An Invitation

  

“Green was the silence, wet was the light,the month of June trembled like a butterfly.” ― Pablo Neruda,

In just a few days Journal as Sacred Vessel will be offering the next journaling ritual and you are all invited to join. Just pop back over here on Solstice to join in the creative fun.

To get you going here is some information and journaling questions: https://www.box.com/s/dc1ychf9hkl13k9j5i42. You also might want to pop over to Soulodge, where Pixie is offering some free journeying leading up to solstice (link in the side bar or here). And if you are in the Southern Hemisphere heading towards winter solstice: https://www.box.com/s/6n0w7862216x8adaz9ko

 

View from here

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, I am moving towards the longest night of the year, and I'm feeling the need to go quiet and hunker down with my own muses. Warm tea, a blank journal and solitude is what is being called for. Right now, I'm sitting in front of a fire under a fury blanket with a snow day expected later in the week. Yet I know that come Solstice, even though its only the beginning of winter here, we will begin to move back towards the light delicately but ever so noticeably. And so the two hemispheres hold each other in eternal balance and we get to savour the visiting seasons with their unique gifts.

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
― John Steinbeck

White Magic

Angels in my Studio- A Giveaway

 Angel- celestial beings who act as intermediaries between Heaven and Earth, or as guardian spirits or a guiding influence.

 
I am so excited to be one of the teachers for Angels in my Studio along with the other fabulously talented and inspiring artists. It is a 5 month long journey working with the Angels in various forms and various ways guided gently by the teachers to help you connect with your own Angels and unfurl your own artistic wings. The course begins July 22nd and registration will open on June 8th and there is a giveaway below (woo hoo).

When I was asked to teach a lesson for Angels in my Studio I started to think about Angels and other sentient beings and how they show up for me in my work. I don't think I realised just how often they like to visit my studio for which I am so grateful. I flicked back through my journal pages and saw countless spirits and guides, I even thought back to my days back studying photography and how often they appeared in my very early photographic work. Perhaps they are the winged muses that whisper in my ear, stir my dreams and gently move my hand across the page.

And my beautiful son is named Angel.

And a luscious giveaway- a spot on 

Angels in my Studio

ClarityBe, who said "I would like to expand my wings by honoring the winged ones with my own creative expression." won the spot on Angels in my Studio.

To enter, please pop over here and have a look at the class and then pop back and tell me how you would like to expand your own creative wings with the help of the Angels.

Additional ways to enter and sweeten your chances:

• Share this giveaway, either on facebook, your blog, pinterest, twitter, google reader etc etc
• Follow my blog &/or facebook page

Each time you do one of the above, please pop back and let me know in the comments so I can add your name into the circle again. An angel guided name will be selected from the comments on June the 8th. 

In my class, I will be guiding us through a sacred journaling exercise which will allow the angels to come in and interact with us in whatever way they feel the need to, imparting their wisdom and giving their messages in a spontaneous and revealing way while we work with our hands laying down paint and collage and listening with our open hearts to what wants to come forward.

Hope you will join us.

In my Travel Kit

I'm often asked what supplies I take for journaling when traveling so I thought I would do a quick post on it. Space is the biggest issue, so I have to narrow down what I "want" to take to the bare must have necessities. And then there is the huge "I'll throw that in if I have room" pile.

 The must haves:

• A mechanical pencil
• A water proof pen, such as a Pitt Pen, I like to use a brown rather than black, its just a bit softer in the images.
• A writing pen
• A water fillable paint brush
• A pencil, a rubber and a smudger
• A portable mini watercolour set (loaded with favourite colours) this is the

  Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Field Box

•  Small cosmetic containers, one loaded with gesso and another with a glue of some sort like gel medium or modge podge.
• A trusted and much abused brush
• Loose off cuts of water colour paper (for when the journal stays in the hotel room). Quick sketches can be glued into the journal later.
• The smallest sketch book I can find, for quick notes and sketches to transfer into the journal later.
• Something to hold it all in.
• And, of course, the journal itself. I like to make my own, and each depends on where I'm going and how I'm traveling as to what sort I might make.
• Not to mention the photography and computer set up, but that's another story.

The I'd really like to take if I have room list:

• More favourite pens: black pitt, white gel pen, fountain pen, water soluble pen.
• Water soluble pencils, I like these Graphite tints  for natural and subtle colours as well as Inktense for more vivid colours.
• A mini gouache palette. (this is a water colour palette I've add gouache to).
• Caran D'ache watersoluble crayons- colours depending upon where I'm going and what I feel might suit.
• Charcoals and pastels.
• Masking fluid.
• A few acrylics.
• Scrappy things (old credit cards).

Every trip has its own possibilities and challenges. My last trip, for example, was complicated as I needed to fit a complete professional photography kit (as I did a few shoots) as well as supplies needed to teach my journaling class in the States. But as it was to America I knew I could buy many supplies there a lot cheaper than taking them with me, so my supplies grew as I traveled (oh what fun, and an extra suitcase on return). When I went to Bali I knew that I would need to take with me what I needed but would be able to include some beautiful text and batiks. My theory is if you've got room take it because it's a long way to go back for, but prioritise your favourites, your trusted go tos and adapt each kit to the mood and character of the location.

In other exciting new I am teaching part of the wonderful class "Angels in my Studio" with some other amazing artist such as Chris Zydel, Tamara Sheri Ann Ponzi,  Melissa Muirhead, Rachel Payne, Claudia Olivos, Justine Van De Weg, Liz Kettle, Kristen Powers, Cheryl Irwin and Havi Mandell. It is going to be a wonderful, soulful mixed media journey. I will be leading a sacred journaling exercise where we will be inviting our angel guides to visit with us and share their messages as we connect our hands and hearts through our journaling practice. Click here to view more details

Working in the Travel Journal

One of my pleasures of traveling is in making and working in my travel journal, both on the trip itself and also when I return as I recollect and digest memories. Its a beautiful way to extend the magic of the trip and also to give the memories and experiences a tangible form that I can connect back to again and again.

So many marks made on location giving me access right back to the scent and senses of the place and experience.

The raw memories demand to be laid down in strokes of colour and words that spill forth, sleep gives way to the urgency of committing those fresh memories to form. 

Next is to write up thoughts and to sort the 1000s of photos that I took, print some and glue them into the book. Such a delicious process.

It's also the first week of my on line class Of the Heart, and I am loving being inspired by what the students are all doing, bringing me back to my own book and where I left off before I set off on adventure. And I think one of the highlights of the week was when one of my students posted a video of her front porch strewn with the project as her hands were beautifully messy in the act of creation. I think this might just have been the moment I got addicted to teaching.

Bisous

Happy Mama's Day

Happy Mama's Day to all the Mamas

 

Happy Mama's Day to all the beautiful Mama's out there.
 ♥ ♥ ♥
The winner of my giveaway for a place on Of the Heart and a copy of Amulet (via Random Number Generator) is Rainshine Farm, yay (please contact me so I can add you to the classroom- we take off in a few days).
Gxx

A Give Away- Of the Heart & Amulet

“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.” Hafiz

It has been so deliciously exciting to hear all the stories of who people are making their Of the Heart books for. I have some making Menarche books for their daughter's like me, some who's daughters are still quite little. There are also some making books for children going off to college, for anniversary presents, for sons, for first babies, and grandchildren and beloveds no longer with us, and I especially love that some are making them just for themselves. All this has delighted me and inspired me to make my next one "Love Letters to the Universe". Who would you make yours for?

To honour all this yummy goodness, and to remind you all that there is still time to sign up, I am offering a place on the course.

The dets: All you have to do is leave a comment here telling me who you would love to make an "Of the Heart" book for, (and maybe even why if you felt like it).
For additional chances to win please share this either on facebook, twitter, your blog, google, pinterest, come like the facebook page or all of the above and pop back to let me know where/how you shared for additional entries (each share is worth two new entries- a bit of bonus karma for you). I will be drawing the winner on Saturday (my Saturday), just in time for Mother's Day.

To sweeten the pot even more, I am also offering a copy of Amulet- a field guide for living wise, a gorgeous magazine I've been privileged to contribute to along with so many other talented, inspiring and heartliving women. Pop over and have a look at the magazine if you haven't already, so worth your time. And now even better as it is available in hard copy for old skool curling up with, I'll be reading the spring issue curled up in front of my fireplace on the other side of the world.

Bisous and hope to see you with us next week when Of the Heart begins on May 14th. Sign up here.

LOVE- YES at Esalen

 

I've been away overseas for a month now, on an amazing adventure which I am still digesting- so so much good stuff. For now I am just going to work my way backwards through the trip week by week and share some images along the way.

 My last week was spent at Esalen on the Big Sur with Pixie Campbell's Shamanic Painting Retreat where much magic was had by all. Such an honour to spend time with so many incredible and divine women, I can't yet find the words to share with you so here are some photos:

 Spiraling in and out.

 Bridges

 Sacred circling with beautiful women in our sweat lodge.

 Transformation

 Rebirth

Just a quick reminder that Of the Heart starts in one week and there is still time to sign up- I hope you'll join us.

Journals, journals, journals

Here are some recent journal pages from my journal that sadly has only one page left in it. It won't be coming with me as I head off on my adventures in a day. As I finished the coffee pot page above, I felt a sadness not to have this journal with me even as I am excited to be switching gears to be working in a travel journal and so looking forward to seeing what goodness emerges there.

 I've made my new travel journal, although the signatures are loose. Unlike when I made my Bali journal (which I knew was going to have a Batik cover, just wasn't sure how the stars were going to align to make that happen) this journal has absolutely no ideas about how its cover might develop. I guess I'll just have to watch and see.

The trickiest part of packing is working out which supplies to take. I'm taking my Polaroid camera as I can't imagine an American road trip without a Polaroid or two and thanks to the Impossible Project that is still possible. Still haven't decided which other camera to take, and as for art supplies, today I decided that despite the fact that I'll be buying supplies as I go I still had to chuck out a pair of shoes or two so as to get in some extra supplies.

First stop Sydney where I get to be a tourist in my home town, hug some girlfriends, and enjoy a gallery crawl.

Leaf Song- new class

What Can I Say

What can I say that I have not said before?
So I'll say it again.
The leaf has a song in it.
Stone is the face of patience.
Inside the river there is an unfinishable story
and you are somewhere in it
and it will never end until all ends.

Take your busy heart to the art museum and the
chamber of commerce
but take it also to the forest.
The song you heard singing in the leaf when you
were a child
is singing still.
I am of years lived, so far, seventy-four,
and the leaf is singing still.

~ Mary Oliver ~

I'm so excited to have been asked to teach another class at Soul Fire Retreats, and just when the muses had whispered, no sung, the seeds of this new class to me, I'm really looking forward to it, its going to be beautiful:

Leaf Song-

To pay attention- this is how we pray…

In this class we will be using photography and sketching as a means to bring us to a place of mindful presence, entering into the center of now and creating a silence that allows us to hear the songs all around and within in us.

There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth. Rumi

Sanctuary of the journal page

 The chaos of life with a family (or I should say with a teenager) has put a stop to my Face a Day challenge as well as pretty much every other creative project I was juggling. Somehow, though, I managed to find my way back into the sanctuary of my journal pages where I found much creative solace and release. Here are some recent pages. I would love to hear how you manage to stay on path with your creative urges when life has other plans...

 I also have the first test batch of bowls back that I've been working on, still waiting for the right clay to arrive, but in the mean time I've been taking a lot of frustration out on some stoneware clay, pounding and pounding. Hopefully my supplies will come this week and I will have time to make and fire some gifts for many friends I will soon be seeing. Less than a month until I head off on my adventure... HOLDING ON TIGHT

A teaser

I am sharing a little teaser here of some of the pages coming together. I have to say that working on a secret project for my daughter is proving quite an interesting challenge- she is finally back at school after the summer holidays, but her brother has taken two weeks off, and now she has taken a week off (so far). How's a mama to get anything done and stay sane, not to mention work on clandestine art projects!!

Still, its going to be so beautiful, I'm having fun and she is going to treasure it.

If you like you can join me here:

Book of Faces

I've been working in my new "journal" (that I shared here) for over a month now, challenging myself to a face a day, (partly inspired by the wonderful Misty's class). It's not "a strict, force myself to do a face no matter what's happening or how uninspired I am" but rather an invitation to push through on my faces. With children and other projects of course some days have been missed but that is neither here nor there. Doing one a day has given me much opportunity to try out various styles, to see what I like, and what I don't like but mainly to give me the confidence to push through- you know, that place where you kinda like it and are too scared to push through to somewhere new or the place where you just hate it and think, where is this going. What I have learned is that pretty much everyone of them goes through both of these phases, the really ugly stage, and the just ok stage and my pushing through muscles are growing. Granted, doing one a day, none of them are totally complete or where I would like to take them, but there is also so much learning in looking at where each one finished and seeing where I would like to take it next time, almost like a book of both possibilities and mistakes to learn from. But that's all part of the journey.

 About a third of the book is filled now. I will share more as I go but if you want to follow along you can see them daily on Instagram (or here in the sidebar).

Of the Heart

I'm really excited to be offering this: Of the Heart- an e-course, a mixed media workshop making an heirloom. Mine will be a gift for my daughter, to celebrate her menarche when it comes. I'm hoping to pour much love between the pages of this treasure book which she can carry with her throughout her womanhood. Pop over here to see more, I really do hope you'll join me.

 
The class doesn't begin until May, after I've returned from teaching at SoulFire Retreat, but there will be plenty in the classroom to keep you busy until then.
Bisous, Gxx