from artist Lauren Raine

Lauren Raine always has fascinating synchronicities. The image above is from her book.

In 2005 I was at an artist’s colony in Woodstock, NY called Byrdcliffe.  I had come from presenting a workshop earlier on masks and the Goddess, and THE GODDESS WITHIN was an important book I used as reference for that class.  Some of the writings in that book  were also deeply emotionally significant to me, in particular what the authors had to say about the “Persephone woman”.  It is a beautiful book.  I had thought I would try to write to  Jennifer Barker to see if she would talk with me about the Goddesses in an interview (I was still collecting interviews for my “spiritual art” book).  I had not thought of trying to contact Roger Woolger, as because the book was about women and the Goddess,  Jennifer Barker Woolger seemed more appropriate.  But I had no idea where she was or how I might contact her.

It happened that Byrdcliffe was having a big party while I was there (and, of course, one of the pieces I was working on had to do with Persephone, and the book was significant in its creation).  I got to talking with a woman there and it turned out we both had a great interest in feminine mythology, so we agreed to meet for lunch the next day.  And over lunch I mentioned the book and how I would like to contact one of the authors.  The woman (whose name I don’t remember now) said “Oh, you mean Jennifer!  She moved to Vermont after her divorce.  Would you like her number?”  Just like that!  Turned out that my lunchmate and Jennifer had been good friends, and when she divorced she left New York and moved back to Vermont, taking back her maiden name, Jennifer Barker.  And I learned she did, among other things, offer gatherings dealing with the Persephone Archetype.

I called her and she actually agreed to meet me if I came to Vermont!  I am embarrassed to say that I did not do so – things got chaotic, and I guess I also felt insecure about it as well, and I did not take the opportunity that was given to me.  I’ve regretted it since.  It seems she wrote a book on Persephone at some point in the years since, but I can’t seem to find if it ever got published, certainly I can’t find where to purchase it.  And I think she has passed on.

But that’s my story…………….I think it’s what Bill Moyers called “invisible means of support”.  Below is one of the “Persephone” pieces I did while at Byrdcliffe.