A Home With a View

A mining shack sits on a hillside in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.
Built by a miner with dreams of making his fortune.
Now an empty abandoned shell left to decay
In the harsh desert sun.

The fate of the miner is unknown.
Did he make his fortune and just move on
to a better, nicer home,
or did he go bust?

We will never know.

The birds and critters now inhabit this place.
A nest, perched on the ledge above a window,
A possibility of new life beginning.

Reflections of distant hills in the glass
Take us to the world beyond.
Open space that rolls like waves
In a vast sandy ocean.
Here, there is room to dream.

We move through our lives
From one dream to the next.
Some are fulfilled and others, not so much.

We move on to what comes next.

The remnants we leave behind
May be the seeds for others to build on.
The cycles of life go on.

Cheryl McDonald, 2023©

If you would like to hear me read this poem, please click below.

This has been a very busy couple of weeks. I can tell the world is finally humming along again. At least my world sure is!

Last week was the week to hang my latest solo show in a very long time. And I am so excited. The opening is this Sunday, March 19th. I took a little video of the gallery and we were finishing setting it all up which you can view here along with information about it on my website. I created a collection of all the works that are included in the show which is called Mystic Dreams of Transformation. And I created a book of the art and poetry that is available at the gallery and will be for sale online soon.
So now I am working on the finishing touches and starting new projects.

One new project was to get my art out in the world beyond this valley and my first attempt was joining a gallery in a nearby town where I can show something regularly, weather permitting. A lovely little gallery in Wofford Heights, CA next to the Kern River called the Kern River Valley Art Center.
Next, I entered a juried event for the Arts Council of Kern County and just found out yesterday that my watercolor was accepted so I will be delivering that to Bakersfield this week as well!

I am not sure what has taken me so long to get my work out before now. I have been incubating in this little desert town not knowing whether I am leaving or staying for years. I think the whole shingles episode last year really made me see how precious time is and how I have been putting off things I needed to do. So now I am motivated and making new art too. I still have no idea of my future, but I can’t wait any longer for things to settle and become clearer. And maybe making these efforts will help to grease the wheels and get things moving. We shall see.

Today’s poem is about this painting, which will be in the Bakersfield show. I had not considered writing for it before, however, it just made sense to keep this poetry thing going! I like to include a copy of the poems I write with the purchase, just a little something extra for those who love my work. 🙂

Over the last several years, I have spent a lot of time photographing and painting the deserts abandoned mining towns and this watercolor is from a town called Randsburg that isn’t quite abandoned, however, there are lot’s of abandoned shacks still around. It is sad how many have been vandalized. People don’t realize these are historic pieces of the old west.
In this painting I wanted to capture the feeling of abandonment and also create a sense of past, present, and future. Guiding the viewer through time and space with reflections in the glass, darkness and ruggedness of the exterior and interior of the shack, and looking through the window beyond to the hills on the horizon. The nest brings a sense of new life along with the bird flying captured in the reflection. Abandoned dreams can be the seeds of someone else’s new beginning.

I have so much more to share, but since I am over 500 words, I think that is enough for today. I hope your life is rebuilding and if not yet, give it a kick start! Don’t wait for tragedy or drama to remind you that time is short.

Have a happy day!

Cheryl

If your interested in visiting a cool old mining town, there are lot’s of sites that talk about Randsburg you can google and once you get there stop in the the Vault which is the new home of the Randsburg General Store where you can get the best hamburger in the West! Tell Brad and Carol I said Hi!