Category: Art Journey

What a tale my thoughts would tell!”

Time out! So, the rest of that song really doesn’t work for this story, but, feel free to hum along if you like…

Let’s just say that today, even though I couldn’t see it, my mind was feeling a bit like the painting looks! Kind of like a journey with no clear beginning or end, that ventured into some unexplored places.

A journey through new filters and beliefs. Through new perceptions and world views.

One of today’s stops along the way was in the land of Red Thread Circles. Four women. All of us on the road to being certified Red Thread leaders.

For two of us, practice leading. For all four of us, practice learning. Here are two of the big ah-ha’s for me…

One of my sisters was leading a conversation about creativity and the challenges of talking with people whose perspective is, “But, I’m not creative!”

[Pause for the voices in your head to have their moment…]

Then, we came to the question of how we might talk with children about creating, which is a question I just love!

My answer was immediate and intuitive. “Creating is making something that wasn’t before.”

Art, music, words, gardens, quilts, muffins…

(And, in my world, we do this in partnership with the Divine.)

Trust me when I say that I was grateful for this ah-ha before it was my turn to lead!

You see, I had a plan. (A plan I’d tested before!) It involved questions. My asking them, and all of us exploring our answers.

Guess what!

There were more answers than I’d planned for! Some of which involved a bit of adapting, mid-flow!

Sharing the details might be telling stories which aren’t my own, so I’ll go with this…

Where I wound up was walking my own talk about one of my SuperPowers… modeling.

About creating something that wasn’t before, even when it wasn’t the plan. And being okay with the seeming detour on the way to the place we were really meant to go.

And, maybe – just maybe – helping others along the way.

Frankly, I feel like I’m spending a whole bunch of time in places I’ve never been before, and I’m en-couraged!

We are – when we allow ourselves to notice – all in a place we’ve never been before, and I suspect this journey is going to take a whole lot of new possibilities.

Which, when we get right down to it, is exactly what I’m so hoping to help my girls learn!

And here’s a different bit you may not know… many, many moons ago, I was a surgical scrub nurse. And I’ve actually seen and felt living brains!

Frankly, they’re not much to look at. And it’s kind of a miracle that any noticing and wondering at all happens in there!

That being said, I’m pretty sure that there were places in my brain which were lit up and glowing today. New little paths being created along the way. And that feels like a really good day’s creating!

May it be so for all of us. Soon!

ps… curious about letting your SuperPowers out to play? Take a deep breath and CLICK HERE!

pps… as promised, the fabulous, one of a kind hats and purses – each with their own name – are ready for new homes! And, it’s Christmas in July, so it’s a great time to explore! The elves are waiting with bated breath to help, at FierceArtWithHeart!

There’s a lot going on in my world, just now. Inner and outer!

Grandmother Moon and her team are staying quite busy trying to sort it all in my dreams.

Yesterday morning I woke with a crazy quilt of tiny bits of thoughts in my head… kind of like dandelion fluff.

Frankly, not all of it was fun. For this moment… some of what was!

Let me say, first, that classical dream interpretation is not exactly my professional area of expertise. What you’re about to hear is the noticing & wondering perspective that’s way more me.

I remember tossing and turning a lot. One of those can’t get settled experiences.

And, then, scraps of a story in my head. A dimly familiar story. So dimly, I had to look it up. And, yes, the title was a clue!

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina, was first published in 1938.

Born in Siberia, in 1908, the author immigrated to the USA on a student visa and attended New York’s National Academy of Design. Eventually, she illustrated books for Margaret Wise Brown, which may be why Grandmother Moon knows her!

Ms. Brown was the author of the classic, Goodnight Moon!

There’s more, though.

You see, my task of this moment is a photo shoot for adding my bespoke hand-knitted and felted hats to FierceArtWithHeart! (Purses, too!)

This is less straightforward than taking photos of paintings. Hats don’t seem to want to just hang on the wall. (At least mine don’t!)

Kudzu was my obvious next move.

Not the enthusiastic plant. The famed neighborhood vintage and collectibles store I adore, which is also a great place for a stroll with air conditioning! I’ve missed them during the stay-at-home spell we’ve been having.

My challenge quickly changed from, Will there be anything that will work? to How will I choose?

And so I wandered. Walking stick. Magic denim vest, complete with MOO cards, measuring tape, and a Good Trouble button!

I made the first loop, you know… noticing and wondering.

And doing math!

The answer to my favorite question – What am I trying to accomplish? – was kind of complicated.

Props for a mythical photo shoot.

Things that would still be welcome and useful after the pics were taken!

And, the big one… Something that would help express the real me. The learning, growing me.

A bit like being naked with a hat on!!!

And, I was truly surprised by what followed me home!

But, with apologies to Ms. Slobodkina, no monkeys! (Though, if I had a sock monkey handy, I might make an exception!)

Now, in case you’re wondering, this isn’t a parable!

I really do want to find homes for a small collection of divine hats and purses.

More than that, I want to set their energy loose in the world! You see, they were knitted with prayer knots, back before I knew about prayer dots!

Knots for hope. And peace. The power of voice. And choice. Of being who we are!

Round and round.

Meditation.

Steps on my path to now. And, I hope, into my dreams for the future, which have gotten a bit bigger and more adventurous just recently!

It may seem like an odd business strategy, but it’s real for me! And, quite possibly, for a very few special folks with the vision to really see something magical out of almost nothing.

I’ve made a whole lot of progress… with huge help from The Legendary Husband! Not quite enough help, yet, to have all the fabulous listings active tonight. So, a hint!

Hats and purses with names! Sophia and Diana and Iris and Frida and a couple of less familiar ones like Garsenda – or Garsinde – depending on where you’re from. Named for several of my grandmothers!

And huge thanks… You inspire me!

ps… not sure what’s next for you? I can help! Start here…

pps… there’s lots of very exciting art ready for new homes, already! And, in honor of some up-coming Red Thread Circle practice groups, great mugs for a cuppa! It’s Christmas in July and everything is 20% off!!!

What do you do to take care of you?

Really!

Please make space for a couple of deep breaths while you claim an answer… or six!

One of my answers is learning new things.

Nope. Not algebra formulas or batting averages. Not the names of top runway models. Not even the hottest shoes of the moment.

It’s not that I’m opposed to any of those things. It’s just that they’re not my things.

Painting is another of my answers. Not just the finished product, but the journey! And the sharing.

Bone broth is another, for me. Tending it in the enormous pot locally known as the cauldron. Breathing it in. Filling my belly and my soul with the magic of abundance out of almost nothing. Sharing it.

Being INTENTIONAL is a really, really big thing for me.

Intentional about how much news to let in, and when to say enough.

Intentional about spiritual practices… chosen ones, from different times and places.

Even intentional about signs in our garden and tank tops in my closet and buttons on my magic vest.

And intentional about holding on and letting go.

Actually, that last one is pretty big.

Holding on and letting go.

Fears. Old stories. Precious memories. Dreams. Learned limitations.

Which, when you get right down to it, is a whole lot like being …able to choose!

That’s a notion which has been important to me for quite a while, now. And – as you’ve probably guessed – it feels more urgent in this moment than before.

What feels that way for you? Important? Urgent? (Or, at least, time sensitive?)

I’m hoping that speaking out is on your list. And, yes, it can be scary. But, so is not speaking out!

Words are an obvious way of speaking out.

Images are another. A way I’m owning more and more!

And time!

I’ve made a new deal with my calendar.

Way more time for my list. What I love & feel called to do.

Considerably less time for the list. What I should do.

Oh, I still brush my teeth and stop for people in crosswalks. You know…

And I’ve moved some things from one list to the other.

Voting is an example of moving things.

I used to do it because, well, we should.

After my girls came along, it moved to the list of things I feel called to do.

(Along with emailing politicians and en-couraging others to vote!)

You see, a huge part of Grammy-ing, in my heart, is showing the less&less-Littles that they make a difference.

And showing them what that might look like!

Now, your list is probably different – at least in some ways – because it’s yours.

Here’s what I do know…

If you don’t take care of you – if you don’t honor your journey and your dreams – it’s going to be really hard for you to feel like you’re mattering.

And, if this world is going to work better, we all need to feel like we’re mattering… hopefully, for Love!

ps… if figuring out how to matter YOUR way seems way too big to do alone, START HERE! It will help! And give us some things to talk about, should you be curious about more help along the way.

pps… and, because images DO help, it’s Christmas in July at FierceArtWithHeart! Inspiration – all of it – for 20% off! Quantities, however, are limited so shop early and the elves will do the math automatically. (And, if you know somebody searching for inspiration, please share this invitation!)

Or, the tale of a painting that’s painting me…

Early last November I began a journey through the land of Intentional Creativity® known as Vivid… Tapestry.

In our first gathering, Maestra Shiloh Sophia McCloud invited us to allow the experience to come through us and to see what would become revealed.

If that creates feelings which could be labeled both just a touch scary and exciting within you, you’re in the right place for the rest of the story.

We were invited to relate to our canvas as a portal through which new knowing could emerge and as a screen, like the one where you’re reading this story, where you have continuous access to that which wants to be revealed.

Woo-woo???

Perhaps. But also, as Shiloh warned us, not for pretend-sies!

Translation… it has a lot to do with physics and vision and perception. And, trust me when I tell you, it’s still working!

Or, to put it another way, with what we are weaving together.

Here’s how I know…

My particular journey stalled out as November led to December and December led to visiting the kids and, well, some other complex adventures.

Then, this past Friday, that which ironically passes for the United States Supreme Court these days, overturned Roe v Wade.

Then, in the wee small hours between Monday night and Tuesday morning, Grandmother Moon started whispering in my ear, as I knew she would.

It took me a while to start putting the pieces together…

Sequins… Buttons… Weaving… Paint brushes…

I went hunting. It took a bit, as we are in the midst of a major studio re-imagining.

And there she was. Just as you met her, above. My Vivid… Tapestry canvas, insisting that her time had come!

We worked, she and I, literally through Tuesday’s un-scheduled hearing on the 1/6 Insurrection.

I suspect we were both an odd mix of appalled and encouraged. And she was, clearly, steering our journey.

Here’s where we are in this moment:

I have no idea where we go next, she and I.

I will share her updated message …

Not for Done-sies, either!

I’m pretty sure she’s serious!

For now, though, a few words from an urgent family meeting of another sort, called by a teacher and author named Kathleen McGowan:

Hope fuels perseverance!

And, just in case that touches something in you, I have questions…

Are you in?

What will you do?

How can I help?

Click HERE if you, too, are on the path!

ps… should you happen to have a copy of Shiloh’s Tea with the Midnight Muse handy, check out Tree of Life Blessing on page 109. Here’s my favorite bit: May you take one step, however small, toward that which you have always longed for. Now is the right time.

pps… the weaving goes on! Or, as Kathleen would say, The Great Weavers of the tapestry are supporting us! So be it, for me and for you, and for all of us!

Abracadabra… for I will create something from the word.

First, we have to choose which words!

Friday’s announcement that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade sent me running for words!

My first stop was a string of words which would require a whole lot of space and an infinite supply of @*%#’s to include here. Use your imagination!

My second stop, surprisingly, was a place called Printful where I’ve recently learned to make things for my shop, FierceArtWithHeart. I was an artist on a mission.

Specifically, a tank top mission.

Having gotten that accomplished, I was able to move on to other words.

My memory led me next to my dog-eared copy of The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. A tale of the first century C.E. Roman siege on the mountain of Masada, the fortress of the Jews.

You, if you have not read it, are wondering why. If you have read it, you already know.

A people with no rights and no resources. With scant food and water. And what passed for healthcare provided by women called witches.

Including abortion care.

A herb called rue which brought about cramping. Vile. Flesh burning. Effective.

The people of Yahweh. One thousand nine hundred and fifty two years ago.

Fiction, technically. Perspective, assuredly.

And, still, my mind was searching.

The Dovekeepers was a New York Times bestseller, so I went to their page. Virtually.

The marvel of reviews online yielded this:

…Yet in between, instead of a gripping work of fiction that lives up to this praise, is a long novel full of middling descriptions, hackneyed characters and histrionic plot twists… Sarah Fay

Never mind for the moment that histrionic is not a word in my chosen lexicon, and the irony of the Times readers being apparently more openminded than the reviewer, I call vested interest! And power! On somebody’s part…

Beyond that, I can’t help but claim that, for me, The Dovekeepers was important for many reasons… not the least of which is my own deep, visceral grasp of the reality that abortion has always been with us and SCOTUS can’t change that.

From there, I was led deep inside to the place where truth lives. In this case, truth from The West Wing.

(And, yes, if you’ve been hanging around for more than about 10 minutes, you know where this is going. Feel free to sing along!)

Season 7. Jimmy Smits & Alan Alda – aka Matt Santos & Arnold Vinick – in a hotly contested presidential race.

Santos, a Democratic House Rep from Texas and a Roman Catholic, was being chastised by his church and excluded from Communion for his position on abortion. In response to a pointed question, he replied:

Abortion is a tragedy. It should be safe. It should be legal. It should be a whole lot rarer than it is.

To which I can only say, So be it!

What the United States Supreme Court did this week was not remotely about that.

It was about power over instead of power for.

It was about an ancient belief that women are for making more authoritarian, power-hungry men who want to tell the whole world what the rules are.

It was about intentionally mis-reading and mis-representing the message of Jesus.

And it’s still happening.

For me, I’m saying NO!

I’m saying that the way is truth and truth is love and equality and justice.

And I’m willing to risk redundancy again, for the sake of claiming the place where this very issue led me to put my faith where my mouth was, about 30 years ago.

A young woman in the church I served was wresting with an abortion decision. Her family asked me to speak with her. I did.

She chose to end her pregnancy.

An elder asked why I didn’t talk her out of that decision.

This is what I, the very new preacher, replied… face flushed, teeth chattering, and knees knocking:

If I’m going to stand in the pulpit on Sunday and proclaim, in the Assurance of Pardon, that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus I have to be able to say the same thing sitting in a living room with a young woman asking that question.

And, yes, there was some irony in that particular quote, but I know more now than I did then. And it works for me, still.

In this moment, my wrists hurt – a lot – from typing. And the big dogs are doing the hungry dance. So, let’s go with this…

I’ve read some more books lately.

I’m choosing the way of Love, as best I understand it. Of bodily sovereignty. Of choice. Of intentionally living Love instead of making power-grasping rules.

Let me know if you want some book titles! And may the Divine Creator pick us up and dust us off and set us on the path again. This may help…

I have 2 granddaughters growing up in this world.

ps… yes, the painting’s been around a lot lately. And yes, it’s my understanding of the Creative Divine.

pps… oh! The tank top… FierceArtWithHeart. Get yours and I’ll make a $5.00 contribution to Planned Parenthood, which will be doubled through June 30.

ppps… some of my ancestors are having hissy fits about my creating these words in this moment. Others are doing a lineage happy dance. Abracadabra! And, #BloomBoldly !