Category: Grandmothers

Just between us, I’m dog paddling pretty fast in a sea of alphabet soup right now.

A deeper sea than usual!

And, yes, I’m painting, too.

And the paintings have a whole lot to say!

In the land of Intentional Creativity® we have an interesting custom known as handing the pen to the painting!

Laugh, if you must… it works!

At the risk of spoiling the mystery, it works by accessing different parts of our consciousness by doing something which feels a lot like playing and is actually magic!

And, today, we have a volunteer! (Well, actually, she insisted!!!)

I am not who I was supposed to be. At least not according to the path laid out for me.

My journey began with the Red Madonna in The Forest of Grandmothers. I had a whole 48″ square canvas! There was lots of drumming. I was excited!

Back then, I looked like the photo way up at the top of the this page. Dots and handprints! Two of my favorite things! (All that pink was a bit of a surprise!)

About then, things got different. Sue had one of those things she calls a hypermobility flare which seems to mean that she hurts a lot and everything gets harder.

After I sat in the studio corner for a while, we decided I could be just as much me on a 24″ square canvas and it would be easier to have fun. It was!

We wrote a whole lot more than we painted in those days. Crone Moon posts, which had a lot to do with being Grandmothers in this world. And we wrote a Manifesta, which means saying what we really think, out loud.

Now I feel more deeply rooted in our lineage than ever before. In those who came before us and those who are coming after.

Which, since I get to tell the truth (!) is feeling more complicated by the day. Around here, we have 2 granddaughters growing up in this world, but all those other Littles are somebody’s too, and they need to matter, too — even to people who think they’re more important than everybody else because they get to make the laws!

I think that’s why there’s a lot of circle calling going on around here. I get to help with my drum!

And we’ve started a new Red Madonna painting called Sanctuary. It’s one of those Medicine Painting things!!! I’m sure there will be lots more to learn. For now, though, I really want to remind you about the Manifesta. It seems like a really good moment to claim these things again! Sue agrees!!!

Here’s your link for the Manifesta!

Whatever else is going on in your world… whether you’re a grandmother or not… it’s a pretty good place to begin!

ps… intrigued by Sanctuary??? You can still sign up — even if you’ve never painted before! And, really, how will you know if you don’t check it out? So, deep breath! And click to learn more. It just might be exactly what you’re longing for in this world, now.

pps… you can get a really snazzy copy of the Manifesta, perfect for framing, if it’s calling to you… just click here! It would be a great gift! Or even an Intention!!! Oh! wander a bit while you’re there! There are leggings like I used to look!!!

Really! I’m curious…

Some of you will see colors. Probably red and blue, with hints of pink and yellow and purple. Even a spot or two of orange.

Perhaps the feng shui book you read years ago is making suggestions! Things like exciting, uplifting, wisdom, spirituality…

Perhaps you see prayer dots. (Me, too!)

Possibly stars.

Many of you will see Intentional Creativity®. And, some of you will suspect you see the beginning of my Red Madonna Sanctuary painting.

All of those things are true.

And, as is so often the case… other things are true, as well!

On Sunday I began this Sanctuary medicine painting. The beginning marks on the first canvas of a year-long journey to places utterly unknown as I begin.

It looked like this:

On Monday, seven people lost their lives in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Since then, I have been alternating between staring in disbelief at the news and avoiding it all together.

I cried. I swore. I prayed. I signed petitions online. I cried. I swore. I prayed. I texted my granddaughters, not so much older than the three 9-year olds who did not get home from school two days ago.

I also edited a couple of book chapters, went to some meetings, watched Stephen Colbert, and took care of me.

And, while all those things were going on, I listened.

And then it came.

Stars. The big dipper. And the North Star.

The one that helps us know where we are and how to get where we’re going.

And with the North Star came the big question.

What is my North Star? What do I use to navigate my journey?

I have an answer. Actually, I have several! And they all come together in a place you’ve probably guessed if you’ve been reading along for a while.

I have 2 granddaughters growing up in this world!

That is the reality which holds all the other answers together for me.

The reality which gets me out of bed on the hard days.

The reality which compels me to vote. And write. And plant my garden with signs which lean heavily toward inclusion and human rights.

I also have faith. In my version of the Divine… of the Creator who dwells, still, in and among us. Between us, even, in the spaces where our versions of the Divine may be different.

And I have faith that, while lots of days will still suck, walking the path where my faith leads beats the hell out of not walking it.

What is your North Star?

And what helps you follow it?

If you’d like some ideas, some company on your path, I can help! Just ask the calendar elves to find you some time!

For now, I have more dots to make. Dots for humanity. And sanity!

And Sanctuary.

I have been thinking about two words, lately.

I am.

Specifically in the sense that I am 65 years old.

Frankly, in the list of things I’ve pondered putting on a business card, that never made the top – you know – zillion choices!

And, I am. Since Friday.

So far, so good!

Possibly, even better than that!

Grandmother Moon seems enthused, too. So much so that she’s been whispering even more loudly than usual.

The same two words. Over and over.

I am.

Which, given many of the places I’ve been hanging out for the last 35-ish years, brought some other things to mind.

I Am that I Am. (from the Hebrew)

And, because Hebrew is a rather complex language in which it’s hard to tell nouns from verbs and past tense from present or future…

I will be what I will be.

And, one which really calls to me…

I create what(ever) I create.

Now, to be clear, Hebrew was not my most outstanding academic adventure. And it’s just possible that Uncle Walter (Brueggemann) might be busy doing something else at the moment.

So, I looked these possible translations up online.

Here’s one of the big things I do remember from Hebrew… there’s a whole lot of interpreting going on!

And, since all we’re talking about here is my birthday card to myself, I’m going with…

I will become what I choose to become.

It feels really good! Hopeful… empowering… true.

Which isn’t bad, in the face of Tuesday’s physical therapy appointment!

I even have a birthday gift to help me keep laughing along the way…

And, yes… it’s from my kids, which makes it even better!

As for what I’m becoming/creating…

The warp thread for my new stick weaving project is due to arrive sometime tonight. (It’s late, but I’m adapting.)

The book chapter I’m writing has appeared, Sue-style, scribbled in a mixed media journal with circles and arrows and exclamation points. It wouldn’t mean much to you, yet, but in my creating world, it has become!

I’ve figured out what my favorite room for hatching needs in order to be the next step more me.

Cheap. Easy. And it doesn’t require ladders! (These are all good things!!!)

And, this evening, I spent about 45 minutes on the phone inviting a new friend into the magic world of filters and medicine baskets and hope.

When you get right down to it, that is the big part of what I am becoming.

Ways to go on when the more feels beaten out of you.

When creating feels like way more hope than you have.

When you’re not sure there’s enough left in you to matter anymore.

Here’s why – at least for me:

In partnership with the Divine, I create… and walk the Way of Love.

It has, admittedly, taken me a while to get here. And it feels like plenty to keep me busy.

It also feels like a pretty great birthday present. Along with the notes from my girls!

ps… on a healing path of your own? Looking for some new tools for your medicine basket? Let’s talk! By special agreement with the calendar elves, you can claim 45 minutes, as my gift. Just CLICK HERE!

pps… the painting is deep under-layers from my most recent Insight painting, in the “structure” part of the processing. This really is me! What is that kind of “real” for you??? Leave a comment below, or email me. Or negotiate with the elves for some time to chat! suesvoice@gmail.com

When I was in the 4th grade, Mrs. Ray – one of my very favorite teachers – asked us all what businesses our families were in.

I knew the answer.

(I liked knowing the answers!)

My dad was in sales. And moving!

My mother’s family were in businesses ranging from car repair to railroads to meat processing.

My father’s family were farmers.

Now I know more! Literally thousands of years worth of more. And, as you might imagine, the list is long.

So, as I’m the one telling this story, I get to decide which bits matter most in this moment.

From farmers to kings and queens… from teachers and preachers and soldiers… from moms and aunts and grammies without number… they persevered.

Many of them against huge odds.

Many of them standing up for the voices of women and girls. For the choices of women and girls.

Some of them in times when arranged marriages and witch hangings were far too popular.

I’ve been busy learning their stories.

And trying to figure out how to live the best parts of their legacy in this world, now.

I spent a good bit of my energy on Tuesday in circle with women asking similar questions which pretty much boiled down to how we feel called to matter in this moment.

It’s not easy.

Many of us learned that it didn’t even feel safe to try.

And many of us have noticed that believing we can’t make a difference is not working.

So, let’s experiment with believing that we can!

Let’s start right where we are. In the ways we know best.

For me, that means hope.

Rescue a pet. Share tools of self-discovery and expression. Be a Scout leader. Plant pollinator friendly gardens. Listen to children. Take them seriously.

Commit to human rights. All the rights. For all the people.

Find the place where you can be you.

And put something somewhere in your space that will remind you – in the hard moments – of what you intend at your very best.

Even if it’s just a plain old index card with your secret reminder scrawled on it. I have a zillion of those!

And…

It’s not easy. And it matters.

Which seems, when I get right down to it, like that might just be the family business!

At least that’s the way I’m choosing – eyes wide open – to tell the story!

What story will you live? And tell???

I really want to know!

You can leave a comment, below, or email me at suesvoice@gmail.com

ps… ready for more? Or ready to be ready??? Let’s chat! 45 min. as my gift! Sneak peek at what’s coming, and what’s already possible!

pps… the lovely beings at the top are my Legend paintings, numbers 1, 2, and 4. They’re all bravely lined up and ready to be in an upcoming Musea® online show. Stay tuned!