Farewell Sedona

My days in Sedona are drawing to a close. I'll be leaving tomorrow for the airport in Phoenix to make it to a friend's wedding. Vision Questing will continue when I return to Phoenix on May 27th.
A couple days ago I went for a hike though the "Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness" (really-that's what it's called!). The West Fork Trail goes along Oak Creek through Oak Creek Canyon, averaging at about 1,000 ft. down into the canyon. It was absolutely spectacular.
The smells, the majestic rock shooting up like great walls of carved
bone or marble all venetian red; I was definitely in one of the Lands of Faerie. It was so nourishing to spend some real time frolicking in nature. Painting in nature is an intimate and gratifying experience, but you are working, and usually sitting or standing. It was good to run and leap and explore wildly.


A notable part of the adventure was a field of the most interesting...webs. At least that's what your eyes tricked you to think at first, but on the double take ('cause they're too big to be spider webs), you find that they're really sacs with MASSIVE CATERPILLAR-LOOKING THINGS squirming around inside.
No one else on the trail knew what they were, though there were some very hornet-looking insects seeming to keep guard just in that area; or maybe they were feasting? I've never heard of hornets evolving from caterpillars...anyone have any clues?


I made a friend: Austin. He was headed for the full depth of the canyon-14 miles, and was planning to take 4 days to backpack in and back. I tagged along like a little puppy, asking him question after question about how he prepared himself for his venture; I was incredibly envious. His pack weighed maybe 40 lbs., with stove, tent, sleeping bag, food, fishing gear and clothes all magically stuffed inside. A modern day (male) Mary Poppins.

I've mostly finished two 24"x 36" paintings of Sedona's breath-taking red rock, as well as a poster for the music festival, "Womansong" put on by the brilliant singer songwriter Amanda West. I am lucky enough to be invited as Guest Artist for this event by the Big Sur Spirit Garden, and am planning for it to be the first show of the work from this trip when I get back (mark your calendar: 8/15! Come hear/see: http://www.myspace.com/amandawestmusic). I have also nearly finished a business card design for a client (and dear friend:) ), and will be done with a website piece for webmaster Keith Garrett (he built my website: http://shivanirajan.com.) This is part of a series of sites he's producing-they'll be gorgeous and very full of pithy mind-fodder.

This time has been grounding, full of discipline and hard work, and incredibly freeing. Last night I was sitting on the little swing outside on the porch listening to the crickets, looking out to the chapel close to the house. I never did go there, but just the sight of it is beautiful and gives some sense of peace and reflection, whatever one's faith (or non-faith).

Words are so small no matter the cleverness of their arrangement; when it comes to expressing the magnitude of what I have to be grateful for, I just have to let it play through my heart to my face, and smile it out.
Bye for now, will post more once I return to Arizona.