Roots & Wings

The invitation to this Month's Red Thread Circle read:
'It is often said we need to give our children roots for grounding, and wings to give their visions and dreams flight! Our creativity also thrives with roots and wings! 

Come explore what gives you stability, & vision into the dreams you'd like to give wings. We'll play with paint and paper and you'll leave with an altar piece to remind you of your own Roots & Wings.' 

Natasha's Tree

What gives you Roots? What grounds you into your body, your home, your community? What do you - and your surroundings need to thrive? Where do you yern to spread your wings? 

What bogs you down - old baggage, old stories that 'it's about time' you tossed? We drummed & rattled to connect with our roots, the things that give us stability. 
Our images shared commonalities, trees, earth, sky, greenery. We played with acrylics, tempra, a leaf stencil, collage to create our images of well rooted trees, and words for both the stability, and the dreams we want to give wings.
We shared chocolate, tea, stories. We remembered loved ones who have gone on, our friends & mentors, wise Reita & Lucita, grandparents, parents. 

Suzanne's, Wendy's, mine & Sepha's

I really enjoyed offering this session, and making my tree - our project coincided with this season's Sage Woman Magazine theme, Roots & Wings, & I read one of the poems as part of our opening Circle, Chani Zqibel's "Under the Tree." 

What things nourish YOUR roots?
What in your life needs new wings?

Happy Paint Party Friday 
 

Creative Community

This week my friend Lora offered me the role of lead Organizer for our NW Community MeetUp group. She's moving, so focusing her energy on the move rather than on classes for awhile. An organizer can have up to three groups under one subscription, and I only have one other; so it was a simple addition. 
With three students in this year's CoW teacher training, there are now10 IC teachers in the NW, so I've invited the others to join the group and leadership team. Shiloh Sophia encourages us to build community, and is excited for us. I'm working on guidelines for offerings, as wee may include a couple of teachers from different backgrounds; stay tuned!

In our Facebook circles, we continue to challenge ourselves to think of new ways to connect and share the offerings. To dream and vision.

Paperclay on chip brushes

Last weekend's we had class each day. On Friday, I invited past students to bring projects for an open studio, to coincide with the second session of a small class, it worked well. 
Saturday's adventure was Sepha's Magic Paintbrush class, and we had a great time! My "magic wand" fell on the ground as I was getting out of the car, so I needed to redo it with a new Crystal. I used paperclay around the handle and painted the clay before wrapping with the waxed linen, and actually like it better! The charm is Mexican silver, from our bead store field trip.

On Sunday, we offered a sweet class for friends of a woman who's terminally ill. She and several of her co-workers had done "Paint Night" events with Sepha, so invited her to offer a Private party! They all worked on a large piece, and did a smaller version on 10 x 10" canvases. I brought my harp Tuilleadh, and played for the visioning. That was one of my visions for my classes, and I really enjoy offering the meditative background!

And, Ta Då!! This is my one-hundredth blog post!! Mägic & CreativiTea are flowing!! 

Mägic Wand Brush

 Happy Paint party Friday  & Express your Creativity

#intentionalcreativity #Nadya'satelier #magicwand

Queens and Codes

Portal for a Queen

Next week I'll offer Queen of Your Own Heart, a playshop to encounter my student's 'inner queens' & embracing their personal power. I have been watching that series of videos from Shiloh (here's a little slideshow). It's interesting to see how her presentation style has shifted in the 4 years since that offering was produced.

Today I met with Sepha to plan a bit, then stopped by the co-op art gallery where I'll hold the class, & spent some time in the Classroom. It's laid out for workshops, with paint splattered tables & a group of easels, a deep sink and ample space. I've taken a couple of workshops there, but it's interesting to view it from the perspective of offering one.

Part of my process today was to sweep the floor. In our teacher circle, we've been discussing preparing for workshops & some of the energetics - & I'm working on a document that will include options for others to choose from. One of the simplest ways to clear energy is to do some physical clearing, & sweeping is one of the easiest. 

Last week, Shiloh Sophia and Emily Grieves offered: 'Codex,' painting Our Lady of Guadalupe, inviting us to explore with them the symbols (codes) & background of the lady. Her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 has ripples back to the book of Revelations, chapter 12, where a 'woman rayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of twele stars, and she was pregnant. ... the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman ...' 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

These elements correspond with the pre-conquest tradition of the people in that part of Mexico, 'She who flies on wings of eagles, from the region of Light!' The crescent moon is allied with the crescent shaped knife, which cuts away what no longer serves. Her knee is bent, she's dancing, as the indigenous women danced their prayers!

Several years ago, my daughter Mary found this little Guadalupe, painted on shell. Don't you love her sweet smile? & there is Juan Diego, whom Shiloh invites us to 'think of ourselves as him - what does SHE ask us to do?'

I love Emily (who now lives in Mexico)'s interest in & sharing about the different symbols. I've begun my lady, with the four petalled flower in the center, surrounded by those solar rays ... & the virgin (Shiloh quoted the origin of the word, which meant 'a woman in possession of herself') There will be stars - she comes from stardust, like all of us!

Am I not your Mother?

It will be interesting to see how she comes through this time, & what messages she brings, at this time, on this canvas. 
Dancing among the stars, with the moon under her feet

Happy Paint Party Friday!

Commencement

Our final project for my Color of Woman Teacher Training was to group all the blog posts from our Online Classroom into our Initiate books! I had done a good job of keeping up with the posts, and had saved most of them as files. My son, bless him, has a good document assembling program, so we played tag team to assemble it. I'd convert to pdf format, & email them, generally in order; and got together a couple of times (while he & his kids were in town for Nutcracker rehearsals), to format it. And finally, to add page numbers to the table of contents. Whew!

Priestess of the Cosmic Portal

One of our final assignments was to offer a two day workshop, then continue to work on our demo painting for several more days, completing it 'on our own' (rather than following Shiloh's lead & videos) for our 'Visionary' painting. 

My workshop (in November) was Medicine Woman, & the lady who emerged is: Priestess of the Cosmic Portal. The Compass on the bottom left includes totems from each of the paintings in our Color of Woman Compass - the Dragon dancing in the center from Legend, Rose in the N: Muse; Hummingbird in the East: Talisman; Owl in the South: Soul Fire; & Raven in the West: Visionary. There are words collaged around her heart which came during the journey I led; one is 'Raven's Gold' - the Sun is in the upper Raven's beak!

We needed to identify and document our 'Soul Work,' the work we're called to cause & create in the world; & develope our 'action plans' for 2016. Like many of our projects, this was done both Rt brain 'doodle,' beginning with December & working back, & linear from January on.


Here's my entry for January:

• Jan. 2 Visioning 2016 Red Thread event

• update website – new format? Host? Work on print materials – business cards, menus, format for flyers, photos of paintings for cards & prints, work on email list, put known dates on MeetUp, update FB artist page
• Meet with youth and childrens' coordiators at FBC (First Baptist Church)
• formalize plans for February workshop & advertize (MeetUp, Facebook event, flyers, e-mail list) coordinate with area alumni
• attend Work Week Winedown at Walnut City Wineworks Jan 29, take cards\
  
  

  

  Siren Song

  I also have several personal ongoing goals - to blog more regularly (!!), a paint day (minimum) each week, and to do some of the things I've neglected while engaged in Color of Woman (including a good general de-thug of the house)!
  
  
  We're halfway through the month, & I've facilitated the Jan 2 Visioning event, & helped with 'Faith & Watercolor' at Church last Sunday; took down my show at Walnut City WW November & December, and entered a couple of pieces in Currents Gallery's January Show - "Myths & Legends," Elen Star-Path & Siren Song; which were accepted & hung! 
  Not bad! 
  I've also been asked to speak this Sunday on the support of the Art Community during this past year, and signed up to be part of the newly begun Intentional Creativity Leadership Circle. Our first Circle call was Thursday, & today there is a group painting experience, Weave, another exploration of dreams for 2016. 
  So though I feel I'm still integrating the training, I also realize I've not been as 'lazy' as I've felt! 
  My friend Sepha, who has helped with several of the workshops & the Vision board session, is enrolled in this year's teacher training!! Woo hoo! She is already an artist and teacher, and has a lot to offer, & we love sharing studio time. Weaving dreams, community, creativity!
  
  
  Happy Paint Party Friday
  
  
   
  
  
  
  

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!! 

Trees on display & a YES!

"Trees" - Currents Gallery

  Happy Year of the Sheep!

The year is off to a good start, with two of my pieces on display at Currents Gallery in their TREES show! The show runs through mid March, & both pieces are for sale.

Bhodi Tree Buddha - acrylic on canvas

Bhodi Tree Buddha was inspired by a photo of a buddha head carved into a bhodi tree ... wow! I love this little piece. 
12 x 12", Golden Acrylic on Canvas

The second piece, Quickbeam, is a vignette of a section of 'Gaia,' that I painted in Jassy Watson's e-course - LOVED working with Jassy, who lives in Australia! 

Lovers of the Lord of the Rings (especially the books) will remember the 'Hasty' Ent Quickbeam, who loved the Rowan trees which once graced his part of the forest. He befriended the hobbits Merry & Pippen as they came through the Forest of Fanghorn, after escaping capture ... I wished the second movie had featured more of their adventures, & less war, .... 

Quickbeam - acrylic on canvas 10 x 10"

I have a small show (5 paintings) up at a nearby shop, Inner Oasis, more Musings! The shop is about a block from the gallery, at 448 NE 3rd street.

Pieces include a couple from the previous show, Yarrow Rose & She stands between the Worlds, plus the butterfly queen Icaricia, & Spirit Dancer.

Pieces on my easel include my Legendary Self & the Queen of the Cosmos, from Shiloh Sophia's teachings. 

And ... drum roll, I decided to take the plunge, & said YES to Color of Woman 2015 Teacher Training!! YIKES!! .... exciting & overwhelming, all at once! Am I shaking in my boots? YES!! .... & excited to be on board! 

Quickbeam & friends

I was happy to see a couple of pieces by my friend Cherilyn SunRidge in the Currents show - one hung just above Quickbeam!! & isn't this felted tree lady wonderful? 

What's on your easel? 
Happy Paint Party Friday!!

Street of Dreams

Each year, our local co-op art Gallery, Currents, hosts several juried shows, & invites submissions from area artists. 

Cityscapes show - 3 paintings on  L by Kathleen Buck

In early August, I stopped by the Merri Artist for some Golden paint (ON SALE!), then went down the street to browse the Gallery, & chatted with the Artist on duty. She brought out a canvas (8 x 16") & the submission form, & before I knew it, I was out the door with both, & on my way to paint a 'cityscape' ....

Earlier in the summer, our town was voted one of the top two Main Streets in the whole US, in the Parade Magazine contest! If you peek at the photos, Currents Gallery is just beside R Stuart Wine Bar (just beside the photographer) & we have a very sweet main street ... 
I thought of people on park benches (Kathleen Buck did a pair of those, plus a painting of the front of the gallery, which will be used in future promotions), mmm, perhaps a skyline ... & I took pictures as I walked downtown, but nothing quite gelled .... then I thought of painting little 'hobbity houses,' little round cob houses, & Street of Dreams was born! 

Street of Dreams

Mid September, I filled out the paperwork & dropped off my picture, then waited to hear if it had juried into the show... yes!! 

The opening was last Saturday, during our monthly 'Art & Wine Walk' and ... it had already sold!! See the red sticker? (a few days later, a musician friend let me know she bought it 'the first piece of real art I've purchased!'

Nadya & Street of Dreams

After our book group, several friends & I went downtown to the opening, & Ingrid snapped this picture of me with my little Street of Dreams. We decided we both wanted to live in the house with the Red Door (Ingrid actually lives in a lovely round wooden yurt, & just painted her door purple!  

I love the piece on the top left behind me - a mosaic of buttons, & little LED fairy lights on the trees! The lights go on just after Thanksgiving, & brighten up our winter streets! 

I'm posting to Paint Party Friday - happy painting!

Ether

Last week I posted a photo of a little 'green lady' on my easel ...

Ether - WIP

As I worked on Her, the colour scheme shifted to lavenders & blues, with an airy veil ....

Elemental: Ether (8.1)

By the end of the day, She was almost complete!

Ether, "I come to you from beyond the veils, to remind you of our Spirit connections.... we are always Home!
Never forget WHO you ARE, and what you came to BE. 
I come to remind you, in the beginning! In the end! 
Now is ALL, ALL is Love. 
ALL IS. 
ALL is within and all around.
I AM Ether!"

Zephyr - WIP

She is the third in the 'Elemental' series, joining windy, winged Zypher & sunny Sekhmet.  

With each of these ladies, I began with a wash, then looked within the movement of the paint for the being .... 
I am intrigued with their 'crowns' .... each a bit different, but similar. 
For the translucence, I used white (Buff Titanium) mixed with Medium and painted over the hair, veils, crown .... 
I love interference paint, which shimmers in different angles ... Ether has lavender eyes & lips .... done with interference violet 

Zephyr - 7.1

When I stopped by Merri Artist this week, I found they're having their August sale on Golden Paint (!) so I picked up larger sizes of some of my most used paint, & helped Merri assist a customer from california trying to remember the names of the paint she wanted - "Ah! That would be Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold ..."

And across the street, at Currents Gallery (our local artist's co-op) I picked up an entry form & 8 x 16" canvas for the September juried show: Cityscape!  
"A cityscape is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, print or photograph of physical aspects of a city or urban area."
If you're an artist in Oregon, you might wish to enter!! The price of entry includes the canvas (which may be embellished) & jury fee .... all entries must be for sale.

Happy Paint Party Friday!