Tea with Gabriella

Tea with the Muse

Elisabeth's invitation read: “I am so excited to be offering my first 'Color of Woman Method' painting workshop, "Meeting Your Creative Muse", on February 15, 2014, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at my new art space in my home. This process uses intentional creativity, visionary imagination, and intuitive painting, to encounter the Muse, thus accessing our own inner world and feminine wisdom, for guidance, inspiration, and imagery. We will be using acrylic paint on a 16" x 20" canvas in a step-by-step process. As a first time offer, which is part of my Color of Woman teacher certification requirements, you can take part in this fun and insightful workshop at a discounted rate. Limited space available so I recommend you sign up soon.”

Inga and I signed up right away, & I got more eager as time for the class approached. Elisabeth has been studying Color of Woman with founder Shiloh Sophia McCloud, both online & in workshops with Shiloh and other Cosmic Cowgirls in California.

Elisabeth with her drum

A few days before the workshop, Elisabeth sent a message on preparation: “Please bring a journal/sketchbook, pencil, and a bandana or eye covering with you. In preparation for the class, I would like to ask you to contemplate and write down beforehand, which areas in your life have benefited and been enhanced by your acts of creativity; where are you maybe holding back from expressing yourself; when do you feel most in alignment with your soul and spirit; has your creative fire been nudging/calling you to show up for yourself and/or your community this year in new ways or directions; and lastly, what questions do you might like to ask your Creative Muse when you encounter her (these can also be general questions about life, calling, relationships, etc.).”

Background & Portal

Finally, it was Saturday, class time!! After some snafus getting there (we were a bit late, then took a wrong turn... did I mention Mercury is Rx?) Inga & I arrived! It was a rainy, blustery day, perfect for being indoors & painting! After some orientation, we brewed cups of tea, & settled in for a check in,  & grounding. Next came a drum journey, to 'meet the muse' as we entered her home, & settled in for another cup of tea, & did the Red Thread Ceremony.

After some sharing & instructions, we took to our canvases, & wrote a statement of intention in charcoal, which was then spritzed with water infused with flower essences. We began painting the background, with three colours chosen intuitively. We covered the canvas with abstract play of colours. Since we worked in Acrylics, the drying time was fairly quick. And we had a bowl of seeds & nuts, and another of blueberries to snack on! (plus some heavenly dark chocolate!)

Muses conferring during our lunch break

The next step was painting a portal for the Muse to emerge through, & when that was dry, roughing in a portrait outline, first in white charcoal, then with white paint. Symbols from the first journey were roughed in as well. Then: Lunch time!! We ventured out to a nearby deli for a bit of a break (while the 3 muses conferred!)

When we returned, we did another little journey, to receive symbols & ideas of how our Muse wished to be portrayed. We again chose three or four colours: fleshtone for the face & neck, one or two for the background, the last for the hair. After those dried, we painted highlights & shadows, then facial feature; finally 'opening' the eyes! The last step before leaving for the day was applying a glaze (thinned paint) with a big brush, & quickly wiping off! Shiloh has a sample video tutorial of this step on her website.

Highlights & shadows

Sometime during the afternoon, the name 'Gabriella' came through. After a closing circle, we packed up to return home, with our Muses safely protected for the journey. More details will be added, symbols & tools; & we've been journaling & listening to Museal promptings … 

Elisabeth did a wonderful job of setting & holding space for creativity to flow, and for the Muses to emerge! I have journeyed before, & especially appreciated the shamanic aspects of the workshop. Her teaching style was clear & she was quite willing to answer questions, or encourage us to 'ask your muse!'

Gabriella

The tea, the snacks, the background music, essence sprays, and Elisabeth's BEAUTIFUL studio space helped set the tone for sharing a delightful day. I enjoyed the balance of her helping us, & working on her own Muse portrait! I can see many applications of this process. Notice how different pallets emerged as our paintings progressed! Elisabeth's began very watery with blues & greens, while Inga's and mine had more browns & purple!

It was a powerful experience, which I could feel integrating for several days after our time together. I feel inspired to let creativity flow, & to take more introspective time, especially in the morning. I've also got several other pictures 'percolating' (though my Muse is also still in process!) …. where to begin?

The Three Muses (mine, Elisabeth's, Inga's)
Photos and art by Nadya King, Elisabeth Freise-Mick, Inga Gelford

 

Caravan Dreams

I have always been intrigued with Caravans! 
As a child, we camped by rivers (the Metolious & the Deschutes) so my dad could go fly fishing - at first with two tarps (one for a drop cloth, the other a wind break) & my mom had a wooden camping box outfitted with dishes, pots n pans, basic supplies that, along with our Coleman stove & lantern, food & sleeping gear, allowed us to be off to the mountains on a given weekend!

Then it was a Higgens Tent Trailer (Get out of the way when my dad was working on getting those tent poles in place!!  I loved the blue flash, when the lantern was going out at night, & loved having my daddy sing mom & me to sleep!

Then a small camp trailer, which was easier to set up (he always carried a plumb bob, to help level it), & later another, slightly larger trailer. My Uncle Lloyd built a small storage trailer, similar to the back of this Teardrop, that they'd bring camping. It folded out, & was so clever. I think they had a tent for sleeping.

Parked in our driveway, our trailer made a great 'sleep over' room when a galfriend came to visit. We could giggle till all hours without keeping my folks awake!

I loved READING about caravans - Rummer Godden's 'The Didikoi' about a little gypsy girl is a favorite. And pictures! Sigh .... 
I spent 3 months one fall living in a Yurt at Breitenbush, beautifully built by Zoe, decorated & kept by my friend Gwynne.

Last year my friend Nancy took a workshop at the coast, & encountered a group of women campers, Sisters on the Fly, with adorable, decked out trailers ... & decided she was going to get one herself! 
She was staying in the same park, in the motor home she & her hubby own .... but having a cute little trailer beckoned. She considered fitting their cargo trailer with her Glamping Gear, but her hubby & son weren't sure they'd enjoy towing a yellow & pink trailer ...
So this spring, she picked a travel trailer up for a song (well, the cost the previous owner  incurred re-upolstering the cushions!) & it's a work in progress!

We hope it's ready for the road in a month, when we head to our HS reunion. Meanwhile, I've been thinking how fun it would be to have a little caravan of my own, sitting in my driveway, dreaming of the road ....(LOVE Penni's pink treasure, with custom spare tire cover!!)

Soul Collage - Bees

Saturday my friend Heidi invited a group to a Ladies Night 
Soul Collage playdate! 6 of us met at a home with a lovely large dining room table for our adventure. Heidi and Anita had taken a S C workshop last summer, just after Heidi's mom Susan made Transition, & I'd taken one a year or two ago at a shop in town (besides making many cards on my own.)

We began with a brief overview of the process, and put images we'd brought to share on the large table. We took awhile, each assembling our own little pile, & going through some of the magazines for others. The three little girls (7-8 yrs old) chose some as well, then dashed outside to play in the fading light!

Heidi, Anita & I laid out the cards we'd made, face down, & mixed together, & each of us chose 3 cards for a mini 'reading,' in two groups of 3. We took turns drawing one card, & sharing our observations/ & how it 'fit' for us. One would 'scribe,' which we also took in turns. 

Then we took a little time, looking at the other cards, before pulling out our boards, glue sticks, scissors & images, to begin the process of creating new cards. I had stopped by a frame shop earlier in the day, & bought more card stock (matt board 8" x 10" center pieces, cut in half to make 5"x 8" cards).

All of us were attracted to pumpkins, sunflowers & fall colours. My first card (of 4 made that evening) is Bees - I just noticed the Queen Bee in the center of the honeycomb! (Love how these card images keep unfolding!) 
Sunday evening I dreamed of organization, & Monday morning wrote my 'I Am the One Who' definition:

I Am the One Who is organized and diligent 
 - who makes beauty from Nectar
I Am the Goddess in form
I tender initiations

I Am the One Who holds the key to your fairy cottage
I love symetry & form
My home smells of the Nectar of the Goddess
I Am She who feels her way home

(& this morning added:
I Am part of a Community of bees
I Am dependant on my Sisters & dependable
We blaze trails for each other & leave signs along the way 
"This is how it is done! Come THIS way!"
No separation - yes, we CAN!
We are a Nation of Women with Wings

Sunflower: I am perfect order, I radiate power, serenity, beauty in form & symetry.

Molly Sheehan, of Green Hope Farm Essences writes "I AM God, a Chalice of wisdom, power & love in perfect & balanced action." - & "Lets say you awoke one morning to find you had been cast in the role of a hero of a real life drama in which you must save the planet. This would be the essence to put in your super hero kit. Sunflower knows that each of us is a manifestation of divinity in human form. It helps us be a chalice of light with our personalities the servant of our divinity, our male energy in balance with our female energy & all systems go for being divinity in balanced action."

About bees (her Honeybees in the White Hawthorn essence) she writes: "An Ecuadorian Shaman once told me the energy & noise of honeybees is so healing that he sleeps with a beehive under his bed and his pillow right over the hive (!) ....Honeybees actually correct energy imbalances, and regulate energy flow on the land they work. They are the harmonizers of nature. Their vibration (in this essence) helps soothe energy disturbances, release disharmonious energies, and correct problems in energy flow in our energy systems."

Since my ? for the evening was my 'next steps in teaching energy (primarily Qigong & Reiki) this card fits the bill!!!

Encaustic Wax

Mmmmm - got a box of 'pretty colours' today - a set of encaustic wax 'crayons'
Last year when I took the beeswax collage class, Diane mentioned encaustics (& had us do a bit of drawing, if we wanted, with regular crayons to get the idea) . . . . so today I stopped by Merri Artist & picked up a box of colours. There are also little pots of wax mixed with medium - but while handy, those are more expensive - & I tend to pick up art supplies (what, you too??) & then not necessarily USE said supplies.


Here's a video with some examples - & take a look at this lovely "Gold Dragon" by Martina Loos I want to do things like this!!
I've watched several of the videos, & it looks like a lot of fun. I have a tiny iron that I used for the beeswax collage, & a little iron that I got when I was making Christmas presents. It doesn't get super hot - so it may be just right for Encaustics - or it may be too cool.

The white 'mountain' peeks are made by painting wax on the iron, then drawing it up - same with the sky & green at the bottom. Martina uses tools to remove wax, & a smaller heated 'clip' to draw with wax . . . hope to have some goodies to show off soon!

New Card, fun socks

I've found myself posting (even creative stuff!) over at the Vale more than here - sorry!!

It took me awhile to get started making soul collage cards, & I still do it sporadically - but it's so fun!!
(In the beginning, I visited several frame shops & had them cut 8x10 card stock in half, so I had a stack of 'blanks' - I left some big, too.)
Last weekend at my grown neice's BD party, there was a participatory art project - a canvas on easel with acrylic paint 'background' - & lots of mags to cut images from, more paints, stamps, etc.

I brought along a little board for me, & a couple of the bigger ones for my granddaughters (who needed to come with us at the last minute) - so they could do their own art, with all those supplies! I did another card myself, (like the idea of painting on it first!! & acrylics dry fast) & they were SO engaged. Kayleen painted a small (~ 4x4") square on a piece of card she found, & on a magazine cover!! They glued some images, but loved all the colours!

Mine has to do with creativity - the crochet lace in a hand, the oriental painting & supplies, the bit of basket & on the other side a lovely rich brocate.

My daughter said I could put grommets & ribbon on the one I made, & sell them at the Sat Market!! (one wouldn't call it soul-collage!!) I thought of finishing them with beeswax, & perhaps getting a few of the encaustic colours sold at our great little art shop, & playing with those. A booth is only $15, & I believe you can sign up sporadically - which is much more my weekend style!

The other projects have been knitting lots of fingerless gloves. I finished a pair for my neice at her party, & while there, I thought of using some of the small 'left overs' for orphan socks, & of a way to incorp the heavier yarn with some fine (& harder to knit with) 'sock' yarn! I've finished the first pair (& a few heel & toeless anklets) & am having fun with that project!

The blue sock is one of the 'anklet's - which my dau suggested using for ballet!!
Here's a close-up of the heel on the blue, purple & red 0ne - I bound off the heel & foot, then picked up stitches around the openings, using a long crochet hook (that way I can replace the toe or heel in the future, if need be). The heavier yarn is wool with a bit of silk, the panda silk: bamboo, wool & silk. They are quite comfy in either style! I used a pair of my mom's bamboo needles - they are a bit long for socks; I intend to pick up some of the shorter ones on my next trip to the knitting basket! (there's my 'anklet' yarn in the 'triangle' box on the Rt!)
Since it's just around the corner from my office, I'm 'tempted' to go in often . . . .

Soul Collage treats

This weekend my 9 yr old granddaughter Alyssa was decorating her 'writing notebook' for her class, & needed some images from my store of old magazines - & when I was helping her look, I found some that inspired me . . . . & then some more . . .

So after a hiatus of several months, a group of SC cards came forward.

It seems that's my tendency in art/craft - something will engage my imagination for awhile, & I'll find myself involved in that media or with that subject, then interst will shift.
The first card: Tower & Labyrinth 

I bring you peace, a 'breather.' Time to step aside, let go, let down your hair - move into the tower of tranquility & repose.


Firekeeper, Protector
We remind you of the Heart of the Fire, of our protective warmth & secret depths. I am the tender of the Sacred Flame, guardian of the hidden treasure.


Heritage 

I carry the traditions in my eyes & on my shoulders. The dream catcher snatches away aught that threatens to disenpower. I dance to the ancient drum, & call you to remember your roots, in the depths of time!

Dragonflower 

I am the transformation! Open to the possibilities & catch the sun.





N W Passage
The NW adventure is yours for the asking - move through the Northwest Passage & come home! 

Open your crown & remember the mer-people (mermaid with child on the Left above the Orcas) Hear the sounds of the Northern winds & whale song calling.

There's a lovely enrty on the Threads of Spiderwoman blog about the symbol of hands with an eye in the palm - such a fascinating symbol! 

I have a hamsa (eye of Fatima) pendant I picked up in Los Vegas (!) after admiring my girlfriend's piece.

Wedding Book

Last week our receptionist asked if I'd be willing to write the text for her son's wedding ceremony in a journal. For years I've been the one in the office to do fancy writing or calligraphy (when I was a kid, I had a calligraphy booklet, & copied the different fonts using a regular pen!)
Of course I said yes :)

They went to the art shop around the corner & picked up this lovely journal made & handbound in Tibet of fibers from an endemic shrub which grows quickly - the pages have a nice texture & it's renewable.

I used a 'Micron' pen with archival ink, which I use to transcribe songs I've composed or arranged for the harp.
The script is a loose 'Italic' which worked well with the fine-tipped pen. They had laid out the text by page - I used different spacing on a couple of the pages, & marked faint guide lines in pencil on each one.

Our receptionist's husband is the officiant, & she said he's got most of the script memorized for the special day!


I showed the book to my daughter, who got married in Jan - suggesting I'd be happy to do the same for their ceremony & vows. I'm also playing for a wedding this weekend - maybe I should add a blurb about wedding calligraphy to my wedding harp page, lol!

Seriously, this is a very sweet way to preserve your wedding ceremony & vows - I don't know if they're using this for a guest-book as well, but that would be a nice combo.