Creative Path

"This is where the door is opening, will you peek through?  

"The most regretful people on Earth are those who felt the call of creative work, who felt their own creative power restive & uprising, & gave it neither power nor time." 

- Mary Oliver -

My friend Brenda posted this quote several years ago, & went on to write "Sums up my feelings after lots of soul searching earlier this year & the realization that my one regret is that I never went to art school. I looked at schools & prices, and none of it really resonated in my soul. Then I started looking at teachers I admire, classes that inspire, souls I love. ... 

"I realized the classes I love the most are the ones that are intuitive, access the soul, invite inner listening, etc." 

My friend Jeanette wrote "We are all Creative Beings. This is our birthright, regardless of our circumstances, talents or beliefs. The invitation is to discover how your creative gifts will be used to create a reality that is worthy of your Soul's incarnation."  

In 2015, I enrolled in Shiloh Sophia's Color of Woman teacher training, a potent 9 month course that empowered my creativity, and converged with my own healing arts and teaching pathway.

I was the kid who drew in the borders of programs, and drooled over paint by number kits, and got blank canvases to use the leftover paint. In grade school, I was asked to draw a camel for some Christmas art project. Later, I was frustrated in my HS art class during our pottery unit - in 50 minutes, my clay was usually too dry, or too wet! I took a few classes art both in college, and later at our local Community College, and doodle sketched in meetings ....

Since graduating from Color of Woman, as a Teacher and Coach, I've opened the door to creativity for many others, shine wounded by college art trainings; encourage others as they complete the IC training, and as they begin sharing their own offerings. 

I love collaborations with SiStars from our local community, including our bimonthly Red Thread Circles with Linda, and with our international SiStars. 

Wherever you are, there's likely an Intentional Creativity® or other intuitive art teacher near you, or available online.

Sedna - stone Cairn

As we head into 2021, many of us are committing to daily practices, whether on paper or canvas. Most days I with in my journal or on cards. Last spring, I began exploring the NW Inuit Legend of Sedna, in a painting journey with my Austrian SiStar Tania McGinnis, and am stepping through that portal again.

While some in our broader community are moving into a degree program, others of us are on an independent Soul Curriculum path, focusing on both our own offerings, and as Brenda said, exploring classes which pique our curiosity, and are "intuitive, access the soul, and invite inner listening;" and like Jeanette, "discovering how our creative gifts will be used to create a reality that is worthy of your Soul's incarnation."

  
Have you opened the door to your own creative path; will you step through the portal?   

Happy Paint Party Friday!    

Instagram -Tags and Tips

Yay, I now have 1000 followers on Instagram! 

I began posting on Instagram two years ago, after Maestra Shiloh Sophia suggested we  use the #intentionalcreativity, and see if we could boost the numbers of posts over a thousand or so tagging our brand! We are now at 13.4 K! 

In those early days, I wrote, "It's been fun playing with my pictures for posts, making little montages (which don't always behave!) And meeting new virtual friends! I love the journal pages @quantummemoir does, and ... I'm @nadyakingartist ❤"

• When you start typing a tag, suggestions will come up - bypass ones that have over a million, and look for ones in the 50 - 500k range ... 
• Look at tags other friends and colleagues in your community use - make a note of those which fit! 
• Choose a few that are unique to you, or your small group. Recently I added red thread Creatives, as that's the name of my Facebook group. 
• It's a good idea to check out the tag, and see how the posts match your intention - I usually click "recent" as well 💖
• I took part in a pod early on, where 6-8 of us tried to post daily, follow each other, and like and comment on each other's posts - Quantum Memoir was one of the pod, and we're still in touch.
• When you have a bit of extra time, visit some of the folks who liked recent posts, and choose several which appeal to interact with and comment on.  
• Post a link to your website or blog in your bio, and update your site regularly. If you're promoting an event, make more information/ registration easy to find.

Here's a recent post with other suggestions on using hashtags.

Are you on Instagram? You're invited to post the link to your account, and share an tips you've discovered. 

 

Magic in vessels

 During this spring of our time as Artists in Residence, our Intentional Creativity® teacher Shiloh and her husband Jonathan decided to offer their transformational APOTHECARY (online) class over the month of April. 

This is my third time in the workshop, which is designed to transform tragedies to remedies through painting journaling, and my second round as one of the online support team. I'll be certified to offer Apothecary for my community, at the conclusion of this round.

Posts on my paintings and process during the First year and here, second year and here

APOTHECARY - Compass and biophotons

This class was inspired by Jonathan's own journey, finding healing from PTSD through creativity, moving from "Distress ... to Discomfort."  They offered APOTHECARY Medicine Painting as an in person workshop in the states and Australia before translating it into an online offering. 

• Shiloh and Jonathan encourage participants to choose just a few old stories which block their lives now, and not dwell on the pain, but move toward the translation to healing.
• The emphasis is on process, rather than finished product (Though that is usually satisfying as well!) 
• Intentional Creativity® is an approach to creating "which yeilds greater access to who we are now, who we are becoming, and what is possible for us in our unfolding future."
• Utilising our inherent creativity offers a wonderful opportunity for clearing old baggage and facilitates lasting change.

Apothecary participants are encouraged to have their own support system, and if working with a therapist, to keep them in the loop! Decades ago, my massage mentor  Jeanne bespoke working through layers like peeling an onion, a few at a time, which is more manageable with both physical and emotional pains. 

Flower allies

This year we used the videos filmed in 2019, supported throughout each week by a team of Guild members who took Apothecary previously, and  interacting during 4 Zoom calls. The paintings this year are so rich, and participants are invited to share insights and breakthroughs in our private online group and on the calls.

Yesterday, my kitty Percy brought a snake inside - 
I scolded him, and took it back outside - and decided it was one of my vessels!  ... During our legendary journey earlier in the year, we made Ally cards as a journaling exercise, and one of the animal totems was snake ... The medicine: "coilng around what is needed, letting go of what is ready to be released." 
(A dragon showed up on my 'Legend' canvas - which I'm in love with!) 

Legend 2020 - Raven's Beauty

Other vessels are a mortar and pestle, and Oracle cards for medicine teachings, and the pine needle basket a vessel for abundance of resources and financials.
The vessels are blocked in, ready for the remedies to bubble and shift...

APOTHECARY vessels

I look forward to adding details and symbols, as the remedies evolve, and seeing my classmates' medicine emerging.

Happy Paint Party Friday!