Category: Art Journey

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGrandmothersMedicine BasketWisdom Cards

When words & paint gang up on old hang-ups!

Posted on by sue boardman

One of my current paintings-in-progress is known by several names. Artisan is the easy one. Talisman is next. Or, in my case, Taliswoman. Commonly, that means an object held to act as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune. Or – my favorite – something producing apparently magical or miraculous effects. It is related to the Greek, telos which means end, result, or fulfillment… and boils down, historically, as consecrate.

Now, that, right there, is enough to cause a ruckus in some of the places I’ve hung out. Here’s an example from my years as the Wandering Wedding Woman... Think of it rather like what happens with a wedding ring. Round. Metal. With or without gem stones. Jewelry. Set apart from the usual with meaning and purpose.

That’s what this painting is all about, for me.

We began with claiming our core identity. Gulp!!! And, Oh, Holy Wow!!! And, yes… now I know more!

Part of that, I suspect, has a lot to do with a familiar question in a new context. (Yep! Filters!!!) And new context can come in many forms. The top two on my list at this moment are news and body-gone-rogue. You fill in what comes to your mind!

The deep underlayers are generational surprises. The stories before the stories before the stories I knew. Part of what I hate about our current context is all the increasing efforts to erase those stories. To ban them, if you will, from the greater conversation. This painting is me, refusing to play along.

Then, there’s the body stuff. Mystery symptoms they didn’t cover in nursing school. Pain. Tests. Anxiety over what feels like an overdose of unknown. My painting, though, is insisting on bodies. Generations of them. Bodies carrying stories and symbols and choices.

Deep breath, now, for the big news, please.

We can’t treat our bodies as consecrated if we are – at the same time – trying to banish, ignore, or blame them. Boiled down… consecrate and neglect don’t go together!!!

The painting, as you could probably tell, is a long way from finished. As is sorting my relationship with my body! Here’s what I do know:

I’m staying on the road! Body, Mind, and Spirit!!!

And, I have a map!!! Well, a couple of them…

First, Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards! They’re actually arriving in their new homes!!! Here’s a bit of what one new client had to say:

Sue! I received the package with your beautiful wisdom cards and book. I read through the book. I had spent the afternoon with a friend who is frustrated that she hasn’t found her purpose in life. I am going to lend the cards to her for her to use. Thank you. They arrived at just the right time! (LSM)

Just click here and the elves will hook you up with your very own!

ps… there’s a Filters class coming, too! Stay tuned…

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGrandmothersWisdom Cards

There isn’t a box!

Posted on by sue boardman

As you’ve probably heard, I’m a bit of a Madam Secretary junkie! Okay… maybe more than a bit! I suspect, like my similar fondness for The West Wing, it has to do with wanting to fill at least some of my intentional awareness with what I choose, rather than what’s in the news.

So, a couple of nights ago, it was time to circle around to MSec, season 1, episode 1 again. President Conrad Dalton is standing in Elizabeth’s kitchen on the farm, asking her to be Secretary of State. She is, shall we say, surprised. Perplexed. More than a bit curious. When she asks, Why me? she gets a great answer from her old boss.

You don’t just think outside the box, replies Dalton. You don’t even know there is a box!

Now, I’ve seen this episode more times than I can count. This time I HEARD it! Yes… it’s a Filters thing! And, from my perspective, the news is way too full of people trying to convince us that their box is the only one we can have.

I’m not buyin’ it!

Which led me, sometime in the wee hours when my head was full of #Taliswoman paint plans, to wonder if there are any boxes! Or, perhaps… there are only the boxes we choose!

And, yes… this has a whole lot to do with all the hanging out I’ve been doing in the land of Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards!

What if we choose consciously??? Really! Me. And YOU. And help our Littles learn that they’ll be able to choose, too, though a bit of brain growing will help along the way…

As you may have heard, we moved a lot when I was a Little. One of those times, when I was just three, my okay-to-move box was all about whether there would be corn on the cob and Romper Room in the new place!

In some ways my world has gotten considerably more complicated since then. What I’ve realized, though, is that my main box – my most precious one – is pretty simple.

Concrete Passion and Very Large Hope.

Choose it. Have it. Be it. Do it. Write it. Paint it. Teach it. Share it. And, yes… vote for it! Even on days when it feels a lot like the image at the top… shifting, vague, and not too clear, yet!

The red blotch, over to the left, is my mark. My intention, if you will. My determined presence.

As boxes – or non-boxes – go, this one feels like a really huge start!!!

There’s room for you, too! Keep reading along. Root around a bit in the “archives”.

Get yourself a deck of cards. (And, yes… the Calling Cloths are in stock!)

Ask me about 1:1 coaching. (There’s a really special offer going on just now!) 45 min. My gift. Your questions!

Stay tuned for the latest Filters class, coming soon! Better yet, leave a comment, below, and let me know you’re interested! Or email me: suesvoice@gmail.com

My calling is to help you find – and claim – the place where you are called! It’s going to take a whole bunch of us!!!

Where might YOUR magic Tardis door lead???

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGrandmothersMedicine BasketWisdom Cards

Worldview Ancestors!

Posted on by sue boardman

Does that give you chills? It does, me! And here’s a glimpse of one of my personal Worldview Ancestors… She’s my Artisan/Taliswoman painting from my first Color of Woman adventure in 2018.

In many ways, that was a birth year for me! Really, really new at painting. Even newer at thinking art might be something WE could do. You see, that was not a belief I learned as a child.

She looks familiar. Draped in a quilt, which is very much a WE thing, instead of the suggested veil which is utterly not a WE thing! (I’m guessing you hear me!) And, she is whispering from the walls, again. You see, yesterday I opened the awareness door for a new Taliswoman painting to be born!

Back in the day, she was my first journey with the notion of Winged-eye beings! And, yes… her winged eye is on the – shall we say – other side! (I’m not great with right & left!) I loved it, though, as a symbol of wisdom that’s lots more fun than a basement full of dusty diplomas!

And, even though I haven’t even unwrapped the canvas yet, she’s already plotting and planning. So far, we’re committed to a unicorn friend, and – surprisingly – a magical walking stick. I’m excited about both of those notions.

Unicorns, according to some traditions, are symbols of the true teachings of Yeshua/Jesus and this seems like a great time to wander with that.

The walking stick feels like a persistence message. A way to stay on the road, even when it’s hard. Or scary.

The more I learn about my actual ancestry, the more I realize how much many of those who came before me would have related!

Then there’s the part about Worldview Ancestry! What does that bring to mind for you? (You can leave me a comment, below!!!)

For me, it’s a reminder that we’ve inherited much more than eye color and tendencies toward crooked teeth. (I’d gladly give that last one back!) The cool things start when we claim the wild notion that we can add to our Worldview Ancestry, rather like finding 70th & 71st great-grandparents in My Heritage! (And all the people from them to me!)

When it comes to Worldview Ancestry, I’m releasing myself from the influence of my third grade teacher. From the perspective that the differently able kid in our class was being bad. Also from my 7th grade geography teacher who seemed to think that the only parts of the world that were worth learning about where ones he’d dropped bombs on in a war.

There were more, but you get the drift! And I’m so hoping some similar folks are occurring to you, as well.

The big question, though, is around those folks we’ll choose to add to our worldviews!

You know a bunch of mine. In this moment, the obvious one to mention is Fred. Dr. Frederick Buechner. The guy who helped me claim several versions of the notion that:

The place where we are called is where our deep joy and the world’s deep longing meet.

Just between us, this feels like a good time for as much of that as we can bring!

I’d love to help you get closer to your vision of that place! That’s why I made Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards! (Really!!!) Just click here and the new batch of elves, who renamed our store, will have lots more info and be delighted to set you right up at WingedEyeWisdom.com

ps… down below Taliswoman #1’s winged eye, there’s a block in her “quilt” that’s kind of hard to see. It says, I am a grandmother… an open-eyed visionary of fierce compassion. She speaks for me!

pps… Ready to raise your hand and claim your next right thing? Let’s talk. 45 min. My gift. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up. Also, I have a very special, time-limited offer for a couple of new 1:1 clients available… and it includes a bonus set of cards!

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGrandmothersMedicine Basket

All the Me’s had a committee meeting!

Posted on by sue boardman

You know how some of the parts of you are easier to chat with? And some of them feel reluctant to show up for tea? And occasionally, one of them says, “No, thanks! I’m having my nails done!” (Or whatever…)

Well a whole bunch of the Me’s showed up this weekend. I’m grateful. You see, I need pretty much all the medicine in my basket just now.

Tea was the first order of business. And cacao. And Red Thread. Then came intention setting. We had two:

Get over the old notion that it would be bragging to tell others you did a cool, helpful thing! It’s now officially excited & determined, which are really helpful things to claim!

Unpack and package all the decks of Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards and figure out how to get them out into the world… tech challenges and all!

One of the Me’s took over as Recycling Queen and took charge of all the brown packing paper. Another invited virtual Joan Baez along for encouragement. Another Me – one I know well – tended the pot of soup simmering on the stove. The good news is that we made big progress! Even with the heavy boxes and gnarly paper cuts and and puzzles to solve.

In an odd way, all the time one of my Me’s spent scrubbing in surgery came in handy. Setting up the back table with all the tools in order. Filling the tape dispenser. Cutting all the Red Thread at once, rather than one piece at a time. You hear me…

And, running through all the activity… the precious Intentional Creativity® notion that Mattering Matters.

Then came a different sort of ah-hah! The word kind. (Haven’t figured out how to put the techy crossword thing on my laptop again, yet, so we’re going old school…)

There’s more to do. Calling Cloths to claim space for the journey, in transit. Cards to ship. The Decatur Book Festival (10/4) to prep for. And lots more excited & determined for the Me’s to be!

And, a new painting to start! And…

For now, though, huge thanks to the dear friend who showed up in this dimension to help, and fan the excitement.

And more thanks to the Me who just dropped off this link so you can check out the Wisdom Cards. (There’s lots more info and photos!) And, the shop is in the midst of re-modeling!!!

That place where you are called??? Don’t set out without your cards!

ps… Ready to claim your next right thing? Let’s talk. 45 min. My gift. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up. Also, I have a very special, time-limited offer for a couple of new 1:1 clients available… and it includes a bonus set of cards!

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGrandmothersWisdom Cards

Cards on the table?

Posted on by sue boardman

I had a plan for this post. Cheerful. Excited. Optimistic. You see, my eagerly awaited Wisdom Cards are due to appear tomorrow, UPS willing. Fifty decks. Right here in my house!

And, I’m really hoping they will. More, now, than ever, actually. You see, I’m having a really hard time with the Minnesota school shooting. School kids. At Mass. It’s utterly beyond me. And, if we’re being real, not remotely cheerful or optimistic.

I cried. And swore. And prayed. I contemplated skipping this post for today. And then, I knew where to look for some inspiration in this moment.

Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards! The test runs that helped me learn along the way. Crooked edges. Faded colors. A typo here or there. A reminder of the place where I am called, even on this day when the world’s deep need is in our faces.

I even got out my preview version of the Calling Cloth. Sacred space, if you will, for newness on the road.

And the wonder worked!

So, I am reclaiming my ability to choose, here and now. Not everything that happens, of course, but what I do with it. What my next right thing becomes, in the face of days like this.

You, too, are able to choose. And NOW seems like a really good time to claim that!

First, I made a contribution to a Congressional Rep who gets it. Lucy McBath lost her own son in a school shooting.

Then, as I finish this post, I’m going to go make prayer dots on my #Codex canvas. Dots inside my Unicorn constellation which, according to a tradition I just learned, symbolizes the true teachings of Yeshua.

Making the dots will help soothe my nervous system. (Really!) And, it will remind me of why the hearts in my paintings insist on standing for Concrete Passion & Very Large Hope! It’s the best plan I’ve got!

ps… curious about the cards? Just click here!

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGuardiansMedicine Basket

Whole Soul Creating…

Posted on by sue boardman

Well, that’s what it feels like, anyway. All of me. All in. In fact, I’ve been pondering what it must have been like for Michelangelo, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Lots of ladders. Trying to bring wonder to life, lying on his back. No air conditioning. No cell phones. No friends at Melton’s a with fresh BLT for lunch!

By comparison, some things are easier these days!

I do wonder, though, if his images talked to him as he painted. (I’m guessing they did, though that may be projection!) Part of this has to do with 4 of mine coming home from Scan Camp with lots to say! The one you glimpsed, above, is feeling particularly opinionated.

When she left, her title was She Persists. It is now We Persist! And that feels really helpful, given all the things jumping up and down in my calendar.

She’s back on the wall across from my chair, coaching me, if you will. One of her suggestions was to look up the Hebrew word for persist. Are you ready???

Sarah!!!

And, yes, I’ll add her new name to the back of the canvas! I may need a few more tears, first, though. You see, I’ve known another Sarah.

Yep! One of our Newfoundland rescue dogs! Tradition holds that the multi-colored Newfies have bouncier, more opinionated personalities than their solid-colored cousins. Sarah certainly fit. And she was nothing if not persistent!!!

Also extroverted. And it’s entirely possible that, if she were sending me a message from the great beyond, it would be that NOW is a time for extroverting. Not me, personally, so much, as what I’m creating. Books, Wisdom Cards, paintings, and the next gen #Filters class. And we’re all well into the third trimester!

ps… I’m also supposed to tell you that the real, finished cards – which are on their way, now – will have gently rounded corners and be printed on recycled paper! There will even be an optional Calling Cloth to help set intentional space for your journey to the place where YOU are called! (And it makes a fab scarf!)

pps… what matters to you? Enough to – you know – claim the next right thing? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring your journal, a cuppa, and your readiness to take a step toward the place where you are called. And, I have a super-special offer if you’d like some company on the path! Hurry and click here and the calendar elves will hook you up!

Art JourneyContemplationsFiltersGrandmothersGuardians

Love, angst, and change…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! I’m there, again! New inspirations becoming real. Old patterns becoming less useful. Lots of waiting and anxiety. Lots of not-yet-knowing. And a whole lot of reminders that a thing that many of us find harder even than change would be no hope of change!

Now, I’m going to guess that – if you’re still reading – you’re at least curious, which is an excellent place to start!

This weekend was full of reminders that change is, indeed, happening.

Four beloved paintings delivered to Scan Camp and entrusted to Uncle Barry for a week of photo shoots and singing around the imitation camp fire. (It’s a good bet there will be lots of Joan Baez involved!)

I feel like somebody kidnapped my teddy bears!!! Those paintings were specifically hung in places where it was easy for them to inspire/nag me! Fortunately, they all have space in my phone, too! And they seem to be full of ideas for museum quality prints to have on hand for the Decatur Book Festival on Oct. 4.

The #Filters cards – aka Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards – have been ordered from Greenerprinter! (On recycled paper!!!)

If you’ve known me for a while, you probably realize that tap dancing naked is not high on my list of desirable activities. (For many reasons!) That is, however, a handy metaphor for how I’m feeling in this moment!!!

I suspect doing things that matter deeply feels like that for many of us, if we’re being honest. I’m not quite sure if it’s a context thing, or an astrological thing, or even an age thing. What I do know is that there are things inside me insisting on being let out of their crates and into the world.

Now, I don’t know much about astrology, though I hang out in places where I’m learning. One of those places is a yearlong journey known as Red Madonna. This year we’re focusing on Mother Nature… ReBirthing and ReWilding. Part of my role is contributing Crone Moon posts. Here are a few of the things that snuck in through my #Filters this month, as I was exploring the digital universe…

This phase (which is now-ish) is all about introspection, release, and clearing the path for new beginnings. It encourages us to reflect on what needs to be released from the past cycle, embrace the wisdom gained through experience, and prepare for a fresh start. Focusing on health is also encouraged.

All of which sounds at least potentially more helpful than swearing at the news!

ps… the photo at the top, which doesn’t, perhaps, seem to have anything to do with, well, any of these words, is actually the reason for all of my learning and creating and sharing. I have two grandteens and that one’s about to be a senior in high school. In this world. Now.

pps… what matters to you? Enough to – you know – claim the next right thing? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring your journal, a cuppa, and your readiness to take a step toward the place where you are called. And, I have a super-special, offer if you’d like some company on the path! Hurry and click here and the calendar elves will hook you up!

ppps… Atlanta area friends… digitalartsstudio.net is a great resource for scans & prints of your fabulous art!