My Creative Peace Presents: Art as Healing Tutorials Wind Chimes

Faith and Creativity: Grace and the Loveliness of Dandelions

 8.5 x 11 available now

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence Lord.

For you are their glory and strength

and by your favor you exalt our horn.

Indeed our shield belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel

- Psalm 89:15, 17 18

The word "shield" has fascinated me for many years.  It is a word that I felt impressed upon my heart about 13 years ago during a spiritual direction class I took in seminary.  Around this same time creativity as a spiritual discipline began to bud.  I have pursued the creative life as a lifeline to God pretty steadily for the last 8 years.  The 'message' the metaphor shield... well not so much.

Today I think about how I have been shielded from things though I didn't realize it at the time.  I think about how I have tried to shield my children from life's disappointments until they were able to handle.  I think of many times how I wish I were still shielded from the agenda that can occur in church settings and in places where self absorbed  and self centered behavior ruins the beauty of all that could be good (like in classrooms).

This moment I think about why so much grace has been shown to me by God when I have felt rejected, unwanted, misunderstood.  Simple grace reminds me of delicate dandelions and how easily life can blow the bloom off the bud.

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Faith and Creativity: What is your Soul Longing For?

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I have been spending more time lately looking for pockets of quiet.  I need it.  I am craving it more than I ever have before.  I do not know if it is all those years of isolation while I was a stay at home mom or while my hubby was deployed with the military but I find I have to be diligent about finding time to sit and think.

Think about where my life is headed at the age of 46.  What my life means now that I am back to work and being a wife on a full time basis since my husband does not deploy as much anymore.  More than anything I find myself trying to find my rhythm with God again.  The structure has changed.  And I am in earnest pursuit to put it back in place.

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My Creative Peace: Waiting for the Whispers and Trusting They will Guide YOU

Black bird in the Woods 12x 12 CLICK HERE to Purchase

Sitting before a canvas and trusting that the paint and the marks and the colors will become cohesive.  I can honestly tell you that I still feel the fear of thinking the muse won't show up.  The creative juice is gone.  I had a few years of writing where it flowed in waves and waves.  I am used to how writing works.  I had a ton to say and I trusted the process of ebb and flow.

This genre is different.  I am battling with the need to let my voice come forth. In all its whimsy. And mystery.  The light and the dark.  Working in harmony.  Sharing the story and bringing it out of me.  But I have willing to sit.  feel.  wait. And trust that I have a voice in this area to share and have impact in the conversation of art and paint.

This lady finds herself fluttering. Floundering.  She watches as the birds mimic the urgings of her heart.  The birds show up to support her inner yearnings.  She didn't know what would happen when she finally came into agreement with her heart's sadness and search for hope.

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Faith and Creativity: Why Do you Pray?

::Prayer Girl Waiting for Wisdom:: Available Now CLICK HERE

The times of waiting are most interesting. 

 You are in a moment where nothing outwardly has really changed.  And yet you are experiencing some sort of inner comfort. 

 I have begun to really experience prayer as something more than lifting some words to your maker and suddenly the circumstances change and you are all better and things are all better.  

I have stopped praying specifically for answers.  Though I still want them.  Time spent in prayer now feels more like

help me to remember that my circumstances do not define me or how much God loves me. 

 The longer I take this life on as a journey and not simply a race to get to the most comfortable place possible, the more I am able to be in a circumstance and not allow the bitterness to overtake me. 

 

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My Creative Peace: The Inner Call of the Soul to Make a Difference

In 2013 I became a grandma.  My son is in the military and so his family does not live nearby.  I did not have a close relationship with my grandparents but I have heard from so many how deep and impactful their relationships with their grandparents have been.  From the moment I found out the news I have been invisioning how I would be a part of this little boy's life.   

Since he is so little I have had to be content with sending little care packages of children's books to let him know his grammy is thinking of him.  My daughter in law is fantastic about posting pictures on Facebook and I am so grateful for that.  This little painting came intuitively.  I have recently found the work of Mindy Lacefield and took her Soul Bird ecourse.  She is really igniting my creative heart with her style of teaching.

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My Creative Peace: The Work behind the Desire to Get Better at Something

:Angels on High: 16x 20 CLICK HERE to purchase

I have wanted to commit to the craft of painting for a very long time now.  I have always been drawn to being more creative but for many years I would simply collect creative friends and allow that to be enough. I raise creative children.  I have a husband that went to art school.

But over the years  - really beginning in 2008 - I had this nagging feeling that there should be more to this gravitational pull.  I needed to look inward.  So it began.  Starting with what I knew - crocheting - and then taking a Kelly Rae Robert's business course for artists opened me up to artists that told that stories and shared their encouragement with me.

Three years ago I began art journalling with a vengeance. then I created a project where I created and mailed 100 postcards to friends and family.

I find that my heart is at it again.  2013 was the year of reuniting with many family members in a search for identity and connection.  2014 is the processing year of who this person is that STILL feels the call to create even in the midst of the busiest of times.

So here I am in on display.  And the goal is to create 100 paintings by the end of 2014.  Reading Chris Guillibeau's The Happiness of Pursuit has helped me to up my challenge from simply painting every day to finish paintings and let my intuitive heart shine.  I have created 13 so far since October 2014.  I am not sure I can complete all 100 but I am going to paint as if I can.  Join me on the journey?  You can also follow along by putting your email in the box at top of the blog that says "subscribe by email."

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Writer Girl: Where are you Storing all Your Good Ideas?

Day 5:

In spiritual life there is no room for compromise. Awakening is not negotiable; we cannot bargain to hold on to things that please us while relinquishing things that do not matter to us. A lukewarm yearning for awakening is not enough to sustain us through the difficulties involved in letting go.
It is important to understand that anything that can be lost was never truly ours; anything that we deeply cling to only imprisons us.

-
Jack Kornfield

I find myself in the furious flow of momentum which is something I have never experienced before. Ideas come in the middle of the night and I am making the dreadful mistake of thinking I will remember them in the morning-I NEVER DO! In the past, I would have an idea and I would wake myself up literally every hour and rehearse the idea in my head convinced that this time I would retain the inspired thought only to wake up with NOTHING. The constant awareness of the thought throughout the night would play so vividly, the idea danced in my head like a carousel.  Now if only I would get my tush out of bed and write it down.

The biggest fear in all this flurry is that the flow will end. I admit I am a pessimist when it comes to the idea of a writer being able to make a living from her craft-surely one would run out of ideas after awhile. So, rather than enjoy the bounty of material for as long as it lasts, I calculate the endgame and whether or not this is the most practical use of my time given the length of time a windfall of ideas could possibly last.

These thoughts are hilarious given my state of life at this moment-I am a stay at home mom of a toddler-which, given a certain amount of discipline, offers an incredible amount of time. I am a type A, multitasking woman who has incredible amounts of energy. I have about 10 books I am in the process of reading. Three "books" I am in the process of writing. I have started crocheting a scarf. I am creating a name plate for my little girl's room. I am in the process of co-organizing an abstinence conference for teens. I am organizing a book club.  In a month, I will be training to become a facilitator of a support group. Yeah, time is not really the issue; it's focus.

Now I will cut myself a little slack in that the generation of all these seemingly unrelated projects in part offer incredible solace. I have a tendency to bore easily, hence the need for a three-ring circus in my life. And, thank God, I reach for constructive activities rather than finding a self destructive means of amusing myself. Plus, all of these projects are incredibly flexible in that they have the capacity to be interrupted based on the needs of a toddler. So, if my girl is painting, then I will incorporate my deal with her thing.   She still naps so that is a set amount of time in the day as well that I can write. 

The interesting outcome in this flurry of activity is that when I go back to writing, I find a stream to draw from. For the first time since I can remember, I "thought" of a hook for a fictional short story. I am still staring down the fear of writing a complete story but I did free write with the concept for a few paragraphs just to flesh it out a bit. I took Heather Seller's advice from her book "Page after Page" and used the technique of "butt in chair." Yeah, another one of those simple concepts which simply means sit your tush in the chair and write. Pretty much this advice ranks in importance right alongside the advice of writing an idea down when it comes to you.

 

Priming the Pump:

Do you have any blocked artists around you?  If so, does it fuel your desire to want to break through and write or challenge the idea that writing is a valuable use of time?

Write 100 words OR write for 15 minutes (set a timer to help you focus and whatever you get down on paper for 15 minutes let grace hold you – well done!)

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Writer Girl: Fear and Fearlessness

Day 4:

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."-Marcel Proust

 As I continue to write daily trusting God to give me something to write about, I hope I can inspire and encourage others on the way. I do find from past attempts of trying to become more creative that, very similar to my walk with Jesus, I am "simply A BEGGAR trying to show other beggars where the bread is".
I came across the guidelines for a writing contest the other day and decided to settle in and work on an entry, another attempt to cement this "hobby" as a lifestyle.   At the same time, I am going through a support group called "Mending the Soul," a group that helps me work through various types of childhood traumas that I could not seem to figure out how to navigate how faith in God helps me to move past.  One of my assignments is to write about a particularly painful experience from my past. I "somehow" worked on a story about a most unlikely candidate given my past - my father. The piece was very therapeutic personally and therefore a perfect candidate to help me to stick with the re-writes that were ahead. This is the story I was going to submit to the contest.
Well it turns out that the requirement for the short story entry is that it needs to be a fictional work. I sighed, knowing that fiction is not what I "do". I prayed silently: is writing fiction something I have closed myself off to or do I just really stink at it, plain and simple (I think it is the latter!).
As a result of this support group, I have been thinking a lot about my childhood. I remembered that I loved to write and always longed to have one of those diaries with the little lock on it-something about having these secret thoughts that my parents could not know really appealed to me. We have of course upgraded the term "diaries" to "journals" and I guess given the age of reality television, we no longer need to hide the words behind locks.
I remember vividly my dream was to become a playwright. This probably stemmed from a couple of school plays I was in and the whole idea of writing the words that people speak (side note: my husband says to me sometimes when we are arguing 'why don't you give me a script so I know what you want me to say?').

My elementary school had a creativity fair every year where all forms of writing and art were eligible for submission. I remember sitting down and constructing a play called "Torn between Two Lovers" based on a song from the 70's - I was in 3rd grade. I assure you I had no idea what the words of this old song meant. I was incredibly sheltered as a child, barely allowed to watch television and very limited music access other than what my parents wanted to listen to. Lord knows what the judges of the contest thought when they saw the title of my entry. I can't remember the details but I remember the play was based on an episode of "My Three Sons" - I had a crush on the oldest son, Robbie- where he and his girlfriend were going through relationship troubles. I also recall the play had 5 or 6 acts complete with stage direction, having become a "pro" at how plays were structured through my 2 experiences dealing with scripts in my school plays. Diligently I worked on this project, convinced that the judges would be amazed at my plot and flow and character development.
As the deadline drew near for entries, my friend Brenda was lamenting about how she wished she had something to enter into the contest. I began encouraging her to try writing her own short story assuring her that I would assist if need be. She began basting me with compliments about how I was the writer in the friendship.  Somehow by the end of the conversation I agreed to write a story for her to submit. The story was about a resourceful alligator -that's all I can recall. I vividly remember how I cranked it out in lightning speed and even included an illustration of the varmint - oh I draw now too? About a week later, the results are posted. Somehow my brilliant play was overlooked in the standings. However, the alligator story got an honorable mention. My friend received her first writing credential! God's witty way of teaching me not to cheat?

I think about this now as I fight with myself as to whether I really can write fictional short stories. I know that my preferred style of writing is more inspirational. Now to be fair, I have come across fictional work that is incredibly uplifting. I think I might be wound too tight into some kind of box that presupposes inspiration only comes in a certain form.

Perhaps I could free flow better in my "weak spot." One of the exercises in a book called "Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain" has the student turn a piece of art the opposite way of how it would hang on a wall (a.k.a. upside down). The theory is that your brain will begin to focus on shapes rather than the literal interpretation it perceives when looking at a painting straight on. Once our visual guard is down, we tend to focus more abstractly. In that same vein, perhaps I might experience the same outcome were I to take a chance and write fiction. What's to lose? Fear. What's to gain: fearlessness!

Priming the Pump:

Begin to write a game plan for how you will research other writings around your topic/experiences that you wish to write about

Write 100 words OR write for 15 minutes (set a timer to help you focus and whatever you get down on paper for 15 minutes let grace hold you – well done!)

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Writer Girl: What to Do During Those Times When you Don't Know What to Write About

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Day 2:

"And when you can't write? When nothing comes? Those unproductive seasons are times of storing. I replenish by reading, reading, reading. You have to allow ideas to fill your reservoir before they are ready to spill over. A writer has to reflect the totality of life, not just the high points"

 -Luci Shaw, Breath for the Bones

 9.30.08
I am looking at this year as the starting point for a breakthrough.  I have always envied people who could commit to writing every day.  But I could never seem to make the commitment.  I think I waste most of my energy on living a life that is emotionally draining. Add to this, a nasty habit I picked up of writing emails which is writing I guess but ultimately drain my creativity and time.  Case in point, about a year ago, a friend and I emailed one another as a way of connecting before we met up for a retreat we were both attending. This went for about six months. I saved all the emails thinking that I would compile them and bind them into a book as a beautiful memory for both of us. What I found as I began to edit the emails is that we created 126 pages.  This made me realize that sitting down to write could be as simple as… well… sitting down to write to a friend.

I have heard that to develop a writing practice I have to simply write a page a day. Doing the math, I realized that even if my friend contributed 1/2 the pages, I obviously have the capacity to achieve a goal that I viewed too intimidating.  I am taking a personal inventory and recognize that I have been making excuses for not moving forward and simply writing.

Julia Cameron, in her book "The Artists Way," describes this type of behavior as 'shadow artists.' The idea of pent up creativity flowing sideways into other venues in an effort to cue the defiant artist that he/she is not living the fullness of his/her life. Whether it hearkens back to being discouraged from exploring art as a child or feeling incompetent or simply viewing the task as a waste of time, the idea of creation for its own sake rather than a manifestation of outcomes take a ton of courage.

As I choose to allow GOD to show me how my shadow artist can move into the light, dusting off years of denial and complacency and just plain laziness, I pray that this year would awaken within me the thrill of living again, outside the noise of drama and emotionalism and draw me into the inner peace a life with Jesus is supposed to bring. As I journey to the well for fresh water of ideas and awareness, I know I cannot help but change.

Priming the Pump:

What are the ways in which you drain your writing practice?  List friends, chores, responsibilities, fears, expectations.  Now that you have brought those diversions into the light, what does your shadow artist wish to write about?

Write 100 words OR write for 15 minutes (set a timer to help you focus and whatever you get down on paper for 15 minutes let grace hold you – well done!)

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Writer Girl: It is the VERY Moment When you Decide to Begin Writing Again

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Day 1:

"While we might be more than willing to accept teaching on an academic or professional level, when it comes to the way we are as individuals, how we think and act, we don't like being told that there is anything wrong with our mind set or behavior."

-The Monks of New Skete: In the Spirit of Happiness

 11.30.09

I have heard from many people that 'when the student is ready, the teacher comes." I wonder about the posture of 'readiness.' Does one have to 'feel' ready? Do we have a sense of what inner readiness feels like? Plenty of times I have desperately looked for a mentor to help me through tough spaces where I was left feeling abandoned, aimless and struggling (seemingly) on my own.  Here's what I have found:

·         Going back to college was not on my life's radar and yet I felt strongly I needed to attend. I did not have one teacher but many in the form of experiences and relationships and MOST ALL of them were difficult.

·         I have held jobs that were not in my industry which seemed to open up out of "nowhere." I walked through and gained much in the way of knowledge about who I was as a person as well as my capacity to take on new challenges.  This is another example of a mentoring experience which did not appear in its  traditional form.

I feel like I am in that space again where I need a teacher.   But this time I have no expectation of what the "teacher" should look like. Maybe this time I will spot him/her/it/them.

Priming the Pump:

Write about a time when you were looking for a mentor in your life?  Where did you go for help?  Did one appear?  What kind of experience was that for you?  What are your expectations as you begin to write on a regular basis?

Write 100 words OR write for 15 minutes (set a timer to help you focus and whatever you get down on paper for 15 minutes let grace hold you – well done!)

To Purchase "Writer Girl"  or my other Faith and Creativity Resources:

CLICK HERE