Page Hodel met the love of her life in 2005, Madalene Louise Rodriguez, who died less than a year later. Each Monday Page created a new heart, to show her love for Madalene, and continues to do so. The hearts are all unique and mostly temporal. Now many are published in the book, for all to share.
Grace arrived here from Boston for the weekend Bear Dance ceremonies, and brought shells from her beach in Nantasket. She saw the book and was moved by it. We wrote to Page, who graciously answered back and gave us her blessing in using the shells to make another heart for Madalene, and all those people in the group had lost. What an honor, and opportunity for healing ourselves and sending love and healing outward...
So, Sunday morning after Bear Dance and our other ceremonies, we took the mussel and clam shells to a nice little place on the shore...where the river was sure to claim whatever we created. Grace quipped, "Hey, the heart is a mussel!"
People brought treasures to add, a "beaver cud" a heart shaped chunk of gnawed wood, many gemstones home-tumbled, special stones and found objects, many quite small, adorned the heart. Though it is not nearly as artistically ambitious or sophisticated as Pages'...it was created with love.
After it was completed, we all held hands (incidentally standing in a heart shape around the heart) and spoke our prayers for those who have passed and those in need now.
Next year we will start the heart when we get there, and work on it all weekend.
Please check out Page's website and book.
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| The completed heart. |
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| Bringing in the materials. |
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| In progress... |
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| Still in progress... |
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| Group photo. |
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| Another view. In Memory of Sean: ...I gazed down in the river's mirror And watched its winding strum The water smooth ran like a hymn And like a harp did hum. Lay down your weary tune, lay down Lay down the song you strum And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings No voice can hope to hum. -Bob Dylan, 1964/65 |
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