Category: Grandmothers

#Magic!Art JourneyContemplationsGrandmothersRed Madonna

When a statue goes rogue!

Posted on by sue boardman

She’s one of my favorites. A reproduction of a mother and child statue who followed me home one day, ages ago. After a good bit more learning, I’d guess an intentional Madonna with child. Likely with Italian influence. Very comforting. Usually!

On Saturday, she ventured into the realm of dangerous! I’d gone to get a book off the shelf and the little plastic leveling gizmo under one side of her base had apparently slipped out of place, because she fell off the bench and squarely onto two of my toes!

Owwwwwwwww!!!

Can’t tell yet if either of them are broken. Purple. Skin missing. You know… And what I know is that the plan for broken toes, unless they have exposed bones, is mostly waiting for them to heal.

Think my statue friends will need a new place of honor!

I meant to be painting just now, but feet elevated is wiser, so… writing. This. The next bit of my book, which is making huge progress. And, in just a few minutes, a bowl of soup. The homemade kind. Comfort is absolutely in order!

Here’s the fun part…

I’m doing the foot-up thing surrounded by paintings. Glinda, for the upcoming book cover. Lily Rose, who has a cover of her own in the works. Matilda and Aslan, supervising in their warrior archetype way, from up near the ceiling. And, my current #wip who made it in here before the toe mishap, so that she could tell me what comes next.

It’s kind of odd, painting inner me, when the outer painting looks totally different than I ever have! The cool thing is that she has a lot to teach. A lot of awareness doors to nudge open. Here’s a peek…

Her heart appeared Friday night. A friend inquired about the green color, asking, “Jealous???” Blessedly, no. That’s green, as in heart chakra and Compassion! And, yes, I was thrilled when she insisted!

For now, though, we wait. I’m guessing prayer dot hair. More detail work on her hands. Whatever it takes, actually, to do as I have promised and, “Just tell the story!”

If we’re being real, I never imagined, when Walter Brueggemann was thundering those directions from the front of the classroom, that I’d have to work as hard to stay on the road as this world is requiring, in this moment. And I’m more and more grateful for all that I have learned and am learning, still.

What I do know is this… those of us who try to walk the Way of Love have no time for silence! Blessedly, there are many ways for us to be heard…

What is one of YOUR ways???

Really! Glinda and I would love to hear! Just leave a comment, below, or email me if you’d rather. suesvoice@gmail.com

ps… there is more magic about to begin, and YOU are invited to join us for one of the most transformative journeys I’ve ever experienced… It’s time for Red Madonna to begin again. The newest iteration of a precious Intentional Creativity® adventure! This will be my 8th year and I’m so ready for the deep dive in this moment! Welcoming community. Learning. Creating. Growing. Even now!!! Just click the link to read all about Red Madonna Sisterhood: Womb of Living Waters… a 13 Moon Painting & Initiation Journey into the Primordial Waters of the Divine Feminine. REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!! https://musea.org/red-madonna-womb-of-living-waters  If there is an answer to “What the world needs now” it’s likely to be pretty close to this adventure!

Art JourneyContemplationsFilters!GrandmothersRed Madonna

Blogs and Books and Bears, oh my!

Posted on by sue boardman

If you feel like there’s an awful lot going on in the world just now, I’d agree. Emphatically! So would my dream friends! And I’m so grateful for the “team” that literally helps me sort things and make choices.

Once upon a time, several years ago, I was sitting in a Zoom meeting with some new friends. One of our leaders was an Indigenous woman named Maria. The first thing she said to me was, “You’re Bear Clan!” And a whole new world of perception and legend and story opened within me!

There wasn’t time in that moment, but research was definitely in order. (It’s what I do!) Here’s a bit of what I learned…

Bear Spirit Animals carry energy of physical strength, emotional grounding, and courage to stand up against adversity. Those who relate to Bears as guides often have the energy of protectors and medicine people. And Bears remind us that we need rest!

No wonder they are chatting me up in this moment!

You see, I’m in the midst of a very active creative cycle and am dedicated to staying on that road, even in the midst of all the chaos in the world. I’m starting, today, with some intentional modeling!

I turned off the news. (Gulp!)

I made space in my schedule for a conversation with a guy who knows more than I do about some of the weird neuro stuff going on in my world.

And, I have a new flavor of cacao to experience, probably just after that conversation.

In the meantime, painting. I Am Legend told me about her face!

Mostly, though, I’m consciously partnering with my friends in the photo to remind me, as often as I need to hear it, of who I am and why it matters. (Daphne’s t-shirt helps, too!)

And, I’m inviting you to join me, in your own way!

Turn off what’s not helping. Make some conscious space for something that matters, even if it’s “just” a few minutes of Joan Baez and a cuppa.

Let your fingers do some wandering and explore Spirit Animals, intentionally, if you’re curious. (It’s a #Filters thing!)

BE your work-in-progress on this Wednesday!

ps… Ready for the deep dive? Just click the link to read all about Red Madonna Sisterhood: Womb of Living Waters… a 13 Moon Painting & Initiation Journey into the Primordial Waters of the Divine Feminine. REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!! https://musea.org/red-madonna-womb-of-living-waters If there is an answer to “What the world needs now” it’s likely to be pretty close to this adventure!

#Magic!ContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine Basket

A noisy night in the ‘hood!

Posted on by sue boardman

My ears are quite certain that many of my neighbors were thrilled with the weather which improved enough to make fireworks possible for the actual 4th of July.

I am somewhat less thrilled. It’s an old trauma kind of thing for me.

Instead, I’ve been claiming my Independence – my vision of the future – with paint! (Also, cleaning closets. Meaningful, but decidedly less fun!)

I won’t dump all my disappointments and fears and buckets of fury on you. Instead, I am inspired to share something I wrote several years ago. It’s not all sparkly and full of watermelon. Instead, it’s a promise. A claim of my hopes for the future… preferably starting (again) NOW! And I could really use your help!

You see, my right wrist and thumb hurt more than usual tonight and we’re going to have to go with basics in terms of design here. Imagine, please, all this with with a fun, kid-friendly font and the shadow of a tree behind the words. You can decide! Oh… imagine that every time you see the letter “o” it looks like a heart!

The Grandmothers’ Manifesta

We are the Grandmothers.

We are in charge of Hope. We are not done!

We are becoming dangerous old women.

We hold those we love under our danger like a

Tree of Life with bountiful branches.

We have spent our lives learning many things.

Some of those things were helpful.

Some of them were not.

We will KEEP living the empowering things.

We will say goodbye to the things

that were hurtful, so they are not passed on.

We matter more in this moment

than EVER before.

We are significant. We are capable.

We have influence in the lives

of those we love and in the world.

Using all our hope and wisdom,

we will share these things

with all the generations who come after us.

We are DREAMERS of dreams,

TELLERS of stories,

and MAKERS of images.

We see our littles as souls bright with wonder.

We are the Grandmothers and we welcome all those

who wish to be here.

Today, we choose to matter in the world.

It may be hard,

but we are in charge of Hope!

Sue Boardman ®

ps… if you have dreams, stories, images – even puppies or dance moves – you’re longing to share with the world, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. I’ll bring my magic medicine basket with some cool new tools. You bring a cuppa, something to write on & with, a Red Thread if it’s handy, and a smidge of courage. We’ll name your next right thing and muse a bit about what it could look like to work together. Just click here and the calendar elves will find us some time. Hurry, though! The calendar is filling up! (In case you’re curious, my book-in-progress is something over 8,000 words in!)

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Honor Your Process!

Posted on by sue boardman

Really!!! That was the exact message I received from the elves/universe at 4:44 am. I know that it was 4:44 am because my phone said so when I reached for it to type those word into the message gizmo.

There are a couple things I need to share about that. I like the number 444! The Angel number 444! Depending on one’s beliefs, it might carry different meanings. For me it symbolizes divine protection, stability, and reassurance.

If you’re guessing that this is among my more recent learnings, you are totally correct. We did not cover angel numbers in nursing school or seminary. Fortunately, we did cover always keep learning!

Back in the old days, when I was first serving as a pastor, there used to be a stack of index cards on the table next to the bed. And a pen. That was how I kept track of the messages which appeared in my sleep before cell phones. Notes for Wednesday’s bulletin. Especially an official title for whatever sermon was hatching. (I was the church secretary, too, back then!) On Saturday nights, volunteer key words for the sermon. Things that weren’t ready until they were. Usually 5 words. Then, back to dream-land and time for the connections between those words to become clear. (It worked!)

Here are the rest of the words from early this morning…

Solstice. Rainbow Hair. Cousin Angela (Juneteenth). Mother Nature – CC wall – purple & green.

In case you’re curious, they didn’t appear all at once. More like each thought making space for the next.

And, yes… this whole thing really is about honoring our processes, even now. Especially now!!!

How might you do that???

Really! How might you claim intentionally honoring your process? I’d love to hear!!! (You can leave me a comment, below!)

I even have a possibility for you to consider! A possibility awash with hope and sisterhood and newness! You see, it’s time for the journey known as Red Madonna to begin again! (Well, almost time!)

I spent most of Saturday communing with NASA moon phases, working on our calendar for Red Madonna 2026.

Ready for a deep dive? Just click the link to read all about Red Madonna Sisterhood: Womb of Living Waters… a 13 Moon Painting & Initiation Journey into the Primordial Waters of the Divine Feminine. REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!! https://musea.org/red-madonna-womb-of-living-waters

We even have a free way to dip your toes in – Come Home to the Waters: A Mini-Retreat to Connect With the Living Waters of Your Life. This adventure is offered by the Red Madonna team for each of us to touch into our sacred flow and experience a taste of our year-long Red Madonna 2026. It’s happening Friday July 3, 2026. Enroll in Come Home to the Waters Now!

Red Madonna has been part my of honoring my Sacred Journey since 2018. It’s gentle and welcoming and diverse. It opens new doors into my understanding and practice. I’m honored to be part of this team and so hope you’ll consider joining us. The world needs more of us on this path!!!

ps… the painting, above, is indeed my Red Madonna 2025 work, Mother Nature. She says she’s finished. We’ll see!

#Magic!Art JourneyFilters!GrandmothersMedicine Basket

I really, really wish the tech-elves would quit changing things!!!

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep… you probably have to squint quite a bit to make this out, so I’ll help. It’s under layers from my most recent #Apothecary painting, a couple moths ago. Truthfully, it isn’t done yet, as in it isn’t complete, but also it isn’t done teaching me.

Here are three of the VERY intentional words you probably can’t quite read in there, crossword puzzle style:

Courage. Hope. Determination.

And, yes, I’ve mentioned them before.

When I fired up my laptop tonight, this wasn’t exactly what I had in my mind but apparently the elves have been secretly “making things better” again, and it took me about 3 tries to get this post to start happening. (I want elves that follow directions!)

In any event, I am still learning… anyway! When the paintings whisper in my sleep, they are insistent!

So, my #Threshold painting work in progress has announced her name, insisted on background revisions, and whispered some of her favorite star glyphs for me to include. The really cool thing is that, as all that magic was happening, she also solved the structural challenge with my tweens & teens book in progress!!!

Frankly, she kinda blew my mind! (And she prefers to wait until she’s finished to make another appearance!)

Then, I did a new thing. Yesterday, I had a Zoom meeting with a dear friend who now lives in Egypt. It was so good to catch up! And, she did a mini-numerology reading for me! (Yet another thing we didn’t cover in nursing school or seminary!!!)

Here’s the thing that really grabbed me:

My core challenge – at least at this point in time – is a tendency to feel responsible for EVERYTHING and hand-cuffed by perfectionism…

Wow, does that hit home! And, I suspect I’m going to want to explore more.

For this moment, though, it’s cacao ceremony time. And getting ready for observing the solstice time. (Really!) You see, I spent lots of time watching Georgia run-off election returns last night and I’ve decided to be open to all the help I can get!

My #Threshold painting is totally onboard!!!

ps… my Wisdom Cards are ready to meet you! Just put 2 decks in your basket and get 20% off, automatically. They go really well with cacao and perhaps a smidge of ceremony!!! (Also, sign up for the Winged Ey Wisdom mailing list and get an extra 10% off your order!)

#Magic!Art JourneyGrandmothersMedicine Basket

Of calendars and singing walls…

Posted on by sue boardman

It’s one of those forward and backward kind of days in my world. You know… memories and dreams bumping into each other!

Friday, my older grand-teen graduated from High School!!! Her world is about to change in a huge way. My hope and prayer is that the “who” she’s always been will learn and grow, and discover more of her chosen path!

Then, the memories. It was just about exactly this time, in 1987, when – having just finished my BA – my son and I set out for Columbia Theological Seminary in an ancient VW bug. He was 7 years old. Some young adult church buddies caravanned along with us, to help with the move before continuing on to Montreat in North Carolina. It was quite the adventure. Especially the flat tire!

And, there were way more adventures to come!

That first summer was known as Baby Greek School, and wow, was I lost! In fact, I was approaching hopeless when the miracle happened. Our word for the day was Blepo which is Greek for “I see!” Suddenly I had something I could relate to as I was very familiar with eye surgery words, some of which actually begin with Blepo! And there was a bit less chaos in my world!

Our friend, above, is a bit of one of the paintings that whispers in my dreams. That’s the Asherah side of a 60″ wide canvas, from the adventure known as #Codex. The Divine Feminine side, if you will, complete with her winged eye for wisdom.

And a bunch of triangles on her forehead. The Greek letter Delta, which is a symbol for change!!!

Last night, she was singing…

“The times, they are a-chan-ange-ing!

They are, indeed. And, yes… it’s scary! (Well, at least a lot of it is for me!)

When I was making our Graduate’s card, a bit from an old movie came to me. Perhaps you’ve seen The Help. Old, southern, USA. Plantation country, in a way. Comfortable white families. Lots of help from black folks. And, lots of vastly overlooked wisdom, too!

Imagine a young maid/nanny whispering to the small girl she’s more or less raising:

Remember! You is smart. You is kind. You is important.

That is part of my prayer for our new graduate. And for ALL our Littles!!!

Our job is to VOTE like that matters!!! (Early run-off voting has begun in Georgia!) I’m choosing the ones who aren’t focused on keeping the White House happy. Who know that we are ALL important!!!

For this moment… a peek at the card I made for the amazing person who helped me see a whole new world and a whole new me…

ps… have some smart, kind, important magic of your own to set free in the world? I can help! 45 min. My gift. You bring your dreams. I’ll bring a lot of years of practice and a medicine basket brimming with cool tools! You can also bring a cuppa and a bit of Red Thread, if it’s handy. We’ll name your next right thing and then talk about what it might be like to work together. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook us up. Hurry, though! The calendar is filling up!

pps… more questions, before you click??? Here’s the basic bio stuff…

#Magic!Filters!GrandmothersMedicine Basket

All the “me’s” have bizzy brain!

Posted on by sue boardman

I’m guessing you might, too! News… much of it of the lunatic persuasion.

Metro DC going through massive chaos and dragging way too much of the world along.

In my own calmer and considerably more intentional way, things are also shifting. Part of it is the normal course of endings and new beginnings. A year’s worth of community and work completing even as the next artful adventure takes form. (Stay tuned!!!)

Yet more painting adventures beginning, as well.

The Book-in-Progress is taking over my world and I’m thrilled! The individual stories pretty much existed from the beginning. The structure – the flow – the voices – are appearing magically in my dreams and, in the context of this world, my Grammy Heart is overjoyed.

All of that newness leads – at least for me – to new awareness of things which aren’t yet optimal. And, as so often happens in our world, that involves moving things. You know… being body comfy while having easy access to books, tools, light, etc.

I think our magic friend, Glinda, must have invited the Feng Shui books to join in and – wow! – did that help!

Here’s an example… as much as it made sense and I tried to make it work, the whole nesting thing just wasn’t going to work in the studio. So, the most adaptable chair is back in the room now known as Sacred Skills & Knowledge, so that I have a better chance of being able to create deep and be something which loosely resembles comfortable. And, yes… that will mean moving books!

The paintings, of course, all want to be new places, too. Inspiration. Energy supportive colors. Even a sleep supervisor dedicated to healing and abundance! She’s the one up top… a mythical shape-shifting Selkie in charge of useful things like intuition and unblocking trapped potential!

There’s another painting going on in my world, too. #Threshold. If I believed in being behind, I would be. Instead, I’m going with being exactly where I’m supposed to be to be, hearing what I need to hear! My big ah-hah, so far, is to discover… instead of expecting! As we used to say back when, that’ll preach!

For this moment… an invitation!

If you’re a real human reading this, instead of some AI mystery being, and you have dreams about putting your magic to work in the world, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. We’ll name a next right step for your path and explore what it could look like to work together… you, me, and Glinda! Hurry, though! It’s about to get book-busy around here and I only have space for two brave folks like you. Just click here and the calendar folks will set you up!

ps… now would also be a great time to check out all the magic at WingedEye Wisdom! Just put 2 sets of my really cool wisdom cards in your basket and save 20% on them!!! Great gifts. Fun for travel. Best of all, a doorway into wonder and wisdom! (And you don’t even need a secret code!) Oh! Browse around while you’re there… everything from art prints to kids’ books, many items on sale!