Category: SuperPower Path

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My painting is pregnant!

Posted on by sue boardman

Last night, the Muse and I worked on the dove. And added another person toward the bottom. And touched up some colors. Progress… and I knew there was more!

Then, I knew. She is here, becoming… to bring something new into my awareness.

I’m not clear about all of it yet, but it has a lot to do with growth and hope. And, if my own experience with the pregnant thing is any indication, there will be some challenges, along the way! (This is both true and, likely, the voice of the Critic, as well!)

And, regardless of the challenges – and the fear – I’m all in, whatever we’re birthing!

In fact, after the chaos dreams last night, the Muse sent me in search of some comfort. I found it in my box of Mother Mary Oracle Cards… or, more likely, it found me!

Card #1… Our Lady of the Sacred Hearth. There are times, it begins, when we have outgrown our old safety nets. Like a hermit crab that outgrows the little shell and needs to search for a larger home, we must endure a transition that can feel frightening, giving rise to many insecurities.

And, then, this… there are times when growth simply must happen. You are at one of those times in your life…

Just between us, I really, really hope so!!! In fact, I hope that much of the world is at one of those times!!!

Our Littles need for us to be at one of those times!

I don’t expect such a time will be easy. Growth rarely is.

When you get right down to it, though, why else would we be here???

This is a glimpse of another one of my growth-paintings…

The raised hand is mine. And the Hebrew word means, Here I am.

A reminder of my promise… even on a day when it’s way colder than it needs to be and my knee is doing a new painful thing which means my planned pot of soup is on hold.

Sometimes, apparently, growth decides we are ready, even when we don’t feel ready.

And the surprising thing, in this moment, is that, deep in my heart, I can just barely hear a whole huge circle of ancestors – of those who came before us – whispering yes… yes… yes!

Because there is, indeed, more growing to do!

For just a bit longer, though, I think I’ll stare at her and wonder what wonder has quickened her!

ps… right after I remind you that there’s still time to do some deep growth holiday gift shopping at FierceArtWithHeart! The shop elves will be delighted to hook you up with a copy of A Creation Poem… OR, put 3 in your basket and 1 of them will magically be free! Then, choose anything from Original Paintings, Archival Prints, or the Special Collection by my dear friend, August Venuh, and get 25 % off your choices. You just click here to fill up your basket and the elves will do the math! (No codes needed! )They’re really excited to help you, so fix yourself a cuppa and wander in the wonder! It’s time to deck the walls!!!

pps… I’d really love to know what’s calling you! 45 minutes. My gift. You & your big dreams. Me & my medicine basket. A cuppa. Paper and markers… or eyebrow pencils if that’s what you have! Some red thread if it’s handy… to get one step clearer!!!  Just click here and ask the calendar elves to hook you up!

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Between was and will be…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! That’s where it feels like I’m standing. And that’s a picture of what it felt like a couple hours ago!

For now, a bit of musing… sitting with my feet up, hoping the power doesn’t go out!

Sunday’s book launch was huge fun! Monday’s doc’s appointment… let’s call it progress. Tuesday – moving. (Joints and muscles!) And, today, hearth tending in the Red Thread Cafe Classroom!

I love hearth tending. It’s a lot like summer camp but without poison ivy and water moccasins! On this day, though, I seem to be channeling the suspended bridge over the Santa Fe River in Florida’s O’Leno State Park.

Exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. And, according to the elves in my cell phone, closed today because of Hurricane Helene. It kind of sounds like my back yard should be closed today, too, as the early bands of Helene make their way north and it’s full dusk at 3:30pm!

Here’s the “betwixt and between” bit…

A Creation Poem… exists. There are copies upon copies headed here – which is another storm concern! I’m waiting to hear whether I’ll have an exhibitor’s booth at the Decatur Book Festival, on October 5. Not a whole lot of time to plan for something I’m not even sure I need to be ready for!

Just between us… I’m really hoping it works!

For today, though… Medicine Painting. (Which sounds like way more fun than homework!)

There are many notions of how Medicine Painting works and even more about what it looks like.

And, here’s the thing… you don’t really know until you do it! A notion that makes some of us anxious… or, used to!!!

Here’s my favorite part – instead of deciding what to put on the canvas, I get to sit with the canvas and discover what I see as it comes forth! It’s a lot like claiming that I do, indeed, have influence, while choosing to set aside control. Here’s what’s happened since this morning…

It’s been a long road! And the first step was setting aside the notion I learned early on that I was not the artistic kid. Which was a whole lot like realizing that Mom was right about a lot of things, but that wasn’t one of them!

The world feels a lot like that in this moment! And all I know to do is to show up being the me I am now.

So… I told the guy named Steve that I wanted a booth at the book festival if it works out. And then I asked what I needed to know! His advice had a lot to do with where to park and having as many ways as possible for people to pay for books. And art. And then he said the coolest thing…

Give people a way to engage!

You guessed it… dots!!!

So, non-toxic, washable dot markers. They’re round, like finger tips!!! Because if you’re going to write a book about including kids, you need a way to INCLUDE them! Probably a few extra paint shirts, too. And baby wipes.

And, if this whole thing actually happens, I’m going to have two choices about where to make the dots. On a spare round canvas which makes a great home for a peace sign. And, as the next layer of the medicine painting I’m deep in today!

Because more people making dots for Peace and Hope gets the world that much closer to – well – Peace and Hope. To believing that WE can do something to create and claim what matters!

And, you know what???

Even if this book festival doesn’t work this time, I’m already clearer on my Promise. And I’ll have two more books done for next year! (Really!!!)

Here’s the cover for the next one…

ps… just in case you have something you’re longing to manifest in the world, there’s still time – but not much! – to check out Shiloh Sophia’s new, year-long painting adventure called Abracadabra! (I’m so excited!!!) Just click here for all the info…

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I used to think I was supposed to be perfect!

Posted on by sue boardman

Blessedly, I’m (mostly) over it! Trust me when I tell you that it’s really not sustainable!

For me, this perfection hang-up has always had a lot to do with words. And I began to understand more about that when I was failing (literally) my first semester of Hebrew in Seminary. Let’s just say my brain doesn’t quite work that way. Nothing I saw made any sense. I didn’t understand anything I heard. And I felt doomed.

Somewhere along the line, about 3 million flash cards later, the magic happened. Almost literally! Somebody explained that a word my ear recognized – abracadabra – could be translated as, for I create from the word. Or, even better, I will create as I speak!

How utterly cool is that???

I’d been writing for a long time before that. In that moment, though, I think I became a writer!

I’ve written a whole lot since then. Sermons. Magazine & news articles. A dissertation. Editorials. Books. Blogs. And, now… another book!

In fact, the first actual hold-in-your-hand copy arrived Saturday. (And, yes, that was a bit close for comfort!)

It feels good. It smells good. It looks great!

And then the old anxiety kicked in! As in, what if it’s not perfect???

I’ve been here before. There’s a typo in my 269 page long doctoral dissertation. One.

It was around that time that I learned a helpful old story. Legend tell us that the people who hand-tied Persian rugs in days gone by always included an intentionally mis-tied knot because they believed that only Allah is perfect and they should not attempt perfection.

I’ve always found that comforting! Comforting enough, at least, to put my work out there in the world. Now, more than ever!

First, there’s me modeling the notion of showing up and doing my best for my grand-teens! (Who helped, by the way, with the new book-baby!)

Then there’s the even more important – and also urgent – notion that all our voices matter. That it’s okay if not everybody hears what we meant to say in the way that we hoped they would. That a big part of life is learning to make our choices even though some people think their way is the only way.

So… A book launch party!!!

Today. (Sunday) In honor of all the women who came before us and risked their safety – their lives, many of them – to choose. To use their voices. To claim that they mattered. All wrapped in an ancient story of beginnings and belonging. An ancient story told, intentionally, so that all our Littles might learn that they, too, are part of the story of love and hope and inclusion.

And some new ways to think about setting ourselves free from limiting beliefs!!!

I’d love for you to join us! The adventure begins at 1pm PT/ 4pm ET. Just click here for all the info.

ps… It’s also possible to pre-order copies of the book at the same link!

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8.5 cm & squinting!

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! The book-baby is coming! And transition is definitely the word!

You see, by tomorrow the book-baby will be on its way to the printer so the proof copy can – you know – breathe! And there’s a whole lot more that needs to happen before then!

The kind of more that’s a challenge for me because I can’t yet see it in my head so trying to figure out what will fit where is – well – frustrating! Especially since I will freely confess to being one of those people who want things the way we want them.

Fortunately, I have a wizard on my team!

I also have a Zoom meeting to shepherd and several paintings in progress, and I really need new glasses! (I also need a new eye doctor, which is more complex.)

Sometimes, though, I catch a new knowing in the midst of the busy. Take, for example, the image at the top…

I took a photo late last night of my work-in-progress painting. It’s Wednesday, and I’m hearth tending! Then, I listened to my Critic and my Muse bicker all night about posting it.

It’s too soon! It’s trying to speak!

Nobody will get it! It might help somebody!

I’m betting you know the feeling! And, yes… there’s a perspective shift involved!

I posted the photo this morning, in the land of Intentional Creativity® (It’s what hearth tenders do!) Then I added an inquiry and pinned the post. Then I scrolled down a bit, to see what else was happening. And I saw it! (You may be way ahead of me, but stick with me, please…)

The face! Which is where the squinting comes in…

I don’t know who they are, just yet, or why they appeared. I do know there’s a message. And my job is to wait. To listen. To trust.

While we’re waiting, though… a peek at a book-baby preview, from an Intentional Creativity® sister…

A lovely, easy to read rendition of the  story of Creation! Sue Boardman has been able to infuse a lilting, magical feel to this ancient story of how it all began. Her colorfully  engaging illustrations invite us ever so gently into the wonder of this story. As a teaching elder and ‘fiercely compassionate grandmother,’ Sue is devoted to seeding much good into this world, so that not only her grandchildren but all children can evolve and more easily realize their potential. I could feel this in her book, A Creation Poem… A delightful read!”

Eásula  Sedlmaier – author, artist, and coach

And a link to all the baby-party details… You’re invited, Sister!

All those who will come after us are counting on us for choice and voice and sovereignty. For belonging! Now is our time!!!

ps… You’re also invited to a virtual Musea art show on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Just click here for details and free tickets! (Three of my paintings are so hoping you’ll join us and meet their friends!)

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I went to visit “my” tree, again!

Posted on by sue boardman

She’s still there, on the campus of Columbia Theological Seminary. We “met” last Spring, though I’d no doubt passed by her hundreds of times!

And, yes… it’s a Filters thing! You see, I was working on a new painting and engaged in a conversation about living in Creation, as part of the miracles. And, there she was!

She actually showed up in my dream last night. Reminders were in order! Back to hippo spirit animals… yet another thing I didn’t learn in 5 college degrees!

Here’s the short version… The hippo is considered a spirit animal that symbolizes strength, power, fertility, and healing.

And, there are about 3 million reasons why The Muse might be sending me such messages in the context of this moment in time!

All the ones on MSNBC, of course. And a more personal one…

The Book Launch!!! (And a mockup of the cover…)

Here’s one of the things I’m most excited about…

Many friends and colleagues have been generous with book blurbs/reviews and I am hugely honored. Some of those dear souls are children!!! Kids, grandkids… joining in the journey! My Fiercely Compassionate [Rebel] Grandmother heart is overflowing! (And, yes, my tear ducts, too!)

Not simply because it feels good! It also gives those young people a chance to see their words matter and we’re all about that around here!!!

Here’s the thing, though. The virtual book launch is happening in the context of this moment in time! And we’re going to use that for a learning experience in the launch event! A big step in the direction of that place where YOU feel called…. where your deep joy and the world’s great longing meet. Just click here for all the juicy details…

Here’s what one of those book-reviewing Littles had to say…

I love this book! The lyrics (yes, it is songworthy!) are vivid and the paintings are fun and colorful. I know people of all ages will enjoy this.

Renae Sharpe, age 13 (Pen-name, used with Renae’s permission and the concurrence of their adults!)

And here’s a bit of what Renae’s Grandmother said:

What a gift! My youngest grandchildren explored the paintings, simply transfixed, while the teens delighted in the inclusive language. The use of the plural, “They” for Creator was not lost on them, embracing as it does a Creator who welcomes all genders…

For this moment, I’ll save Renae’s Grandmother’s name, and just include her initials! MD, MDiv, PhD

Here’s another peek… this photo is of a painting that was created intentionally for A Creation Poem… The Cardinal, toward your right in the dogwood tree, is a reminder of my Gramma Elsie who taught the 6 year-old me that Cardinals are our ancestors, coming back to check on us. (Just – you know – in case!)

ps.. here’s that link, again. We’re not goin’ back!!!

pps…tomorrow is Grandparents’ Day! Check out that link and get the coolest gift ever, for yourself or someone you love. Helping empowered women weave dreams into being! Love to have you at the launch, with comes with a hand-autographed book!

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“Just tell the story!”

Posted on by sue boardman

I suspect I’ll always hear that voice thundering in my ears. I was about 30 years old, and Walter Brueggemann was exhorting a room full of wannabe preachers!

I felt like I was being handed a terrifying thing I’d been seeking all my life! And, I feel even more like that now!

Maya Angelou put it this way:

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

Thus, the glimpse of a painting, above. She was a total surprise. Literally. And she didn’t begin to appear until I set reason aside and followed my heart. Months of under-layers disappeared under the biggest, scariest glaze of my life.

Well, almost disappeared!

Once everything got purple, I began to see things I had not noticed before! And, rather than putting new things in all that space, I brought forward what I saw.

Their name is Choice, Voice, and Sovereignty!

Frankly, it was terrifying. Especially for one who is only beginning to have access to visual processing!

It’s the Voice thing that brings them here, today, because this moment is feeling a whole lot like time for speaking out. For showing up with all of ourselves. For finding our authentic voices. And, if you’re at all like me, that may not be what you learned as a kid!

I had a chance to practice, yesterday. Yep, Social media! Somebody who thought I should say things the way they would, instead of the way I did. I imagine you can relate! And the whole inner debate about leave it up/take it down/walk away from disagreement, etc., etc.

Then, I walked down the hall, past the place where this 48×60 inch canvas hangs, waiting patiently to be noticed again. To be helpful!

And I left my post the way I wrote it. Not because I wanted to win… but because it grew out of the top part of the painting. The part that looks like a huge moon. The part that carries some of my deepest chosen beliefs. Here’s the whole deal…

The teal blue place, above their heart, is their voice. And their hands are part of my code for power. And, perhaps most urgently, in this moment, their heart is painted in the chakra-green of compassion.

And all of this – as you’ve realized – is happening in the context of this world, now. A context that perhaps even Walter hadn’t anticipated when he was helping so many of us claim our calling to tell the story.

Then there’s the other story I’m telling. The one for our Littles. All of them. The one of belonging and mattering. It’s very, very, very nearly done!

And that, dear heart, means book launch! Which feels like a whole lot of voice! Mark your calendar, please, for September 22. And stay tuned! It’s time to cause some Good Trouble, and you’re invited!!!

For now, though… grace, peace, and blessings!

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Meet Dr. E’s cousin, Fern!

Posted on by sue boardman

You know how sometimes you learn something new… realize one new thing… let go of one limiting belief… and everything feels different???

Well, that happened in me, this week!

But, before I tell you that story, I need to introduce you to a neighbor of ours, way back when I would have been a pre-K kid, if we’d known about such things in those days. Fern lived across the street from us in Pittsburgh. I liked her. And, she had a fashion thing going on that drove my mom nuts! Let’s just say that Fern hadn’t learned the same rules about what goes as my mom had!

In fact, Fern became code, in our family, for You’re wearing too many colors. Or, flowers don’t go with plaid. As in, Go try it again, Fern!

My recovery began gradually when I discovered Blue Fish brand clothing, much to my mom’s dismay. And made quilts with too many colors!

These days, I wander the world covered in paint. Intentionally! Today, a lot of it’s pink after some work with my #CuraArchetype painting!

Recently, I began to notice some new things. You see, there’s a whole lot of new going on! (Like the new book I’m about to launch and the two I’m already writing to follow it!)

And, I’ve been hanging out with my teacher/sister, Julie Steelman, and a whole bunch of women working on getting out there.

As you’ve probably noticed, I have this thing about context. And there’s been a whole lot of that coming from Chicago this week. And, in places I hang out, like the land of Intentional Creativity® there’s a whole lot of conversation about the rising archetypal feminine. We might even go so far as to say, She’s Risen! And, if we did, we might think that has a whole lot to do with context in this moment!

You do you!

Here’s the thing… in the midst of all that, I realized…

I am ready to be seen!

In fact, this particular Dangerous Old Woman is ready to be more dangerous than ever!

And I mean that in the way Dr. Estes did, when she talked about sheltering under the danger of a tree. A place where those gathered were safe. Honored, even. And, as far as I’m concerned, we need as much of that as we can get!

I am, inherently, an introvert. Between the challenges of 6 knee surgeries in 9 years and the pandemic, I got pretty comfortable at home. Nobody calling me Fern. You get the drift…

Except, I have things to say. Things to help change. People to support as they look for ways to set their SuperPowers free in the world. And a future to help protect for all our Littles.

Besides, I like bright colors! And patterns!

You, clever soul, have already realized why chartreuse ferns have just appeared in the #fleursavage #innerwilderness painting with which we began…

So, today I weeded the closet. Donated a bunch of things I thought I should have, but never enjoyed, to a church that operates a clothes closet. And ordered myself another bright denim jacket, which will also be delighted to become a vest/accessible purse. One with flowers and swirls and something that just might turn out to be a mandala! All of which should make it easier for Daphne & me to share!

Then, I hatched up an idea for a reading in a local bookstore, and asked some dear souls for book reviews. And I made a list of more exciting ideas! All of which – as you might imagine – involve some sense of being seen.

And, drum roll, please… I had fun!!!

ps… all that pink, above, is a path of sorts. A 6-petal rose. Wonder where it will lead???

pps… are you ready to learn something new… realize one new thing… let go of one limiting belief??? Or more??? Let’s talk! Just click here and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up with 30 minutes, my gift!

ppps… curious about Intentional Creativity®? Got dreams? Check this out… Abracadabra! I can’t wait to begin!