Ashartwork & words
by Duncan C. Mason
art & artistry & philosophy & inspiration & whimsy & wonder & nature
In traditional cultures the shaman, the medicine woman, the witch doctor, perform
the role of healer, counsellor, psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist or seer.
This role in society is often taken up by people who are, to a greater or lesser extent,
different from the rest - loners, visionaries, outcasts.
This series of paintings is the result of wondering where in the great chain of being
the medicine man (or woman) stands.
What is the relationship between the shaman & the angel?
And is the artist too a kind of shaman?
The Medicine Angel series was painted while living
above Wood Lake in the Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada.
You can see the view from my studio in the first
painting in the series (NightBear) - those are Ponderosa pines.
The paintings are all
acrylic (some sand) on canvas
24x36 (61cm x 91.5cm) or 30x40 (76cm x 102cm)
You can download a pdf of the book by clicking on the title below:
A hardcover book is available at:
http://www.blurb.com/b/168602-medicine-angel
NightBear
Nightbear, jester, holy fool,
reminder of what men choose to forget,
bearer of the sacred rattle, the healing feather.
Lake power, stone power, crystal shaman,
the thoughts of tomorrow speeding spinal
from base to crown,
breaking into a new day
from an old way.
NightBear
Nightbear, jester, holy fool,
reminder of what men choose to forget,
bearer of the sacred rattle, the healing feather.
Lake power, stone power, crystal shaman,
the thoughts of tomorrow speeding spinal
from base to crown,
breaking into a new day
from an old way.
Shaman Wearing a White Man Mask
The blood is red
beneath the skin.
The skin is red,
brown, black, white, yellow.
Heartbeat
sacred drum
four sacred directions,
one burning heart:
I am the fire in my lodge of stars.
Shaman Wearing a White Man Mask
The blood is red
beneath the skin.
The skin is red,
brown, black, white, yellow.
Heartbeat
sacred drum
four sacred directions,
one burning heart:
I am the fire in my lodge of stars.
ShamansDance
Shamandance,
ancient calling,
pulling thunder
from the sky.
Walking on water
dancing through flame,
searching for the name,
the unspoken syllables
of our calling - home.
ShamansDance
Shamandance,
ancient calling,
pulling thunder
from the sky.
Walking on water
dancing through flame,
searching for the name,
the unspoken syllables
of our calling - home.
In the Crying Desert
Dark night of the soul,
crystal mountains of memory,
shards of memory,
the past pulls downwards through quicksand time.
But the heart,
opening to the healing sun,
draws the fragment
from the wound.
In the Crying Desert
Dark night of the soul,
crystal mountains of memory,
shards of memory,
the past pulls downwards through quicksand time.
But the heart,
opening to the healing sun,
draws the fragment
from the wound.
The Acquisition of Healing Hands
Wounded healer,
silent seeker,
chasing thunder.
The gifts of solitude:
lightning in the palm of the hand,
an empty ocean full of cold love
soothing ancient fires... love’s storm.
The Acquisition of Healing Hands
Wounded healer,
silent seeker,
chasing thunder.
The gifts of solitude:
lightning in the palm of the hand,
an empty ocean full of cold love
soothing ancient fires... love’s storm.
The Lessons of Solitude
Solitude,
vision quest,
rest.
Silence:
friends lost,
love gone.
The aching heart and the floating lily
sustained by invisible root,
the iris by invisible stem.
The Lessons of Solitude
Solitude,
vision quest,
rest.
Silence:
friends lost,
love gone.
The aching heart and the floating lily
sustained by invisible root,
the iris by invisible stem.
No, Man is an Island
The silence
is broken
by birdsong
and the aching heart,
redeemed by Her voices,
choices,
chooses water,
standing firm
on ancient limbs,
begins again to see
from the heart.
No, Man is an Island
The silence
is broken
by birdsong
and the aching heart,
redeemed by Her voices,
choices,
chooses water,
standing firm
on ancient limbs,
begins again to see
from the heart.
GhostEagle
Transforming
in buffalo robes
of forest green,
birthing eagles
from nests of memory.
Full moon calls & the ghosteagle
flies from my heart
to the heart of the sun,
palms pouring water,
soles drawing
lightning gifts.
GhostEagle
Transforming
in buffalo robes
of forest green,
birthing eagles
from nests of memory.
Full moon calls & the ghosteagle
flies from my heart
to the heart of the sun,
palms pouring water,
soles drawing
lightning gifts.
Spirit Dancer
Spirit dancer, singing healer
stardust stealer,
Omsong hearer,
Call down lightning,
Conquer time,
Transform eternity
into rhyme.
Spirit Dancer
Spirit dancer, singing healer
stardust stealer,
Omsong hearer,
Call down lightning,
Conquer time,
Transform eternity
into rhyme.
Lotus
No longer human,
what will we be?
Eye single, heart lotus,
small mountainsong?
Bearing gifts with no giver,
Singing songs with no singer.
Walking softly
on pure water?
Healing angels
in the depths of time?
Lotus
No longer human,
what will we be?
Eye single, heart lotus,
small mountainsong?
Bearing gifts with no giver,
Singing songs with no singer.
Walking softly
on pure water?
Healing angels
in the depths of time?
Thangka for a New Age
Threshold breaker,
earth shaker,
sky spanner,
singer from the depths of time,
Stepping into this moment
from the timeless,
Bringing stardust and pollen
from skycenter.
Thangka for a New Age
Threshold breaker,
earth shaker,
sky spanner,
singer from the depths of time,
Stepping into this moment
from the timeless,
Bringing stardust and pollen
from skycenter.
RiverSinger
RiverSinger,
shamangel,
bringing gifts from the mountain snow
to the valley below,
belly full of salmon,
mind full of stars.
Heartsong, thunderbird,
four sacred directions in sacred skin:
black, white, brown, yellow.
Palms pouring truth
- Life is Water.
RiverSinger
RiverSinger,
shamangel,
bringing gifts from the mountain snow
to the valley below,
belly full of salmon,
mind full of stars.
Heartsong, thunderbird,
four sacred directions in sacred skin:
black, white, brown, yellow.
Palms pouring truth
- Life is Water.
The two paintings below are not part of the Medicine Angel series
(in fact they were only painted in 2012);
however, they have a similar 'feel'.
On the left, Moss, & on the right, Lily, both West Coast shamans.
* * *
* *
*
Sky Hermit
A begging bowl,
beads for prayer,
herbs to soothe my hunger,
a quiet cave to ease my lonely heart
acrylic on canvas board
A begging bowl,
beads for prayer,
herbs to soothe my hunger,
a quiet cave to ease my lonely heart
.jpg)
*
