The Art of Kate Dardine

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Storyteller

7/23/2018 2:08:50 PM
by Kate Dardine

"The story teller makes no choice. Soon you will not hear his voice;
His job is to shed light, and not to master." 

                                - Robert Hunter

 

 

 

In June, my husband and I took a three week trip to California. On the way there and back, we camped at Freemont Indian State Park in Utah. We were able to stay in one of their tipis, a wonderful experience. At night, the wind came in waves through the canyon; you could hear it approaching before it hit the tipi, causing the poles to creak in a rhythmic dance. Sitting by our campfire, with the flames casting undulating shadows in the trees, we felt the presence of all those who came before us.
In the morning, we hiked up the sandstone canyon, into narrow openings in the walls, where the air was cool and still. We hiked along trails that led to petroglyphs inscribed over 11,000 years ago by the ancient peoples who called this area home.

There is something amazing about touching the rocks and feeling the indentations of the pictures. Animals that looked like bighorn sheep, deer and dogs. Human like figures. To think that these messages from 11,000 years ago have withstood the battering of elements is really mind-blowing. I felt, standing there, that in some incomprehensible way, those ancient people remain with us, not as the past, but here, in the present. To those that will listen, they have a message.

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The Ancient One

7/22/2018 1:53:24 PM
by Kate Dardine

My young grandson told me the figure in the painting was scary.

"Do not fear the ancient", I said to the boy.

 

"But it looks so evil and makes me afraid."

 

That our current culture identifies the devil with a horned or antlered figure, that "he" is often pictured with cloven hooves and a tail has it's roots in an attempt by Christianity to associate animistic gods with evil. Animism is the belief of ancient peoples that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork and perhaps even words—as animated and alive.

 

"Do not fear their wisdom, they mean you no harm. They're here to help us to remember who we are because we've lost our way."

 

In this painting, the Ancient One is both Human and Deer. The antlers are like antennae, picking up on signals from beyond our Human knowledge. The walking stick holds a crystal, glowing red. The color red has the longest wavelength in the visible color spectrum. It is also the visible light nearest to infrared in the electromagnetic spectrum. The color red is associated with the 1st chakra, often called the base chakra or the root chakra. In the chakra system an imbalance in the root chakra can leave you feeling insecure, depressed, angry or fearful.

 

It is my feeling that our dear earth is imbalanced, as there seems to be an imbalance of insecurity, depression, anger and fear. The Ancient One brings us ancient wisdom to help incorrect these imbalances, and return us to a state of balance.

 

 

 

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