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Lion’s Mane Mushroom Cakes

This weekend I spend time with my wonderful friends. We foraged herbs and dehydrated peaches… and made Lion’s Man mushroom “crab cakes”. This was my first time ever seeing Lion’s Mane, let alone cooking with it! But I am always up for a challenge.

The first thing to do is wash about a 1/2 lb of Lion’s Mane and shred it. The texture is almost exactly like crab meat! Once shredded you toss with 2 cloves of garlic and 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil, then place it on a cookie sheet and bake at 350* for 30-40 mins.

 

While the mushrooms are baking you mix the ingredients for the cakes. 3/4 cup of bread crumbs, 2 eggs, 2 tbs of greek yogurt, 3tbs of parsley, 2 tsp of lemon, and 2 tsp of paprika. Mix ingredients with baked mushrooms and cook in coconut oil until both sides are light brown.

These mushroom cakes are delicious and have such a similar taste to crab cakes but without the seafood!

<3 Migwetch and Gii’zagi’in

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We Are a Part of Something Greater

What better way to collaborate then with an art project, so we started the school year off with a class mural.

I had each class vote on an image that would represent their class, and then I created that image using masking tape over a square board. Students then chose a color to represent themselves and stamped their hands over the board.

When the paint dried, I peeled it away to reveal a white outline of the image they chose. Students then signed their names within the white lines.  This represents our classes choice to work together as a team, and remember we are apart of something greater.

This reminder is not only for the art room, but for life. When we remember our perspectives are only one of many, we can work together towards a greater goal.

<3 Migwetch and Gii’zaagi’in

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Celebrating Benjamin Banneker

On September 8th, 2018 The Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum
held an artist reception for their current show that I have artwork hanging in…

 

 

Benjamin Banneker — author, scientist, mathematician, farmer, astronomer, publisher and urban planner — was descended from enslaved Africans, an indentured English servant, and free men and women of color. His grandmother, Molly Welsh, was an English dairy maid who was falsely convicted of theft and indentured to a Maryland tobacco farmer. After working out her indenture, Welsh rented and farmed some land, eventually purchasing two African slaves whom she freed several years later.

 

 

Young Benjamin grew up in Baltimore County, one of two hundred free blacks among a population of four thousand slaves and thirteen thousand whites. He was taught to read by his grandmother Molly, and briefly attended a one-room interracial school taught by a Quaker. He showed an early interest in mathematics and mechanics, preferring books to play.

 

 

While still a young man (probably about age 20), he built a wooden clock that kept precise time. Banneker was encouraged in the study of astronomy by George Ellicott, a Quaker and amateur astronomer whose family owned nearby mills. As early as 1788, Banneker began to make astronomical calculations, and he accurately predicted a solar eclipse that occurred in 1789. In 1791, while working with Andrew Ellicott and others in surveying the land that would become Washington, D.C., Banneker made other astronomical observations. –Encyclopedia Britannica

It turns out Benjamin and I have a lot in common! Both totally interested in astronomy, science, writing… he and I also share a similar background of being of mixed cultures. His story is very inspirational. It shows perseverance through any situation to come out on top and make a better world for everyone.

The show will be up until December 29th, 2018.
Thank you Willa Banks for following your passion for curating this amazing exhibit!
<3

 

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Giving up Approval for Authenticity

So this is my eleventh year teaching art at Ridgely Middle School.
I can hardly remember what it felt like to be a new teacher… a bit worried, stressed, and anxious….

About how the students would respond, if they would understand the process, and if they would be as excited as me about it all…

About my performance and how my administration would evaluate me, and see me as a teacher. Would I be good enough?

Eleven years later…

I can say I am definitely more confident in my teaching, and in my students abilities to learn.  This comes from a combination of time spent in the classroom, trial and error, a supportive team of teachers in my building as well as an amazing Visual Arts office in my county, and from a total mindset shift.

Obviously as a new teacher, one has NO IDEA what they are truly in for.
Especially in the day in age where we were transitioning from analog to digital.

I started teaching in 2008…
When we still used TV’s and DVD/VHS players.
When we wrote objectives as “The students will…”
When we used Easy Grade Pro and had to put our grades in ourselves.
When there was one desktop computer and students had to go to the computer lab to look up references.

Life has changed so much…
We have morning announcements streaming in real time on the computer
We now write objectives as “I can and I will…”
We use Schoology and all of our grades are kept online and transferred for us.
Every student has their own computer!

The mindset shift is not only from analog to digital, but from thinking about how I should be teaching… to teaching from the authenticity of who I am. Incorporating my own personal journey and passions into my classroom have really changed the whole atmosphere. The students are more comfortable and excited to come to class since I have started teaching authentically instead of teaching from expectations.

I love seeing and being apart of the shift in our public education system. Baltimore County Public Schools is one of the forerunners for leading our students into 21st century digital creative authentic learning.

Now I no longer worry about how my students or administration will respond to my instruction, as I know I am facilitating a safe and powerful space for my students to creatively learn and express themselves authentically. I am teaching them to live authentically … and that is the best lesson anyone in this world could learn.

Here is to my eleventh year teaching and to all the learning, growth, and fun that will come this year!

Migwetch and Gi’zaagi’in
<3

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The Art of Intuitive Henna

I am an intuitive artist…

This unique henna design comes from each persons energy in that moment…

The designs are used to meditate upon.

The honor and pleasure I receive when creating these one of a kind designs is like no other. It is literal co-creation. Without the other person receiving…I cant not share this gift. ❤🙏

These photos are from events, private parties and one on one sessions.
Contact me if your interested in setting up an appointment!

My Henna is made from all natural henna plant, sugar, lemon, and essential oils such as Eucalyptus, Lavender, Frankincense, and Rose

Check out my calendar for community henna events I will be attending!

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The Process

Get a driving desire to create.

Gather materials and tools.

ACT : Apply Creation Techniques

ART : Action Rewards Truth

<3

Raine Dawn

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The only constant is Change.

paralyzed in the void

between the old and the new

between the patterns and reprogramming

between stagnation and growth

between the pain and pleasure

Paralyzed: bring to a standstill by causing disruption or chaos

Chaos: vast chasm, void, formless primordial matter.

Between: indicating a connection or relationship involving two or more parties.

 

The new moon and Uranus are in Taurus today. Major changes are about to take place.

Haven’t you felt it…? For the past few months, everything has felt different. Like the calm before the storm. Mother Earth is showing us… the planets are showing us… pay attention.

<3 Migwetch and Gizaagi’in

 

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Its always darkest before the dawn…

Recently I’ve wanted to paint more, however all things have not aligned for me to do so, whether its time or energy.  I realize things are cycles but the feelings I’ve been getting have been pretty deep…

My heart keeps saying… Paint, Paint, Paint… be creative, but my mind goes through a process of elimination…. “you don’t have enough time, you don’t know what you want to create, you’ll get interrupted, its too much work.” All of these thoughts constantly swirl through my mind… but my heart keeps beating “Paint, Paint, Paint.”

The other day I was sitting around thinking about painting… feeling like perhaps its not what I should be doing with my time and energy. Maybe I’m supposed to do something more productive, using my time in a more valuable way. Maybe painting isn’t a focus of my life path anymore….. and then my phone buzzed, literally as soon as my thought had completed….

It was the universe answering me…

Almost a year ago I hung some of my artwork at my friend Jaime’s wellness center Relaxing Note. It wasn’t until recently that people started purchasing my paintings there.  The other day was one of those days… right as I was questioning wanting to put more focus into painting, when I was questioning if it was valuable and apart of my path to keep painting… the universe sent this message to me…

20180205_085212.png

This was such a wake up call, the angels were definitely speaking to me. I often ask for their guidance when it comes to any unalignment I might feel between my head and my heart and on Saturday they showed up to tell me something…. keep painting.

Its like there’s something keeping me from picking up a brush and putting it in some paint and just doing the thing. Its not like I’m painting any specific image, as I figure doing an intuitive painting would be the easiest to start with…. though I’m not sure that’s the case. I was able to draw 4 different pictures out… specific imagery and clean lines. Nothing too intuitive about them… so why does it feel so hard to just put some paint on the canvas!

 

I start to ask myself why is that I want to paint but feel unable to take action. What can I do or should I do to start painting… to begin a painting. I go into my studio, I clear off the desk, hang a painting and stand there and stare at it… unable to move… so I pulled some cards…

patience

Whoa… talk about affirmation.

Abundance:  Accepting the inner world and denying the outer world, or vice versa keeps us half… and no one who is half can be contented.  We must be whole, rich in body, rich in science; rich in meditation, rich in consciousness. We must support our masculine and feminine energies within.

Remembering its all about the balance within and without.

New Vision: Seeing life in all its dimensions, from the depths to the heights. They exist together, and when we come to know from experiences that the dark and the difficult are needed as much as the light and easy, then we begin to have  a very different perspective on the world.  By allowing all of life’s colors to penetrate us, we become more integrated.

This was how my whole thought about painting started… is there a different perspective I should be seeing my creative energies…other than through painting? Is it ok for me to not be painting even though I feel like I should be? And with that thought I started to feel like I wasn’t aligned, like I was missing something… however I’m constantly realizing there is no missing something… everything is as it should be.

When your inner being opens, first it experiences two directions… the height and depth, and then slowly as this becomes your established situation, we start looking around, spreading into all other directions.  This is known as Bhagavat in the ten directions.

Once your height and depth meet, you can look around to the very circumference of the universe. Your consciousness starts unfolding in all ten directions, but the road has been one.

Trust: NOW is the moment to jump. Move into the unknown…even if it scares us to death. When we take trust to the level of the quantum leap we don’t make any elaborate plans or preparations. We don’t say “okay, I trust that I know what to do now, and I’ll settle my things and pack my suitcase and take it with me.” The leap is the thing…and the thrill of it as we free-fall through the empty sky. When we trust, only then can we put our mind aside and open up to the immense infinity we are connected to. Nothing can be taken from us… We cannot lose our real treasure.

Trusting that nothing is wrong… that everything is right, even though I FEEL like there is something out of alignment. Trust and take the leap, just do it.

Silence: Now is a very precious time. Rest inside. There is nothing to do, nowhere to go, and the quality of your inner silence permeates everything you do. It might make you uncomfortable, accustomed as you are to all the noise and activity of the world. Never mind; Seek out those who can resonate with your silence and enjoy your aloneness. Now is the time to come home to yourself.  The understanding and insights that come to you in these moments will be manifested later on, in a more outgoing phase of your life.

The understanding and insights that come to you in these moments will be manifested later on, in a more outgoing phase of your life. Wow.

Patience: We have forgotten how to wait. There are times when the only thing to do is to wait. The seed has been planted, the child is growing in the womb, the oyster is coating the grain of sand and making it into a pearl. This card reminds us that now is a time when all that is required is to be simply alert, patient, waiting….contented with no trace of anxiety.

So with this reading I see… my anxiety over if I am doing what I should be doing, or if I am spending my time in the best possible way, is really me not seeing that all is always as it should be.  This is a time for trusting in the silence and having patience in the manifestation of new vision.

<3

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Stage Door Series: Gallathea

I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the Gamut Theatre, as I am from Maryland and do not know much about Harrisburg, or many places in PA for that matter. As I opened the doors, any expectations I might have tried to create went out the window. This theatre was gorgeous and I was only in the lobby! I was graciously greeted by three lovely ladies as I paid my donation, hung my coat and was directed into the Capital BlueCross Lobby.

 

As I walked in all I could say was… whoa. I felt like I was in a movie. The audience was surrounding an open stage area, enjoying their drinks and snacks that were purchased at the bar. Being that I was by myself and didn’t really know what to expect, and the whole room was full, I caught my breath as I started to ask questions to the kind bartender Zane. He shared so much information with me, and was so knowledgeable about all that goes on at the theatre. I was totally surprised and totally excited to now know this place exists!

The play I had the pleasure of attending was Gallathea. This play was apart of the Stage Door Series which seeks to expand the reach of Gamut Theatre Group in its mission to preserve and perform classic stories.

The goal is the presentation of classical material in engaging and educational workshop productions, focused on streamlining the production experience to highlight the essential elements of theatre: the text, the story, the action, and the actors. Because of this, their shows are affordable and accessible to the audience through the motto, “Come as you are, pay what you will.”

Gallathea is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. The first record of the play’s performance was at Greenwich Palace on New Year’s Day, 1588 where it was performed before Queen Elizabeth I and her court by the Children of St Paul’s , a troupe of boy actors.

Before a trouser-wearing Viola swayed Illyrian hearts, before Rosalind dressed as Ganymede and wooed Orlando, before Puck used Cupid’s flower to wreak merry havoc, there was Gallathea. This 1588 gender-bending, love-affirming play by John Lyly is an Elizabethan rarity filled with gods (big and little), sea monsters, overprotective dads, enchanted nymphs, thwarted virgin sacrifices—and two cross-dressed girls who fall head over heels for one another and declare that…

love is love is love.

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My dear friend Joshua played the role of Tyterus… a loving father who disguises his beautiful daughter in order to save her life from Neptune. This opening scene set the stage for the entire play. Tyterus comes in with his daughter discussing the demands of Neptune and the need for the village to sacrifice a virgin every five years.  The virgin must be the fairest of them all, and is ordered to be tied to a tree so that Agar the sea monster would come and devour her for the good of the community. If they did not provide the fairest virgin, the village would be drowned by Neptune. This demand was payment for the destruction of Neptune’s temples many years before.

The tone was set.

I loved how the first scene was serious, and full of vital information for the rest of the play… and I loved not knowing anything about the play before seeing it. Paying attention to the details to uncover the plot. As the play went on, there were many laughs had, as well as some serious questions that could be posed about the theme of the story and how it relates to whats relevant today. Questions about Love vs Virtue, service to self vs. service to others, and perspectives. It was a beautiful reminder that love is love is love. <3

Francesca Amendolia was the fantastic director. The roles were cast in a way that added a level of depth to the story line, bringing it from the 1500’s into modern day, with an Elizabethan dialect, and I found it easy to follow along. I was thoroughly delighted, entertained, and curious watching this fantastic play!

Their last show is today at 2:30, if you’re free and in the Harrisburg PA area you should totally check it out!

If you’re interested in supporting the local arts, and theatre, a generous Gamut Theatre supporter and donor has offered to match every donation made to Gamut’s capital campaign (up to a total of $500) in honor of today’s performance of Gallathea.

Click here to Donate

<3

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Unicorn Birthday Painting Party

This past weekend I taught twelve 10 year old girls how to paint a unicorn! It was a blast! I love working with young adults who are eager to create. 

First we drew our unicorns using vine charcoal, and basic shapes. Each girl drew her own unicorn, and decided which colors they wanted to use. 

After unicorn was drawn, the girls painted their backgrounds which ever color they decided. Everyone learned to mix paint in order to create their desired colors. 

The final products were amazing! The girls were so excited they each named their  unicorns.  

It was such a pleasure to facilitate this creation party in celebration of an amazing girl named Avery. Thank you for letting me be apart of your special day!

Migwetch <3