Homecoming! Grounding Again at Roots: Show & Sale Sept 5-6

Blake Sherlock
Sep 4
4 min read

Oh my how time flies by. It's been about a year since I last posted here. Oh, so much has happened in all of our lives. There have been some very bumpy moments, but the personal growth, strength, and balance-building I feel has helped really keep me stay in my own lane and embrace the transformations happening there. Lots to get going with!

And going and going and going. I've been coming and going between Guatemala and Idaho a lot more this past year, mostly due to the rapid decline of my mom, Joyce, whose now entered into the most confusing stage of Alzheimer's disease. Hence, I've been making more visits that my hummingbird body is used to--so many extra flights!!! I'm grateful because for the most part my mom is very well cared for and she seems bright and positive as usual despite her compromised state. I'm super grateful for some very special moments with her that have helped me on the path to letting her go.

Oh, I've been blessed with tremendous abundance this year. In January, I had my first solo show in a gallery at La Galeria in Panajachel. How fun! I am so lucky to have made a lovely connection with Sabine, the owner, and Enrique, who have made La Galeria into not only the oldest and best gallery in Central America, but an important cultural and community center, hosting yoga, dance, poetry readings, cooking classes and so much more for this vibrant, multicultural hub I've been calling home. I so enjoyed making a new series of mosaics, 20 animals, representatives of the 20 sacred days in the Cholq'ij calendar. I've really enjoyed sharing the work with others, sharing stories about their teaching and wisdom. Bringing my art "home" to La Galeria has been such a nourishing experience, as they hosted me for 3 sets of Mosaic workshops in February as well.

Much has been moving for me on the home front. At the beginning of the year, I also began a remodeling project at my home in Panajachel, Guatemala using bamboo as the principal construction method. I was enchanted by Ito, the designer and contractor, and Orlando and Moreno from the southern coast of Guatemala where Moreno's family has been growing bamboo and making buildings and furnishings using Japanese building techniques, for generations. These gentle, and intelligent men brought such a peaceful, creative vibe to my new home and studio. I am so excited to have the renovations coming to a close. I will begin to move into my new studio this month, with mosaic classes there to follow. I'll be making the first floor home I've been living in into an Airbnb rental, so you can come stay with me and take mosaic classes with ease and style!

The blessings to my home base haven't stopped there. In January, I inherited the home of my friend Gary Harrell, a retired chef who owned Tin TIn, my favorite restaurant in San Pedro la Laguna--until I opened my own restaurant of course! :) Suddenly, I went from having no house of my own, to two houses. COVID was a bit of a bust for me, and among my numerous losses, I lost my home in Antigua, where I was living. Now, suddenly it seems, I've been blessed with so much house, home and abundance. Plenty of house '"to share", and that's how I like it.

Gary's house, which I now call Casa Toj (Gratitude House), has become my home in San Pedro, my hometown in Guatemala. I've come home there and it is here that I have created my altar for doing fire ceremony and received my authority to practice as a spiritual guide in the Maya K'iche lineage. Casa Toj will be my home for sharing Mayan spirituality. It will be a retreat for me and for other Nanas and Tatas, for students and teachers, elders and youth, to share together.

Casa Toj is also available to rent, for your own personal retreat on Lake Atitlan, in Guatemala. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1436375213662484170?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=df4619ee-0775-4d30-9763-6160d4648473

I've also created a website specifically for my spiritual work. Please visit mayanguidance.com I offer a variety of services to assist you in empowering you on your own path.

Now, I've been back in the cool mountains of McCall, Idaho, for some deep rest and renewal. A lot has been on my mind, to say the very least: my own personal changes as well as the multitude of changes that seem to be happening all around the world all at once! I'm so grateful for some time to come home to my self here during this time.

Enjoying the secret mysteries of the mountains in Idaho with soul family!

And now, I am excited to show you my artwork--always expansive and fun and full of secrets.

I'm setting up a Pop-Up shop at Roots Market. And this too is like a homecoming. I've so enjoyed finding community and support for my work at Roots. Come enjoy a lunch or snack from their delicious deli. Buy some art and take dinner home too!!