Category: Filters

We’re going on an adventure… to a place we’ve never been before.

If you have a red thread, it could be handy. And if you’d turn off all the other chatty-blinky things for just a few minutes, I’d be honored.

First, a bit of context. Let’s start with the fact that it’s been quite a week!

Think finals week in school. Or the week before your biggest, most sacred holiday with all the family coming, and needing pillows. Or the week when the Legendary Husband and I got married on Thursday before I graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary on Sunday.

(Feel free to do the re-frame bit in whatever way works for you!)

This story started generation upon generation before I was born, so we’ll skip along a good bit to some recent media for the Inspired journey I’ve been on for the last week or so. One of the invitations read a lot like this…

A psychiatrist, a gynecologist, an artist, and a chef walk into a cafe…

Really! And they invited a whole bunch of artists and healers and curious humans to join the party.

The calendar elves were no doubt amused by the fact that this particular adventure was happening at the same time a whole lot of other adventures were winding down. The second half of the Red Madonna journey, having to do with Trees of Life and the appearance of a personal prophetess.

Six months of an adventure known as Origins with a whole lot of claiming and creating our places in the universe and the work we feel called to do.

My own new offering, both beta test and very real… called Oh, I See… Consciously. A journey from “If only… to I am!“

All of which manifested in a whole lot of painting going on! In the midst of – you know – life in a challenging body and a challenging time.

So… Monday afternoon. Spattered in paint. Staring at the forest of canvases in varying stages of dripping and drying… even after the ones I just finished moved over to make space! And a felt connection I couldn’t quite put words to.

Then, I did a thing. I reached for my box of Sacred Rebels oracle cards, lurking next to my chair.

I passed the cards through my hands until I felt ready to pause on a particular one. Here’s a glimpse of what found me…

32. FAITH IN THE PROCESS

No matter how powerful we are, how much courage and strength we have, there are times when we can’t quite move ourselves along to the next phase of life or creative exploration. At such times we need some divine intervention – a little help in pulling our trolley along, so to speak. When we are at the edge of our own limits and have no more personal resources, we might be left with only one spiritual power, that of faith. Fortunately that is enough… You are in a situation where you cannot ‘set right’ the course of events all by yourself. This is not an indication that you have done something wrong, nor does this suggest that you are not strong enough. It is a sign that there is something bigger unfolding in your life and your willpower will be supplemented by the power of life itself. Sometimes a bigger plan needs to manifest for the benefit of humanity and the earth…

And the tears flowed down my cheeks. The tears of knowing. Of connection. Of the parts of me coming together in a new way.

My job is to keep being me!!! To keep standing for power for rather than power over. To put my work into the world, now… even when it’s scary!

Then, My Prophetess painting found her face!!! (Well, space for it!) Just in time for #wip Wednesday! Here’s where we are…

And I opened myself to Inspired healing…

I have a new vision of my next steps, living in a body with needs and quirks I’m no longer thinking of as limitations. I am overflowing with new resolve about my work in this world. Now. Even in the midst of the chaos.

ps… thanks to Alana Fairchild’s Sacred Rebel oracle cards. (It’s a FILTER thing!)

pps… the painting at the top is my Inspired #wip. Huge light!!!

When I first began to paint, back in 2017, I did it the way I had done many things before. I watched the demonstrations and listened to the directions and tried to do what Shiloh Sophia McCloud was teaching.

Despite having been told endlessly, as a child, that I was NOT the artistic kid, it went pretty well. Probably because it was about process at least as much as outcome. And I loved the process!

I’ve had at least one painting going ever since. (At this moment there are four projects on my #work-in-progress list!)

And, yes, they tend to all “talk” at once!

Maybe it’s the intensity of this time sensitive moment, but something new is happening. At least new for me.

Instead of trying to decide what I want to put on the canvas, I’ve begun to look for what I see in the canvas and try to draw it out.

And, yes… it feels pretty weird!

It started with the close up of a really big canvas you met recently… the one with a whole lot of purple going on. And my seeing a being – or perhaps a presence – near the bottom.

Then, I sat with it more. The whole thing, in different light. The first being stayed. And a second one appeared. A huge second head.

Please stick with me. No horror stories ahead… I promise!

Then, the background got night-sky blue. And I saw hands. And I painted them! I was thrilled. I love hands and the word for hand which, in ancient Aramaic, also meant power!

And, just in case you’re wondering… she’s not being held up. She’s witnessing all the wonder! Which seems to be a big thing just now!

Then, I took a couple of days off for time with our visiting kids and the Guardian painting and a big addition to my Temple painting, who has a name now… Em-power-ing Venus! (They’re together in the top photo… juggling for space and attention, in the studio!

And, I’m noticing another thing in the midst of all the paint. There’s something magical about seeing what wants to become! About working with the canvas instead of simply on it.

ps… if you squint just a bit at the photo just above, you might notice a face in the big circle which is becoming the moon… and so much more!

pps… got chaos? Want hope? On a mission to BE hope? More comfortable in an individual setting than a group space??? There is room in my world for 3 new 1:1 clients! All the Medicine Basket Coaching (which basically means access to all the stuff I know!) could be your next right step! Check this out and let me know if you’d like to talk! suesvoice@gmail.com

This is a glimpse into the beginning of one of my favorite paintings. I know. It’s not real exciting in this phase. Hang with me, though… there’s a story!

According to the elves who stash the photos, it was taken November 29, 2020.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed into her future. The 3rd US President ever tried for impeachment was acquitted. Biden had just won the Presidential election, though opposition efforts to challenge the result were rampant.

It felt like a really good time for a Legend painting. The kind about the future we – the artists – hope to grow into.

We began, she and I, with a lot of coding. Mostly the dots surrounded by parentheses which represent, in my own personal symbolic language, the old story which ends with an astounding, scripturally inspired claim that, The chains which bound me are broken and I am free, already.

And another familiar one for me… a determined hand raised in blessing! And an insistent sunflower growing bigger and brighter around her eye.

(I get the right/left thing confused but, for me, it’s her visionary eye. And I felt like we were both squinting and straining to see hope!)

You know what was coming… January 6. A violent insurrection, attempting to overturn the election, in the US Capitol. MSNBC and paint! Dots beyond number. Peace. Justice. Sanity. Hope…. Until we arrived here.

And later, in February of 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The land where sunflowers are symbols of hope. There was room on the edges of the canvas for more dots and so I painted more. The fingerprint kind… no longer trying to steer, but to follow, instead.

And, just in case you’re feeling the chaos, too, there’s this… which is what happened on that canvas before the image began to appear.

Tonight, I’m painting more. A different canvas. Wisteria vines. The Muse insisted!

Different views of sunflowers. Many, many, many dots. And more to come.

As long as it takes. As long as I have breath.

I have 2 grand-teens trying very hard to grow up in this world. They are teaching me every moment.

Out of chaos… hope!

ps… got chaos? Want hope? On a mission to BE hope? More comfortable in an individual setting than a group space??? There is room in my world for 3 new 1:1 clients! All the Medicine Basket Coaching could be your next right step! Check this out and let me know if you’d like to talk! suesvoice@gmail.com

pps… the wise owl above the sunflower is formed from pages of my book… Grandmothers Are In Charge Of Hope! Just click the link to get your copy, now!

ppps… huge thanks to Taylor for brilliant help painting!!!

A funny thing happened on the way to this blog post!

Like many of us, I have two feet. Last night I dreamed that, perhaps like my paint friend the Pyrenean Brown Bear, I had four feet and each of them was on a different skate board!

This was NOT a restful dream!

It was, however, helpful. Here’s what happened…

I painted a lot, today, and found some places beyond my recent adventures with stuck.

Stay tuned for more photos! For this moment, though…

Today, I gave myself permission to take time for processing!!!

Ever the “good” student, it was, admittedly, a challenge. Picture a Zoom room with a fabulously perceptive and encouraging leader, a flock of wise women ready to change their lives and the world… and a question.

What offer could you make in the next couple of weeks, without taking a year to plan it out???

Followed, of course, by another question…

Will you???

I declined, with gratitude. By which I mean that I answered a different question. One of those talking to myself in a room full of other people kind of responses!

I owned the 4 skate board feeling and committed to returning to the question after I make it through the first week in March.

And you know what??? My response was met with gentle witnessing and honor!!!

So, why am I sharing this with you in this moment?

Well, because I can’t possibly be the only one on team 4 skate boards in this moment! And, just in case you relate, I’m so hoping you’ll leave me a comment and we can witness each other. (Really!)

When you get right down to it, we are all our own works-in-progress and life gets enormously easier when we claim it!

Also, more hopeful!!!

So… a glimpse or two of what’s on my easel. And my table! (The studio is shrinking by the moment!!!)

First up, fresh from big, scary glaze… Guardians of Fierce Compassion… Then. Now. Always.

And, then… Constellation of Being, temporarily on her side. And very excited!

And, last but not least… a journal page insisting that you might welcome this message, too! (The little horseshoe shaped image made from circles toward the bottom is, depending on your perspective, a six-petaled rose or my map of reality!)

You are seen and heard in this place! And, if you’d like more information about how we might create the world you’re longing for, just click here for more information! I do have time for you!

Saturday. 5am. The Muse, aka Grandmother Moon, decided it was time to play! Not unwelcome… just a wee bit off on the optimal timing scale!

I managed to float with the plotting and planning until about 7am. Then, paper and pencil were required. And…. drum roll, please… we have a plan!

I know… you’ve seen this view before. I’ve been pondering what finished might look like for several days and now I know.

Well, not really! What I actually know is what the next couple of steps are. And a feeling about where we’re heading. And why.

Which is really big progress!

To be honest, I wasn’t really planning such a big change.

We’ve been through a lot… Grandmother Moon, The Muse, this canvas and I. This is where we were, back in November when I was busy with the whole oral surgery adventure which led to the last big change…

And a quote from a blog post back then…

What I know for sure is that I feel better. (Well, not my jaw, so much, but ME!) And, I’m kind of glad that the canvas needs more work, though I have no idea where we’re headed. And some big news… a week or so ago, it occurred to me that I was become-ing a Medicine Painter. Not just doing, but being. Then, while I was slinging paint and tears all over the place, I realized that I have also become my own Medicine Basket!

All of which felt like a whole lot of learning! And, there is still more learning going on…

It seems, now, that in order for this work to become my Constellation of Being, we’re going to have to work on less before we get to more!

And, yes… a good bit of white paint will be involved!

You know that old saying about anxiety and excitement feeling pretty much the same, neurologically?

Well, it’s true! (At least for me…) And the next part of the thought is that we use one of my favorite notions – CONTEXT – to decide what to call what we’re feeling!

I’m going with excitement!

Right after I start a load of laundry and finish my tea!

Fast forward to…

Art is not for the weak of heart! It is for those who love learning. And become-ing!

ps… even more become-ing has happened! Here’s where we are now – all 48×60 inches of it!

pps… look again, please, at the purple canvas. Do you see her? I just did… Oh, Holy Wow!!!

ppps… stay tuned! And, if you’re feeling the need for a safe perspective shift, come check out FierceArtWithHeart! From mugs to leggings to museum quality prints to original art, and more… Daphne’s got you!

True confession…. Valentine’s Day has always been a challenge for me.

I liked making cards with hearts. I didn’t like the elementary school tradition of giving them out in classrooms. There were always the heartbroken kids who either didn’t get as many cards in the paper bag taped to their desk, or didn’t have any cards to give.

We moved a lot in those years and I was the new kid often enough that, early on, I worried about those who felt left out.

There were times when I was a teen that I would have sworn that Valentine’s Day was a good excuse for boys to pressure girls into proving their love.

As a young single mom, there were a couple of years when I skimped on real food to have treats to share with Dave’s pre-school class.

Years later, after the Legendary Husband came along, we developed the tradition of actually asking each other what we wanted to do, and when, to mark the tradition which often coincided with church calendar issues, as it does this year.

One of the more recent surprises, for me at least, has been learning the old stories of St. Valentine. Go ahead and google it, if you’re curious. Let’s just say that there are lots of stories that seem to have a great deal to do with who was writing them and why.

I opted, last night, for a new-fangled riff on tradition by hanging with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin at an online event known as Galentine’s Day, a fundraiser for the environment. It consisted of live table readings from Grace and Frankie.

There were, however, technical difficulties, so I wandered back to the land of Madam Secretary. It’s less of a nail-biter than the actual news! And, I’ve done some new noticing lately.

M Sec is a filters thing!

Elizabeth McCord has become something of a role model for me.

(For a bit of context, let me just say that my inner-teen remembers the days when a woman wasn’t guaranteed the right to open a checking account without a husband’s signature.)

Then there’s Bess. An extremely capable woman with a tremendous amount of responsibility. She speaks her mind, even when she’s up to her eyebrows in power struggles and assertive egos. Even when her voice shakes!

She’s a whole person with a challenging history, huge hope, and a passion for the experiment called democracy.

She does her best to live what she values. Love. Justice. Freedom. Voice. Choice. Sovereignty.

And, from what I’ve learned recently, had she lived in Salem in the late 1600’s, she might well have been hanged as a witch, along with two of my great aunts!

Now, you, wise reader, may be wondering how all this fits with Valentine’s Day. I have two answers.

Love should be about power for, rather than power over.

And, one of the things love is about – at least in our home – is an actual conversation like this:

The Legendary Husband, a couple days ago… “What would you like to do for Valentine’s Day?”

Me... “Honestly, I’d like to move it to May, when Origins is complete and the weather is good enough to eat on our favorite sidewalk!”

Blessedly, it works for us!

For now, though… fingerprint dots. For love and voice and choice. For my kids, who walked their beloved dog, Hazel, to the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. For healing friends.

The dots start out looking like the blob on the paint tray, above. And wind up helping me create a reality filled with hope, on canvas, and in the world.

Which feels a lot like love! At least according to the lovely fingerprint being known as What the World Needs Now.

ps… just between us, she represents the kind of role model many, many of my ancestors were, too!

pps… she’s also available for adoption! The original!!! And there’s a sale at FierceArtWithHeart! Just enter the code HIPPO at checkout for any item over $45. And hurry! The discount expires at midnight EST on Sunday, 2/18.