Description: I really had problems with the photography on this LO. I wish I could get it clearer, but at this point, this is best it gets. I can't get the picture straight. This LO is a tribute to my grandmother and her favorite sister. I wanted to combine a natural sunset (which my grandmother loved) and my American Indian heritage. I tried hard not to be too cliché. Fire and smoke is very important in my culture. Smoke billowing upward from the fire is considered the messenger carrying prayers to The Creator and our ancestors. I tried to create a smoke effect with the white paint. I wanted the LO to feel like a vision or when you sit around a fire or watch the clouds and see shapes and images form in the smoke or cloud billows. I still have a strong spiritual connection with my grandmother. I feel she still leads and guides me through my journey and helps to guide me toward Good Medicine.

I started with a patterned paper. Next, I created numerous square and circular patterns by masking with paint and ink, distressed and added a few embellishments.

The journaling is prayer giving thanks it reads and follows:

O Great One,
We come before you in a humble manner,
offering what gifts we have,
Giving Thanks for the gift of life that we have been given
Amidst the beauty of this Great Creation,
So that we may learn to walk the path of Good Medicine as we give thanks to each of the Four Directions:
To the spirit of Fire/Sun in the East,
To the spirit of Earth in the South,
To the spirit of Water in the West
To the spirit of Wind in the North.
We give thanks to Mother Earth and to the Sacred Fire,
Which burns brightly in our hearts,
Offering us precious gifts
Of clarity, openness, strength and wisdom
As we walk the path of peace.
We give thanks to all our relations
And for the beauty of all things,
For those who have come before,
And those yet to come.
In harmony and balance,
We give Thanks,
O Great One,
We give thanks.
Wah doh.