Most tradtioinal peoples have a profound reverence for water.  Maybe Europeans, with a very different idea of the world, thought it was superstitious to attribute so much power and consciouness to water...It is much more than just a liquid though...Now that science is catching up with ancient technology and civilization we know that water holds memory, it changes shape and it defines essentially how healthy or sick we are through its organizing patterns.

In my recent journey to Standing Rock, I had the opportunity to be in the copmany of people from all ove rthe world who are ready to stand up for their water on the Missouri River and Lake Oahe.  Water is Life, they say and I feel too.

These are just a few paintings illustrating the importance and the vibrant life of water.  One illustrates the power of water in the high desert of New Mexico, the Rio Grande coursing through the cottonwood forests and irrigated farms.  Without this life giving water our Pueblo cilvilizations would not have thrived on the banks of the river, still evident in ancient ruins as well as modern villages.

Another painting is a Zen Blue Dot, and though very simple it describes within the outlines the story of water.  The implied figure of Turtle Island, as well as the desire to remain calm and still our waters is the key to unlocl this painting.

Yet another painting is the figure of a woman and the plants and life that rise up from around a river in the mountains, with birds and ferns and sunlight shining on her back.

All of these water paintings are expressing something about ou relationship with water, because we are in a two way relationship with it.  It has a consciousness, and what we see in it or thourgh it and experience with it is recorded forever.  I see a life giving fluid that sustains all life, essentially is that which makes our planet different than others.  Water is the determining factor when we look thorugh the universe for life...Scientists always look to see if there is water...