It's been about five years since my Dad left this earth. His departure shocked me and shook me to the core of my being. Of kindred spirits, he was one of the closest. The current of mutual adoration running between us was so abruptly cut off, I was left disoriented and blind, suddenly lost…Read more Always (Love Never Ends)
hope
The Other Side
"The light that is hard won offers the greatest illumination. A gift wrestled from bleakness will often confer a sense of sureness and grounding of the self, a strengthening proportionate to the travail of its birth." Beauty by John O'Donohue, page 79.
The Bird Must Fly
It's the heart splayed, soul displayed feeling. Vulnerable, that's how it feels to walk into a new gallery with art in hand, even if you already know your piece is accepted into the show. And even more so in a new city. A new city, and yet an old city. I graduated from the University…Read more The Bird Must Fly
Arise (2)
Song of Solomon 2:10-13 “My beloved responded and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along. For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove…Read more Arise (2)
Arise
There you are, backed into a corner, walls closing in, ceiling compressing and floor heaving to meet it. Suffering has a way of whittling the world down into compact space with infinite feeling. Like a tiny dandelion in a vast open field, exposed. Like the deafening silence of lonely cries withheld in a crowded room, because no one will…Read more Arise
Photoshoots: behind-the-scenes
We have stories to tell, and photos powerfully weave layers of color and texture into a single view. My long-time friend and Pamba Toto business partner, Debbie, and I are newly impassioned to impart insight into our products and the artisans who make them. After visiting Kenya together last June, we are fully cognizant that there is…Read more Photoshoots: behind-the-scenes
Tend Your Soul
Recently I painted a friend's "safe place." Turbulent waters threaten her survival; and in her mind, she swims to a quiet, peaceful space to weep, dream, hope, and gain new strength before plunging back into the storm. Places possess power. Yesterday I wandered one of my own safe places, a prayer labyrinth buried deep in the…Read more Tend Your Soul
Huruma Means Mercy, Part 2
We leave the aching hope of the Mother Teresa compound for the teeming chaos of streets beyond. Now joining us – me; my Pamba Toto co-founder, business partner and dear friend, Debbie Lee; and her husband Brian - in the car is John, with a smile to shove back the darkest night. He directs us…Read more Huruma Means Mercy, Part 2
Kitengela
Fall down the rabbit hole. Slip through the looking glass. Tip toe across the hanging bridge. However it is you arrive, this is most certainly a magical “other” sort of place. With each step, my eyes open wider and my soul expands. Once over the swinging bridge, glass mosaic underfoot, like a hint of what…Read more Kitengela
For the Ragged and Beautiful
https://www.facebook.com/fragmentsoflight/videos/1283437661683835/ In 2002, my dear friend Nicole Gillin and I volunteered together with a small team serving at Mother Teresa's Home for Abandoned Children in Nairobi. We've never been the same. Last week we collaborated to create this dance to share our changed hearts at the Flourish 2016 Recital. Blessed Are the Peacemakers Blessed…Read more For the Ragged and Beautiful
Colleen Briggs Images & Writing 