Getting ready for the "Intimate Dream Collective" group art show this February at the Lier House in Penticton. I will be displaying a series of three paintings portraying the process of healing from rape in a celebration of the physical form and expressions of love and passion.   Here's a sneak peak at the paintings still in the works by me, Janette Damsma. www.bluedragonmedicine.com
​

There once was a time when words were easy
Not a thought or a care to fear;  misinterpretation, dehumanization, slander, spite, incarceration
There once was a time when my nature flowed free
When I swam like the fishes and buzzed like the bees
And so the words have grown in me, grotesque, like a mutant inside
The sludge of fear a breeding ground for chaos to reside
And so the words have cut my flesh to seek the nearest route
Amid the darkened cesspool stirring; hurry up, go on, GET OUT!


There once was a time when love was easy
Not a thought or a care to fear; objectification, exploitation, detained, controlled, contamination
There once was a time when my passion flowed free
When I purred like the kittens and bowed like the trees
And so the love has stayed in me, alone, a quivering leaf
Beneath the millpond of my sorrow, drowning in a pool of grief
And so the love has seeped into my veins; a gruelling route
Creeping through my bloodied memories; help me, save me, LET ME OUT! 


There once was a time when dance was easy
Not a thought or a care to fear; degradation, abomination, stalking, lusting, ostracization 
There once was a time when my body flowed free
When I flew like the angels and rolled like the seas
And so the dance has stopped in me, frozen, a sculpture of ice
My arms and legs now petrified, bound to this unmoving vice 
And so the dance falls victim here, a frigid stone it's deadened route
Enough now, prisoners of my mind!  It's time to move, get up, GET OUT! 




​

Skulls and Bones Christmas Auction bidding is NOW OPEN. To bid on one of these magnificent art pieces, place your bid in the comment section below the item's main photo which displays the item name and minumum bid. Bidding will close on Sunday December, 20th at 11am. The highest bidder will then be contacted to arrange payment and delivery. Payments can be made via paypal, e-transfer, Visa, Mastercard, cash or cheque. Purchased items can be picked up in the South Okanagan, or will be delivered to the Vancouver area over the holidays, or can be shipped for an extra charge.  Follow the link to go to the Skulls and Bones Christmas Auction album to place your bids.
https://www.facebook.com/janettedamsma/media_set?set=a.10153650944645673.1073741890.702495672&type=3&pnref=storyHappy bidding!! ♥ Janette

If you do not use facebook but would like to bid on an item, please feel free to send me an email or give me a call and I will keep you in the bidding loop.  Starting bids for most pieces are $300, other than the large orange Moose Skull which is starting at $450. 

I wrote this one a while back but felt it correspond with my mood and with what is going on around us in the world today. 

THE TASTE OF WAR

Feeling an unsettling deep inside
A fiery churning which I recognize
As the taste of war. 

So what can I do here?
I cannot hide
Telling me to live in fear
But this is a lie.
I remember a dark force conspiring in me
Whispering this lie as a pre-teen in hiding
In the camper in our back yard;
Hiding from my mother, a phone call, a guy.
There was nothing to hide from
It was this same lie
The war that I felt was only inside
Inside two conflicting states of mind
One love, one war
Time to leave war behind.

I went to bed soundly with a needing for sleep
Thinking that the war that I tasted would diminish with my drifting
Woke to find that the taste was stronger;
Gunshots blaring from the TV below
Not in my own wilderness home
Waking from a dream where war was happening, too
Reminding me precisely of what I can do
To rid myself now of the taste of this war
Remember.  Recognize.
Point out the lies
Watch as they fall away like they do
When I recognize them
Leaving only what's true.
Saying hello to the taste of war
Watching the turn from hello to goodbye
Well wishes, understanding
No more tears from my eyes
Thanking the lies; they teach me well
Eyes wide open and hands open, too
Open to receive God, open to give
Open to see Truth, daring to live
Open to rise with My Self inside
Open to feel love, choosing what's mine
Feeling my purpose, knowing what's true
Acting my wisdom, sharing with You
Telling my story, sending out light
Lighting my whole world, choosing what's right
Acting with mindfulness, being what's me
ALL LIGHT AND BEAUTY
changing… Free ~

Janette Damsma

Grasping, clinging, desperate, falling
Hoping, seeking, falling, crawling
Hiding, masking, acting, playing
Spying, hiding, crying, blaming

Looking, watching, dare revealing
Missing, waiting, asking, kneeling
Giving, blushing, seeing, feeling
Changing, growing, learning, healing.


​

Rebel is a large gelding who I am working with.  He had the misfortune as a young colt to have a rope halter placed around his head that was never removed or adjusted, causing his skull to grow around it.  As a yearling he had the fortune of having this rope sawed off, and has since been very nervous about having his ears and face touched; he is called head shy, and rightly so.  
​i have a theory that says our words hold energy that can be interpreted by mere vibration, and so I like to talk to my animals, although they may not speak the language, I think that the energetic exchange of words is able to offer some level of mutual understanding.
I did not know at first why Rebel was so head shy.  When I learned the history it made perfect sense and I felt grief for him for having endured such painful constriction, and for having his ability to trust compromised because of it.  I spoke consolations to him the next time I approached with the halter, that I'm so sorry for what had happened to him, and I promised him; it's never going to hurt like that again.  After I said those things, for the first time he allowed me to place the halter over his ears without flinching.  Each time since then he will only accept the halter once I have said these things to him, for two days now.  Soon enough I will stop saying the words but still hold the energy of them while I place the halter, and soon enough, no need for any thought about it at all. 

I, Janette Sarah Anne Damsma, will be speaking this Sunday, November 8, at the Metaphysical  Society in Penticton, topic; The Holographic Universe.