Legendary

A year ago, I painted my Muse Gabriella with Elisabeth, & began on a Red Thread Journey (follow the link to Join us Sunday May 3, noon PDT, for a free introduction to offering Red Thread Circles wherever you are in the world!!)
.... but the journey had really begun in 2013, when I saw the blurb for the 'Red' show at Currents Gallery, & decided to do a couple of paintings. Or it began .... well, I've been on the journey all along!

Ariadne's Red Thread - 2014

The idea for painting Ariadne's Red Thread, laid as a trail through the Cretan Labryrinth for Theseus to follow came shortly after reading the call for artists, & I pulled out little used acrylics, picked up a canvas & began painting ... Neither piece (the second was a small heart) was accepted for the show, & I set them aside .... 

After painting with Elisabeth, I revisited Ariadne's legend & the canvas, glazing the picture, & finding hints of some of her symbols - an early goddess figure, the double headed labrys or axe, a butterfly ... and tipped the spider web with silver paint ... 

Shande'nea 3-2

Painting our Legendary Lady is an integral part of the Color of Woman journey, part of teaching the teachers. A number of powerful women have gathered to hold space for the unfolding.
Jenafer Joy gives Journal prompts, Stella Mac asks questions, guides our Conference calls, & Maestra Shiloh Sophia offers wisdom, laughter, & the painting videos ...

As we work with the questions & prompts, we uncover the stories that have been running us, & begin to write a new story, ... we play with symbols, & see where they fit, we support each other through the trials & tribulations, the laughter & the tears ...

And our Legendary Self comes forward ... Shande'nea wanted a dragon (you can see a hint of it in the pic on my last post!) & now the labyrinth ... it is always intriguing to see how new elements often follow a stroke or pattern in the underpainting. 

Shande'nea with labyrinth 3-11

And allowing those bits of colour & pattern from earlier layers to show through is one of our goals! What is the painting built on? What is the foundation, what stories are we re-writing? Re-telling?

Symbols, colours, stories ... what stories have been running your life? Are you ready to step beyond them ? 

Happy 4th BD to Paint Party Friday!!