My feet are barely on the ground in Anchorage, yet I must have left my heart in Cushendall… we must have taken thousands of photos when we were there, as well as a lot of video footage, so please forgive me if I go on a bit.

I felt drawn to the tower niche. I could have painted a horse, as I learned that horses used to drink from the fountain that was there, but something else came forth.

After Anda and I washed and scrubbed it clean and added potted pansies from Spar Market, I painted a “chimney pot” scene and a sky behind it, all on cardboard. It kept evolving for the month, with the phases of the moon becoming a theme. Here are some photos of the niche, which document the promise I made to myself to keep attending to it the entire time we were in the tower.

…Inspires

It’s up! Go to the top bar to access the stop-motion animation we completed on site in Cushendall.

There are numerous sacred sites in Northern Ireland and Ireland. We saw only a few of these. For me, they were a highlight of our trip. Here are the ones we visited, including one in London very close to the hotel we stayed in.

Zippy drove us to the Beaghmore Stone Circles– a two hour drive on narrow, winding roads typical of Northern Ireland. The stone circles are dated at 2000-1200 BC. They might be ancient, but the energy I felt radiating in the area was highly vibrant. In Hindu mythology, the white cow is associated with the goddess (Parvati). The white cow is also the symbol of more than one form of the goddess in Celtic mythology.

Layd Church was initially built on the site in the 1600’s, but it is said to have been a sacred site much earlier than that.

Raymond led us to Oisin’s Grave, which is within walking distance of the tower, and close to where he lives.

I was immediately taken by the imposing presence of St. Paul’s Cathedral. “Long before Christianity arrived in Britain, Ludgate Hill was already a sacred site. It is believed that it was originally the site of an ancient megalith and then later a temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, in alignment with the Apollo Temple which once stood at Westminster.”(http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/london-st-pauls-cathedral)

The Thames might not be considered a sacred site, but in my mind it has always been one of the mighty rivers of the world, so I was thrilled to finally be walking by it and over it.

Since today is Brian’s birthday, I thought I’d do a recap of his time in Cushendall. Did he behold the magic of Cushendall, make art, and find new friends? Pictures speak louder than words!

Session at Johnny Joe’s