Crystalline Heart - Wonder Woman

This week Shiloh Sophia invited 40 of us in the Intentional Creativity® Community to share our art with the group during the Feminine Frequency Festival

I am sharing Crystalline Heart, my Wonder Woman, in the MUSEA : Intentional Creativity show. Painted during the online workshop with Jessica Enovald, her message is:

“We are all whole and holy. Each of us carries gifts to bless and uplift each other. Your Heart holds the spark that ignites others – weaving an infinite web of love and connection that stretches through time and space! 

"Your magic harp sends ripples along the web, reminding all who resonate with their own connection. You hold the chalice of renewal, and are allied with the Phoenix of Translation. Your inner vision and compassionate heart lead you ever home. Oh Sada – it is good!"

Earlier posts about this class are here and here. We used Wonder woman and her allies as Red Thread Circle and Class themes last summer and fall, with delightful, powerful muses emerging! Inquiries include

• Who are your allies and companions 
• What super powers are you developing?
• What symbols activate these talents?
• What's your theme song? 

Margot, Denise and Carol - fall 2019

I love using round canvases - and enjoyed beginning by using an extra piece of Red Thread for mark making. 

  

This is a powerful theme, and one of my favorite paintings! Wonder Woman is the class for summer in my Medicine Wheel series.

Blessings on your journey of connection with your own sense of wonder and empowerment! 

Red Thread Circle Time

We began offering Virtual Circles as a pivot from the in person gatherings early in the summer, and one of those early circles was Thinking Cap. 

What comes to mind when you hear the words Thinking Cap? 

Some of us had done the process during a Guild members call, and we chose it for our August virtual Red Thread Circle offering.

We did this one during a Guild members call last year, and this week for our virtual Red Thread Circle. 

• What image comes with the phrase "put on my thinking cap?"
• How do you access information and your intuition - do you have different access channels?
• Are there different caps for different purposes?
• What feels unique? What similar to others?

I love our smaller circles - 15 women joined - from nearby Albany Oregon, to as far away as Florence, Italy! It is always a treat to see how our muses interact, and we inspire each other. We began with a couple of readings from my co-host Linda Allen and then a bit of Metacognative drawing - put pen or market on the paper, and  do a free form doodle, while thinking of the phrase, "___ my thinking cap" (activating, accessing, what's ...) we drew for about a minute, then wrote about what we accessed. 

We went on to sketch/ paint an image of our Thinking Cap for 5-10 minutes - and what a delightful variety of images emerged, and then shared during our Red Thread Circle. Cindy recalled doodling light bulbs in her college notebooks when she had "ah-ha!"' moments!

One lady showed up at the base of a tree, with messages in the roots and leaves - which led to a wonderful discussion of how tree communities support each other, sharing nutrients and connection via the mycorrhizal fungi... 

It is such a joy to share time and creative process with this community, 4 of the gals are in this year's Color of Woman teacher training - 

CoW intern Carol Fairbanks led one of our circles last month -Creating Home with Your Heart as one of her IC events - and last weekend Christy Cozby led her own version - I did the first in my Juju Journal

And the one with Christy on canvas - the prompts led to recalling the cute 50s home my dad painted pink, with dark red trim and a white roof (to reflect the Central Oregon sun) ... And the Blue Door of my piano teacher's little back room Bible Bookstore. 

 

Carol is offering her second IC session this Sunday  in a longer session- Tea Time With the Muse - you're invited to join us! 

Happy Paint Party Friday! - enjoy the artsy blog roll! 

Vision Plan Cards

Many of us who identify as creative are challenged when it comes to the business side of things! And even zoning in on what we have to offer can be a challenge - so many ideas! So many possibilities!! 

Thoughout Color of Woman and the other Intentional Creativity® trainings, we are offered tips and tools to help fine tune our vision, and keep us on track. One of the recent offerings for both students and course graduates was Dancing Entrepreneur, which was offed as either a weekend course, or a deeper 5 week dive. 

Vision cards

I participated I the longer journey, and enjoyed the depth of offerings, calls, and focus groups that emerged. Several of our teacher Shiloh's colleagues and advisors shared insights, and it was very rich.  In addition to creating a folded Vision Plan Book, we created a deck of 16 card Dancing Entrepreneur deck, as action prompts for our next 'Dance Move.' We wrote short prompts or Dares on the back, and Shiloh suggested drawing one daily.

Vision Cards

I loved seeing the other students' work, and was especially drawn to a visual organization system Karen Dawn created, and to how she incorporated the cards. Karen has developed a visual planning wall that helps her stay organized and focused, and I'm excited to participate in her 6 week course. 

Our next assignment is to create a Vision Board for our own planning wall. I enjoyed Karen's video with tips on creating one. I've done and taught several over the years, it feels timely to do one focused on current energies! 

I'm thinking of creating some calendar pages for my wall, like I've done in journals. One of Karen's inspirations for her wall was realizing how many great ideas were tucked away in her journals, and "out of sight, out of mind!" (Does that happen to you, too?)

Calendar spread

One of the Creative Business planning projects we did in CoW was to paint our Biz-Muse - she's a whimsical muse, with a winged eye, for seeing behind the ordinary, and intentions collaged on strips of paper.

Biz-Muse

Next up - collage time!!  

I used an 11×15" sheet of watercolorpaper for the backing, and images and words from several magazines for the board. The mountains are The Three Sisters, which I grew up with in Central Oregon.

Catching Dreams

It's always fun to experiment with the creative process, and see what emerges. This week there's a thread of unrest, so I find painting prayer dots a soothing balance. With that in mind, I was curious when I saw my friend Gisela's tutorial video on painting a dream catcher in a journal! 

My grandkids had out the box of craft paint, as they had been decorating their trash baskets lids, and I had one of my composition book journals with me. These are great places for creative play, it doesn't have to be perfect! It was a lovely ready to sit at their picnic table in the sun and paint! 
I stared with several glides for the background, and splattered stars - seeding my dreams. One role of a dream catcher is to capture the bad dreams so they don't trouble us - so happy to do that right now! 

Night sky with stars

The next step is to paint the hoop, either free hand, or using a container as a template, and then begin to fill in the pattern - 

Dream Catcher - basic lines

As we begin to fill in the web, we are invited to consider what we are grateful for - dreams that have already manifest - family, basics: food and shelter, health ... 

Dreams and prayer dots

After filling in the web of lines, and adding some color while reflecting in gratitude, we painted feathers for the dreams we wish to bring in - continued well being, time/resources for creativity, safety, ... While engaged in the creative process, our whole brain lights up, and insights flow - this is a good time to lightly play attention, and jot down ideas! 

In our community, we often "Pray in dots," and I had three friends in mind as I painted dots around the hoop and feathers, I had three friends in mind with needs for healing and comfort. 
After I came home (across town) I pulled out a board book juju journal I began with Cat Caracelo and her 12 Days of Solstice group last December. I joined two matching books with black art paper as a hinge - this center spread was the foundation for the dream catcher page.

Hopes and Dreams

I followed the same process with dark paint, this time my Golden Fluid acrylics, then slayer stars, hip, web and adornments. The comet of new wisdom, Neowise, is seeding new directions, the feather brings insights, and the goddess stone helps ground and center. I used my water pitcher as a template for the hoop, and painted prayer dots around the edges. 
This version echos the web pattern of the dream catchers I've made with supple sticks and linen imitation sinue. 

One of the Dream Seeds is to do a series of these mini classes with a theme of Good Medicine - we've offered several in our bimonthly Red Thread Circles - What's in your Basket? Medicine Wheel - revisiting the color wheel and Medicine Black via the lens of the four direction wheel - and Prayer Flags.

Medicine Wheel

Happy Paint Party Friday! 

Collaborations

Since my own journey through Color of Woman teacher training, I've had the pleasure of collaborating with several SiStars in our community! 

The very first collaboration was at the beginning of my CoW journey, June, 2015! Graduate Lora Pirtle invited me to join the PNW MeetUp group, and post my offerings there. When I asked about auditing her upcoming 'Mystical Mermaids' class, she replied, "no, teach it with me!"
Here are the class photos - I played harp during the visioning, and she'd prompt me to show them what's next throughout the afternoon. (Yikes!!)

Serena of the 7 Seas

The next collaboration was as I was gearing up to teach my 13 step class, Dancing with the Muse. My friend Sepha, who'd been teaching Paint Nite for several years, gave me tips for teaching in a carpeted room without running water (the chapel at my church!) and then attended! 
She asked great "beginner" questions that helped keep me on track, and helped with set up!! (The link has some of her excellent tips!) That fall, Sepha enrolled in CoW '16, and we co-facilitated many monthly circles and periodic classes over the next several years. 

Sepha, Nadya & Shiloh Sophia - 2016

With this Spring's turn toward offering circles and class virtually, I decided to invite SiStars to co-facilitate my monthly Red Thread circles, and added a second circle each month. It's exciting to team with gals who live over an hour away, and can't easily attend our in-person circles, and to benefit from their different passions and soul work.

In May Linda Allen, who is a graduate of both Red Thread Guide and Color of Woman courses, and is finishing Catt Geller's Cosmic Smashbook course, offered "What's in your Basket?" (during this time). Linda has a strong background in crafts, and we've both woven baskets, so she she suggested a 3-D approach! 

Morning's basket, leather, twine

In April, I teamed with EFT (tapping) practitioner and CoW graduate Sherry Rueger Banaka, with a Metacognative process in resilience and short tapping sequence. Gals from her tapping community joined us from England and British Columbia! Our second June circle will be with Tina Green, who recently moved to Washington State.

One of the benefits of collaboration is that wider reach, connecting with beloveds from afar and from different circles, all connected by the Red Thread. Yesterday, our attendees included 2 other IC graduates, and two students - one in CoW 2020, one in RT Guide! Each is interested in co-facilitating a circle.

Whatever the field, collaborations invite us to think outside the box:

• Who has wisdom and skills that complement yours?
• Might beathwork or movement be a good addition? 
• Can someone help with set up in exchange for attendance?
• Does a friend know a craft or skill you'ld like to learn? 
• And who is responsible for what? (Spreading the word, registration, teachings...)

My circles are currently complimentary, but when charging for events, it's important to be clear about the logistics of how expenses and income from an event will be split.

One of the silver Linings during this time of social distancing is the opportunity for unexpected collaborations!!

Happy Paint Party Friday!

What's in your Basket?

It's so fun to be collaborating with my Red Thread SiStars on virtual circles! Linda is graduate of both the Red Thread Guide and Color Of Woman, and competing the Cosmic Smashbook certification course! She's also a super craftswoman, and basket maker. 

Our inquiry for yesterday's circle was "What tools do we need in our baskets now?"  With choices on how to create our baskets using simple materials! Linda and I've both made pineneedle baskets, and brought one to share on our call! 

Pineneedle basket

Several women from Oregon joined our call, plus 3 from E Canada! As usual, the finished pieces varied in materials, shape, colors and contents. I tore strips from a privacy envelope, colored with Inktense pencils them wove the strips, and glued then to another envelope to make a pocket. One gal wove silk strips, others added feathers or bark ...

Nadya's basket, Red Thread and vision plan cards

Linda's basket and collage

Our next circles will be June 11 & 25th, at 1 PDT. 
The link will be on the MeetUp announcement. I look forward to more collaborations with my IC SiStars. 

Margie's basket

What tools do you need at this time?

Jana's basket - handpainted silk strips 

Enjoy creating - and happy Paint Party Friday!

Musing Around the Medicine Wheel

Everything inside us is held in a web of stories. When we create around stories, we discover juicy new chapters, can begin to hear with new ears, see with new eyes. The creative process engages both sides of the brain, and gives us new access and clarity going forward. Often we discover new paths around old obstacles. 

Over the last five years, I've led circles and taught classes from this perspective of bringing Intention to the creative process, since the reintroduction to my Muse of creativity. I've designed a series of classes around the Compass that can be taken in series, or stand alone. Many of these were first offered at my friend Margot's beautiful rural retreat outside Corvallis. 

Each turn of the wheel offers opportunity to explore different aspects of ourselves, and navigate the terrain of becoming more true to who we are. 

Spring is a potent time as Mama Gaia invites us to stretch out limbs and reawaken. This is the perfect time to listen for her call and tune into fresh energy. The urge is to plant and nurture new life and ideas. East, sunrise, element of air.

She Changes - 2018

Muses light fuses and nudge us to grow. In summer, our creative juices are flowing, and our days are often action packed. The world needs every Wonder Woman to recognize and engage her own Supper Powers, Muse inspired creativi-tea can be the perfect way to harness them! South, midday, element of fire.

Wonder Woman - 2019

In the fall, our Harvest Queen beckons us to go within and discover our inner Queen's wisdom ways. A true Queen is not a diva, or someone who 'rules' over another. She is privy to her own heart centred wisdom, and a steward of resources for the people. West, sunset, element of water. 
(The Harvest Queen class demo is a good example of how far we get in a one day class.)

Queen's Harvest - 2019 

As days lengthen and winter sets in, we appreciate each bright day, and are reminded to Shine our own light more brightly. This is a time of contemplation and renewal, of remembering that, like snowflakes, we are each unique and perfect in our own way. North, night, element of Earth. 
(Snow Queen also began as a class demo - this post shows her in both phases!)

Snow Queen - 2017

I invite you to join me in this journey around the Medicine Wheel, deepening with the teaching of each direction, and into your own true essence. Classes include instruction, time for journaling, group sharing, and chocolate!! 

Harvest Queen, fall 2019

Happy Paint Party Friday!