Explore with Shiloh Sophia and Flora Aube

Over the last 20+ years, Shiloh Sophia has been exploring intention, creativity, community and the divine feminine. Last summer, she added Power Creatives TV to her generous offerings. 

In 2014, shortly after being introduced to Shiloh's teachings through that life changing class with Elisabeth Friese-Mick, I found an online offering by one of the Color of Woman Graduates, Flora Aube - the Art of Allowing. You can read about my first painting with Flora Here & Here; & my second, firey Sekmet.

Sekmet

Over the next year, Flora continued to explore, develop, and to found her own school. Today, Shiloh and Flora will join forces, with a morning Cafe (free!) beginning at 10. In the afternoon, they will paint together (paid portion - scolorships available!) - what will emerge?? You can sign up for either or both on the Power Creatives TV site!!

Happy PPF 

Prismatic Mägic

It was such a treat to head into Portland yesterday with Sepha, for a wonderful Artist date with Shiloh!! Maestra and Jonathan are leading a workshop on Quantum Physics and Intentional Creativity called PRISM, and their Portland event was filled within 24 hours! Several of my classmates and other alumni were also there for our informal time in the hotel lounge.

Sepha, Nadya and Shiloh 

The photos of the paintings in process are stunning, and the participants shining. I will participate in the May class via livestream, and can feel the vibe amping up! There's still room in the Healdsburg offering, so if you live in the Bay Area, check it out!! 

With the three from Sepha's class, there are now 10 of us offering Intentional Creativity in Oregon! Three of my classmates, Katherine Whiteman, Olivia Uso and Katy Morse (down from Port Townsend) are in the workshop, and Uma from 2013. My friends and alum Heidi Sequoia Moondancer and Elisabeth Friese-Mick also came just for the evening.

And I met my FB friend Brenda Carolan «in person » for the first time!! It was fun to touch bases! Brenda just completed Artist Flora Aube's facilitator training, and is delighted to be taking PRISM! We "met" online 2 years ago, in Flora's Art of Allowing, and dance parallel paths! 

This post marks the end of this month's Ultimate Blog challenge, I hope you'll stop by again soon!! 
#intentionalcreativity #Nadyasatelier

Alter & Atelier Reset

Last year when we began our Art of Allowing course, we were invited to set up our studios, & production assistant Ann Manatt offered a sweet little video for inspiration. I'd already been amassing art supplies, & was figuring out where the best spot for painting in my home (950 sq feet) was. I settled on my 'dining nook' & began shifting things around.

Magic Paintbrush

As we finished the third painting in our Color of Woman Quest, Shiloh issued an invitation:  "I would love for you to finish your painting if you haven’t, and then to clean your studio. Reset your altars. Make new room for the sprouts to come up through the ashes. You need space and time to see what’s coming up and what wants to be shared and prepared for Visionary in October."

I finished my Alchemist painting, Fire Keeper last week, & have been in a good cleaning whirl around the house, now it's time to focus on the Studio!

So I watched a few videos - Maria Munar on setting up a studio (starting from scratch!)

Ann Manat: Setting up your studio & supplies (for acrylic painting) 
Ann also has a series of videos on setting up face book pages & other helpful tips!  

And .... let's begin .... 

Art for the Soul Curriculum

Several of my creative friends & I have been pondering the merits, & the drawbacks, to studying Art in schools, possibly for certification in Art Therapy or to teach; and the less defined path, following the "Soul's Curriculum." 

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, & 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 writes "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." 

My co-worker Jackie Hausman is another who has pondered enrolling an official Art Therapy program, or simply continuing her own Journey of the Soul with fabulous intuitive painting, & Soul studies.
 
Over the last several months, I've been painting with several wonderful and inspirational Art teachers, after my own hiatius from doing much visual art. Taking a class with my friend Elisabeth last February opened the door, she in turn has studied with a number of artists both in person & on-line, including Shiloh Sophia McCloud & Flora Bowley. I met Brenda & Jeanette in the Art of Allowing course I took this summer with Flora Aube.

I like the concept of following our 'Soul's Curriculum,' as we open the door to our own creative path; will you step through the portal? 

Art of Allowing: Painting 2

Her face in the wash

Back in May I began Flora Aube's online 'Art of Allowing' course, where we were invited to "cultivate the wisdom of relationship with the Great Mystery and serving as a midwife to the birth of Beauty in our lives and on our planet. This is the high art of embodying the Priestess within, empowered with full access to our divine gifts of Creativity."
Registration is open for Flora's fall course, which begins in early September. 

I wrote about my process with the first painting, Spirit Dancer, here,& here

In June, we began working on our second painting, with the question 'What is asking to be born? Something beyond paint, something you are to bring forth ....' The colours that came during the meditation were gold & fire tones - "Fire, Vesta, hearth, spark .... fiery depth, Sekhmet, bringing heat for radiant life, birthing from orange & yellow, shimmer of wings, .... "

And the phrase: Love is our Soul Purpose ... Heart fire, sacred flame, blessings of the lady! 

WIP - June 12

I later realized that in a card reading at the beginning of the course, one of the cards pulled (Rainbow Earth Tarot) was Strength, with Sekhmet on one side of the priestess. I began the wash in early June, & finished Her by summer solstice.  

 After finding Her face in the wash, I began bringing out the features, & added her fiery hair. 

Like several recent paintings, (including Spirit Dancer, Zephyr & Ether) she began developing a central feathery 'crown.' I loved playing with her fiery hair, Egyptian eye adornment, & skin tones. I played with translucence by mixing Acrylic Glazing medium with Titan Buff paint (equal parts) over parts of her hair.

Sekhmet, June 14

As she is a 'lion headed Neteru,' I found an online tutorial for painting lion ears. I thought of a collar - but clearly heard "DON'T collar me!"

Sekhmet is often painted with a solar disk - I decided to use verigated 'gold' leaf around her, & found several great tutorials, beginning with Terese Nielsen (love this!) & had one of Nancy Reyner's books on using intereference paint and other fun Golden Goodies from the library.

Lucky me, I could go bug my friends at Merri Artist & find the leaf & glue I wanted, plus some yummy interference paint which I used in her hair
 .... green seemed right for the outer area, around her solar disk,  ....& I was 'allowed' to use some gold leaf 'points' on the sides of her neck (NOT a collar!!) You can see flecks of the gold in her 'crown' & in that outer green area.
And there's a great group of supportive artists on a private FB page, who offered mutual support & blessings as we each journeyed with our Ladies!

After painting her, I looked up more about her. 
Sekhmet, lion headed Neteret of Egypt is the goddess of transformation, of solar feminine fire. Her name means 'The Power, the Mighty one' - Egyptologist Nicky Scully writes: "she helps you set your course in the right direction, so you can grow & transform the seeds of your SOUL PURPOSE (!)... write what you see/feel growing & blooming in your heart." 

She was finished June 20, just in time for Summer Solstice - what a wonderful process!

Sekhmet - Love is our Soul Purpose!

 SôLsTïCè greetings!
Sekhmet: the power, the nighty one; lion GøddésS, feminine face of the sun, she brings the fire that fuels transformation.
Sekhmet helps us shape shift into our future selves, and incites us to open our hearts and receive the sees of our Soul Purpose!
Love is our Soul Purpose!
Bright BLéSSïNgS of the Lady on this Summer morn!

 Linking to Paint Party Friday. 
You can find more of my art throughout this blog & on my FB page Nadya's Atelier 
Happy PPF! 

Around the World Artsy Blog Hop

A couple of weeks ago, Denise in Australia invited participation in an 'Around the World Artsy Blog Hop,' about our creativity ... & I decided to play along .... then was off at the coast on a camping trip, and .... and ... time to write!! 

These are the 4 questions:
1. How does my creative process work?
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
3. What am I working on now?
4. Why do I create what I do?

1. How does my creative process work? 

"Presence" Mama Lois & She Who Watches

I've always thought of myself as 'Artsy-crafty' .... my mom Lois knit, crocheted, & took craft classes including basket weaving. She always had a great eye for colour, & I followed her lead, taking 4-H sewing, & drafting some of my own patterns, learning various arts & She also mentions  and creativity are ... I took art in HS, and a live drawing class in college, and 'always' sketched & did crafts in fits & spurts. I garden & keep garden note books, ... 
I made dolls & paper dolls, I took up spinning ....
I dance (from Ballet to Square Dance!) &  sketched kids at the ballet studio during my daughter's class, now sketch my grandkids ...Jewelry making, pine needle baskets, I tend to accumulate supplies, which tend to be beautiful all on their own! Over the last decade, I've taken classes from local artists - beeswax collage, slab pottery, & played with Soul Collage...

My mother-in law Dorothy Fender (now 98!) loved having a full collection of various art materials, & in the 70s & 80s, would often 'share' with me - when we were 'into' embroidery, she bought us EACH a full set of DMC embroidery cotton (!) later, Prismacolor coloured pencils.... she has some lovely pastel paintings she did in her earlier years, at this point, she no longer creates, but still appreciates what I bring over to show her!  

In February, I took a 'Muse Encounter' workshop with my friend artist Elisabeth Friese-Mick, who has been studying "Intentional Creativity"with Shiloh Sophia McCloud, so painting has taken the forefont!  Chocolate is an important part of the process, keeping the Muse happy while we paint! In later Spring & Summer, I've taken on-line & virtual courses with Shiloh & with another of her students, artist Flora Aube.
When I go to an art fair, or into a gallery, I often think "I could do that!"  So my creative process is stimulated by other artists, by nature, by imagination.

I'm lucky (or unlucky!) to have an Art Supply right in town, so when I want to try new materials, they're very handy! If I'm inspired, I may begin painting in the evening, with a candle lit & some music on, & paint into the wee hours! I often have a couple of pieces going .... & revisit older canvases, as the muse whispers. 
I'm a Virgo, so love tiny things - have done water-colors on 1 1/2" squares of paper!! & have made wee rugs for doll houses, so it's been a bit of a surprise to find myself working on canvases that are 2' x 3'!!

Yarrow Rose, Healer

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I love reality & fantasy .... my faces tend to be 'sweet' & people seem to find my paintings uplifting (which I strive for!) .... 
I find myself loving being part of the Intentional Creativity movement, putting intention into the canvas, writing words, saying a little prayer, before applying paint .... As a Reiki Master, I have had a number of artists study with me over the years, who also seek to infuse their art with healing & inspiration.   
Flames, eyes that speak volumes, loving kindness  spirals, art as healing icons .... 
Several of my pieces seem to 'ask' to be part of a story , that may be next! 

 3. What am I working on now? 

Zander helping Journal

I just began a little canvas (square: 13") and an art journal that has words, collage, drawing/painting. Last weekend my daughter's family & I joined a number of folks from our church for a camp out at the coast, & my youngest grandkids (3 & 3 1/2) LOVED helping paste & draw Grammie's art journal (& mom & dad were grateful for keeping them happily occupied for awhile!)
 

Green lady

4. Why do I create what I do?
Gosh! Doesn't everyone who is creative 'have to' create in some fashion or another?!! I think it's the nature of the beast ... As Denise says "When I’m creating I’m in a different world where time does not exist." YES!! She also mentions art as a good way for processing emotions beyond words ... I find that true as well. Art, any art, is therapeutic! 

If others enjoy my offerings as well, all the better!!

Blessings to all who visit & find inspiration in these words!

I'm linking to Paint Party Friday, & to that Artsy Blog Hop!!

Butterfly Dreams!

When I lived in community (Breitenbush Hot Springs), one of my favorite 'good night' blessings was 'Butterfly Dreams!' 

Wash & blocking

A couple of weeks ago, someone mentioned loving the colour Violet Oxide, & I decided to use that in my next wash .... My friend Leonard picked up a couple of canvases (22 x 28") when they were on sale at his campus bookstore, so I used one of those.  

When I was playing with paint on canvas, I found I had swirled butterfly wings ... what next?
A butterfly lady, of course! I played with lavender for her face, & for 'hair,' little spiky streeks ... antenae, and of course the wings

Fender's Blue female

As I was admiring some other lovely Ladies, I began thinking about her, that brownish violet in the wash, and realized she was a Blue - & 'not just any blue, but Fender Blue!' (Icaricia icaricaroides fenderi) As a kid, I always loved seeing a cloud of little blue butterflies fluttering above a puddle. 

 The Fender blue is specific to the Willamette Valley, was named for my father-in law in 1931, by his friend & fellow 'buterfly collector' Ralph Macy. By the end of that decade, it was thought to be extinct. Then, few years after his passing, it was rediscovered! (1989) Now a number of little 'sanctuaries' have been set up - scotch broom & blackberries mowed, & their host plant, the Kincaid lupin & favorite nectar mallows encouraged ... & the blues have returned to the valley & coast! 

Icaricia, Butterfly Queen

The males are Lôvélÿ soft blue, females tan...
So I added fringe on the edges of Her wings, (and marveled I'd already used that for "hair"!), stripes of pearl paint on her antenna, and a bit more adornment, ... a few orbs....




Icaricia, Butterfly Queen invites us to STOP and enjoy the flowers!

Their fragrances, their bright joyful colours!
Enjoy them ALL! 

Icaricia

Have favorites! 
Cut back invasive species & Plant those native to your area - see who comes to enjoy them!!
It's up to you to enjoy & nurture the garden of life!


Happy Paint Party Friday!

Painting up a storm!

This is my 50th post!! I love this little Creation Station, & hope it inspires your own creativity ....
 
Since beginning painting again last February, when I took Elisabeth's Muse encounter workshop, I have been painting up a storm!! Fifteen finished, or nearly so!  

On Summer Solstice, after finishing the second of my Art of Allowing ladies, Sekhmet, I had a 'council' meeting with 11 of the 12 of paintings I'd done, & my "star lady" wall hanging in the background ... 
The smallest paintings were done onmatt board & on a practice canvas. With 'Green Girl' I was experimenting with sea weed for hair ....

Spirit Council

Gabriella, Mary, Daffy-Down-Dilly

Gabriella - my Muse of Creativity - I've refined her face, & added ribbons to her dress ... her hair has some interference paint 'sparkle'

Mary of Magdalla - painted with inspiration from Shiloh Sophia McCloud
 & little Daffy-Down-Dilly (March)

Dancers, Wind Horse

Then "Dancers" which I began in March, on International Women's day, & gifted to my ballet teacher Emma Seth to hang in the studio July 8th. I used Flora Aube's 'scrubby technique on the Snow Queen's hair, crown & shoulders, and interference paint on the free form dancer.

"Wind Horse" is a favorite! Began this one in March (the canvas seemed big to me!) during my first 'open studio' day, painting with my friend Elisabeth. It's another I completed during the Art of Allowing course. For the horse's features, I was inspired by my friend in the course Ree Altavilla.

"Presence" was done honoring my Mom (I blogged about her here & here) & there's a little 'blue woman' on card beside her.

Yarrow Rose, Healer

 I painted "Yarrow Rose" to grace my healing room, using Shiloh's Mary Magdalene videos for inspiration & guidance. The flowers in her mantle are all healing herbs, & gases at her signature Yarrow. I finished her at the end of June, adding the purple background & Tree of Life.
(she was in my treatment room during the 'council' meeting)

Several more have 'come through' the creative pathway since this council, I'll tell you more about them later, & about Sekhmet, my fiery Solstice lady!

Happy painting!

Art of Allowing Spirit Dancer

Spirit Dancer - detail

    Spirit Dancer

The Drumbeat calls me forth
  To dance the Spirit Song
From Age to Age revealed
  in glory, in beauty, in peace.
Stars and moon, they dance through me! 
  Sea and shore, I hear their call
Mountain and River sing me home
* I dance *
Eagle & dove
  wing through my prayers
Child and maiden
  Life giver, crone
I AM ageless and timeless
  Beyond all, within all
Salmon swims and deer grazes
  Owl calls names
And still I dance

Spirit Dancer

I dance the Unborn, the departed
  The disenfranchized, the whole
I dance the captain and the king
  the minstrel and the drummer
  the courtisan and the Lady
I dance within, without
  Beyond & forever
I Dance
   I Dance
      I Dance!!
        I Dance your Spirit Home!!

Art of Allowing Painting 1

The invitation to Flora Aube's Art of Allowing was simple - "WE are on the journey of becoming, and the most graceful way through is to learn the art of Allowing; deeply listening for when to move and when to be still, when to charge against the edges and when to sit in our breath. It is cultivating the wisdom of relationship with the Great Mystery and serving as a midwife to the birth of Beauty in our lives and on our planet. This is the high art of embodying the Priestess within, empowered with full access to our divine gifts of Creativity."

Plein Aire studio

The time was right, I had just finished Mary of Magdalla, & was ready for more. The price was affordable, I said 'yes!' We spent a couple of weeks getting our studios ready (spring cleaning, painting one wall!) & sketching faces ....

We are about halfway through the course at this time - having painted one image, & just beginning a second (the class goes through June, and we'll have access to the videos throughout the summer).

"Painting happens INSIDE us, it's our job to give it birth!" 

We were invited to stay open to the mystery, tap our intuition & inner knowing as we moved into the creative - or Cre-ACT-ive process!
"This is a priactice, an unbelievable gift! Her love knows no limits!" 

Wash: Green Gold & Yellow ochre

Thursday May 15 it was a lovely sunny day, and I set up outside, taking a hazel pruning from last fall, that I'd cut low, & then noticed it would make a great bean (or other) support. A bit of time with some string & a couple of small oak branches, & I had a plein aire easel! (which I subsequently brought inside! 

Flora invited us to take a couple of hours with the wash - dilute paint & water, which we spread over the canvas ....

After the canvas dried, we could transfer a sketch from the faces we'd been drawing, or something seen in the canvas, & then begin blocking in with colour. I'd decided to go with dark skin tones, for the first time, so did a bit of research to choose colours!  

"When you invoke Her from this deep place of Soul, She is the Goddess revealed. She is birthed from the seed within you. She is a gift with a clear message!" Flora Aube.

Blocked

I used my friend Margaret Duperly's 'Rainbow Earth Tarot' to do a reading before beginning. A couple of the cards bespoke heartbeat/drum, so I brought my small drum outside, & as I applied the wash, at times I'd drum on the canvas! I spied a little dancer, & a face similar to the one I'd sketched in my wash! A fun part of having this makeshift easel, the twin sticks for supporting the canvas have a space in the middle, perfect for holding a corner of the canvas when I was tipping it to let the wash run! 

We were invited to spend a couple of days each week 'tending to our souls,' & I wrote "I intend to tend my soul with dance and art. I dedicate my creative energy to healing, wholing, & radiating Light! I was born to share my gifts & live with radical abundance! I am a dancer, a healer, a mystic & a mystery. I stand in my power & empower/inspire others to stand in theirs." ...

Lights & darks

I have been to weekly ballet class, got flowers for my office, & an African Violet for my art space. I have music on while I'm painting, & a candle lit. Sometimes incense ...

I used Yellow ochre (3 parts), Indian Yellow (3 parts),  burnt Umber (1 part), Quinacridone violet (1 part), & some of the Glazing Liquid for her base skin tone. 

One of my classmates wrote: "allowing is much softer than 'letting go' or 'giving up control,' Allowing - that asks for trust! What a beautiful process..."

Flora Asked us "What do you Love?" (about Her) 

I love Her energy, Her wisdom

I love Her emergence, coming out of a cocoon of an idea, a seed of a drawing, taking form, dimension

I love Her PATIENCE with the process, Her Willingness to allow my flow, my process, as I allow her guidance on what's next. 

I love the co-creation. 

I love listening for & discovering different elements as they emerge - Oh! She wants ...

What does she hold in her hand? A globe? A flame? it will become clear ...

Lights, Darks, details, FEATHERS!

Dance - I sketched dancers, tribal dancers, costumes...

The second week we began working with the skin tones, lights & darks on the face, 'cut yourself some slack' (My friend Candy Gordon used to tell me that!) What is she wearing? What colours does she want? 

For my first dark, I used Jenkin's Green, & light: 3 Yellow Ochre, 3 Indian Yellow, 2 Buff Titanium, 5 burnt umber, plus glazing medium ...

And rather than hair - Feathers!! Ooo, what fun, those feathers!

I'm posting to Paint Party Friday!