Magical Island Mysteries

“My wings will not be common
but those of an extraordinary nature…”

Since red is my favorite color, I was rather feverishly excited to conjure up this fantasy of red feathers.  Because the Scarlet Macaw is the most exotic of red feathered birds, it could not be missed as the next bird wing design in my Fantasy Wings Collection. Lending itself to nothing less than a tropical theme, the bold colors along with their primal nature speak all too familiar of our subconscious ideal of island living.

Visual details and layout of the full, draping wingspan are seen in the oversized long scarf in order to view the grand scale.  The square scarf takes a more focused rainforest view and encompasses natural ordered chaos in fluttering feathered wildlife.

Pair the square scarf as a dress-wrapped sarong

with the long scarf as a shawl wrap

Creating an outfit using both scarf shapes personifies the look and leisurely essence of stylish island attire.  Especially with these exotic red feathers.  While one scarf acts as a sarong by tying it as a top, dress, or skirt, the other acts as an accent accessory or shawl.  Or, it might be tied as a coordinating top to a sarong-wrapped skirt.  What’s so terrific about scarves, is you can be as creative as you want in the way you tie or drape them. Each invention creating multiple outfits with just a single scarf or two.

Thank you, my beautiful Samoan muse, for these gorgeous photos.

The epitome of island beauty.

Now, how’s that for daydreaming and fantasies?  After seeing these beautiful photographs, if you didn’t conjure up dozens of visions of yourself living in a tropical paradise, just like I did, then scroll back, take a breath, and look again.  You clearly weren’t focused.  Ok, isn’t that better?  You’re much more relaxed as you envision a lifestyle of significant beauty, peace, and nurturing leisure.

There’s strong “magic” in fantasies and daydreams.

So powerful it pricks the universe in such a way to attract and manifest that which feeds our soul and nourishes our everyday life.  I don’t know exactly what it’s like to live on a remote tropical island, but my imagination takes me to a place that I cherish and savor for its quiet ocean breeze, its exotic color, and its languishing tides.  Perhaps it’s the collective consciousness of artists like Gauguin who guide us with utopian yearnings for serene, streaming creativity.  And so, the fantasies flow with each mental image and flood the universe with magnetic sparks of attraction.

The Magic of Serendipity 

This is a tale of two women who unwittingly sparked an ethereal, yet familiar law of attraction, each within her own personal quest for beauty.

And in that magical, soulful, mental evolution, two defining points jumped time and space to make a universal connection.  I’ll start by emphasizing the magic of serendipity… law of attraction…  providence… or if we must, for the sake of argument, just simply call it chance or coincidence… Whatever it’s called, a driving energy, a divining force, pulsates within all living things, thoughts, and deeds across the cosmos just as the energy of atoms attract to create solid matter.  Within that concept, there are no pure coincidences.

The first sight of this gracious and gorgeous woman’s photos wearing her new scarves stopped me in my tracks.  Her presence, the imagery, the pose, the model, the tropical background…ALL significantly mirrored my ongoing subconscious mental image while I was creating the design.  From the colors I chose, to the gestures within the composition, to the visual texture of the design itself, THIS woman had been my subliminal, cosmic muse.

And this design was clearly created specifically for “her” so that all others might also appreciate it’s final beauty.

It was first just a vision.  For both of us.  Then, it found its way into the world of reality, a solid spectacle of beauty.  The ultimate presence of art.  And there’s a remarkable story of undeniable connection, patience, and gratitude within that process.

You’ve heard how I envisioned and created the design…and how I view the creative process as connected to a universal life force.  But you do not yet know how this beautiful muse from Samoa came into reality by unwittingly connecting with an artist’s cosmic inner vision.

One day I received an email from a woman in Samoa who wanted to purchase my two macaw scarves.  My heart skipped a beat!  Samoa.  My mind raced with the visions and daydreams of tropical paradise I’d had just months before.  Of all the places my art lives, not one piece had yet found a home on a remote tropical island…no matter how fitting it would be.  Until now.

The problem she faced was USPS shipping and also hoped we could work out another way.

“I live in Samoa.  Normally I post my items to an address in American Samoa, as it is part of the US postal system.  Lately, those items haven’t arrived because of USPS.

I smiled because we have ALL had some sort of trouble with the US postal system at one time, or more, and immediately began investigating other shipping options.  There was certainly a huge learning curve for even the smallest of packages when mailing to remote locations instead of major international destinations.

Mainly, the cost was well beyond the price of goods when using any of the other shippers.  After much digging I was able to find a discount shipping consolidator (for all those main carriers) whose process was more flexible and simple, and, their rates were significantly lower.  Armed with information and a strong desire to get my work into “paradise,” I presented a plan to my new friend, Jane.  After much exchange of details, we finalized the purchase and placed her shipping on hold for a later date.

In the meantime, Jane planned to acquire a community post office address in American Samoa where her package could be delivered, processed for customs, picked up by another member, and then, finally setting up local shipping to forward the package to Samoa. We used the American Samoa post office only as a destination address point for further processing.   All this was expected to take a month or more.  At this juncture, the cosmos was thick with both our fervent desires to make a connection.

Hers, which I so much later learned, was in marking a milestone event in her life.  And mine, most bluntly, was to have my most exotic, tropical artwork find a home in an exotic, tropical paradise.  And with a collector who seemingly desired to own it as powerfully as I desired to get it to her!  From an artist’s point of view, that’s magic made in heaven.

Her sparks began with a desire to mark her 50th birthday with a special gift to herself.  And to have it arrive artistically gift wrapped for the occasion. That would give her an experience of actually opening a birthday gift, albeit to herself, rather than just unboxing a special purchase.  To have both, extends the pleasure of receiving a special gift even if it is from yourself.   Such a nurturing idea.  I wish I had thought of it.  But I give all credit to Jane.

I don’t know the fine details of Jane’s story:  how she found me, what kind of searches or shopping she performed, what kind of items was she even looking for, exactly where she saw my work, how she decided on those pieces as her special “gift to self.”  Yet, I do know that her soulful desires connected with me somewhere within the planning process so she would have an opportunity to chance upon my work.

You see, she had to find me for the magic to happen.  And I’m completely spellbound that she did because this artwork was clearly and subconsciously made for her.  There is no better match, color or design to capture her tropical feminine beauty.

Of all the women in the entire world, this is not only one that now owns my Scarlet Macaw scarves, but…

… also lives on an exotic island
… and so generously sent expert photos of herself modeling them
… which happen to significantly mirror my original creative vision

They are…

… with the person for which they appear to be made
… and are exactly where these pieces belong…

Strictly chance?  Oh, not by my extra-sensory preceptors. Each piece of the process, each step of the way, was so perfectly timed and connected between us as the weeks passed by which included learning that I had unknowingly sent a communication to her right on the day of her birthday. I can imagine nothing other than serendipity.

Sparing the mundane details, our quest began in mid-March with Jane’s email. By June we had a shipping address, a local package handler, and “reasonable” shipping arrangements from the USA ready to go.  By mid-August, the package had finally cleared American Samoa customs and was shipped to it’s final destination (well past Jane’s birthday).  It finally arrived safe and sound just in time for her ocean voyage which I’m sure is all part of this year’s grand milestone celebration.

“Samoa is a parallel universe. Mail here moves like capricious ocean waves.  Just when you think it’s been lost to sea, it sorts itself out and rolls in with the tide.

All is well and the package arrived! The scarves are quite lovely. Thank you so much for the beautiful gifts!

Everything arrived with perfect timing. I knew they would come before I left Samoa. I’m off to sea now for an ocean odyssey. Thank you for outfitting this glorious time in my life.

I am in humble appreciation.

No, my dear friend.  It is me who is humbled by your appreciation of my art, your tenacity and patience in finding and acquiring my work, and your divine beauty in the generous gift of such fine photos.   I so deeply thank you and wish you much continued love, beauty, and joy.

So my dear Art Lovers, in closing, “Don’t forget to spread a little magic wherever you go.”

Serendipity is waiting to happen to you.