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Celtic Suite
Land's End - Brendan's Voyage - Imbolc
Land's End
This piece came about following a trip to Klaloch (Kalaloch) Lodge on one of the farthest western points of the Washington coastline on the Pacific Ocean. I rose up in the middle of the night in our cabin and walked outside to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the beach. Above me was the full panoply of the milky way undisturbed by ambient urban light and below absolutely clear by starlight only were the endless white breakers pounding against the shore. I have always felt that the shoreline between land and sea was a great frontier between two different worlds. On this night in particular, given the breathtaking beauty of the scene and the magical quality of the moment, I sensed that I was literally standing at "land's end" the portal between worlds. This was further driven home by our sighting earlier in the day in the same place of two gray whales breaching out beyond the far tidal rocks.
Brendan's
Voyage
In quest of the Earthly Paradise. Engraving, 1621
I have always been fascinated by the idea of Pre- Colombian voyages to North America. St. Brendan's oyage being attributed to taking place in the sixth century and in nothing more substantial than a wooden framed boat covered in seal skins is of particular significance in terms of both courage and faith. With this piece I could not help but visualize the vessel surging across the tops of waves in a full wind with the intrepid ST. Brendan at the helm.
Imbolc (The Quickening of the Earth)
Imbolc was one of the four great festivals and ceremonies in ancient Celtic cultures that celebrated and sanctified the cycle of the changing of the seasons. Imbolc, which was celebrated in February, was literally for the purpose of sanctifying the quickening of the earth, the latent but soon to be released energy of life flowing within the soil that would bring forth the crops following the planting of grains and other food producing plants. I tried to convey a sense of immanence and soon to be released overwhelming power through the celebration of this most vital holy day
