Mystical Musings
{New Painting} Covenant of the Species
“The Divine communicates to us primarily through the language of the natural world. Not to hear the natural world is not to hear the Divine.” -Thomas Berry, The Sacred Universe
In 2024, I began hearing about the kinship between red knot, the migratory shorebird, and horseshoe crab. First through the Southern Environmental Law Center’s (SELC) summer newsletter featuring an insightful article by South Carolina-based ornithologist J Drew Lanham. Around the same time, I heard mention of these beings in an interview or presentation with two well-known naturalist writers. The universe got my attention and thus sparked my interest in learning about this sacred contract, or covenant, between two species mediated by the moon—inspiring “Covenant of the Species” above.
You can hear red knot sing here.
Every spring, red knot makes a nearly 10,000 mile migration from the tip of South America to their Arctic breeding grounds. On their journey, they stop on or near the full moon to feed on millions of horseshoe crab eggs—primarily in the Delaware Bay—bulking up their body weight and allowing them to continue on their yearly pilgrimage. As a kid, I remember seeing horseshoe crabs along New England beaches not knowing they are one of the oldest living creatures on our planet having first appeared 250 millions year ago! In addition to being hunted for bait, they also have a blue blood, the color of the sky in my painting, that is being sourced by pharmaceutical companies ($60,000 per gallon) for life-saving drugs and vaccines.
Thankfully, more awareness of this ancient covenant between two species is coming to awareness and there are some protections in place for now. The red knot has been listed as threatened on the Endangered Species Act but is also in a precarious position with warming temperatures. If they should arrive too early or too late, they could miss the opportunity to feed and with ice caps melting in the Arctic, climate change would likely impact their survival.
What does an ethics of care look like as we navigate a changing world? What is our duty to protect what is wild and precious? As our world heats up, fires burn around across the globe, and the current administration continues to strip protection of endangered species, there is an urgent need to speak up for our creatures, those who can not speak for themselves. This is my hope and my prayer for this sacred art. May it be so.
The Divine is communicating to us through the natural world, to quote Berry. Are we listening?
{Sneak Peek} Grief & Praise: My Spiritual & Creative Memoir
“Only in the realm of Praising should Lament walk.” -Rilke
Thirty-six years ago today I was in Papeete, Tahiti (a bonus from the design firm I was working for at the time) when my mother died suddenly from heart failure. I returned home the next day to find her gone. Poof. Nine months after my brother. Her memorial was July 5th. Since then, the July 4th holiday has has always been shrouded in her memory even as the years have lessened my grief.
It seems appropriate for me to unveil the memoir that I have been working on for nearly as long. It is still in process, but I’ve made enough progress (thanks to many writing groups over the years) that I feel confident it will become a reality. I’ll be posting pieces on Substack soon. Though feeling vulnerable, I hope that sharing my story will as always inspire others on their journey and support creativity and healing—personally and collectively.
A SYNOPSIS:
At 29, I couldn’t know when sitting next to my brother’s bed as he lay dying from AIDS that my life was about to be shattered and that nothing would never be the same again. This is a soul journey that began with an early artistic impulse as the youngest of five children growing up in a small New Hampshire town that became overshadowed by the tumultuous decade of the 1960s. Later Florida’s lush, sensuous landscape, deepened my creative spirit, leading me to study art before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in graphic design.
After a disastrous start that tested my faith, I landed a position with a design firm specializing in travel. But in just two short years, I was plunged into the dark night of the soul after the deaths of my brother followed by the sudden deaths of my best friend and beloved mother over a nine-month period. A descent of soul that nearly destroyed me, it was a mythic journey into the underworld, and I would eventually return with a renewed vision for my life.
Art saved me. Painting my heart on the canvas, reading my brother’s journals, and a compassionate therapist who could bear witness to my suffering, would usher in a spiritual awakening that set in motion a new life in Portland, Oregon—one rich with creativity, art, community, and meaning. In 2002, following the thread of this soul calling brought me to a ten-day training with environmental activist Joanna Macy that was a profound homecoming to my ecological self. I returned committed to serving the healing of our world and founded Sacred Art Studio in 2003.
A story of love, loss, art, and resilience, this deeply personal journey follows a heartfelt path through grief toward healing—for the self, for others, and for the earth. It affirms the transformative power of art and holy listening, and the courage required to face our own and the world’s pain without turning away. From New Hampshire to the four corners of the United States, Paris, Bora Bora, and Peru this is an inspirational journey that will keep you turning the page to discover where the journey leads.
Happy Interdependence Day!
Amy
Art: Detail from “Rilke’s Angel” 24×36″. 2002. Acrylic on canvas. (sold) ©Amy Livingstone
{New Painting} Holding the Light. Be the Light.
“Holding the Light.” 16×16″. Acrylic on canvas. ©Amy Livingstone
From my June newsletter:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
-Emma Lazarus
As we witness the ongoing assault on our immigrant communities, Emma Lazarus’s poem came to mind and the beauty of Lady Liberty—holding her torch high and welcoming the stranger to these shores. I imagine my grandmother on a ship that brought her here from Sweden and seeing this “Mother of Exiles,” as she approached her new homeland. We are all immigrants. Coming from all directions seeking refuge and new possibilities, as symbolized by the compass at the center of the mandala. I chose the copper as the Statue of Liberty is made of copper and it is also an ancient metal favored by the alchemists that has healing properties.
“Any act of courage is a flame lit against that darkness. . . .Every time you refuse to let the world look away, you light a flame.” -Noor Pahlavi, speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum recently. She is the granddaughter of the last Shah of Iran and has lived her life in exile. You can view her inspiring talk here.
May we each hold the light, the torch, and find the courage to build the necessary bridges to ensure a peaceful and just world for all. This is my hope and my prayer.
The painting will need to be digitally scanned and prints will be forthcoming.
With love and solidarity,
Amy
Unveiling “Angels in America” & Walk for Peace
Angels, beautiful pauses in the whirlwind,
Be with us through the seasons of unease;
Within the clamorous traffic of the mind,
Through all these clouded and tumultuous days,
Remind us of your great unclouded ways.
–May Sarton, from The Beautiful Pauses
We are all feeling the weight of this moment and like you, am heartbroken. Giving expression to my grief through this painting, “Angels in America,” has been a balm for my soul over these months. The Via Creativa born of our awe and love for the world and our despair, is a powerful antidote—and practice—during these dark times. For those who have attended my workshops in the past around the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, you may recall these mystical teachings (founded by Fr. Matthew Fox) and encourage you to explore a creative outlet as a healing tool. Whatever that may look like for you. We are all creative in some way. I also believe we are witnessing what my late teacher Joanna Macy termed The Great Turning (an inspiring video) and we will need all our creativity to navigate this time of transformation.
In our sorrow, which is a natural response to any loss or trauma, beauty and peace are available to us in the moment. Recently, I had the joy of being in the presence of the Venerable Monks who are on a Walk for Peace through the South to DC. It was a very tender moment when the leader Bhikkhu Pannakara handed me the rose he was holding. The way people are turning out to be witness to their journey, gives me great hope. A shared vision of loving-kindness, compassion, and peace in our world.
About Angels in America: The Capital building dominates the skyline below a blood red moon. Atop is a the Statue of Freedom with the words “E PLURIBUS UNUM” engraved on its based. Latin for “Out of Many, One.” In the gold background I included a combination of language from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. “We the People, hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, etc.” The rose is the national flower of our country. I chose red to symbolize love. Love of country. Democracy. Love for the Other, the neighbor. Love for all beings and the more-than-human world. Red roses also symbolize loyalty. Fidelity to the Constitution. Faithfulness to insuring a peaceful and just world for all.* May it be so.
“Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
attributed to MLK, Jr and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
May this be your peaceful day to quote the Monks.
Reverencing Earth Opening at FVAC
Opening reception at Fuquay-Varina Arts Center on September 19, 2025. The show runs through November 1. Learn more and get directions here.
Reverencing Earth Artist Statement:
These paintings are portals of the sacred. Integrating archetypal symbols with architectural thresholds and the mandala (Sanskrit for circle) provide a framework to give expression to the beauty, bounty, and holiness of the living earth. My love of animals and the more-than-human world and grief for those we have already lost and what is threatened guides my vision to educate and inspire awe for our miraculous planet. Birds and butterflies in particular play a central role as messengers of prophecy, transformation, and hope.
My process involves researching sacred texts, mythology, indigenous ways of knowing, and science/ecology that inform both the narrative of these intricately detailed paintings and art as a spiritual practice. The four-panel series Where We Stand is Holy including is a creation-centered interpretation of the Liturgy of the Hours, reminiscent of Medieval illuminated manuscripts. Yggdrasil Tree of Life is inspired from my Swedish ancestry and Norse mythology, while the Reciprocity Mandala and Kinship Mandala are inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.
Reverencing Earth is holding a deep sense of respect, awe, and appreciation for the natural world, recognizing its intrinsic value, and our interconnectedness. It involves acknowledging our place within the web of life while inviting practices that promote conservation and advocating for environmental protection. As we navigate an uncertain future, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, climate change, and plastics inundating our waterways, how can we be a faithful witness to our changing world? How do we break open our hearts to the beauty and the sorrow then be inspired to take action to preserve life on earth? This is my quest and my prayer.
{Unveiling} Kinship Mandala
The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. . . Wild mercy is in our hands. -Terry Tempest Williams
From my May 21st newsletter:
I’m excited to share that I have completed the “Kinship Mandala,” our Council of All Beings to borrow from my teacher Joanna Macy. I envisioned this piece in November of 2019 and invited friends and followers of my work to contribute: “Who do you love and would grieve if lost to the climate crisis?” Many of you responded and I bow with gratitude to you all. I put the piece aside during Covid then worked on other paintings over the years. But our kin kept calling me back to make manifest this love and beauty on their behalf. More recently, as I painted, my process became an elegy (like much of my work of late) as the current administration rolls back protections for endangered species, clean water and air, and climate, while preparing for the deforestation of public lands. Trees that caption carbon, are home to countless creatures, and allow us to breathe. There is indeed much to grieve.
Many of you love and would grieve our beloved trees and forests, so they became the silent sentinels in the four corners while also representing the four seasons. The bee in the center was also a favorite and declared the most imported bee-ing on earth in January of 2020 (read article here.) No one mentioned food kin but I included a coffee plant in the direction of the east with Rufus hummingbird (for Gary) drawn to its nectar. In the corners, fruit, and in the meadow border, grazing farm animals.
The center of the mandala, the coppery, rich soil with its underground network connecting trees. Mycorrhizal fungi play a crucial role in the below ground carbon cycle and facilitating carbon transfer between trees. You can see the silver carbon molecules in the center and up the trees to the crown. It’s fascinating and have learned so much over the years reading books by scientists and indigenous wisdom keepers who are sharing their knowledge around the awe and miracle of our forests. (Happy to share resources if you email me).
“If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again.” Robin Wall Kimmerer
Forest, grasslands, desert, and marine ecosystems are represented in each of the four directions. Hoofed, winged, finned, and reptilian kin with a wide-range of flowers dot the landscapes throughout the mandala. I especially loved researching insects which are all so unique and beautiful. The 8″ yellow, comet moth native to Madagascar certainly became a favorite of mine.
I’m sending her out to be digitized and limited-edition prints will be available in the next month. If you’re in the Raleigh area, I’m having a show of my work at the Fuqua-Varina Art Center in September/October where this mandala will have it’s premiere. More to come on that.
Thank you everyone.
I am with you in our love and in our heartbreak.
{Unveiling} Holy Land
The final painting, “Holy Land” (nature knows no borders). 24×36″. Acrylic & jewels on canvas. 2024. I wasn’t clear as to why it took so long to complete this particular painting but have come to see its creation as an ongoing peace vigil around the war in Gaza. The Hoopoe, Israel’s national bird, and the Palestinian Sunbird, their national bird, sit upon an unripened olive branch. The national flowers of Israel, Anemone coronaria, and the Palestinian Faqqua Iris hold court below with the Madonna Lily. Each flower representing the people of the Abrahamic traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—that call the Holy Land (including the Dome of the Rock seen in the background) their home. National butterflies represent a vision of transformation that is desperately needed to bring peace to the region. Peace. Salam. Shalom. Prints available at my boutique. A percentage of your purchase benefits an aid organization working in the region.
A prayer, a poem, a painting for peace.
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“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
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From my May newsletter:
I hope this note finds you well and grounded as we continue to swim in the turbulent waters of this election year and bear witness to the ongoing tragedies of war, especially in Gaza. It’s a lot to take in and praying for peace doesn’t seem enough but Ellen Bass’s poem “Prayer for Peace” (Read full poem here) speaks to my heart. How do we make every moment holy and a prayer for peace. This is an excerpt:
With each breath in, take in the faith of those
who have believed when belief seemed foolish,
who persevered. With each breath out, cherish.
Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace,
feed the birds for peace, each shiny seed
that spills onto the earth another second of peace.
Is it foolish to believe—to pray for peace, for unity? Perhaps, but we will persevere and I continue to believe in the power of the arts to make a difference. Historian Ken Burn’s 2024 commencement address at Brandeis is so inspirational if you haven’t seen it and, likewise, affirms the role of the arts. We need all our creativity and the power of the moral imagination to solve today’s crises.
I’ve created several interfaith peace paintings over the years, and am currently working on “Holy Land” (seen above). The Palestinian Sunbird and the Hoopoe are the national birds of Palestine and Israel, respectively, and seen here with the national flowers. Nature knows no borders. Similar in theme is the “Conference of the Birds” that also speaks to unity amidst the darkness of our times.
I pray for peace. I paint for peace. For beauty and the enduring spirit of hope in us all. Keeps me going as I now also navigate another injury having fractured my wrist on May 3. Breathing in, breathing out: I cherish this precious moment. May all know peace.
With love and gratitude,
Amy
Unveiling “The Seeker”
“The Seeker.” 24×24″ 2024. Acrylic & jewels on canvas. ©Amy Livingstone
Dear Karen G.
When we spoke, you said you wanted to feel: “Gratitude. Acceptance. Presence” when you viewed your mandala. I kept this in mind while working on the piece. Also your ability to be “grateful to see beauty. Lucky to have richness, depth of curiosity—and that which is spiritual.”
The color palette is drawn from your love of Naples yellow, terra cotta, olive green, turquoise and teal. The colors of the desert. And bright like the sun and summer, your favorite season.
The inner circle represents your search for the Transcendent. The desert where you feel closest to God. The canyons with light and shadows that you love. Here, is the Court of the Patriarchs from Zion in Utah representing three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I chose this as you explore your relationship to your Catholic faith through the lens of the Mystics and the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The Seeker, the veiled figure—you—standing in the arched threshold symbolizes the light you see around others and the healing pranic energy you offer to others.
Coleus, one of your favorite plants, has a lot of symbolism in different faith traditions around spiritual evolution and healing and are associated with enlightenment and spiritual growth. They are also said to possess healing properties. Your beloved bees called serve as a symbol of rejuvenation and divinity.
The outer ring symbolizes Immanence. The mystic in you that sees the beauty of the natural world. I chose one of your favorite flowers, the day lily, for it’s “unique structure” and sits in the four directions. Also the canaries you love and birds for your mother who sang to them.
The outer pattern symbolizes your love and appreciation of Islamic architecture and culture, and your recent journey to Andalusia.
May this mandala guide you on your journey of FAITH…
Art Opening at Zin Yoga & Wine Lounge
“Where We Stand is Holy” Art Opening. Deep bow of appreciation to those who braved Tropical Storm Ophelia and came out for the opening at Zin Yoga and Wine Lounge in Old Town Garner, just south of Raleigh on September 23rd. There was a steady stream of visitors and it was a delight to connect with this wonderful community. Gratitude to Jessica at Artizen Ventures, shown with me here, who coordinated the show for me and owner Kara for hosting my work. The “Reciprocity Mandala” found a new home with this lovely couple, Eric and Gin. A hard one to let go of, but I’ve enjoyed her here in my studio for these past six years.
As many of you know, the painting is inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass.” When I completed the painting in 2017, I sent her a limited-edition giclee print. This was her response: “I have to tell you that I just cried when I saw your painting. I feel my dear ones from Braiding Sweetgrass, so very much alive here, so loved. It is so whole. The love and the grief…the glimpse of salamanders, the radiance of goldenrod and asters…This is really magnificent and I am so touched by your creation. This is our work, together-to reciprocate the beauty of the world with beauty of our own. I am so grateful.”
Show runs through the end of the year. Discover Zin Yoga here who shares a similar vision as mine! “Our vision is that of a watering hole – a place where ALL can come, regardless of our differences, to receive the nourishment we need.” – Kara O’Briant (founder)
