Dedication of Mud Woman by Artist Roxanne Swentzell at DAM 10/10/201

I have recently become attached to Storyteller dolls of the Pueblo people.  Maybe I wishfully think that I am a storyteller myself and just like the association. Last year The Denver Art Museum added this large sculpture to greet patrons to its beautiful Native American Art collection.  The artist gave a  dedication at its unveiling.  Her words resonated such truth for everyone, and these few sentences seem to be the cornerstone of what I have been trying to present in the blog.  I gladly share her thoughts with you. 

This piece is dedicated:

To all who feel like they have lost a parent...someone who can hold your bonds of love and security...this piece is for you. 

To all who have lost a child and feel that love got stopped from entering the future... this piece is for you.   To all who feel sisterless or brotherless, who've forgotten the bonds of growing together, of sharing the world together through play and experience, this piece is for you.  

To all those who embrace All  life, knowing we are One, this piece comes from you.  

She came through your love and your prayers for life to continue in a good way.  This piece is dedicated to you.  

To all our parents and parents' parents, to all our brothers and sisters, to all our children and children's children, from every corner of the world...from the birds in the sky, to the fish in the oceans, from the highest peaks to the lowest deserts, we are One.   All our Relations, we are one held in the power of love, held in the arms of our mother we share, The Earth.  

Let us remember the dirt beneath our feet, the mud of our rivers, and the grass swaying in the breeze...  

Let us remember the our roots and our future, of our love and how we are loved.   Fresh waters, cleanse us.  Repined fruits fed us. Tall forests protect us.  Songbirds fill our ears with joy. We are loved by so much beauty, so much beauty all around..    

Mud Woman, speaks for us, now, from our hearts. Let us stand ready to listen. She speaks of timelessness and care, of nature and right place.   She has always been and always will be.  She sits here in the dirt and straw gathered up and formed together by many hands that gave her presence, so that we may remember what has always been and always will be, deep in our hearts.   

I ask that the spirit of our fathers bless through this song so that life may continue in a good way, the right way....

From Mother to Son

I had given this poem to Chris once, and then more recently passed it on to my youngest, Sam.

 I made it through the colic days and the multiple stitch stage.

 I thought I could claim success. You have survived, and quite well at that.

With a great deal of encouragement from both your father and me,

but mostly a task of your own doing, you have grown into a fine young man.

As a mother, I can do so little now.

I look back and think the past was such a breeze.

 THIS is the time to try a mother’s soul.

But, without a doubt, without a faltering thought,

I will always love you.

Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,

 I was the instrument that brought you to this world.

Your life is the reward of that sacrifice.

And what a wonderful reward you are!

I know deep in my heart and in the marrow of my bones

 that you will always treasure that “reward”

 by passing on to your family

 the same duty, honor, and love that has been given to you.

You know value.

And you are the most valuable thing you own:

A priceless asset, who I am proud to call my son.