Category Archives: Artwork

Liquid Amber Bonsai

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With Fall just around the corner, I thought that I would share a few images of my liquid amber bonsai.

I once had a massive liquid amber tree in the front yard. One year, one of its seeds found its way into a pot with only dirt in it. This is what it looked like in Fall 2011. I did absolutely nothing – it was all voluntary.

Keep in mind that a liquid amber tree will grow like mad. If you want to keep it like a bonsai tree, trimming and re-potting will be required.

Here’s the tree in Fall 2012. I had to do a bit of shaping of the branches during the Winter. Fortunately for me, my father was a bonsai enthusiast for more than 35 years, so I picked up a few tips.

This is the tree in Fall 2016. The trunk has gotten bigger and I did transplant it into a new ceramic pot. I will show you how that is done in a future post.

Let’s jump to Spring 2021. The tree was just beginning to really leaf out.

It’s really full with leaves this year, so the Fall colors should be amazing. I am going to have to wait another month to find out.

Here’s the tree later in the Fall – so beautiful!

I always look forward to Fall. For me, it’s the best season of the year!

Star Medal Dream Earrings

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Whenever I have a dream that I feel is significant, I try to bring an idea or product back from the dream to the waking state. I learned about this concept from reading Dr. Patricia Garfield’s books and her work with the Senoi dreamers of the Peninsular Malaysia.

One example of an idea I brought back from a dream is a pair of Star Medal Dream Earrings. I had them made up by a jeweler. Here is one of the earrings.

I’d like to share the dream with you. This is not a recent dream, but one which I had many years ago.

“Wandering through the Oregon woods, I came across a 1930ish style town.  The entire town was having some sort of a celebration, perhaps religious.

I overheard a woman asking where is the medal that her boyfriend had sent her from France.  At that moment, a little girl standing next to her says she is so happy that Jesus has given her a star.  She says that the star medal makes her little baby brother very happy.  He smiles all the time when she shows him the medal, even though he has been sick.  The little girl knows she has something special.

Somehow, I found out that this medal was made centuries ago from the star that led the three Wisemen to Christ’s birthplace.  The night following Christ’s birth, the star burned out and fell to Earth.  What was left of the star was recovered by a craftsman and fashioned into the Star Medal.

The Star Medal has gone through countless changing of hands, and now winds up in this backwards town in Oregon.”

It was a very powerful dream and I have had several others related to it over the years.

Here is the dream image that I sketched when I awoke from the dream, and ultimately gave to the jeweler.

He put the design into his CAD program and a day later sent me this image.

I thought that they looked amazing and said, “Please make them,” and he did.

Dreams are and can be very powerful. Respect them and always try to understand what their meaning has in your life. You will not be disappointed in your effort.