Look what the desert wind blew in?Issue 3 has jumped up onto the surface of this orb we call Earth after many months gestating underground. Find her all over the high desert and beyond. And if you’d like to subscribe and receive two issues a year, click here.
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Cover art: Martín Mancha
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Issue #2:
This illustration was created to accompany this poetry:
Walking the Land
by Penelope Sitter
Spirits walk this land. Here where native feet
fell before, where ancient lives passed, now we walk.
Now we in thanks take hold where we long to know
who held and were held here.
Dreams inhabit here. We dream life shared once
for all. We dream with those who long before
dreamed here. Day by well-lived day as we build
we know their spirits strong here.
Light shines searing bright here. As thick clouds drop
desert rain to bless and bring the life of spring,
we know and we praise rain that wets and
light that blazes here.
Spirits walk this land. We honor them and all
they loved: the sparse creosote, the gold-gray sands,
this rocky life. With coyote, snake, hare and hawk,
we now stalk here.
At the beginning of August I began painting a blank cube in a somewhat remote location called Sky Camp in Joshua Tree, CA. Sky Camp is a private campground run by Kimberly and Gary Bowers and they asked me to contribute to their 3rd mural project on site.
This photo below is the road to Sky Camp is a dusty trek on the lonely side of the Bartlett Mountain Range. You can see a water tank and road on the left side of this photo, that’s the road to the site.
I just put the final touches of paint on this cube this week, spending many hours up there accompanied mostly by my trusty watchdog, Dusty. After a couple weeks I started to really appreciate taking the time to “unplug” from the computer screen and go up and paint up there on the ledge of Sky Camp, isolated from civilization. The weather and atmosphere, were contributing factors, August and Sept were very hot, I could’nt really go up there until after 5pm and it was still scorching. Nonetheless, I found myself looking forward to getting out and up there.
The cube is positioned in alignment with the four directions. Here you can see the view North.
I wanted to paint concepts that complimented the desert vista, so I chose to use, the Sun and Sky on the SE and SW sides.
For the NE and NW sides, Space and Volcanic fields.
Here you can see the top side, it functions as a marker for the direction as well as a medicine wheel for those who may wish to set their intentions to the four directions. In the middle you will find a cosmic spiral, similar to a swastika, I know this symbol is very taboo these days, but it was used by native peoples across the globe well before WWII.
Dusty was a good companion up there, looking out for any of the rogue visitors we had like lizards and crows. Not sure how this project would of turned out without his love and support. 
Thanks to Kimberly and Gary for inviting me to add something colorful to the scenery at Sky Camp.
Sky Camp is only a few miles from Joshua Tree National Park and boasts broad sweeping vistas, incredible sunsets and sunrises, abundant wildlife and dark night skies. Enjoy amenities such as an outdoor shower, flushing toilet, picnic tables, large barrel charcoal grill, wood burning stove, art installations, and more. Sky Camp is surrounded by open space and situated next to BLM land, making it a perfect playground for outdoor recreational opportunities such as hiking, bouldering, mountain biking, bird watching, star-gazing, and more. Explore the possibilities! More info here.
