"THE THUMB AND THE TEAKETTLE"
Sedona, Arizona
Oil on Board
11 x 14
$500.00 USD
I first landed in Sedona in the fall of 1993, a neophyte wanderer in a foreign land. The red rocks lent an intensity that I had never experienced in the northeast, and like many a hick before me, I was somewhat besotted with it. The long neglected red and orange hues fairly clamored on my pallet and it was a refreshing change from the pastoral tree lines and fields of Maine. I nearly painted my brains out, and it was here that I began to channel impassioned poems and essays, from where I couldn't have said.
This auspicious rock formation was one of the first sites upon entering town via Oak Creek Canyon. One friend who lived virtually beneath this monolith referred to it as Little Penis... which anyone who has lived here for any time immediately understands with a knowing nod. I didn't quite have the balls to title the painting as such, so opted for the generically acceptable Thumb and the Teakettle. Still, you have to admit... there are interesting resemblances.
Sedona's world famous energy vortices and passionate red canyons attract travelers and new age seekers from near and far. Its alluring beauty captivates them, and some become so obsessed as to rabidly return home, sell everything, quit the job, divorce the spouse, kick the dog and move on in part and parcel with breathless anticipation of a new and beautiful life, only to find the eids of Sedona do not yield success so easily. The especially love sick remain, determined to find some means to survive, often working two and three jobs, paying ridiculous rent only to be a part of the place. Couples who move here often blast apart. Others cry uncle and leave feeling decidely screwed. The locals watch and shake their heads. Dos locos.
Sedona is basically a huge cosmic amplifier, like the speakers on your sterio. Whatever internal program you plug into it is what gets broadcasted loud and clear, thus unresolved emotional issues are soon screaming back at them, usually in the form of chaotic situations, painful lessons with local "shamans," damning bad luck and explosive relationships. UNCLE already!
Years later I learned something of the ancient wisdom of the place and it made sense. The native peoples acknowledged this land as a sacred site, traveling into it for ceremonial purposes only. They understood its essence as too powerful to live in, and the remains of their dwellings are conspicuously found on its perimeters. Leave it to us white folks to mess with ancient wisdom.
First came the early settlers of the 1800s. The town's most current name is after Sedona Schebley, a settler woman. Eventually came the gentle earth hippie types throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. Some of them even lived in a big cave atop a cliff in a far canyon. Then the world found out and during the 80s and 90s in marched the resort and hospitality businesses, restaurants to please every taste speckled along the strip along with crystal shops, vortex tours, pink jeep adventures, yellow bi-planes and rainbow striped balloons to provide the ultimate red rock experience. Resorts were built in sacred canyons, despite the objections of native peoples, only to go broke repeatedly. One development was scrapped completely and never got built due to repeated misfortunes and mysterious breakdowns. Still that giant sucking sound and the near deafening *ka-CHING* of fortunes being made and lost continued undaunted.
My take on Sedona? It is a marvelous feast of the senses, a wonderful place to visit, hike, get your aura photographed, palm read, chakras cleared, colon blown... view overpriced mediocre artwork, eat some good food and check in on the mirror of your life. What's working? What isn't? Then go home with a sense of gratitude for what you already have.
As for the Little Penis, it keeps watch over the balance of things here. Regardless of how people struggle to stay in Sedona, they seem to roll in and roll out much like the coastal tides with nearly as precise timing and regularity.
My take on Sedona? It is a marvelous feast of the senses, a wonderful place to visit, hike, get your aura photographed, palm read, chakras cleared, colon blown... view overpriced mediocre artwork, eat some good food and check in on the mirror of your life. What's working? What isn't? Then go home with a sense of gratitude for what you already have.
As for the Little Penis, it keeps watch over the balance of things here. Regardless of how people struggle to stay in Sedona, they seem to roll in and roll out much like the coastal tides with nearly as precise timing and regularity.
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