Paris, 2007.

the assistant bit.

We DREAM about traveling all over the world exhibiting our ART, selling our artwork, and teaching workshops too.
We dream... but we have responsibilities: our son, health insurance, our home, our kitties... so we go on with the day to day...and we dream....

For four days, I kept coming back to that same piece of paper and working on that fairy; I really had no idea why she was appearing.
Each day I thought "I will pick up some ink and work into that... there will be birds and weird images and .... " 
Well, every evening when it is my time to paint-- I look at her and add a bit here and there.
Not much really. Just playing. But still, she remains on the paper. Layers of pencil and paint. And she is still there. No background, just her. I have not known why... but nothing else has come to mind.. so I keep playing.... until

Last night (while I am in the kitchen grabbing a midnight snack) this was our exchange:

Sergio: "Claudia, what Goddess is this that you are working on?"
me: "She is not a Goddess. I am taking a break from them. I have no idea what that is; I am going to take ink and work into her... adding figures playfully as I have done in the past  (like this one on the right).
Sergio: What? Have you forgotten about your goal? Have you forgotten about your plans for a 35 card oracle deck?"
me: : *sigh* "awlrigth.... go ahead and pull a card from the deck...."
moments later Sergio calls out excitedly... look what I pulled!

Sergio: excitedly yelled from the next room:
"Claudia!! She is Aine, Queen of the Fairies!..and he continued (reading from  Doreen Virtue's Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards)

 

Take a risk, and put your heart's true desire into action!

Procrastinating about your dreams won't make them go away, Neither will it make them happen. Indecision is the death of the soul's burning passion to improve, grow, and learn. Don't worry about making a wrong decision. Instead, worry about making no decision at all!

Then take time to pray, meditate, investigate, research, go on nature walks and make your decision.

Once made, the universal energies will immediately support your decision, and doors will successively open as if by magic. The magic, you see, is that you've set your mind to accomplish something. And this intention is what sets you on your magical journey. Trust that the universe will support you in all ways. Trust that your intention is clear and right for you. And then take a leap of faith and jump fully and squarely into the midst of putting your dreams into action. Don't hesitate or delay a moment longer.

About Aine: Aine is a powerful Celtic goddess and fairy queen who gave birth to incarnated fairies from her romances with mortal men. Aine is revered in Ireland for helping to grow crops and oversee animals. You can call upon Aine when you need additional guidance and the courage to take risks.

Aine, Queen of the Fairies, in progress....

 

Amazing, isn't it?.... with one card I am reminded of the importance and value of "oracle cards" which are utilized in many spiritual paths... for example, I see it often in the Christian path as many people will pull daily scripture verses that speak to them for a particular day or situation.

 

I feel honored to have been called to create a set of *oracle cards.* These helpful sacred gifts that are tools for YOU to reach within and up and above to ALL that IS/God/the Divine...   a path/a key a tool for communication from Spirit to us.

 

What a wonderful gift has been given to us...to YOU! It is available to each and everyone of us for guidance, encouragement and affirmation!

 

We are blessed and now must begin to plan for action.

Active intention for manifestation of what is meant to be.....

 

We pray for clear direction in YOUr journey as well! Please share your own experiences in the comments or on our FB page... we would love to support you in manifesting your intentions too!

 

Love & light always,

Claudia

 

Claudia & Sergio paint: the essence of the Mapuche. It's cosmology/cosmovision in our ART!

Claudia & Sergio paint: the essence of the Mapuche. It's cosmology/cosmovision in our ART!

oil on canvas: Retorno a la Semilla

We have launched our kickstarter project and hope that YOU will help us make this first chapter come to frutition by donating here!

With the help of Kickstarter and people like you, we'll be able to start working on our project "Retorno a la Semilla" (Return to the seed), in Chile this June!

Retorno a la Semilla will be an exhibit that is based on Claudia's painting about the essence of life: the seed of who we are: our spirituality, our history, legends and beliefs in the continent of America.
We hope to learn about and be influenced by the cosmology and iconography of indigenous cultures throughout the Americas.... we are starting in Claudia's Chile, then Sergio's Mexico...then here in the USA-our home...from there: Ecuador, Peru, Brazil.... and more! 

Your support means we can turn this exhibit into a reality!

           It has been less than 48 hours since clicking “launch” and we already have 7 generous backers!

Thank YOU!

Every little bit helps us and makes YOU a part of our project.

We really are hoping to exceed our goal....keeping in mind that a project will NOT be funded (we will not get a penny) if the goal is not met...we made our goal low.... but we know and have seen many, many projects on kickstarter get funded over 200% of their goal!! That would be FANTASTIC as we could begin right away planning our next step, approach more venues for exhibiting etc.

Please help us by donating, sharing with your friends, tweeple and Facebook

We can not do it without YOU!

Please visit/share THIS LINK and support us!

oil on canvas:
Mapuche woman in the Andes

Be a part of  this ARTventure! There are SO many ways you can help us demonstrate the power of art to unleash imagination, break down barriers, and connect people in this world where we too often find so much division and prejudice-
help us shine the light on the Mapuche people...!

Please help us by donating, spreading the word to your friends and family, tweet, blog, facebook.... (imagine if hundreds of people donated as little as $5.- or $10.-each!...we would more than meet our goal! and we hope to not only meet our goal but surpass it!)
We have ART "rewards" as a way of saying THANK YOU for all donations.... and of course: our LOVE and APPRECIATION and ((hugs)) everytime we see you!!

Thank you in advance for ALL your support

 

Claudia & Sergio