My Bear Encounter, Totems, and San Juan Island

A few years ago, I was painting at Tahoe City happily

in my own little world.

I was sitting on a bench near a fence and heard

rustling on the other side of the fence. 

I listened and looked for a bit

and a small black bear peeked around the end of the fence

not too far from me. We stared at each other.

My heart seemed to stop, and he turned around.

I forgot about him and went back to my painting.

Then I felt something looking at me . . .

The little bear had wandered around the other side

of the fence to where I was sitting and was 

stopped right in front of me.

We stared at each other again.

He seemed to be asking me, "are you still here?" 

This was his turf, and he was getting impatient with me.

He turned around again and wandered off.

He was a little guy but I was terrified and

could only muster this quick photo with my trembling hands.

The bear has been my totem animal ever since.

I collect photos of them, my sketchbooks are 

decorated with stickers of them,

and I draw them now and then too.

The bear symbolizes strength, courage,

protection, solitude, balance, and loyalty.

Click here for Bear Wildlife card details

Looking back through my years of artwork I 

see I've been drawn to them for a long time.

This was done with an X-acto knife on scratchboard.

Click here for Bears Animal Scratchboard postcard details

When I worked at our local museum 

I was inspired to make a fabric collection

inspired by the Hidden Cave we have

in the Fallon area Churchill County.

Worth a visit if you find yourself in Fallon!

Click here for Hidden Cave fabric collection 

And this is where the San Juan Islands part comes in.

We spent some time up in Washington this summer

and took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

Before we left, I visited Barnes & Noble for 

something to read and this was perfect.

Very different story from my usual mysteries,

but a really unique theme of nature/fairytale/sisterly bond.

The bonus for me was putting myself into the setting

because I was right there. 

I won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

And one last bear. 

You can see this guy out at Gerlach.

Maybe you'll see him if you're headed

to Burning Man in a few weeks.